Word Meanings: Context Clues, Prefixes, Suffixes, and Roots

You can often work out a new word without leaving the story. Its context is the words, sentences, and pictures around it. A context clue is a hint that helps explain its meaning.

Read, replace, and check

Stop at the new word. Read the whole sentence and the sentences beside it. Think of an easy word or phrase that could fit. Put your idea in the sentence and read it again.

Try this: “The canopy is the thick roof of leaves and branches high above the rainforest floor. A few very tall trees poke up through it.” The word is introduces the meaning. A canopy is that roof of leaves and branches. Now read, “Monkeys leap through the canopy all day.” Replacing canopy with your meaning makes sense.

Three kinds of helpful clues

A definition clue tells the meaning directly. In “A habitat is the place where an animal or plant naturally lives,” everything after is explains habitat. Other useful signals include means and is called.

A restatement clue says the idea again in easier words. “The desert is arid, or very dry.” Here, very dry explains arid. Look for or, that is, and in other words. Commas, dashes, and parentheses can hold these clues too.

The signal word alone is not enough. “Would you like soup or salad?” offers a choice. Salad does not explain what soup means. Read what the words actually tell you.

An example clue gives members of a group. “Citrus fruits, such as oranges, lemons, and limes, filled the bowl.” The examples help you picture the fruit family. Look for such as, including, for example, and like. Think about what the examples share.

Let the next sentence help

“The vessel rocked in the waves. Its sails snapped, and the captain called to the crew.” The second sentence supplies the strongest clues. Sails, a captain, and a crew point to a ship.

This works in older stories too. “Mrs. Hale pushed the baby in her perambulator. Its wheels rattled over the stones.” A baby, pushing, and wheels suggest a baby carriage. You can understand the scene even if you have never met perambulator before.

Some writers show a meaning without stating it. You may need to connect several details. Start by asking how the new word fits what is happening.

Look for a difference

A contrast clue sets two ideas against each other. Words like but, however, unlike, and instead can signal a contrast.

“The first puppy was docile and sat quietly in Ana’s lap, but the second barked and jumped around.” First, find the two puppies. Next, compare their actions. The second is hard to settle. The first stays quietly in a lap. Docile means calm and easy to handle.

Be sure you compare the right details. “It was sweltering outside, but the library felt cool.” The important contrast is temperature. Sweltering means very hot; the word is not a name for an outdoor place.

Look for a likeness

A comparison clue links something unfamiliar to something you know. “The bridge was rickety, like a wobbly chair.” You know how an unsteady chair feels. That helps you understand rickety: shaky and likely to break.

The word like can also introduce examples. “Fruits like lemons” gives members of a group. “A bridge like a wobbly chair” compares different things. Follow the ideas, not just the signal word.

Connect a cause and a result

A cause-and-effect clue shows why something happens or what follows. “Because the path was treacherous, the hikers moved slowly and held a rope.” Their careful actions suggest danger. Treacherous describes something full of hidden danger. Because, so, and as a result can lead you to this kind of clue.

Other sentences have no signal word. “Sam ate three sandwiches, two apples, and soup, and was still ravenous.” Add up the details: lots of food, yet still wanting more. Ravenous means extremely hungry. This is a general-sense clue.

Notice when you need more

“The team felt elated after the game” gives little help. Add “They cheered and hugged,” and you can work out “very happy.” Without those extra clues, check a dictionary. A sensible guess needs support from the words around it.

A new word’s job gives you another clue. You do not need to know its full meaning to notice how it fits into the sentence.

Four useful word jobs

A noun names a person, place, thing, or idea: cook, kitchen, pot, hope. A verb shows an action or a state of being: stir, wait, is. An adjective describes a noun, as warm describes soup. An adverb can tell how, when, or where something happens, as gently tells how someone stirs.

“The cook will simmer the soup for an hour.” The word after will is doing a verb’s job. It names something the cook does to soup. Cooking for an hour suggests a slow action. Simmer means cook gently just below boiling. Grammar helps you find the kind of meaning; context adds detail.

“The sly fox crept past the sleeping dog.” Here, sly describes the fox. Creeping past a sleeping dog suggests sneaky behavior. An easy replacement is “sneaky,” which is an adjective too.

Words after a, an, or the are often nouns or adjectives. Words after will or to are often verbs. Keep reading to check: one position alone may leave more than one possible job.

Fill a gap with meaning and grammar

A cloze activity leaves words out for you to supply. Read the whole sentence first. Look on both sides of the gap. Then try each possible word.

“The ground was so ____ that cracks ran across it and the plants turned brown.” Try “wet,” “dry,” and “green.” Cracks and brown plants suggest too little water. “Dry” makes sense and fits after “so.”

Now try “The children ____ across the field toward the bus.” “Raced” fits the grammar and describes movement toward the bus. “Racing” needs another word, such as “were,” to complete this sentence. “Slept” gives a complete verb form, but it does not describe traveling across the field.

A gap word must pass both tests. It must fit the sentence’s grammar and its meaning. If two words still seem possible, read farther. A later sentence may give the detail that decides between them.

Long words often have a smaller word at their center. Finding it can make the meaning easier to understand.

Find a base word

A base word, also called a root word, is a complete word you can add parts to. The base of unhappy is happy. A prefix goes at the start, and a suffix goes at the end. Both are called affixes.

Take replayed apart. Cover re-, then -ed. You are left with play. Connect the meanings: “played again.” In unkindness, the pieces are un- + kind + -ness. The middle word carries the main idea.

Check the meaning as well as the letters. Corner contains the letters in corn, but a corner is not connected to corn. In uncle, removing un- leaves cle, which is not the base word. Matching a few familiar letters is not enough.

When spelling hides the base

An ending can change how the base looks. In making, put back the final e to find make. In running, remove the extra n to find run. In happiness, change i back to y to find happy. Try these repairs when the letters left over do not form a word.

Join whole words

A compound word joins two or more words. A notebook is a book for notes. A toothbrush is a brush for teeth. These parts are whole words, while an affix is a word part.

Compounds can grow too. Snowflakes contains snow + flake + -s. The final -s is a suffix added to a compound. Some compounds have a space, like ice cream, or a hyphen, like well-known.

The pieces may only hint at the whole meaning. A butterfly is an insect. Combining the everyday meanings of butter and fly will not explain it. Use the sentence or a dictionary to check.

Meet a word family

A word family shares a base and connected meanings: help, helper, helpful, helpless, and unhelpful. Knowing help gives you a start on all of them.

Family members can sound different. Sign, signal, and signature keep a spelling and meaning link. Car and carpet share letters but do not share that meaning link.

A prefix adds meaning before a word. In rewrite, re- tells you to write again. The word is still a verb. Prefixes usually keep a word’s job while changing its meaning.

Negatives and opposites

Un- means “not” in unfair. It can also reverse an action, as in untie. Dis- means “not” or “the opposite” in dislike and disappear. Non- means “not,” as in nonfiction. In- means “not” in incorrect and invisible.

The negative prefix in- changes its spelling before some sounds. It usually becomes im- before b, m, or p: imbalance, immature, impossible. It becomes il- before l, as in illegal, and ir- before r, as in irregular. These forms all keep the meaning “not.”

Time, amount, and direction

For “Tia misread the sign,” start with read. Add mis-, meaning “wrongly.” Tia read the sign wrongly. Put that phrase into the sentence to check your answer.

Let the sentence choose

“She unwrapped the gift” tells about taking wrapping off. “An unwrapped gift sat on the table” describes a gift without wrapping. The prefix works with the word’s job in that sentence.

Keep both parts’ letters when you add a prefix. Mis- plus spell gives misspell, with two s letters. Dis- plus satisfied gives dissatisfied. Un- plus natural gives unnatural.

Some words need a dictionary check. Inside uses in- with the meaning “in.” Inflammable means easy to set on fire, just like flammable. Invaluable means very valuable. Neither means the opposite of its apparent base. And understand does not mean standing under something. A familiar beginning helps only when its meaning fits the whole word.

A suffix goes after a base. It can change the meaning, the word’s job, or both. Compare “Her kind words helped,” “Her kindness helped,” and “She spoke kindly.” Kind describes words; kindness names a quality; kindly tells how she spoke.

Endings that make new word jobs

The person endings can mean “a person who does something.” Other noun endings name a state, thing, or action. Verb endings can give the idea “make” or “become”: simplify means make simpler, and tighten means make or become tight.

Adjective endings give more clues. -Ful means “full of”; -less means “without.” -Able and -ible can mean “can be.” -Y and -ous can show “full of” or “like,” and -ish can mean “a bit like.”

Work through an example

“The fearless firefighter ran into the smoke.” Find fear, then -less. The pieces give “without fear.” The word describes the firefighter, so it is an adjective.

Useful and useless show opposite meanings. But priceless means extremely valuable, not worth nothing. Check a word’s whole meaning before treating two endings as opposites.

Endings that change a form

-S can show more than one. -Ed often shows a past action. -Ing can show an action in progress: “was walking” and “is walking” happen at different times. The helping word tells when.

-Er compares in faster; it names a person in teacher. -Est marks the greatest amount in fastest. Read the whole word to find the ending’s job.

Not every -ly word is an adverb: friendly and lovely are adjectives. Sister and hammer do not have an -er person ending. Spelling can change too: happy becomes happily, and hope becomes hoping. The suffix -ful has one l, as in hopeful.

Some words have several added parts. To understand the whole word, start with the base and work outward. Say what each new piece changes.

Follow the meaning as it grows

Take disagreement. Start with agree, meaning have the same view. Add dis- to get disagree: not agree. Add -ment to get a noun. A disagreement is a time when people do not agree. “The twins had a disagreement about the game” fits that meaning.

Now take thoughtfulness. Start with thought. Add -ful to make thoughtful, showing care and thought for others. Add -ness to name that quality. The whole word names being thoughtful. Both added parts are suffixes.

Choose the order that makes sense

For unbreakable, begin with break. Add -able: breakable means “can be broken.” Then add un-: unbreakable means “cannot be broken.” In this word, you need breakable before adding the negative prefix. Starting with “unbreak” will not help you build the meaning.

Unhappily has a prefix and a suffix. Its base is happy, although the spelling changes to happi- before -ly. The whole word means “in an unhappy way.” Find every part; leaving out un- would reverse the meaning.

Pick the family member you need

One base can lead to many words. Act grows into actor, action, active, inactive, react, reaction, and activity. Their meanings connect to doing something, but they do different jobs.

“She gave a ____ speech.” The gap describes speech, so choose the adjective powerful. “She spoke ____” asks how she spoke, so choose the adverb powerfully. The noun power cannot fill either gap in the same way.

When a word has several parts, stopping early loses meaning. Carelessly is care + -less + -ly. Careless means showing no care. Carelessly tells how an action happens: in a way that shows no care. Test the complete meaning in its sentence, not just the base you spotted first.

English took many useful word parts from Latin and Greek. Latin was used in ancient Rome, and Greek in ancient Greece. You meet these parts in science, math, and everyday words.

Parts that count

A decade is ten years; a century is 100 years. A semicircle is half a circle. In unicycle, uni- tells you there is one wheel. It differs from un- in unhappy, which means “not.”

Parts that show where

Latin parts include sub-, meaning “under,” and super-, meaning “above” or “beyond.” Trans- means “across,” inter- means “between,” and ex- means “out.” You can hear these meanings in submarine, superhuman, transport, international, and export.

Try transatlantic. Split it into trans- and Atlantic. The Atlantic is an ocean; trans- adds “across.” A flight from New York to London goes across the Atlantic. The pieces and the journey agree.

In “The temperature was subzero,” sub- adds “under” to zero. The temperature was below zero. In a sentence about a pond freezing, that meaning fits the scene.

More useful Greek parts

Anti- means “against,” as in antifreeze. Auto- means “self,” as in autograph. Tele- means “far,” as in telephone. Micro- means “very small,” as in microscope.

Suffixes have histories too. -Ology means “the study of,” as in biology and geology. -Ist can name a person who does or studies something, such as a scientist. Endings such as -able, -ible, -ion, -ment, and -ous came from Latin, often through French.

A few matching letters do not guarantee a word part. Trip does not mean three of something, and bill does not mean two. Use the part only when it helps explain the whole word.

A root carries a word’s main meaning. Many Latin and Greek roots cannot stand alone in English. These are sometimes called bound bases. You can say play by itself, but struct needs other parts in words such as construct.

Useful Latin roots

Try the port family. Transport has the idea of carrying across. Import brings goods into a country; export sends goods out. Something portable can be carried. The added parts change the detail, while “carry” keeps the family connected.

Useful Greek roots

You may see a connecting letter when roots join. Thermo- + meter gives the ideas “heat” and “measure.” A thermometer measures temperature. Micro- + scope gives “very small” and “look at.” A microscope helps you look at very small things.

Use roots beside the sentence

“The pedestrian waited at the crosswalk before stepping into the street.” Ped suggests feet. Crosswalk and stepping support that idea. A pedestrian is a person walking.

In photosynthesis, photo means “light” and synthesis means “putting together.” Green plants use light to make food through photosynthesis. The pieces give a starting clue; the science meaning tells you what happens.

Look-alike parts can have different histories. The port in airport means a harbor, not “carry.” A pediatrician is a children’s doctor: its first part comes from a Greek word for “child,” not the Latin word for “foot.” Check a dictionary when a root points you toward the wrong meaning.

Words have histories. Etymology is the study of where words came from and how they changed. A dictionary may give this information under “Origin” or “Word history.”

History can explain spelling

Some Greek words came into English with ph for the /f/ sound. You see it in phone and alphabet. Greek words can also have ch for /k/, as in school, chorus, and echo. Knowing a word’s history can help an odd spelling feel less puzzling.

Names and older word pieces

Sandwich comes from the title of the Earl of Sandwich, an English nobleman of the 1700s. Cereal connects to Ceres, the Roman goddess of grain. A word’s history can lead to a person’s title or an old story.

Other words grew from older everyday words. Breakfast breaks a fast: a time without food, such as overnight. The fast here is not about moving quickly. Holiday comes from words meaning “holy day.” Their history helps explain how their parts fit together.

Words borrowed from other languages

English has taken in words from many places. Kindergarten comes from German words for “children” and “garden.” Piano comes from Italian. Tsunami comes from Japanese words for “harbor” and “wave.” A dictionary’s origin section can tell you which language supplied a word.

You do not need to speak those languages to use the words. The history is another link that can help you remember them.

Old pieces and today’s meaning

Geography comes from Greek parts for “earth” and “writing.” That gives the older idea “writing about the earth.” Today, geography studies the earth’s lands, places, and people. The history helps you remember the subject, while the modern definition tells you what it covers.

A word’s meaning can shift over time. Awful once had the sense “full of awe.” In everyday English today, it usually means very bad. If someone says “The soup tasted awful,” the old pieces will send you the wrong way. Read the current definition and try it in the sentence.

A synonym has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. An antonym has the opposite meaning. Begin and start are synonyms; early and late are antonyms.

Try the word in its sentence

Use the swap test: replace a word and read again. Does the sentence still mean nearly the same thing?

“The mouse hid in a tiny hole.” Replace tiny with small: the meaning stays close. Replace it with huge: the meaning changes to the opposite.

The sentence decides which meaning matters. “The big game is on Friday.” Here, important is a good swap for big. Large usually describes size, so it misses the meaning of this sentence. A familiar synonym is not a perfect swap everywhere.

Keep the same word job

“He is a fast runner” becomes “He is a quick runner.” Both fast and quick describe the runner. “He ran fast” becomes “He ran quickly.” Here, you need a word telling how he ran. “He ran quick” does not use the matching adverb form in standard written English.

Find the opposite

Some antonyms use prefixes. Happy becomes unhappy, agree becomes disagree, and possible becomes impossible. Many pairs use completely different words, such as early and late.

Some opposites have middle points. Between hot and cold, you can describe something as warm or cool. The basic choices on and off work differently: a light’s switch is in one position or the other.

Read what a word question asks

“Closest in meaning” asks for a synonym. “Opposite in meaning” asks for an antonym. For brave, courageous gives a close meaning; afraid gives an opposite idea. Notice that instruction before deciding.

Writers place these relationships near unfamiliar words too. “The narrow tunnel widened into a broad cave.” The contrast between narrow and broad helps you picture the change in width.

Similar words can carry different amounts or feelings. These small differences are shades of meaning. Choosing carefully helps your reader picture what you mean.

Compare strength and certainty

Annoyed, angry, and furious grow stronger in that order. Cool, cold, and freezing show increasing cold. Glad and happy are close in meaning; thrilled is much stronger. You do not need to force every pair into a strict order.

Some words show how sure someone feels. “Omar suspected the key was in the drawer” describes an idea he had. “Omar believed the key was there” sounds more certain. “Omar knew the key was there” says he was sure.

Adverbs can differ too. Quietly means making little sound; silently means making none. Quickly means fast; instantly means with no wait. Choose the word whose detail is true.

Show an action clearly

Walked gives a general action. Strolled suggests an easy walk. Marched suggests firm, regular steps. Tiptoed suggests careful steps on the toes. Limped describes uneven walking, often because a leg or paw hurts. The word alone does not tell you the exact cause.

Compare “‘Stop,’ he said” with “‘Stop,’ he whispered” and “‘Stop,’ he snapped.” Whispering adds a quiet voice; snapping suggests anger. Shouting could fit danger or someone far away. Match the word to what happens in your story.

In science, a precise word can name a process. “The water evaporated” tells you that liquid water became gas. “The water went away” leaves that change unexplained.

Think about the feeling a word carries

Curious and nosy both connect to wanting information. Curious can sound like praise; nosy suggests prying into someone else’s business. Thrifty praises careful spending. Stingy criticizes someone for being unwilling to share or spend.

A bigger word is useful only if its meaning fits. Calling a small kitten “gargantuan” would tell the reader it was huge. Pick the accurate word, even when it is short.

Make a personal link to remember new words. For generous, picture someone who shares. For fragile, name something at home that breaks easily. Then use the word in your own sentence.

A familiar word can surprise you in a new sentence. Multiple-meaning words keep the same spelling while their meanings change. Read the sentence before settling on the meaning you know best.

Let the details decide

“The bark on the old oak tree felt rough.” Bark can name a dog’s sound or a tree’s outer covering. The clues oak tree and rough point to the covering. Try that meaning in place of the word.

“The current in the river was strong.” Here, current means moving water. Its meaning “happening now” does not fit a river’s movement. A familiar meaning can be the wrong one for this sentence.

A word’s job helps too. In “I watch the game,” watch is a verb. In “My watch stopped,” it is a noun naming a small clock worn on the wrist. The surrounding words tell you which job and meaning fit.

Same spelling, sometimes different sounds

Homographs are words spelled the same with different meanings. Bat, the animal, and bat, the sports tool, sound the same. Other homographs sound different.

“Wind the string around your finger” uses wind to mean turn or wrap. It rhymes with find. “The wind blew all night” names moving air. That wind rhymes with pinned. Read ahead so you know which sound to use.

Tear can be a drop from an eye or the action of ripping. These also have different sounds. Homophones work another way: pair and pear sound alike but have different spellings and meanings.

Notice school-subject meanings

A technical word has an exact meaning in a subject. Some are special words, like evaporation. Others are everyday words with a subject meaning.

In a store, a product is something you can buy. In math, a product is the answer to multiplication. In $6\times 4=24$, the product is 24. In science, a cell can be a tiny living unit in a plant or animal. It is not the room meaning you meet in a story about a jail.

A subject’s glossary gives the meaning used in that book. Check it when an everyday meaning makes the lesson confusing.

Sometimes words mean exactly what they say. Sometimes they give another idea. Context helps you tell the difference.

Read exactly, then check the scene

A literal meaning is exactly what the words say. “The ball fell on the floor” describes a ball really falling. A nonliteral meaning goes beyond those exact words. “My heart sank” means I felt sad or disappointed. It does not describe an organ dropping inside my chest.

Ask two questions. What would these words mean exactly? Does that reading fit what is happening? If it does not, work out the feeling or idea the writer wants.

The same words can work both ways

“Ana took steps down the hall” describes walking. “The town took steps to clean the river” describes actions taken to solve a problem. Nothing says that the town went walking. The words around the phrase decide how you read it.

A bright light gives off much light. A bright idea is clever. A cold drink has a low temperature; a cold stare feels unfriendly. Even one word can carry a nonliteral meaning.

Work through a reaction

“Zoe’s face fell when she saw her grade.” Read exactly, the words suggest a face dropping away. That does not fit this school scene. Think about someone reacting to a disappointing grade. Her face changes to show disappointment. In plain words, “Zoe looked disappointed when she saw her grade.”

“It’s raining cats and dogs” gives another nonliteral meaning. It describes very heavy rain. Picturing falling animals would make you miss what the speaker means.

Read within the story’s world

Something unusual can still be literal. “The dragon flew over the castle” can describe a real action inside a fantasy story. The writer means that a dragon actually flew in that world.

So do not decide by asking only whether something happens in everyday life. Ask what the writer means in this story. A magical character can really turn into a bird; an ordinary child who says “I could fly with joy” may just feel very happy.

Nonliteral words can show a feeling quickly. “The news hit me hard” tells you the news had a strong effect. Try saying the idea in plain words to check you understood it.

A dictionary can help only after you find the right word. In print, alphabetical order and guide words save time. In digital tools, spelling and search suggestions help you reach the right entry.

Compare letters in order

Compare first letters. When they match, compare second letters. Keep going until you reach a difference. If a short word matches the start of a longer word, the short one comes first: car, then card.

Put plate, play, plane, and plant in order. All start with pla. Their fourth letters are t, y, n, and n. The two n words come first. Compare their fifth letters: e comes before t. The order is plane, plant, plate, play.

Do not stop after seeing the first matching letters. That would leave plane and plant in an undecided order.

Use a print page’s guide words

Guide words show the first and last entries on a dictionary page. Look for a word that falls between them alphabetically. The guide words themselves are on the page too.

With hill and hole as guide words, test hive. The third letter v comes after the l in hill. Also, hi comes before ho in hole. So hive fits between the guide words. Hide comes before hill, and hop comes after hole.

Open near the part of the alphabet you need. A b word is near the front; an m word is near the middle; a w word is near the back. Then use guide words to narrow your search.

Search a base or another spelling

Longer forms may appear under the base word. For carries, try carry. For happier, try happy. Restoring the base gives you another way to find the entry.

If you are unsure of the spelling, begin with letters you know. Try other spellings for the sound: /f/ may be ph, as in phone; /s/ may be c, as in city.

Digital dictionaries often suggest nearby spellings. Check the suggested word against your reading before opening it. Some also let you listen to the pronunciation. A glossary is a shorter word list for one book, often near the back, with the meanings used in that book.

A dictionary entry gives more than a meaning. It can help you pronounce a word, find its job, and choose the meaning that fits your sentence.

Know what you are looking at

The entry word is the word being explained. Dots may split it into syllables, as in hap·pi·ness. A pronunciation guide shows how to say it. A stress mark shows the part said most strongly. Use the dictionary’s key to understand its symbols, or use its audio button.

Parts of speech often have short labels. N. means noun, v. means verb, adj. means adjective, and adv. means adverb. “A rock fell” needs the noun meaning of rock. “Rock the baby gently” needs a verb meaning.

Some entries add example sentences or a word history. Examples show how the word fits with other words. The history tells where it came from.

Choose a meaning, not just a number

A dictionary may number several meanings. The first one is not always the one you need. Words with quite different meanings can have separate entries, such as bat¹ and bat².

Try this short practice entry for sharp:

1. Having an edge that can cut.
2. Quick to notice or understand.
3. Making a big or sudden change in direction.

“The bus made a sharp turn.” First, identify what sharp describes: a turn. A cutting edge does not fit. A turn cannot notice or understand. The direction meaning fits. In your own words, the bus turned at a tight angle.

Keep checking until the definition works in the original sentence. A definition copied without understanding can still leave you confused.

Use a book’s glossary

A textbook’s glossary is a good first stop for subject words. Bold words often appear there. It gives the meaning that belongs to the book’s subject, which helps when a word also has an everyday meaning.

A glossary may not contain every word you need. Use a dictionary if the word is missing. If a definition contains another hard word, look that one up too. A student dictionary may use clearer language. Reading the example sentence can also make a difficult definition easier to understand.

A thesaurus gives synonyms and often antonyms. Use it when you want another way to say something. A dictionary answers “What does this mean?” A thesaurus answers “What other word could fit?” Its name comes from an old Greek word for treasure.

Find the right meaning group

Many thesauruses list entry words alphabetically. Within an entry, synonyms can be grouped by meaning and part of speech. Choose the group that matches your sentence before picking a word.

“The hike was hard.” Imagine two groups under hard:

• Not easy: difficult, tough, challenging.
• Firm to the touch: solid, stiff, firm.

The sentence is about effort, so use the first group. “The hike was difficult” keeps the meaning. “The hike was solid” misses it.

Give each possible swap a test

Read your sentence with the new word. Check its meaning, its word job, and the feeling it gives. Synonyms are close in meaning, but they are not perfect replacements everywhere.

For funny, you might find comical and peculiar. “A funny joke” means a comical joke. “A funny smell” means a peculiar smell. Swapping them without checking changes the message.

If you do not know a suggested word, look it up in a dictionary. The length or unusual sound of a word does not make it a better choice. A short familiar word can say exactly what you need.

Look for opposites too

A thesaurus may give antonyms. They can help show a character changing. Someone cheerful at the start may become gloomy later. Test an opposite in its sentence just as you test a synonym.

Digital thesauruses have search boxes, and many word processors offer synonyms for selected words. You still make the final choice. A suggestion list cannot decide what you meant by hard, funny, or another word with several meanings.

You have several ways to solve a new word. Bring them together when one clue leaves you unsure.

Combine context and parts

First, read the sentence and its neighbors. Next, look for a base, prefixes, suffixes, or roots. Then check a dictionary or glossary when you still need help.

“Ocean storms can be unpredictable, so sailors check the weather before every trip.” Start with the context. Sailors need to keep checking; they cannot rely on knowing exactly what will happen.

Now find the parts. Dict means “say,” and pre- means “before.” Predict means say what will happen ahead of time. -Able adds “can be,” and un- adds “not.” Put those ideas together: not able to be known ahead of time. A dictionary confirms that meaning of unpredictable.

Try another sentence: “Moles dig subterranean tunnels under the garden.” Sub- means “under,” and the Latin part terra means “earth.” The clues dig, tunnels, and under the garden agree. Subterranean means under the ground.

Decide when to look up a word

You do not need to stop for every unfamiliar word. If you understand the scene, keep reading and return later. Look the word up when it is important to the main idea, when there are too few clues, or when your guess does not fit. Check key subject words carefully because their exact meanings matter.

After finding a meaning, put it back into the sentence. If the sentence still fails to make sense, try another meaning or read more of the entry.

Keep and use your new words

Make a word bank in a notebook or on a screen. For each word, record:

• The word and the sentence where you found it.
• Its meaning in your own words.
• Helpful word parts.
• A synonym or antonym.

For portable, you might write “can be carried,” note port and -able, and give “easy to carry” as a similar phrase. Then write a new sentence about a portable lamp or radio.

Say your new word aloud and use it in your own sentences. Watch for it in later reading. Each new meeting gives you another example of how the word works.