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Maybe you are in the middle of an exam and suddenly come across a word that makes absolutely no sense. This is usually a cue for most people to panic if a dictionary is not handy. But don’t worry! There are several steps you can take to help you figure out the meaning of a word without a dictionary.

1
Read the entire sentence. It can be very frustrating to have your reading interrupted by an unknown word. If you are in the middle of an exam or an assignment for school or work, it can also be very stressful. If you can’t reach for a dictionary, take other steps to figure out what the word means.
- Your first step is to go back and re-read the entire sentence. You probably lost track of what your were reading when you stumbled upon the new word.
- Think about the content of the sentence. Do you understand the sentence without using the new word? Or is it incomprehensible?
- Try underlining the unknown word. This will help you separate it from the rest of the sentence.
2
Identify words you do understand. You can often use other words in the sentence to help you define the unknown word. Think about what else is happening in the sentence. Hopefully, this will help you figure out whether the unknown word is a noun, verb, or adjective.
- For example, maybe you are looking at a sentence that says, «It was a very sultry day in the middle of the summer.» You probably understand each word except for «sultry».
- Think about what you know about the summer. It is likely that «sultry» has something to do with weather.
- Maybe your biology exam has this sentence, «Many members of the canine family are predators, looking for other animals to eat.» You can surmise that «predators» prey on other animals.
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3
Look for illustrative examples. Once you have examined the other words in that sentence, you can move on. Start looking at the sentences that follow the unknown word. An author will often give descriptions that can help you figure out the meaning of an unknown word.^[1]
- For example, take the sentence, «It was a very sultry day in the middle of summer.» It could be followed by the sentence, «The heat and humidity made it appealing to sit in the shade and drink lemonade.»
- You can now more confidently define «sultry». The descriptive words such as «heat» and «humidity» are further clues that it is a description of the weather.
- Sometimes, the descriptive examples will be right in the original sentence. For example, it could say, «Sultry days are so damp and hot.»
4
Think logically. Sometimes, the context clues will not be as clear. You will have to use logic to figure out the word. You can also use experience, or prior knowledge, of the topic.^[2]
- For example, maybe a sentence says, «In the antebellum South, many plantation owners kept slaves.» It is likely that «antebellum» is the unknown word.
- The sentence itself does not offer many clues. However, the following sentences are, «But after the Civil War, slavery was outlawed. This was a major change between the two periods.»
- Think about what you know now. You are reading information about two different time periods, right? Before the Civil War and after the Civil War.
- You can now make a pretty logical assumption about the word «antebellum». Based on your experience and reading the following sentences, you know it probably means «before the war».
5
Use other context clues. Sometimes an author will offer other types of clues. Look for restatement. This is where the meaning of the word is restated in other words.
- Here is an example of «restatement»: «The pig squealed in pain. The high-pitched cry was very loud.»
- You can also look for «appositives». This is where an author highlights a specific word by placing a further description between two commas.
- This is an example of the use of an appositive: «The Taj Mahal, which is a massive white marble mausoleum, is one of the most famous landmarks in India.
- You may not know the words «Taj Mahal», but the use of appositives makes it clear that it is a landmark.

1
Look for a prefix. Etymology is the study of the meanings of words. It also looks at the origins of words, and how they have changed over time. By learning about etymology, you can find new ways to define unknown words without using a dictionary.
- Start by looking at each part of the word in question. It is very helpful to look to see if the word has a common prefix.
- Prefixes are the first part of the word. For example, a common prefix is «anti».
- «Anti» means «against». Knowing this should help you figure out the meanings of words such as «antibiotic» or «antithesis».
- «Extra» is a prefix that means «beyond». Use this to figure out words such as «extraterrestrial» or «extracurricular».
- Other common prefixes are «hyper», «intro», «macro» and «micro». You can also look for prefixes such as «multi», «neo» and «omni».
2
Pay attention to the suffix. The suffix are the letters at the end of the word. There are several suffixes in the English language that are common. They can help you figure out what kind of word you are looking at.
- Some suffixes indicate a noun. For example, «ee» at the end of the word almost always indicates a noun. Some examples are «trainee» and «employee».
- «-ity» is also a common suffix for a noun. Examples include «electricity» and «velocity».
- Other suffixes indicate verbs. For example, «-ate». This is used in words such as «create» and «deviate».
- «-ize» is another verb suffix. Think about the words «exercise» and «prioritize».
3
Identify root words. A root word is the core word, without a prefix or suffix. Most words in the English language come from either a Latin or Greek root word.^[3]
- By learning common root words, you can begin to identify new words more easily. You will also be able to recognize words that have had a prefix or suffix added.
- An example of a root word is «love». You can add many things to the word: «-ly» to make «lovely».
- «Bio» is a Greek root word. It means «life, or living matter». Think about how we have adapted this root word to become «biology», «biography», or «biodegradable».
- The root word mater- or matri- comes from the Latin word mater, meaning mother. By understanding this root, you can better understand the definitions of words like matron, maternity, matricide, matrimony, and matriarchal.

1
Keep notes. If you can increase the size of your vocabulary, you will find yourself less likely to encounter unknown words. There are several steps you can take to effectively build your vocabulary. For example, you can start by writing notes.
- Every time you encounter an unfamiliar word, write it down. Then later, when you have access to a dictionary, you can look it up for a precise definition.
- Keep a small pack of sticky notes with you while you read. You can write the unfamiliar word on a note and just stick it on the page to return to later.
- Start carrying a small notebook. You can use it to keep track of words that you don’t know and new words that you have learned.
2
Utilize multiple resources. There are a lot of tools that you can use to help you build your vocabulary. The most obvious is a dictionary. Purchase a hard copy, or book mark an online dictionary that you find useful.
- A thesaurus can also be very helpful. It will give you synonyms for all of the new words you are learning.
- Try a word of the day calendar. These handle desk tools will give you a new word to learn each day. They are available online and at bookstores.
3
Read a lot. Reading is one of the best ways to increase the size of your vocabulary. Make it a point to read each day. Both fiction and non-fiction will be helpful.
- Novels can expose you to new words. For example, reading the latest legal thriller will likely expose you to some legal jargon you’ve never heard before.
- Read the newspaper. Some papers even have a daily feature that highlights language and explores the meanings of words.
- Make time to read each day. You could make it a point to scroll through the news while you drink your morning coffee, for example.
4
Play games. Learning can actually be fun! There are many enjoyable activities that can help you to build your vocabulary. Try doing crossword puzzles.
- Crossword puzzles are a great way to learn new words. They will also stretch your brain by giving you interesting clues to figure out the right word.
- Play Scrabble. You’ll quickly learn that unusual words can often score the most points.

Add New Question

Question

Is there a list of prefixes/suffixes, or a simple etymology handbook, that I can obtain from the Internet or someplace else?

I’m sure there are many! Check websites like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or other booksellers who might sell grammar handbooks. You could also try checking your local book stores.
Question

How does one find out and understand the formation of words?

If you can recognize the prefixes, suffixes, and anything else that might alter the root word, then you’ll know how the root is being altered. For example, ‘amuse’ is made up of ‘a’ as in ‘not’ and ‘muse’ referring to ponderous thought. Even if you don’t recognize the root ‘muse’ because it’s a more archaic term, you know that the ‘a’ inverses it’s meaning.
Question

How can I know the exact meaning of a word using dictionaries from many leanings given?

Substitute each meaning into the sentence where you encountered the word, and see which definition makes the most sense within the context of that sentence.

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Keep a notebook. This could be useful if you come across a word that you want to learn later, if you want to list any words that share suffixes or prefixes (both of which are known as «roots», which also include anything that goes into the middle.)
Read etymology dictionaries. They are found online and presumably in bookstores if you look hard enough.
Make your own notes in your personal English notebook to remember important points later on.

References

About This Article

Article SummaryX

To understand a word without a dictionary, try re-reading the entire sentence to see if the context helps you to find out what the word means. If it’s unclear, try to figure it out by thinking about the meaning of the words you’re familiar with, since the unknown word might have a similar meaning. Additionally, look for common prefixes in words, such as «anti,» which means against, or «extra,» which means beyond. Next, check the following sentences for clues, such as the topic the word is related to. Alternatively, keep a list of unknown words so you can check them in a dictionary at a later date. For tips on how to identify root words and how to learn words by doing crossword puzzles, read on!

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Determining Word Meanings

Transcript

Hi, and welcome to this video about determining word meanings!

Regardless of our level of schooling, whether you are a student or working in a corporate environment, we all come across words that we don’t know. Thankfully, figuring out the meaning of words can be done without Google or a dictionary. Here are a few tips on how to find the meaning of an unknown word.

Context

Context is the “setting” or scene in which an idea or event takes place. In writing, context can help us understand the situation in how a word is being used. In other words, the sentence the unknown word is in can help you figure out its definition. Read the sentences before and after the unknown word to help you determine what the word could mean. The actual definition of a word can be changed depending on the context around it.

Let’s look at an example.

It’s a match!

Here, the word match has little context to it. Are we referring to a match that makes fire, or did someone find an identical pair of shoes? We don’t really know in this case what match means because there is no context.

So, let’s add some:

She pulled a 3 of clubs from the deck of cards and placed it next to the 3 of diamonds and yelled, “It’s a match!”

Here, because of context we know we are not reading about a match that makes fire, but a matching pair of cards. As you can see, context can make quite the difference.

Let’s look at using structural analysis, or looking at the different parts of the word.

Many words, even some of the shortest ones you can think of, are made up of some combination of prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

Prefixes

Prefixes are the parts of words that come at the beginning. Examples of prefixes are re-, pre-, de-, and many more. Each of these word segments has a meaning.

Here are a few examples:

The prefix re- means “to do again,” like in the word reuse.

The prefix pre- means “before,” like in the word prepare.

The prefix de- means “to undo,” like in the word detach.

Prefixes can also change the original meaning of a word. For example, the word do means “to perform an action.” But what if we add the prefix un- to it? It now becomes undo, which means the opposite of do.

Knowing what prefixes mean can help you determine a word’s meaning.

Suffixes

Suffixes serve the same role as prefixes, but suffixes come at the end of a word. For example:

The suffix -ment means “a result,” like in the word government.

The suffix -ion refers to a process, like in the word invention.

The suffix -ful means “full of,” like in the word useful.

Again, just like prefixes, suffixes can change the original meaning of a word. For example, govern means to rule over something; it’s an action or verb. When we add the suffix -ment to the word it now becomes government which is a system that rules over something (the word government is a thing or noun).

Root Words

Though Latin is no longer used in the common world, many English words have Latin roots. Knowing and recognizing these root words in common English can help you determine a word’s meaning. Here are a few examples of words with similar Latin roots.

The Latin root rhino means “nose.” You can see this in the words rhinoplasty, rhinoceros, and rhinovirus.

The Latin root reg means “to control.” You can see this in the words regulate, regime, and regal.

The Latin root tox means “poison.” You can see this in the words toxic, detox, and intoxicated.

This doesn’t mean you need to learn a dead language to learn the definition of more English words. However, the more English vocabulary you learn, the more connections you’ll be able to make to new words you didn’t know before.

For example, if you don’t know the meaning of a word, look at the root word and see if you can think of other words that you do know that have similar roots. For example, if you don’t know the definition of animate but can identify the root anim, you can think of words with the same root that you do know, like animal. From there, you can determine what the root word anim means (“alive/life), along with context, if there is any, and figure out how it relates to the unfamiliar word. In this example, we know anim means “life,” just like animals are alive and move freely. Therefore, we can figure out that animate, the act of moving objects, is aptly named because it’s bringing still or motionless objects to “life.”

What if we took this example a step further and add a prefix to the word animate? The prefix in- means “not.” Therefore, if we add in- and animate together, we get the word inanimate, which means, you guessed it, “to not move.”

Prefixes, suffixes, and roots make up countless words, and the context of the sentence these mystery words are found in can also bring its true meaning to light. When put together, these tools can be used to solve the meaning of unknown words and make reading and writing easier.

Thanks for watching, and happy studying!

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Источник

Казалось бы, нет ничего сложного при переводе новых слов: встретил незнакомое слово, нашел его прямой перевод и все готово! Однако как часто сталкивались вы с тем, что перевод одного определенного слова совсем странный, и зачастую конечный перевод всего предложения лишен всякого смысла из-за этого странного значения слова? Такая проблема возникает сразу, если человек не знаком с особенностями значений (meaning) слов английского языка. Ниже мы приведем наиболее интересные явления значения слова как такового, а также примеры, на которых наглядно можно будет увидеть «многоликость» такой сложной грамматической категории, как значение.

Basic meaning. Основное значение

Ни для кого не секрет, что любое слово имеет значение (meaning), будь то существительное, глагол или даже предлог и междометие. Все слова в английском или любом другом языке имеют смысл, который можно посмотреть в специальных толковых словарях. Когда мы смотрим слово в словаре, первое значение, которое мы встречаем – это прямое или основное значение слова.

Word: a bear – существительное, медведь – Meaning: a large wild animal with thick fur (Значение: большое дикое животное с густой шерстью).
Word: run – глагол, бежать – Meaning: to move quickly to a place using your legs and feet (Значение: двигаться быстро к какому-то месту, используя свои ноги).
Word: fair – прилагательное, светлый – Meaning: light, opposite of dark (Значение: светлый, противоположный темному цвету).
Word: in – предлог, в – Meaning: used for showing where someone or something is (Значение: используется, чтобы показать, что где что-то или кто-то есть).
Word: oh – междометие, о! – Meaning: used for an emotion such as surprise, anger, or happiness (Значение: используется для выражения таких эмоций как удивление, злость, счастье).

С прямым значением, как правило, проблем не возникает. Однако существует другие аспекты значений слов, которые являются очень важными и которые следует знать и учитывать при переводе, особенно если вы изучаете английский на продвинутом уровне.

Polysemy or multiple meanings. Полисемия или многозначность слов

Английский язык, пожалуй, является самым богатым языком по наличию полисемичных слов, т. е. слов, которые имеют больше, чем одно прямое значение. Давайте рассмотрим другие значения слов fair и run на других примерах:

That wasn’t a very fair thing to say! – Так сказать было очень несправедливо! (fair (прилагательное) – справедливый, честный)

The handsome gentleman fell in love with a fair lady. – Красивый джентльмен влюбился в красивую девушку. (fair (прилагательное) – красивый)

Everybody has a fair chance of winning the competition. – У всех есть обоснованные (справедливые) шансы на победу в соревновании. (fair (прилагательное) – справедливые, обоснованные, хорошие)

Her English language knowledge is fair. – Ее знания английского языка нормальные. (fair (прилагательное) – ни хорошее, ни плохое)

The forecast for tomorrow is that we will have fair weather. – Согласно прогнозу на завтра, у нас будет хорошая (ясная) погода. (fair (прилагательное) – ясная, хорошая)

There is going to be a great fair on the weekend. – На выходных будет отличная ярмарка. (fair (существительное) – ярмарка)
Jim runs his own business. – Джим управляет своим собственным делом. (run (глагол) – управлять, стоять во главе)

New hybrid cars can run on electricity. – Новые машины-гибриды могут ездить на электричестве. (run on (глагол) – ездить, работать)

Our PCs at work run under Windows. – Наши рабочие компьютеры работают под операционной системой Windows. (run under (глагол) – работать под какой-то программой)

We are running out of milk. – У нас заканчивается молоко. (run out of (глагол) – заканчиваться, подходить к концу)

The Dnieper River runs into the Black Sea. – Река Днепр впадает в Черное море. (run into (глагол) – впадать о реках)

There were three candidates who ran for the mayor of our city. – Было три кандидата, которые баллотировались на пост мэра нашего города. (run for (глагол) – баллотироваться)

Это далеко не весь перечень значений, которые имеют слова fair и run, однако большинство из них необходимо знать, чтобы адекватно понимать и реагировать на текст или речь на английском языке.

Synonymy. Синонимия

Английский язык считается очень красивым еще и потому, что в нем существует огромное множество слов-синонимов, т. е. таких слов, которые имеют похожие значения, но слегка с другим оттенком. Посмотрите на следующие слова, которые являются синонимами к словам fair и run (к их прямым значениям, которые были проиллюстрированы в первом пункте статьи):

Fair = light (светлый), blonde (блондинистый), pale (бледный), colorless (бесцветный), bleached (осветленный).
Run = escape (избежать, вырываться), flee (спасаться бегством), scoot (удирать), abscond (скрываться, бежать от правосудия).

Collocation. Сочетание слов

Слова в английском языке употребляются друг с другом (или сочетаются) довольно устойчивым (фиксированным) образом. Например, мы не можем употребить все синонимы из пункта номер 3 в словосочетании из пункта 1, сохраняя первоначальное значение словосочетания.

Hair can be fair, light, blonde or bleached (волосы могут быть светлыми, цвета блонд или обесцвеченными (и мы видим, что каждый из синонимов имеет немного другое значение)), but hair is not usually described as pale or colorless (но обычно волосы не описывают словами pale или colorless).
Skin can be fair, light, pale (кожа может быть светлой, бледной), but it is not usually described as blonde, colorless or bleached (но ее не описывают прилагательными цвета блонд, бесцветная или обесцвеченная).
Colorless collocates with, for instance, gas or liquid (бесцветный обычно сочетается, например, с газом или жидкостью).

Connotation или Коннотация (Дополнительное значение)

Слова имеют не только значения, но и ассоциации. У многих слов в английском языке есть дополнительное значение или коннотация, которое надо учитывать при употреблении слов в речи. Коннотация включает дополнительные семантические или стилистические элементы, устойчиво связанные с основным значением в сознании носителей языка. Она предназначена для выражения эмоциональных или оценочных оттенков высказывания и отображает культурные традиции общества. Пример из известной сказки о Белоснежке: Who is the fairest of them all? Для любого человека, для которого английский является родным, этот пример сразу будет ассоциироваться со сказкой о Белоснежке, а слова в их голове будут звучать голосом злобной Мачехи Белоснежки, которая спрашивала волшебное зеркало о том, кто на свете всех прекрасней. В этом случае fair означает «красивый», «прекрасный», однако это устаревший вариант, и таким способом описывали красоту только женщин.

Или, например, два синонима famous и notorious – оба означают известный, знаменитый, но у слова notorious есть дополнительное значение – famous for something bad – т. е. печально известный. Это дополнительное значение очень важно знать, потому что от него будет напрямую зависеть значение всего предложения.

Register. Стиль

Каждое слово в английском языке можно отнести к определенному стилю – formal or informal (официально-деловой или разговорный). И соответственно тому, в какой ситуации общения вы находитесь, будь то формальная обстановка, деловая встреча или неформальная атмосфера, нужно выбирать слова.

Приведем синонимы к слову clothes (одежда): attire (одеяние), rags (шмотки).

Clothes – это самое нейтральное (neutral) с точки зрения стилистического окрашивания слово, его можно употреблять почти в любой ситуации общения в разговоре или письме. Attire – это bookish style, т. е. это слово принадлежит к официальному, возвышенному стилю, чаще всего его можно встретить только в художественной литературе. Rags – это разговорный вариант, который чаще всего можно встретить в сленге молодежи.

На начальном этапе изучения языка вы не обязаны знать все тонкости значения слов, потому что в учебных материалах и пособиях предлагают слова в прямом значении, которые широко употребляются, потому что они нейтральны. Необходимость понимать такие аспекты значения как коннотация, стилистическая окрашенность, синонимия возникает на продвинутом уровне изучения языка, т. к. речь становится более насыщенной, сложной, приходится подкреплять свое мнение примерами и фактами. И на этом этапе, встречая новое слово, уже более осознанно подходишь к его значению, ищешь не просто прямой перевод слова, а его дефиницию (описание или definition) и сочетаемость с другими словами (collocation). Английский – уникальный язык, столько необычного и интересного может таить в себе простое слово, что каждый раз заглядывая в толковый словарь, вы будете открывать для себя даже известные слова с новой стороны.

Если вы нашли ошибку, пожалуйста, выделите фрагмент текста и нажмите Ctrl+Enter.

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How to Guess What a Word Means

Need to know what a new word means now? Did you know the English language has over 1,000,000 words? Yet the average adult learner has a vocabulary of only 40,000-50,000 words. With so many words out there, how can you learn them all? There are various strategies that you can learn which will help you to deduce what a word means. Yes, you could just look them up in an English dictionary; but, studies show that you most likely won’t remember the word after a while. However, by making your brain figure it out, a trail of understanding is left and you are more likely to remember the meaning, thus improving your vocabulary!

Perhaps you are taking a standardized test and are being asked about particular words. These strategies will help you immensely! We also provide some example sentences to help find the meaning of the word needed or of any individual words you need help with.

Context — If the word is used in a sentence, look at the other words and see if they give you clues to the word’s meaning. This may help to guess, at least, part of the word’s meaning.

EX. «‘Proximal’ refers to points on the body that are close to the torso, as opposed to ‘distal.

Given the context of the sentence, we can see the word «opposed» which means «to be opposite of.» If ‘proximal’ is opposite of ‘distal’ we can conclude that the word distal likely is used to refer to parts of the body that are far from the torso, like fingers. At this point, you can look in the dictionary to check our guess. You can also look at similar antonyms or synonyms for meaning of the new or unfamiliar words as well. While most English words act as idioms, the meaning of a word can be tricky if you are learning English or are learning more advanced words. Collocations can also help in the word meaning process by using context clues to find the correct answer or meaning to the word’s meaning.

STRUCTURE- Probably the most important skill when it comes to understanding words. The internal structure of words is called morphology. Morphology consists of morphemes—which are minimal units of meaning, rules for combining them into words, and rules for pronouncing the resulting words. For this article, we will keep it simple and go over a few key things.

Using your understanding of morphology helps you break down a word into smaller pieces so that you can guess what it means. For example, let’s use a nonsense word, say, POIB.

*What would POIB-able mean? (Capable of being POIBed)

*What is the word class of POIB-able? (Adjective)

*So, what is the word class of POIB? (Verb)

This exercise is to show how we can make some assumptions about the word we don’t know simply by how it is used in the sentence and what affixes are attached to it (affixes are a type of morpheme). This is how we can tell the word’s word class: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc.

MORPHEME- A morpheme may be a word or less than a word. (EX. nation, re-, -al). Morphemes cannot be broken down into smaller units.

TYPES OF MORPHEMES- Prefixes, Suffixes, Infixes, Plurals, Possessives, and base(root) words.

**Free morphemes are words that can stand on their own and have meaning.

For example, «nation» does not require a prefix or a suffix attached to it to make sense. It’s a word by itself.

**Bound Morphemes cannot stand on their own and must be attached to another morpheme to create a word.

For example, «dental»= dent + al. Together they make a word, but neither «dent» nor «al» are words themselves. All affixes are boundmorphemes. Some base (root) words are bound.

AFFIXES — anything that is added to a base (root) word. Determine how the affix affects the base (root) word it is attached to.

*Examples of affixes that change word class (i.e. from a verb to adverb)-er, -ly, -al, -y, -ish

*Examples of affixes that add to meaning of the base (root) word.anti-, omni-, re-, -s, -ed, dis-

***There are only about 75 prefixes in English. There are less suffixes. Memorize them.

Now that you understand what a morpheme is. The next step is to take your word and try to break it down into morphemes. Let’s use the word «predetermined» as our example. Predetermined= pre + determine + ed

We may know that the base (root) word ‘determine’ means to decide; the prefix ‘pre’ means before, and the suffix ‘ed’ is used to mean the past tense of a verb.

Therefore, «predetermined» would mean to have already decided the outcome of something before it happened.

Another example: quadruped = quadru + ped, meaning four feet. Both «quad» and «ped» are bound morphemes that must be attached to another morpheme to create a word.

KNOW YOUR ROOTS — Sometimes after you break down your word, you still may not know the meaning because you don’t know what the base (root) word means. Let’s say that you didn’t know the above root word «ped» was a Greek origin word meaning ‘feet.’ How could you try to guess what it meant?

*Think of other words you know that have «ped» in them?

What do these words have in common?

EX. pedestal, pedal, pedestrian, millipede

You guessed it, FEET!

With the strategies above you can usually guess what a word means. If you are taking a test, use what you’ve assumed about the word to help with the process of elimination. Looking at word lists can also help in the meaning process.

Happy vocabulary building!

There are a few things that can help you estimate the meaning of a word, even if you have never read or heard it before. If you are taking a standardized test and will be asked about particular words, if you are learning English or if you just want to expand your vocabulary these strategies will help you immensely. Use the words around the unfamiliar word to help you guess the meaning, or use your knowledge of suffixes and prefixes to help you estimate the meaning of the new word. By figuring out the meaning of a new word, you may be more likely to remember the meaning and the new word.

Sound out the unfamiliar word if you are reading it. A word that seems unfamiliar at first may be a word you already know once you hear it out loud.

Look at the other words in the sentence to see if they give you clues to the new word’s meaning. This is called «context,» and may help you guess at part of the word’s meaning. For example, «proximal» refers to points on the body that are close to the torso, as opposed to «distal.» Here you can see the words «opposed to» which mean «to be opposite.» If «proximal» is the opposite of «distal,» you can conclude that the word «distal» likely is used to refer to parts of the body that are far from the torso such as fingers.

Break the new word down into its smallest parts. These small parts are called «morphemes.» A morpheme may be a word or less than a word. For example, «nation,» «re-,» and «-al» are all morphemes. Morphemes cannot be broken down into smaller units. There are many types of morphemes including prefixes, suffixes and root words. Free morphemes are words that can stand on their own and still have meaning. For example, «nation» does not require a prefix or a suffix attached to it to make sense. It’s a word by itself. Bound morphemes cannot stand on their own and must be attached to another morpheme to create a word. For example, the «s» in the word «dogs» is a bound morpheme. Without the word «dog,» the «s» has no meaning.

Learn about the structure of English words. English words have their roots in Greek, Latin and Germanic languages. Sometimes after you break down your word, you still may not know the meaning because you don’t know what the root word means. For example, let’s say you read the word «millipede.» There are two roots in this word. The root word «ped» is a word of Latin origin meaning «feet.» You can guess what it means by thinking of other words that have the root «ped.» You might think of «pedestal,» «pedal» and «pedestrian.» From these words, you can guess that your new word has something to do with feet. You might guess that «mille» has something to do with «million,» and you’d be on the right track. It means «thousand,» but in this word just means «many.» So, a millipede is something with many legs. If you check your dictionary, you will find that a millipede is an insect with many legs. This means you guessed most of the meaning of the word simply from looking at the root words.

Learn English affixes. Anything that is added to the beginning or end of a root word is an affix. Affixes include suffixes, prefixes and pluralization. Knowing the affixes can help you determine how the affix affects the root word it is attached to. Some affixes change the word class, for example from a verb to adverb. These include affixes like «-er,» «-ly» and «-ish.» Some affixes add to the meaning of the root word. These include affixes like «anti-,» «re-» and «-ed.» While it may take some time to learn them all, by breaking words down into morphemes you will begin to recognize which are affixes and which are roots. For example, let’s use the word «predetermined» as an example. «Predetermined» is made up of the prefix «pre,» the root «determine» and the suffix «ed.» You may know that the root word «determine» means to decide, the prefix «pre» means before and the suffix «ed» is used to mean the past tense of a verb. Therefore, «predetermined» means to have already decided the outcome of something before it happened.

Tip

Read. The more you read, the more words you will know, without even realizing it. Keep your dictionary on hand, so you can check your guesses.

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Every teacher wonders how to teach a word to students, so that it stays with them and they can actually use it in the context in an appropriate form. Have your students ever struggled with knowing what part of the speech the word is (knowing nothing about terminologies and word relations) and thus using it in the wrong way? What if we start to teach learners of foriegn languages the basic relations between words instead of torturing them to memorize just the usage of the word in specific contexts?

Let’s firstly try to recall what semantic relations between words are. Semantic relations are the associations that exist between the meanings of words (semantic relationships at word level), between the meanings of phrases, or between the meanings of sentences (semantic relationships at phrase or sentence level). Let’s look at each of them separately.

Word Level

At word level we differentiate between semantic relations:

Synonyms — words that have the same (or nearly the same) meaning and belong to the same part of speech, but are spelled differently. E.g. big-large, small-tiny, to begin — to start, etc. Of course, here we need to mention that no 2 words can have the exact same meaning. There are differences in shades of meaning, exaggerated, diminutive nature, etc.
Antonyms — semantic relationship that exists between two (or more) words that have opposite meanings. These words belong to the same grammatical category (both are nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc.). They share almost all their semantic features except one. (Fromkin & Rodman, 1998) E.g.
Homonyms — the relationship that exists between two (or more) words which belong to the same grammatical category, have the same spelling, may or may not have the same pronunciation, but have different meanings and origins. E.g. to lie (= to rest) and to lie (= not to tell the truth); When used in a context, they can be misunderstood especially if the person knows only one meaning of the word.

Other semantic relations include hyponymy, polysemy and metonymy which you might want to look into when teaching/learning English as a foreign language.

At Phrase and Sentence Level

Here we are talking about paraphrases, collocations, ambiguity, etc.

Paraphrase — the expression of the meaning of a word, phrase or sentence using other words, phrases or sentences which have (almost) the same meaning. Here we need to differentiate between lexical and structural paraphrase. E.g.
Lexical — I am tired = I am exhausted.
Structural — He gave the book to me = He gave me the book.

Ambiguity — functionality of having two or more distinct meanings or interpretations. You can read more about its types here.
Collocations — combinations of two or more words that often occur together in speech and writing. Among the possible combinations are verbs + nouns, adjectives + nouns, adverbs + adjectives, etc. Idiomatic phrases can also sometimes be considered as collocations. E.g. ‘bear with me’, ‘round and about’, ‘salt and pepper’, etc.

So, what does it mean to know a word?
Knowing a word means knowing all of its semantic relations and usages.

Why is it useful?
It helps to understand the flow of the language, its possibilities, occurrences, etc.better.

Should it be taught to EFL learners?
Maybe not in that many details and terminology, but definitely yes if you want your learners to study the language in depth, not just superficially.

How should it be taught?
Not as a separate phenomenon, but together with introducing a new word/phrase, so that students have a chance to create associations and base their understanding on real examples. You can give semantic relations and usages, ask students to look up in the dictionary, brainstorm ideas in pairs and so on.

Let us know what you do to help your students learn the semantic relations between the words and whether it helps.

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