Category Archives: Vocabulary

Synonyms

Posted on by

A synonym is a word that has the same, or almost the same, meaning as another word.
Synonyms for “cold“:  chilly, icy, frigid, and frosty.
They are good to learn because:

  • They improve your vocabulary
  • They make your speaking and writing more interesting (not always using the same words)
  • They make your speaking and writing more clear (closer to what you really want to say)

One good place to find synonyms is Thesaurus.com   A ‘thesaurus’ is a synonym dictionary.  Type in a word such as delicious, or enjoy, and they will show you several synonyms – with the most common synonyms listed first.  You can also check the pronunciation and definition for each of these words. (It’s important to check the definition for words that you don’t know.)

There’s a popular thesaurus that’s part of the Dictionary.com App – available for free for IOS and Android.  After you install the app, you can switch to the thesaurus to find synonyms.  There’s also a special tab for English learners, with more explanation.

Here’s a basic list of synonyms for almost 100 very common English words.

Google Images as Your Dictionary

Posted on by

    There are some good, regular dictionaries for English language learners – including the Learner’s Dictionary, which explains 100,000 words and phrases in simple language, with sentence examples, and pronunciation.

However, there are many times when some pictures will help you understand a word better, and more quickly.  Perhaps the easiest way to see a word in pictures is with Google Images.  Here are some examples of words that are easier to understand with a picture, or a set of pictures…

Animal Idioms

Posted on by

  • Night owl –  A person who is more awake/active at night
  • Early bird – A person who is more awake/active earlier in the morning
  • Scaredy cat – Someone easily frightened by something
  • Average bear – An average/typical person
  • Get off your high horse – Stop acting like you’re better than other people
  • Busy bee – A person who is very active/busy
  • Social butterfly – A person who likes going to lots of parties and other social events
  • Fish out of water – A person who feels uncomfortable in a new place or situation
  • Eager beaver – Someone who is very enthusiastic and works hard
  • Sitting duck – Something/someone unprotected – easy to attack
  • Cold turkey – Stop doing something very suddenly (He stopped smoking cold turkey.)
  • Stool pigeon – An informant – someone who acts as a spy and reports to someone else (often the police)
  • Hornet’s nest – A situation that could produce a lot of trouble, anger