ESL002: Intermediate English as a Second Language

Building Vocabulary: Synonyms and Antonyms

Remembering New Words

So much goes on in our lives. It seems as if there's no room in our heads to add anything new. So what can you do? These tips for remembering new words may help. (You'll need to use a dictionary and a thesaurus).

Let's imagine that the word you just read and want to remember is the word "cantankerous". It's a great word that exactly describes the neighbor who always barks at you. Of course, we learned about using a dictionary to find the meaning of a new word, but there's so much more that we can do to really improve our vocabulary. Let's explore some of these strategies:

1. Make a connection
   

   Suppose your neighbor's name is Carlos. That name and "cantankerous" both start with the letter c. See what I mean?

2. Find synonyms

   Synonyms are words that mean the same thing as the ones you are working with. A great place to find synonyms is in a thesaurus. Two synonyms for "cantankerous" are "irritable" and "grumpy".
   
   

3. Find antonyms

   Antonyms are words that mean the opposite of the one you're trying to remember. "Easy-going" and "mellow" are antonyms for "cantankerous".
   
   

4. Make up a sentence

   Now, try to pull all the words together in a sentence. Okay, here goes:
   Carl can be cantankerous sometimes, incredibly irritable and grumpy, but at other times, he is quite easy-going.

So what is a thesaurus?

This is a type of dictionary that will show words with similar and opposite meanings for the word you want to learn. This tutorial explains how to use a thesaurus.

A good thesaurus can also be found online. Most major dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster, Collins, or Oxford, also provide an online thesaurus option. Feel free to click on the links below to see synonyms and antonyms listed by two major dictionaries for the word "cheap". As you can see, there are quite a few options to choose from!

• Merriam-Webster https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cheap
• Collins https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english-thesaurus/cheap

Below you can also see the list of synonyms and antonyms for the word "cheap" found on thesaurus.com.

Now that we remember how to find and use a thesaurus, let's take a closer look at other ways to build your vocabulary.

Source:

Text adapted from TV411
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

Image from Wikimedia Commons
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License.