Introduction
Words constitute the essence of language. A speech or a written passage, however short or large, is essentially a group of sentences, and a sentence, in its turn, is a group of words. A rich stock of words, thus, becomes quite logically an essential prerequisite for the development of language ability. All competitive examinations make a direct test of vocabulary under items like "synonym," "antonym," "sentence completion," and "cloze test." Besides, comprehension and sentence arrangement requires a competent understanding of words, their meaning, nuances, and usage.
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How to Build up Powerful Vocabulary?
Learning is difficult, forgetting is easy. It is a real challenge: how to learn words and not forget them. We can devise several methods in accordance with our habits, living conditions, and time availability. However, the basic factor that remains germane in every case is the repetition or recalling of words at short intervals, so that they are etched deep in our memory. It is advisable to learn words from newspapers, speeches, magazines, and good books because, through sentences, you can get an idea of their use and variations rather than simple denotations. Words change their nuances according to the context. For example, we can phrase out two sentences from the word "expose."
- Several leaders have been exposed for their involvement in scams.
- If you go to a good institute you will expose yourself to a better academic atmosphere.
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While the first sentence has a negative nuance, the second has a positive connotation. Thus, both the memorization of words and the understanding of their nuances and usage are necessary to develop a rich treasure of vocabulary.
You may adopt the following methods.
Card System
Make cards of a manageable size. Learn 15 new words every day from newspapers and magazines and write them on the card along with their meanings. Gradually, cards will pile up. Keep them on your reading table. Spare five minutes every day, anytime during the day. Shuffle them, give a look at the top card, and revise the words. Next time, another card will be on the top. Thus, you will go on adding and revising. More and more words will become your possession.
Calendar System
Just select a good old calendar with as many pages as possible. From the reverse side, hang it on the wall of your reading room. Write fifty good selected words on each page. Look at the page every day. Anytime during the day, whenever you feel free. Change the page after a week. Looking at the same page for a week means deepening your acquaintance with the same set of words several times. This way, you will be revising a lot of words without strain. Words will etch themselves deep into your memory.
Word Profile
Making a word profile may work as a powerful and enduring technique to master words. Make a separate profile for every important word on a separate card. Write about its meaning, its synonyms, its antonyms, its other parts of speech, its usage, and its differences from other synonyms. We may use some private symbols for our understanding.
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P: Positive: A word that should always be preferably used in a good sense is a 'P' word.
Example: Alacrity, aplomb, benign.
N: Negative: A word that should always be preferably used in a negative sense is an 'N' word.
Example: Cahoots (in collaboration). We can not say 'in cahoots with and honest person', but we can say 'in cahoots with a dishonest person'.
NT: Neutral: A word that can be used in both senses according to the need of the context.
Example: Catalyst. Tyranny acts as a catalyst for terrorism. A challenge acts as a catalyst for a brave man to show his worth.
C: Concrete: There are certain words that have a definite shape and size, a physical entity. Such a word is a 'C' word.
Example: Lamp. A lamp is a concrete thing.
A: Abstract: There are certain words that have an abstract form. They exist only on the level of idea. Such a word is an 'A' word.
Example: Kindness, hiatus, aplomb,
O: Open: There are certain words that can be used in both concrete and abstract senses. Such a word is an 'O' word.
Example: Fetter. Fetter means a chain of iron. The prisoner is in fetters. Fetter also means some kind of bondage. India is in fetters of poverty and unemployment. Fan. A fan in the concrete sense means a device to give air. In the abstract sense, it means to enhance. It is a new fan. Suppression fans protest.
S: Specific: There are certain words that have a specific meaning. Such a word is an 'S' word.
Example 1: Ablution. It means cleaning the body or a part of a body before doing a ritual.
Example 2: Franchise. It means the right to vote.
L: Living: There are certain words that can be used only for living things.
Example: Gregarious. Man is gregarious. Such a word is an 'L' word.
NL: Not Living: There are certain words that can be used only for non-living things.
Example: Cogent. We can say that it is a cogent argument. We cannot say that Ramesh is a cogent man.
U: Universal: There are certain words that can be used for both living and non-living.
Example: Excellent. Mr Sinha is an excellent man. It is an excellent idea or proposal. Both sentences are correct. Such a word is a 'U' word.
These are our personally developed symbols. You can make symbols according to your choice. The idea is to catalogue more and more uses of words. In the above manner, you can make profiles of words. Words that are learnt in such detail will remain in memory forever, or at least for a long time.
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A Model Word Profile
Word: Fantastic
Part of speech: Adjective
Other parts of Speech: Fantastically (Adverb)
Synonyms: Excellent, large, wonderful, strange, unlikely, unbelievable.
Antonyms: Common, small, familiar, ordinary,
Usage:
- Something very good and exciting. This painting is fantastic.
- A very large amount of something. This business has brought me a fantastic profit.
- Strange. This bird is fantastic because its colour is unusual.
- Unbelievable. This story is too fantastic to believe.
Symbols:
- NT - It has both positive and negative nuances.
- O - It can be used in both concrete senses. and abstract
- U - It can be used both for human beings and non-living things.{alertInfo}