As you learn the words in this series of posts – all of which are frequently found on GRE exams, but are also useful vocabulary words to know – and as you get more comfortable using them in your everyday conversation, your friends and co-workers will be impressed with how erudite you’ve become. The word erudite means knowledgeable, well-read, scholarly, and informed. People who are erudite have trained themselves to be experts in many fields; the word comes from the Latin verb erudio, meaning “to train.”

Example 1: Kate has spent years studying and traveling abroad; she’s so erudite, she can talk knowledgeably about almost anything.

Example 2: Scott has never taken any classes at university but he pretends to be quite erudite, and speaks up on every occasion even if he really doesn’t know anything about the topic being discussed.

We hope that your vocabulary skills will help you get scholarships and other financial aid, but graduate schools are expensive, and many people have to lead very frugal lifestyles while they’re students. Frugal means thrifty, or careful with money. A frugal person will spend only as much money as they have to, and will keep the rest in savings. People who lived through the second World War tend to be very frugal with their resources in general, and are often reluctant to throw away anything that might still be useful.

Example: Sarah’s job never paid her a large salary, but she was so frugal that she was able to enjoy a very comfortable retirement with the money she saved.

Spend your time wisely on study, and you’ll amaze people with the richness of your vocabulary!