How should I augment my vocabulary?

Sign up for a Word-A-Day email listing, so you can get one new word in your inbox each day.

Use the flashcard program Anki for the most efficient way to learn words (using spaced repetition).

I’m currently using both of the above methods.

Make some British friends. They use a lot of big words.

I like odd words and how I’ve integrated them into my vocabulary is by finding them interesting. Someone could say the word and I’d ask, “What does that mean?” and I’d try and add it to memory. A lot of it is from movies and books though.

Read as much as possible. I mean adult, not children books obviously. While reading, keep a dictionary close by so you can look up the meaning of any words right away.

@drdoombot

Anki looks really helpful. Thanks! I also happen to be studying Japanese right now.

Read books.

One of the best ways to learn new words is to have the handy www.dictionary.com toolbar. It’s free (and not heavy) and whenever you are stumped with a new term, just copy and paste it in (to avoid spelling mistakes) and presto – it opens in a new window – complete with synonyms and even a pronunciation (audio) thingey.

Now you know a new word, a synonym for it and its pronunciation. Next step – think of a rhyme. This is a great way to remember the new word.

E.g.: Augment rhymes with prevent and descent.

:-)

I looked at that test and I only recognized knew about 1 word in each of the pairs save a few. Wow.

I didn’t even bother taking it because I probably would’ve gotten 10. But that’s the beauty of English. We have like 70,000 words that all mean the same thing so there’s a greater selection to choose from when composing poetry and prose.

@DominicX

Yeah it’s pretty tough. I think it has a reputation among vocabulary-enthusiasts.

Read, read, and read some more. Everything you can get your hands on. Be careful to check out the pronunciation before you use them in conversation, though! I can’t tell you how often I’ve used a word I’ve never heard aloud, only to find that I’ve been mispronouncing it in my head for years. Pretty embarrassing!

Read novels, whenever there is a new word check its meaning in a dictionary. As you understand the word, write down couple of sentences on that.Now the contexts of the sentences should be something which you can use in your daily life.

Above all make a point to use big words when you speak/write. Especially write.

@absalom

My favorite was #110: salmagundi/gallimaufry – What the FUCK?

Anyway, I got 152 but more than half of those were guesses and you have a 50% chance of getting it right…

@DominicX

Haha, absurd words. Salmagundi is so specific.
Most of mine were guesses too. Did you check ‘Wild Guess’ or choose on your own? I like to choose one myself for some reason even if I have no idea.

@absalom

I chose wild guess for the ones I truly guessed on. Out 200, I guessed on 135 of them and I was fairly certain about the other 65. Which I guess is not too bad, but it could be a lot better. I found it funny how some of those were just flat-out Latin words like “quondam”, “sine qua non”, and “quidnunc”. Also, “fifth columnist”? How does that qualify as a “word”? lol

I really strengthened my vocab when I started taking Latin when I was 14.
I read Latin literature now but you don’t have to get that far to really realize the benefits of knowing Latin…

Even just 1–2 years of doing some lessons will expose you to lots of word roots in our language. You’ll see the connections between Latin and English and you’ll be able to learn and recognize SO many words. You have no idea. :)

@seekingwolf

It’s true. I took Latin as well. They always say it’s good for the SATs. 70% of English words came from Latin. (I think that includes words that originally came from Greek and then went through Latin before reaching English).

Great question! And there are some great answers as well, above, particularly the ones about finding a word a day, that kind of thing. Find a source for words, not too many at a time. One a day is good, and make SURE you understand the meaning & pronunciation of the word, and appropriate usage, then practice it…you can invent sentences, etc. while talking to yourself. And this shouldn’t be a daunting task, it really will work if you just spend a few minutes a day on it.

Your wish to expand your vocabulary tells me that you may have a friend, or a few friends, who perhaps have great vocabularies? If this is the case, find a friend whom you are close to, and ask him/her if you can practice a word. Ask your friend how he/she might use that word. This might help you get into the “real” world, as opposed to trying to figure out usage from some online dictionary. A good friend will never embarrass you for asking this.

Then…you have to practice in real life. I find that with my vocabulary, when I know I’m in a conversation where I might need “big” words, I speak just slightly slower, and therefore I can think at the same time, and pull out that nearly perfect word. You really need to look for opportunities to use your new words, and once you do (a couple of times), the word will most likely be available in your mental library.

Hope that helps, good luck. :)

I usually have no trouble recognizing roots (and that’s usually how I’m able to make quasi-educated guesses on these tests), but I always regret not taking Latin. :( Well, I can always start in the future.

@nope

Nope, I don’t know anyone (personally) whose vocabulary is more extensive than my own. What has always bothered me, however, is the disparity between my ability to recognize words easily and use them naturally and readily in (especially) conversation.

@DominicX

Yes, Latin is great.

You’re right, ancient Greek (which I am studying now in college) has also provided many roots and stems to English, usually through Latin, but not always. However, there are many parts that just didn’t carry over into Latin and are completely new….which makes for tough learning.

@absalom

I totally understand. It sounds like you probably know a lot of words already, perhaps you’re a good reader, or just pay attention. If that’s the case, and you actually know the words, then the key (to me) is to figure out a list of certain words you would LIKE to be able to use. I’ve done this in the past…you can’t do too many at one time, pick maybe 2, or maybe 5, depends on how much you want to pay attention to this. And I’m not judging the amount you want to pay attention, lol, it’s hard actually. So a couple, or maybe 3, words at a time, might be plenty. Pick them, be determined that you will use them. Don’t try to learn a bunch of new words, until you’ve been able to use your “list” at least once each, maybe twice. Then…move on to a couple more.

@augustlan glad to hear I’m not the only one to make that sort of idiot mistake. You’d never believe how I was pronouncing self deprecating and pseudo for years.

“Forte” and “voila” caused much shame.

PS: I took the test, and got 162 out of 200 correct. I made quite a few wild guesses. :D

<<< 187 – but I’m a word-nerd.

@augustlan, @NewZen: Impressive!

@NewZen Wow! And I thought I was a word nerd.

@augustlan Join the word nerd herd. ;-)

I’m so glad to see so many responses. I hesitate to add my own two cents, but for the fact that it is only given a brief mention. Read, read, read! The more books you read, the more words you can’t help but learn. You kind of get the gist via context, but you can always look them up while you read. Go back and read the sentence again so you get the meaning.
Some great authors for learning new words are: Douglas Adams, Lewis Carroll, and try Joseph Campbell.