Increase your vocabulary by elaborating on the meaning of a word

Elaboration is a simple yet effective tool if you want to increase your vocabulary. It is particularly useful for improving your word retention skills.

When you attach familiar information to an unfamiliar word, that's elaboration. The more you elaborate on a word, the more you can remember what it means. There are many kinds of elaboration you can use to learn words faster, but we will only discuss the two most effective kinds: related words and usage examples.

Related words

Related words are simply words that have some kind of connection with each other. The two most significant kinds of related words are those that have the same meanings, or synonyms, and those that have the opposite meanings, or antonyms. For example, take the word strong. One of its synonyms is powerful, and an antonym is weak.

Another kind of related word, which is less common, is the homonym, which is a word that is identical in spelling and pronunciation, but different in meaning. For example, the word match could mean either: a partner; a competition; or that thing we use to light a fire.

Usage examples

Learning a word involves seeing that word as it is used in different sentences and in varying contexts. The more examples you see, the faster you can learn a word. If you seriously want to increase your vocabulary, you can even try using vocabulary-building software which will show you many different examples of a word in action. Our recommended software, Ultimate Vocabulary uses its Word Inspector to do this for you.

There are many other sources of usage examples. You can try the dictionary or the Internet. If you read a lot, you may also see other examples of a word's usage in books.
After looking at the examples provided by vocabulary software or dictionaries, it is time to create your own usage example. If you use a word in a context that is more familiar to you, then it is easier to remember that word and retain it in your long-term memory.

How can I use elaboration with Computer Software?

Our choice of software, Ultimate Vocabulary uses an excellent program that highlights the importance of elaboration. Almost every exercise, word game and test included in the Ultimate Vocabulary software program encourages you to use elaboration as a means to increase your vocabulary.

The Word Inspector feature of the program will also increase your vocabulary by elaboration because it actually provides you with a complete list of related words, as well as an exhaustive record of almost all possible usage examples.