Easy exercises to expand your vocabulary for every day

Let’s say you need to describe a person. You use the word beautiful. If you have a limited vocabulary, this could be the only word you know! If however, you are skilled, you could think of other words such as stunning, ravishing or elegant. If you read on, you will find a host of useful and easy exercises you can use to expand vocabulary and learn new vocab words:

Challenge yourself to learn one new word each day

This is a simple exercise that doesn’t even take much time or effort! Learning a new word each day is possibly one of the best ways to improve vocabulary. You could set out a plan on your calendar or even create a small spreadsheet. Use this plan/sheet to log the new word that you learn every day. You can then refer back to your log and refresh your memory of the words. Consider giving yourself a test at the end of each week for example? To find new words, you could look at websites, pick up a dictionary or read a book for example.



Try out word games such as crosswords and word searches

If you are looking at how to expand vocabulary in a fun and challenging way, try word games . There are a plethora of fun and testing word games you can play. You don't have to spend hours taxing your brain – just try and complete one or two word games each day. This really can go a long way to improve your vocabulary – you can also improve your mental prowess at the same time. Popular literary games you could try, include crosswords and word searches. Crosswords will encourage you to think outside the box – you can learn new words and also gain insight into their meaning. Word searches, on the other hand, will test your visual skills whilst improving your knowledge.

Use a dictionary or online Thesaurus

As we live in a digital world, you can easily access useful online tools in the UK and Ireland. Two really great tools that can help improve vocabulary are a dictionary and thesaurus. For students, these tools have more than one use too. To improve your vocabulary you can use a Vocabulary Builder or dictionaries to use new words in your essay. Both a dictionary and thesaurus are also brilliant resources to learn new vocab words. A thesaurus especially is a gold mine – you can type in an item, such as “fantastic”, and see a list of synonyms too like, “magnificent, brilliant and stupendous”. So, your skill will grow and quality of your essay writing will get better.

Set apart 30 minutes each day to read a book

Reading can benefit a student in many different ways. It can help expand your horizons and imagination. It can also help your studies and essay writing. Yes, you have to pay for books, but the rewards are great, and there are some amazing custom books to be found. Furthermore, you can pick up decent books anywhere

in the UK, Ireland and the south. When reading, your brain will absorb new words – your vocabulary will improve without even realizing it!

Engage in meaningful conversations

It is said that the art of conversation is dead. Why not try and revive it and boost your own vocab at the same time? Simply speaking to someone and holding a conversation is a fantastic exercise to undertake. We don’t have to communicate using mobile phones or email – physically talking to someone can be just as effective! We live our lives online, but we can still talk! Each day, try to hold a lengthy conversation with someone – your friends, family or even a teacher. During the conversation, you can try out new words and practice what you have learned.

Proof read and edit your own writing material

A final exercise we have listed to improve vocabulary is to proofread your own writing. Most people use an automated spell-checker such as the one in Microsoft, or a tool like Grammarly. Whilst using these tools can improve your efficiency, it can also make you complacent. Consider proofreading your own work. Once you have completed an essay – read it – look for errors. This will help improve your spelling, it will also help you think of how sentences are formulated and even possibilities to improve your text with synonyms.

As you can see, improving your vocabulary can be easy! All you have to do is try out a few of these exercises. In no time at all, you should be capable of vastly increasing your vocabulary! As a result, your writing and conversational techniques should also improve.