Some people think that vocabulary is synonymous with intelligence like epicenter synonym. However, while it’s true that the more you know, the smarter you are, it’s only one of many skills that goes into being a good writer. Learning new words can help you expand your vocabulary and sound smarter in general — but as with anything else, there’s a right way and a wrong way to go about this.
In this article we’ll talk about the things to watch out for when learning new words.
1. What to learn
You might assume the best way to learn new words is to find them in a dictionary and look them up, but that’s not necessarily the case. If you don’t already know the meaning of the word, you’re probably not going to be able to make sense of it, and this can limit your understanding of what you read even further.
The best time for anyone to learn new words is when they’re actually on their lips — this is known as “active vocabulary” — so you should definitely start with everyday vocabulary from your native language.
Other languages can help, too — the similarities between different words in different languages can sometimes help you learn new terms and expand your vocabulary.
For example, look at the words “build” and “bauen” — both of these are used in German to mean “to build”, but they both come from completely different roots.
The same goes for words like “brush” and “bürste”. The French word for “bed”, le lit, is also the same word as the German word for “resting place”. Other languages feature a variety of similar words.
Learning such words will give you a wider understanding of their meaning, where they come from and how they evolved into what we use them for today.
2. Using the words
You can’t just know a word and then forget it, unless you’re a dictionary or something. The best way to learn new vocabulary is to use them in your own speech — but you should make sure they’re used correctly, too.
After all, if you use the word “keels” instead of “kneels”, people are going to be very confused (and probably annoyed). You could also come up with some original expressions or figures of speech if you combine various words together. This doesn’t just expand your vocabulary; it also makes for interesting sentences in their own right.
There are plenty of websites out there that can help with this step, like Verbix and Verbalicious .
3. Don’t be a parrot
The third tip for expanding your vocabulary effectively and efficiently is to ensure that you stay away from parroting words back to yourself or others.
One way to do this is by listening to the way words are used in everyday speech — if you listen, you’ll pick up on some new words without having to force yourself to remember them.
Another great option is simply reading more — it’s easy enough for anyone can do, so it’s no wonder that writing a blog is such a popular hobby nowadays, with thousands of people doing it every day.
People who write blogs tend to use a wide variety of words, and so you’ll learn a whole lot just from reading what they have to say.
Just make sure you don’t only read books on the same subject — that kind of narrow-mindedness is something to be avoided. Expanding your vocabulary doesn’t have to be about bulking up your head with a bunch of new information and learning how to parrot it back at will; instead, focus on picking up the kinds of words that are actually useful in your everyday life.
It’s better and easier than trying to remember a bunch of words you’re never going to use.
4. Don’t get overwhelmed
One last tip for learning new vocabulary is to not try and do too much at once.
New writers have a tendency to believe that the only way they can improve their writing is by learning new words, but this isn’t true. Some of the best writers in history never had more than a basic vocabulary, but they still managed to write some amazing pieces of literature.
This shouldn’t stop you from expanding your vocabulary as well as your creativity — but don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by trying to learn too many new things at once. Stick with smaller chunks and focus on understanding them fully before moving on to the next thing.
5. Don’t be too picky
The final tip for learning new vocabulary is not to be too picky about which words you decide to learn.
There’s nothing wrong with being picky, but you need to keep in mind that different words are used differently, and this will change how they’re used and sound over time.
For example, “earn” has been used in the English language for many centuries to mean “to earn money”, while its counterpart “accrue” is more recent and is often used in relation to taxes or debts.
