How to Increase Vocabulary with Natural Curiosity

Vocabulary-building can be work, or it can be fun. Words are extremely interesting if you let your curiosity guide you. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Dictionary
• Paper or notebook and pen

1. Open the dictionary at random and turn the pages, scanning the words at the top that tell you which are the first and last words on each page.
2. Stop when one of the words catches your interest. It may be an odd word that makes you curious about its meaning, or it may be a word you’ve read before whose meaning you don’t know but would like to know. It might also be a word lower on the page that catches your eye.
3. Read all the definitions of the word. Write down the word and at least one of its definitions.
4. Pick a word in the definition that is unfamiliar, and look up that word in the dictionary. If by chance you know every word in the definition thoroughly, go back to Step 1.
5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until you have a list of at least 10 words. Read through the list and try to think of an occasion where you might use at least two of the words.
6. Before going to bed at night, read through the list again.
7. Repeat this exercise as often as you like; but at least once a week.

Tips & Warnings

• Often while looking up a word, your eye will fall on another word that stimulates your curiosity. Write that word down and look it up later when you have finished following your current train of definitions.