What Makes Vocabulary "Presidential"? : Department of Word Lists : Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

Teachers, commemorate Presidents’ Day this year by looking through some of the great lists we have to explore the vocabulary choices made by presidents throughout history. These lists can bring your students closer to the words that shape current events or times gone by.

In his farewell address to the nation, President George Washington used words like dutiful and apprise. In his latest State of the Union address, President Barack Obama discussed pandemics and quagmires.

As our extensive collection of vocabulary lists based on presidential speeches show, there's no one way to answer the question, "What makes vocabulary presidential?" But on President's Day this year, students, teachers, and anyone curious about vocabulary can have a lot of fun trying.

Students can also dip into the language of would-be presidents in this particularly lively pre-election season. Donald Trump trotted out braggadocious, while we've heard mention of radicalize, entitlement, a world gone amok, and complaints of a feckless weakling at the helm.

Want a classroom activity on a presidential theme? Spend some time with that most famous example of presidential rhetoric, Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Your students can appreciate the language of Lincoln with our interactive, learnable list of words like score, perish, hallow, and vain. You can also download the worksheet, "Comprehending the Gettysburg Address," to help students use vocabulary and key lines from the address to discover Lincoln's lasting message to Americans.

For more learnable presidential vocabulary to share with your students, check out our comprehensive list of lists below.

Presidential vocabulary throughout history: