We use words all the time to express what we feel, think, and want. But have you ever wondered whether you are using the appropriate word? The right word to express your thoughts and emotions? Are you thoughtfully using words to convey shades of meaning? Or are you using boiler-plate templates of phrases and words which ‘fit’ into a current situation?
Words are like people. It takes time to get to know them. You have to meet them in different contexts. And just like people, they may be multi-layered and at times, misunderstood. You have to spend a lot of time with a person to become a good friend: someone whom you really understand. The same goes for words.
So, what does it mean to know a word?
- Well, to know a word means to be aware of its dictionary meaning.
- It also means to be aware of the other words that usually go with it. It’s called collocation.
- It means to know whether it has a positive or negative connotation. So, you will have to be aware of the context when a word is generally used.
- And to know a word means to know how it is pronounced.
Well, this is actually quite a list, if you think about it. And the list is expandable. To know a word also means to know the origin of the word, and the prefixes, or suffixes used. But, we’ll stay with the basics: dictionary meaning and pronunciation.
Let’s take an example. In India, people use this word a lot: improvise. At a meeting I attended, someone was giving a task. His colleague said, “Well, you’ll have to improvise!” What did he mean by that? Did he mean that there was a need to be creative? Or that there is a need to improve the current product? Or did he mean something else? I wish I asked him, because it was not clear to me at the time.
Let’s look at what the dictionary can unearth for us. Go ahead and click on this link. Read about the word improvise. Then return to this page.
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