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In a world of constant social media updates and 17 billion streaming platforms, the pastime of reading for enjoyment is quickly fading. To build your vocabulary, you have to read — it’s that simple. Studies consistently show that those who read for enjoyment have a much larger vocabulary than those who dislike reading. You have to see the words in print, not just hear someone say them. Besides, people can read and understand many more words than they could ever use in conversation.

That doesn’t mean you have to start with Advanced Astrophysics. In fact, if you don’t read much, you can start with your daily newspaper, a news magazine, or any type of reading material that’s just a notch or two above what you ordinarily read. Choose topics that interest you. If you’re interested in the subject matter, you’ll enjoy reading more. Plus, you may learn something new!

When you encounter a word you don’t know, try to understand what it means by looking at the context in which the word is used. For example, if you read, “The scientist extrapolated from the data,” and you don’t know what extrapolated means, you can try substituting words you do know to see whether they’d make sense. For example, the scientist probably didn’t hide from the data. They probably used the data to make some sort of decision, judgment, or guess. To confirm your understanding of the word, check your dictionary. Making predictions like this can help you remember a definition for the long term.

You may even consider keeping a running list of terms you come across as you read, along with their definitions (see the following section). On the Word Knowledge subtest of the ASVAB, you often won’t be able to guess what a word means from its context (in many cases, there’s no context in the test because the words aren’t used in sentences). You also won’t be able to look the word up in the dictionary. But considering context and consulting a dictionary are two great ways to discover vocabulary words during your test preparation.