Is there a trick to memorize words?

Question

I have a hard time memorizing some words. E.g. I always forget what profound and confound mean. Everytime I encounter these words my mind goes blank. I look up these words immeaditely in the electronic dictionairy to refresh my memory, but the the next time I encounter these words again, I have already forgotten them. There is a set of words that I know I have seen them a bunch of time and have looked up the meaning several times, but I can't come up with the meaning.

So yeah, I have recall problems.... I can't memorize high frequent words in my reading.

Tips?

GPY · Accepted Answer

You could try copying some example sentences containing the problem words (e.g. from dictionaries), then replace the relevant words with blanks. Then you could go through all the sentences (best to mix up the order first), trying to fit the right words from the list into the blanks. You could repeat this once in a while -- maybe it would help to make the meanings stick.

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousI always forget what profound and confound mean.

Try not to learn two words that look so much alike. Just concentrate on one of them for a while and ignore the other. You can tackle the other one later.

Don't try to memorize individual words. Memorize phrases that contain some hints about the meanings of the words. Example:

To win the Nobel prize in chemistry you need a profound knowledge of the subject. Remember: profound knowledge

Memorize the word and its opposite together if possible. Example:

I have only a superficial understanding of particle physics, but one of my friends has a profound understanding of the subject. Remember: superficial understanding / profound understanding

CJ

Blue Jay · Answer

if you are confusing similar words, it can be helpful if you can think of a sentence that has a reminder of which word goes there, e.g. The PROfessor had a PROfound knowledge of PROduction PROblems.
"The CONstitution will CONfound you", observed the CONvicted CONgressman.

AlpheccaStars · Answer

I used to sing words that were difficult to remember. Put them in a catchy phrase, even in your own language and set it to a melody.

We learn by seeing, hearing, touching, and moving. The more "learning channels" you use, the more likely it is that you will be successful in learning.

Anonymous · Answer

Thanks for the tips.

The weird thing is that many less frequent words are immeaditely ingrained in my brain after I have learned the definition only once.
Words like pivot, brethren and so forth. These words I don't encounter much in my reading, but I can still recall the meaning after not hearing or reading these words for a long time.

I've been thinking why that is the case and I think it is because these words can be used in the same way as in my native tongue. It's hard for me to explain, but think about the word dog. Dog is an easy word because it is clear what it means and how we can use it. Sayings and idioms with the word dog are similiar to my native language. Words that can directly translated in my native language are easier to grasp because the concept behind the words is the same.

Then again there were words like gluttony and sloth that I couldn't recall their meaning despite the fact that I looked up the definition several times. But I did know these words are from the seven sins.

I think I just get frustrated when I don't know the exact meaning of a word in a particular context, especially when I know what the word in general means.

Is there a trick to memorize words?

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