100 Words to Make You Sound Great showcases 100 words illustrated by quotations that are historic, moving, insightful, humorous, and fun to read. The Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries have carefully selected them as evidence that it pays to have a strong vocabulary. These 100 words have been put to great effect by some of our most important and beloved speakers and writers. Each sense of a word is shown in a separate quotation. Many quotes are from famous public speeches and award-winning books. A number were used in personal letters, showing that it is just as important to have a vibrant vocabulary in private communication as it is in public. The people quoted range across the spectrum of human endeavor. There are famous political leaders from the past (Mohandas K. Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Ronald Reagan), contemporary politicians (Benazir Bhutto and Barack Obama), scientists (Rachel Carson, Carl Sagan, Edward O.Wilson), economists (Alan Greenspan, John Maynard Keynes, Adam Smith), academics (Henry Louis Gates Jr., Ruth Simmons, Helen Vendler), figures of conscience (James Baldwin, Bono, Eleanor Roosevelt), and even humorists (Garrison Keillor, Groucho Marx, Sarah Vowell). They are all captivating communicators, and they all sound great. 100 Words to Make You Sound Great offers a fascinating way to improve and reinforce a versatile vocabulary. Anyone who is interested in the effective use of words will find it hard to put down. 26