Improve Your Vocabulary in Three Easy Steps: Step Three

 

The Shortcut to Improving Your Speech and Writing

Click here to read first step

Click here to read second step

Last time, we discussed Step Two, which was: Reference, like dictionaries, encyclopedias, etc. But to spare you from having to run for a dictionary every time a new word pops up, you can save a lot of time by getting a handle on Step Three:

3. Roots. The cool thing about roots, which are word parts, is that they are like master keys. I’ll explain: When you come across a word you don’t know, you’re running into a locked door, in a way, right? And when you look up the definition for that word, you are finding the key that unlocks that door, and as long as you know that word, the door stays unlocked. Good, but I’m sure you see this problem coming a couple of blocks away: there are a lot of doors. All those hundreds of thousands of words that people use—there are going to be quite a few we don’t know. Do we memorize tons of definitions? Well, the good news is that we can—we certainly have already. Heck, we’ve memorized an astonishing amount by the time we’re toddlers, haven’t we, and can babble on about an impressive array of topics and even make up stories.

But the better news is this: Instead of adding keys to our already huge, clanking janitor’s key ring, we can borrow the super’s key ring, with the master keys. The master keys are the roots, together with other word parts. Here is a basic definition of word parts:

Root: Basic meaning. Sometimes a word consists of just the root, such as flex or script, but more often you will see the root appearing with additions, of:

Prefix: Word part placed in front of the root, for example:

    (dis)trust, (re)work, (mis)spell

    More than one prefix may appear:

    (dis)(en)chant, (in)(con)gruent

Suffix: Word part placed after the root, for example:

    mut(able), tenta(tive), funda(ment)

    More than one suffix may be used:

    beauti(ful)(ly), vent(ure)(some)

Of course, both prefixes and suffixes may be used:

(ir)(re)place(able), (in)nate(ly)

Words that are formed by adding various prefixes and suffixes are called derivatives. Here are the many derivatives of the root JECT, “to throw”:

project             eject             interjection

projected         ejected         conjecture

projecting        ejecting        conjectural

projection        ejection        reject

projectionist    ejector          rejection

projector          interject        rejected

projectile         interjected

Words can also be formed by putting two roots together. For example:

thermo (heat) + meter (measure) = that which measures heat

demo (people) + cracy (rule) = rule by the people

In my next series of articles, I will introduce you to a variety of prefixes, suffixes and roots from Greek and Latin, two of the most influential languages on English. Here are some Greek prefixes to get you started:

a, an – without  - amoral, atheism, anaerobic

anti, ant – against  - antibiotic, antisocial, antagonist

cata – down  - catalyst, catapult

dia – across, through, thoroughly  - diagonal, diaphanous, diaspora

epi – on, upon  - epidermis, epitaph, epitomize

ec – out, outside - eccentric, ecstasy, ectomorph

eu – good, pleasant  - eugenics, euphony, euthanasia

hyper – over, excessive  - hyperbole, hyperactive, hypertrophy

hypo – under, less than  - hypodermic, hypothesis, hypoglycemia

para, par – alongside  - parallel, paraphrase, paranormal

peri – around, near  - perigee, periphery, periscope

syn, sym, syl, sys- together, with  - syllable, symposium, syntax, system

If you are unfamiliar with any of the demonstration words given, you know what to do: Look ‘em up and write ‘em down!

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Improve Your Vocabulary in Three Easy Steps: Step Two

The Shortcut to Improving Your Speech and Writing

In my prior article, we learned the first step to improving one’s vocabulary: Reading. This time, we will discuss what you should do when context isn’t enough to help you suss out a word’s meaning, or when you want to know a little more about the word and how to use it. Step Two is:

2. Reference. You know what reference is—it’s those books you can’t check out of the library, right? The encyclopedia, the dictionary, the World Book (do they still make those? I'm old). Well, you can’t run to the library every time you read something new, but you could get a good dictionary for your home. Some dictionaries are definitely much better than others. I’d skip anything that said “quick reference”, for example. Dictionaries that refer to themselves as “college dictionaries” are a pretty good bet. The best dictionaries, like the legendary Oxford English Dictionary, even have an etymology for each word- where it originally comes from, the form it originally took, if it has had a different meaning at some point, et cetera. (Like “et cetera”, for example, which is Latin for “and things”. But more on that later.) And of course, you can always look up words on your phone -- be careful of trusting the AI summaries, though - they aren't that good, yet. Better to click the link and get it straight from Merriam Webster's mouth. 

Whether you are reading at home or are out and about, carry a notepad with you and make a note of any words you run across to look up later. If you hear someone use a word you don’t understand, you can ask the person what it means. If you’re embarrassed about that, you can write it down in your pad to look up later. Even if they’ve told you what it means, you should look it up later, anyway, just to be sure they were right in the first place. You might also learn more about it, like alternate meanings, spellings, and more. I do want to emphasize one thing about using reference to learn vocabulary words: one of your most powerful tools for learning is that little pad or notebook. When you look up a word and its definition, no matter whether you are using printed reference or the internet, write them down.

Again, let me stress this: write them down, the word and its definition. It has been shown that the physical act of writing something down stimulates the formation of a memory of that information. Just think of all the times you have written something important down, like a phone number, and then found sometimes you could remember it without even looking. But if you didn’t write it down? That phone number is gone, honey! And you can listen closely in class, but if you have notes, it’s a lot easier to study for that test, right? You can fill a textbook with yellow highlighter, but it still won’t be as strong as writing it out. Typing out the word to google it or saving the definition to the Notes function on your phone is not the same and doesn't make that strong pathway like actually writing the words. 

Okay, now remember when I mentioned that some dictionaries tell you what form the word may have originally taken? And do you also remember when I mentioned that when you are learning a foreign language, you may note similarities in word formations? That brings us to the third step…which we will discuss next time! 

Step 3: https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2026/03/improve-your-vocabulary-in-three-easy_28.html

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Improve Your Vocabulary in Three Easy Steps: Step One

 

The Shortcut to Improving Your Speech and Writing

Would you like to express yourself more clearly, more elegantly, more creatively, or more professionally? We could all use a boost by expanding the number of words in our repertoire (ooh, there's a good one!). There are really just three steps or habits to cultivate in order to increase your vocabulary, speak more precisely, and write better emails, papers, letters, or even books. There's no limit when you can express yourself well! 

Improving your vocabulary is not necessarily a function of learning larger words—it’s more about learning to express yourself more accurately. If you have more words at your disposal, it’s easier to pick the right one that will convey the precise shade of meaning you intend. 

For example, one day I was listening to a conversation between two coworkers when one of them said, “…and then I had an epiphany”. A fourth coworker, who was also nearby, said, “What’s an epiphany?” The speaker explained, “It’s like a religious experience.” “Then why didn’t you just say ‘a religious experience’,” she asked, dismissively. Annoyed by this willful ignorance, I chimed in, “Because he knew about ‘epiphany’.”

The larger story here is not really about butting in to other people’s conversations, or about being snotty when people use words you don’t know. The point is that ‘epiphany’, which actually has a more precise definition than ‘a religious experience’—it’s more like ‘a sudden realization that hits you as though it were a religious experience’—is a good word to know, considering how specific (and wordy!) its definition is, and how commonly we are struck by such a feeling. 

Unlike the kibitzing coworker, some people appreciate learning new words. Since you're reading this, no doubt you are one of those people, so I will present you with three easy steps to achieving a larger vocabulary, and we'll start here, with Step One:

1. Reading. The best way to learn new vocabulary words is the most enjoyable! Read like crazy. Both fiction and nonfiction can reveal new words to you, although nonfiction, especially if it’s about a subject with which you are unfamiliar, can really be a treasure trove. I’d caution you about diving into something that you know is going to be hard to get through, though—there’s no point in suffering! It might make the words harder to learn if you have to fight off boredom and frustration to get to them. Reading is a natural way to learn new vocabulary.

As those of you who have studied a foreign language will know, it’s easy for spoken words to just “bounce off” without leaving much of an impression. But when you see the words written out, you can associate the sounds with the spelling, you can spot similarities with other words, and you have a chance to go over it until you just plain puzzle it out. You can figure out lots of stuff through context, which is to say how the one word you don’t know is used in a sentence with words you do know – for example, what if you didn’t know the word ‘mandible’, but saw this sentence:

Dave’s mandible, broken in the car accident, was wired in place to heal, so Dave had to sip liquids through a straw for several weeks.

I’m pretty confident that you could work out that a mandible was a jawbone. But what if Dave broke his ‘sternum’ and had to be in a body cast? A body cast covers lots of stuff. You might not be able to figure out that a sternum is a breastbone just from context. How to address this problem? Find out next time in Step Two!

https://bucketofuseful.blogspot.com/2026/03/improve-your-vocabulary-in-three-easy_20.html

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