If you are looking to develop a rich vocabulary, there are plenty of things you can try to lend yourself a helping hand. Words are used around the world every day in so many dialects and forms. They are how people communicate most freely with one another and hoping to build on what you know is always admirable. This guide is filled with seven effective ways to develop a rich vocabulary.
Read
One of the best things you can do if you are trying to increase your knowledge of native words is to pick up a book and get reading. As you turn every page there are bound to be new discoveries for you to uncover. Words you never knew before or had yet to put into a working context. Phrases that use established vocabulary in different forms. Books are great spaces to pick up new things and reaffirm what you already know as well.
Play Word Games
Word games are one of the most popular formats of online gaming and app-style gaming too. Whether you are looking for a game like this that helps you unscramble letters to form new words, or something else entirely, there is bound to be a format out there that suits what you like and your learning style. Popular word games include:
- Anagram styles
- Hidden words
- Crosswords
- Riddles
- Hangman
These varieties have all evolved through the creation of modern apps and take new shape in a range of games and styles.
Become a Grammar Nerd
If you really want to perfect your vocabulary and push it to a new level, you should try your hand at being a grammar nerd. Take time out of your week where you systematically approach pieces of writing and break down the grammatical structures, language choices, and areas for improvement. This can be a paid position (if you can find the work) or just for fun. Anything in this area will organically increase your vocabulary intake. The more you focus on language and its inner workings, the more you pick up as you move.
Get an Editing Job
Editing online content, essays, business papers, and more is a way to expose your mind to new words in different contexts. A big part of finding new words to play with is stepping outside of your comfort zone, what you know, and how you usually operate and exploring new paths. You might never have read a business journal before, but once you’ve finished editing it you will have naturally acquired at least a dozen new terms and phrases that you never had before.
Start Blogging
Along a different path but a similar theme, when you start a blog, you open up a platform of opportunity. The words you put down on paper will naturally grow as you explore and create pieces around more and more topics or themes. Whether you chose to write about something you are an expert in, or just generalize in various topics, blog creatives are exposed to words on a daily basis. Getting set up is nice and easy too. A short internet search should give you the results you need to get going, and you (thankfully) don’t need too much technical knowledge to get up and running.
Actively Use a Dictionary and Thesaurus Combination
Dictionaries and thesauruses are both underused tools. Not only are they a wealth of knowledge, but they have all the words you could dare to conjugate in your native language. So this feels like a great sounding board for actually finding new source material and building your vocab. Have them with you at all times while writing especially and take an active ten minutes every day to look through and find something that sparks an interest and joy. You can then take your findings and transfer them to a personal book that you created just for your eyes to fall back on.
Have a Word of the Day
There are lots of websites and apps that provide a word of the day to add to your vocabulary. This is a small thing, but if you learn one new word every single day over the course of a year that is 365 new words for your word bank! This could be one of the most direct routes to finding a new language because the research part is done for you, you just have to sit back and absorb the message. There is a reason why these types of apps are so popular! When learning is made fun, it is easier to remember.
There are plenty of innovative ways to enrich your vocabulary. If you enjoy word games, there are thousands to choose from. If a conversation is more of your style, get out there and talk. Whatever you decide upon, an active approach is the only way to positively accumulate words.
