What is the best way to improve my vocabulary?

I've recently started to feel the need to improve my vocabulary. What would be the best way to do it? Should I just keep a word book and try to use them as much as possible? I'm curious to try other methods

7 Comments
 

I am an international student and learn many words in English over time. I find reading novel is most helpful to me.

I also have a vocabulary and grammar guide for international students that I read once every 1-2 years. I know I am not fluent English yet but have add many word to my vocabulary. I also find most conversations do not need complex words, especially in person

I am also open to continue to improve and would like to hear other people’s advice on this

 

Download a dictionary like wordweb & lookup each & every English word you come across, for which you're not 100.00% sure of the correct meaning (how my vocabulary became better than literally anyone else since 2002)

 

Does it save your search history so you can scroll through and revisit words that you had looked up? I feel like a dictionary with this feature must exist so one can "refresh" on words that they'd looked up but may have forgotten after a few weeks. 

 

Read more books. Very simple. Any kind will do - just read them. Look up every word you don't know. 

Find an author you like that has a bunch of books and read them all. An author will have a consistent 'voice' that comes through in their work so you'll get used to it and invariably they'll stretch their vocabulary, too, and then you'll have a sense of how it fits into language by being familiar with their 'voice'. 

"And where we had thought to be alone we shall be with all the world"
 

Reading lots of books and looking up the definitions to words you don’t know.

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Modi vero sed repellat voluptatem non quasi dolorum. Fugit quia quis adipisci eveniet provident vero. Consequatur assumenda optio dolore repellat repellat laboriosam vitae temporibus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.3%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (44) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (78) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (72) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”