What are some easy, pain free ways to improve vocabulary?

Answer 1

My favorite website is Free Rice! It has many different subjects and includes games that donate rice to those in need!

Answer 2

If you want it to be totally painless then watch documentaries, movies, and TV shows with good vocabulary--but watch them with the subtext so that you can see the words spelled out! There are science and nature documentaries, Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movie series (You'll want to read the books too), Star Trek Next Gen or Voyager :), old TV shows, Downton Abbey, Sherlock. YouTube has millions of fascinating documentary shows. Choose topics of interest and learn.

Answer 3

Read, read, read....and then read some more. Read books, comic books, cereal boxes, matchbook covers- anything and everything. Read what interests you... And when you find a new word you want to add to your vocabulary- start using it. If you can use a word at least three times, it begins to become part of your vocabulary...

Answer 4

A fun way: Find a pop song that you like, read the lyrics, sing along - learn the words!

Answer 5

I know it sounds old-fashioned, but I still like flash cards. Combine the old way of doing so with new technologies like websites like cram.com, or Spaced Repetition Systems (Duolingo uses a variation of this technology).

Answer 6

Old literature. The active vocabularies of sixteenth, seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth century authors were expansive. As the first answer referenced, reading Kindle editions with vocabulary assistance enabled allows you to immediately access the full definitions and the applied definition, while maintaining your location in the book.

Another fun way to learn is through some of the “Word A Day” applications. Some of the apps allow either randomized word selections or topical, industry, and area of study selections. This can be helpful as a “directed” vocabulary will enhance your comprehension in your specialty.

Answer 7

I agree with the above recommendation. Vocabulary can naturally be increased through reading. I recommend reading content that you enjoy so that the process is less painful.

Answer 8

Reading! The NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Economist, and similar publications are a great place to start. A more accessible—and possibly more enjoyable—option is to choose a literary fiction book and read it via a Kindle device or app. You can actually press, highlight, and define vocabulary in-text while reading. Kindles also have a built-in native technology to track and help in building vocabulary—you just need to enable it.