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Ways to remember the SPELLING and MEANING of wordsThe following
are some strategies to help us:
1) Looking at the Prefix and Suffix
Prefix = attachment to front of word
Suffix = attachment to back of word
Example:
AntisocialAnti(=against), social(=humans existing together)
By combining the prefix (anti) and the suffix (social), we can
get an idea of what the wordantisocial means. An antisocial can
refer to a person causing harm to other people in a society.
2) Looking at a simpler word form
Example:
Capability
Comes from the word capable.
Crystallise
Comes from the word crystal (a noun), which is a clear
transparent rock used to make jewellery.Crystallise (a verb) means
that someones thoughts or opinions is made clear (Cambridge
Advanced Learners Dictionary, 2ndedn.)
3) Using a dictionary with simpler meanings
Example:
Egregious
=Conspicuously bad (Merriam-Websters Collegiate Dictionary,
11thedn.)
=extremely bad (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary,
6thedn.)
conspicuously bad is a more accurate meaning than extremely bad.
However, extremely bad is
easier to understand.
(Advantage of junior dictionariesmeanings easier to
understand)
(Disadvantage of junior dictionariesless words and meanings
given)
4) Finding out how the word can be used
Example:
Debilitating
a debilitating disease/ The troops were severely debilitated by
hunger and disease./ She foundthe heat debilitating. (Oxford
Advanced Learners Dictionary, 6thedn.)
5) Looking at the original language the word came from
Example:
Mortify
mortificre(in Latin) means put to death (Collins English
DictionaryComplete and Unabridged,
2003). So if we say he mortified his appetite, it means he
controlled his appetite (=he did not
overeat). In modern usage, however, to mortify someone means to
embarrass someone.
To become good in English, we need to look at: DICTIONARIES
2012 Joelson Tang
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6) Linking one meaning with other meanings
Example:
Obliterate
(1)to remove all sign or something, either by destroying it or
by covering it so that it cannot be
seen.
(2)to make an idea or feeling disappear completely. (Cambridge
Advanced Learners Dictionary,
2ndedn.)
See how the first and second meaning are in a way similar?
7) Associating with a story
Example:
Repudiate
Repudiate means to reject an idea. Sounds like
rap-puke-date.
Someone goes to the disco to rap and pukes (because he raps too
much). After he has puked
(vomited), he decides to go on a date with another disco-goer.
This kind of actions do not sound
very correct, so we reject doing all this.
8) Comparing with Synonyms and Antonyms (using a Thesaurus)
Synonyms= words with similar meanings
Antonyms= words with opposite meanings
Example:
Malicious
Synonymshostile, jealous, harmful, full of hate (Moby Thesaurus
II, 1stedn.)
Antonymstolerant, generous (Concise English Synonym and Antonym
Dictionary, 2ndedn.)
9) Taking note of small differences in spelling
Example:
Compliment and Complement
These words have similar spellings but completely different
meanings.
If you compliment someone, you say something very nice to them:
She complimented me on my
English.
If one thing complements another, the two things work or look
better because they are
together: The different flavours complement each other
perfectly. (Oxford Advanced Learners
Dictionary, 6th
edn.)
10) Look at the spelling and meaning often
Example:
Conspicuous
To make remembering the spelling easier, we break the word up
into cons-pi-cuous (according to
pronunciation) and remember the word in parts.
We should record unfamiliar words in a notebook and construct
our own sentences using those
words. By looking into the notebook as often as possible, the
word and its meaning will be in our
long-term memory.
To become good in English, we need to look at: DICTIONARIES2012
Joelson Tang
