Vocabulary Expansion (1 Viewer)

[S1M0]

As the title suggests, i wish to expand my vocabulary somewhat.

Any suggestions, other than reading a lot, as to how i would achieve this?

 

[alcalder]

The way my Dad forced me to do this was to do crosswords and not just the quick crossword but the Cryptic Crossword.

The only way to get these done is with a thesauraus and nothing helps the ol' vocab except trawling through one of those things with a purpose.

 

[Forbidden.]

Reading dictionaries.

"My brother is rather inert." sounds better than "My brother's lazy."

 

[S1M0]

Great advice, thanks guys!

*grabs dictionary*

 

[whyjonathan]

haha, i'm replying to another one of your threads.

just cracking the dictionary open is a bad idea, in my opinion. without getting an idea of how the words are actually used and played with your writing will end up sounding awkward and stilted.

for me the best way to discover new words is simply by reading. the more you read, the more you familiarise yourself with the language and techniques of authors, and the better your own writing will be. Try F. Scott Fitzgerald - I'm reading one of his books at the moment and his vocabulary is brilliant.

 

[bringbackshred]

Read higher level things - things which will tend to have a formal register. Academic stuff, etc. If you come across a word you don't know, anywhere, look it up and try to use it in its correct context. Use thesauruses a lot and try and find the most pompous sounding word for everything.

And it's not a matter of reading a lot, it's a matter of reading the right stuff. Make sure you know what every word you come across means.

They're all the tips that got me to where I am (being called a walking dictionary/thesaurus).

 

[S1M0]

Noticed some new replies, each displaying useful advice.

Thanks.

 

[your.knee]

When I write essays and feel I cuold substitute in a more sophisticated word I use the thesaurus on my computer. If you have an iMac, use the thesaurus in a click and then if you see a word which would work, use it. If you're not sure what it means, just switch to dictionary and see if it fits into the context you want.

... Or read.

 

[frontman]

Who you hang around with also helps. Having intelligent conversations with intelligent people will help you to use and process sophisicated language in real life. Intelligent conversation gives place for 'intelligent' (-sounding) words - (without intending to be elitist) above the average teenager's everyday vocabulary.

 

[f(sex)]

play the board game articulate

its great, i play it all the time during ext 2 (well, just this one lesson today actually)

but seriously

you dont NEED a larger vocabulary
its more important to have better expression

i mean, using big words is kinda useless if the context doesnt require it

 

[open windows]

I like http://freerice.com/

It's a vocabularly building site.

 

[thesoftparade]

Make pompous friends.

 

[chumpette]

that free rice website is sooooooooo good!!!

 

[ccc123]

Just subscribe to Dictionary.com- it sends you a new word everyday.

 

[Hysterik]

I like http://freerice.com/

It's a vocabularly building site.

Omg you took my suggestion! It's an awesome site, you're also helping to save the world (or that's what I like to think).