Adding personal relevance to an unfamiliar word makes you learn it faster
Researchers have discovered that adding personal relevance to a word that you are trying to learn will increase your chances of retaining it in your vocabulary by as much as 670%. When you spice up a word's meaning by adding your own personal touch to it, it becomes more real to you, and you will have an easier time remembering it. Attaching relevance to an unfamiliar word is a very effective vocabulary builder. There are several ways of doing this:
Create your own definition
Sometimes dictionaries or vocabulary builder software provide definitions that are too technical and can even confuse you more. What you can do is understand the definition and recreate it in your own words, adding familiar concepts that you can remember easily.
Relate the word to your personal experiences
It is easier to remember a word if you can associate it with a personal experience. If you are trying to remember what a "declamation" is (a prepared, formal speech), remember that you often watched your best friend in college join several inter-university declamation contests.
Make up rhymes or other mnemonics
This great vocabulary builder technique will help you a lot to remember new words, and creating them is also fun. For example, "audacious" means "defiant of ordinary restraint; having a fearless spirit". You can remember this word better by thinking of"Audacious Audrey," your rebellious cousin who does not like rules.