to think there must be a way to add 100 words to my vocabulary

[MariaWaria]

I'd like to expand my vocabulary - this is very much for me and not out of any desire to impress or fit in. But how do I do this?

Have previously signed up for sites where you're emailed a word a day but the words were too obsure; just want to get more words into my vocabulary that I can draw on in general conversation but struggling to do this.

Would like to add 100 words, yet it's not as simple as picking 100 words from the dictionary.

AIBU to ask if there's a technique for doing this or if anyone has ideas?

Read more. That’s the easiest way to do it.

Visit writing forums online.

Read. A variety of books. You come across the new words in context. Have a dictionary to hand in case you don't understand the word.

Agree with PP, read a wide variety of books in different genres. This is the best way IMHO.

Yes read more! Join a library book club and also find out if any library near you has subscription news or papers eg economist, New Yorker.

Read more and from different sources.
Win win.
You get a wider vocabulary and more information or a wider literary scope.
You can also write a lot and look up words to use as alternatives.

Agree, read, read ,read!

And write. When you have time write some short pieces and revise /rewrite using a Thesaurus to expand your vocabulary. Try to write a piece "in the style of" for fun.

Just read, read, read. Everything you can get your hands on. Look up any words you don't know. You can get dictionary and thesaurus apps for your phone.

There are certain newspapers which are deliberately written with a reading and comprehension target age of 14 years old. Avoid those!

Thanks all. Reading is not my favourite thing to do but understand it could be helpful.

Any other non - reading suggestions?

Why is it that you want to improve you vocabulary then?

Of course read - that's how people extend any language capacity. Choose books that challenge you, you won't only improve your vocabulary but a lot of other things, too. Have a read of this excellent article from the Guardian the other day, it happens to be about teaching literature in Australia, but all the points made are globally applicable. www.theguardian.com/books/2017/dec/24/the-difficulty-is-the-point-teaching-spoon-fed-students-how-to-really-read

No.

Reading is the easiest way.

Try National Geographic for non-fiction. Read the classics. It may be worth starting with the children's classics, if you have never read them.

Wanting to learn new words without reading is like trying to get fit without exercising.

Sorry if you're not keen, but reading really is the best way to improve both vocabulary and spelling.

(I'm not saying you can't spell!! I'm just saying the correct spellings sink in by osmosis when you read a lot)

I was also going to say read more because I think that's the best way.

Are you aware of certain words that you use frequently? Perhaps you could start by identifying those and then looking up and adding an alternative word that means the same thing to your vocabulary.

Could you change the newspaper you read to a different one, so that you are exposed to different writers and their own styles of writing and reporting. Or watch a different news or current events programme? Or change the radio station you listen to?

Then pay attention to the language used and make an effort to include words you wouldn't normally use into your daily speech.

Are you aware of certain words that you use frequently? Perhaps you could start by identifying those and then looking up and adding an alternative word that means the same thing to your vocabulary.

That often leads to comedy sentences where people haven’t seen a word used properly in context so get it wrong.

National Geographic is a great read - they often do special offer subscriptions this time of year - I took one out in Feb which equated to £1.50 a magazine. Then when I've read it DH has a read and we give it to my DM. Then we give a pile of them to the charity shop. So everyone benefits!

Cd / downloads of classic books. Older works tend to have more descriptive and complex sentences.
Tale of two cities
Jane Eyre
Sherlock Holmes
Frankenstein
Around the world in 80 days

onalongsabbatical thanks for posting that article. It was very interesting (if slightly depressing).

Ok so not reading... what about watching things that are a bit different to your normal viewing pleasures? If you are a big soap opera fan maybe try Sherlock, Downtown Abbey, C.S.I .
If you already watch those maybe try some documentaries, history and nature type things. Cosmos? Debates on YouTube are actually quite entertaining. I like the late Christopher Hitchens debating religion.
Q.I with Stephen fry is good.

Basically just do something different.

Good luck with a great idea 👍 😃

That often leads to comedy sentences where people haven’t seen a word used properly in context so get it wrong

That's like saying I'm not going to practice my French/Spanish/German because I might say a wrong word and look stupid. . When a foreign person says a word in the wrong context or pronunciation, it sounds endearing, so maybe it can be the same in our own language.

Better to experiment, try things out, get a few things wrong and keep learning.

Synonyms are easy to look up on a web Thesaurus because they give common usage of the different words, so it is possible to check it out beforehand.

Actually even watching old film versions would help.

I expanded my vocab by reading Mumsnet! Especially the politics and legal forums.

Join a debating club?

I do have a wide vocabulary which I think must have to do with all the reading I did as a child. Fortunately my friends regard me with amused tolerance rather than wanting to punch my head for being a “swot”.