Grouping Vocabulary Words to Learn Them in Context
. Posted in Study Tips, Vocabulary - 0 Comments
When studying words, it is important to learn them in a context, rather than individually. Grouping vocabulary words is a good strategy for this. Try to 
take a group of words that all have a similar meaning or tone and study them together. If you study a group of words that all mean “good,” and a group of words that all mean “bad,” you can learn more words and understand a great deal of synonyms and antonyms, which is crucial for all aspects of the verbal section.
Here is a sample of 3 sets of words (words and their antonyms) to learn in these categories:
| Good | Bad | Happy | Sad | Nice | Mean/Angry |
| commendable | detestable | jubilant | melancholy | amiable | profane |
| benign | immoral | ecstatic | grave | congenial | belligerent |
| reputable | deficient | convivial | morose | altruistic | choleric |
| immaculate | debilitating | gleeful | despairing | benevolent | pugnacious |
| meticulous | mar | mirthful | despondent | gregarious | volatile |
| pious | irreverent | felicity | disconsolate | affable | livid |
| cordial | abominable | exuberant | pessimistic | amicable | contemptuous |
| ingratiating | repugnant | exultant | lugubrious | auspicious | rancorous |
| decorous | deleterious | elated | dejected | obliging | hostile |
Please note that the suggested words listed above are on the more difficult end. If you have a younger child, it may be best to put the word “good” into thesaurus.com and see which words you don’t know, and talk to a parent or tutor to see which of these words are best for you to learn. No matter what grade level, it is better to learn words in a group or some context, rather than individually.