Increase Your Word Power! Simple Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

Here are some simple yet effective ways to nurture your vocabulary.

A great vocabulary is essential for a powerful writing and speaking as well. It helps you choose the right word for every job and avoid ambiguous words that don’t give others a good sense of your meaning.

Working over your vocabulary is one of the effective ways to enhance your writing and make any communicating tasks in that language much easier, as you will have multiple meaning for the same word in your arsenal. Building your vocabulary shouldn’t be tiresome or difficult. In fact, learning new words is a fun activity. All you need to follow the simple vocabulary building tips given below.

Read. Read. Read:

Reading has been one of the tried and tested ways to expand your word horizon in any languages. It introduces you to the same words at regular intervals, incorporating it into the context of a longer story; personally relevant once you relate to the central character…all key traits of effective vocabulary learning.

Pay close attention to the words you are not familiar with, but don’t try to look up everything right away or you’ll lose your interest in the narrative and eventually burnt out. Just highlight the words, and then try to find out their meanings from context before you pick a dictionary to see their meaning.

Remember, the language will be varied based on what you are reading. For example, a pulp fiction has a different tone than a daily newspaper. Nonfiction and technical books quickly expose you to the words you may be unfamiliar with.

Make Vocabulary Emotional and Personal:

Combining new words with personal experience will drastically improve your vocabulary. The key is here to name the emotions you feel in your routine life or in a particular context.

For example, how do you feel when you didn’t hear from your mother for three days? How your friend would react on losing his job?

Or you can think new vocabulary in the context of people you meet. Picking new words from songs, stories, personal experiences or daily events helps you understand the meaning based on the context.

Use Thesaurus and Dictionary:

Do you take envy and jealousy for the same meaning? Well, they are used in a different context despite having a similar meaning. Similarly, there are many words with multiple meaning and shades. The author or speaker might have used the word in a different context. Even if you know the right meaning, there are chances of misinterpretation. A thesaurus can be a handy tool in this situation, especially if it is on your smartphone. Just type the word and you will get both synonyms and antonyms of the word. This way, you can understand in what context it has been used.

Learn in a Fun Way:

Word games let you exchange your vocabulary with other players and vice versa, thereby introducing you to new words in an effortless and enjoyable manner. As an added bonus, such games improve your retaining and recalling speed of the newly learned words. Some tried and tested games for vocabulary are Scrabble, Boggle, Crosswords and Quiddler. Luckily, there are thousands of smartphone vocab games that add to your word treasures.

Sign up for the “Word of the Day”:

Many online dictionaries like Oxford and Merriam-Webster send new words to users via email on being subscribed. Make sure to read the word on the page each day and use it somewhere in your day.

Use Mnemonic techniques:

Let’s admit it. It is not easy to remember new words as they require constant use. Here mnemonics can help you. They are memory techniques or memory tricks you can use to remember new words. Mnemonics techniques are composed of anything, from patterns of letters, ideas, images and associations to help you retain the meaning for life. For example, how do you remember the word curmudgeon, which means a grumpy, grouchy person?

Hire a Vocabulary Tutor:

Opting for a right vocabulary tutor is definitely a great help. A vocabulary tutor is familiar with the various techniques to hone your skills in learning new words in any reading, writing or literature topic.

So this is how you can improve and expand your vocabulary. Again, try to use the words in a right context. This is the area where you should be extremely careful at. Your aim is to learn new words and use them correctly, instead of flaunting them to build impression. All the best!

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