Tag Archives: vocabulary

Fun Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

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Having a broad vocabulary can be useful for a lot of things. It can help you to read, watch and listen to a wider range of materials and have a better understanding of the content. It can give you the tools that you need to speak and write more eloquently and get your point across in more creative and profound ways. It can also just be a lot of fun to know more words and how to use them!

You probably pick up a new word every now and then, but if you want to actively improve your vocabulary, try these tips–

Play Word Games

Playing word games is a good way to learn new words and start expanding your vocabulary. Many word games rely on you knowing the definitions of words, being able to rearrange letters to make words, or perhaps being able to find hidden words. There are some fun word game apps that you might find you enjoy even more than scrolling through Instragam. You can even use tools like Wordscapes answers that helps you unscramble letters. The more you use something like this, the less that you will find you need to “cheat” as your vocabulary grows.

Read More

Reading is always a great activity if you want to improve your vocabulary, and the more broadly you read, the more diverse the vocabulary you encounter will be. You might like reading novels, but you should also read non-fiction, news articles, opinion pieces, essays or anything else that you find enjoyable. As well as reading physical books, listening to audio-books will help you know how to pronounce new words. The more you read, the more your vocabulary will grow, especially if you commit to a diverse range of materials. A little bit of reading every day can make a big difference in your vocabulary.

Watch and Listen, too

Along with reading, you can benefit from watching and listening to diverse materials as well. Whether you watch TV dramas and movies, consume documentaries, or listen to the radio, podcasts or even music, you can learn new words. Just like with books and reading materials, you can explore lots of different media and find things that you enjoy. You can find plenty to watch and listen to for free online, by searching for videos on YouTube, from TED talks to comedy or informative how-tos.

Expand Your Circle

Finally, surrounding yourself with people from diverse backgrounds — both in upbringing and physical location — is a way to ensure you aren’t constantly hearing from people who look and sound like you. This will not only improve and build your vocabulary, but your ideas and views of the world as well.

You can improve your vocabulary in lots of different ways. Keep exploring the world around you to learn new words all the time!

P.S. How to put NEW language skills into practice. 

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mid-week round-up

What have you been up to loves? Last weekend, Chet and I saw Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…complete with a huge tub of popcorn. Have you seen it? Sometimes I just can’t get over how good an actor Leo is! Hope you have a fantastic week, do a few things for your own enjoyment, and here are some links you might want to check out…

The best street art in every state.

How to give constructive criticism without making it awkward.

Everyone knows about urine-detector dye, despite the fact that it has 100% never existed.

These cookies are my new favorite thing.

How to eat candy like a Swedish person.

24 books under 200 pages, recommended by TED speakers.

An ice cream truck owner who hates influencers so much he charges them double.

When should you tell a child their adopted?

A fish pie loaded with summer’s bounty.

Fall is right around the corner!

Sweet new merch from Call Your Girlfriend.

16 words people often mix up that can make you look foolish.

P.S. A few Finding Delight posts you may have missed — My Favorite Words and The Truths We Hold — Continued Material.

Are you a word nerd?

word nerd

I recently started following the Twitter account @HaggardHawks and I can’t get enough. They tweet old and unusual words, language facts, and a daily Word of the Day. Here are a few random nuggets of knowledge I’ve learned as a result…

  1. A nooklet is a little nook or corner. i.e. The most adorable sounding place to send your toddler for Time Out.
  2. In 17th century English, balderdash was a mixture of beer and buttermilk. Now I can win the board game of the same name with all my useless knowledge!
  3. The word hoverboard was added to the Oxford English Dictionary in September 2015. But still not added to my LIFE. 
  4. The place a hibernating animal hibernates is called its hibernaclei.e. How I will be referring to my bed until Spring. 
  5. Increasing the size of a typeface by one point means increasing it by precisely 1/72nd of an inchYour professor will neeeeever notice. 
  6. paraphernalia was originally all of a woman’s possessions that didn’t automatically become her husband’s property after marriage. i.e. What I will yell at Chet when he tries to use my stuff once we’re wed…”Get out of my PARAPHERNALIA, babe!” 
  7. Straughty-squinty is an old Scots dialect word describing a route that is intermittently straight and then winding. I know a few folks’ life paths which could be described as such as well. 
  8. “Butter upon bacon” was 19th century slang for needless extravagance. i.e. The Paleo Diet. 
  9. In 17th century English, a piss-prophet was a doctor who diagnosed diseases by examining patients’ urine. i.e. Me, when my pee is crystal clear; “Wow, I am the MOST healthy today.” 
  10. The Inuit word iritajangajut means ‘hands that appear wrinkled because they’ve been immersed in water too long’. I prefer “prune fingers” but I’ll give this new one a go…it sounds a lot less creepy. 

If you hear me busting out any words like these at a future dinner party you’ll totally know my secret. Haha! Hop on over to Twitter and give Haggard Hawks a follow if you want a fun and informative bit of word nerdiness to look forward to as you scroll through your feed! And if you’d like to follow yours truly, you can find me HERE. Make sure to say “Hello!” if you do. xoxo

What are your favorite accounts to follow on Twitter? I’d love recommendations!