As you study your vocabulary list, looking up definitions for new words that you’ve come across in your daily reading or overheard in conversation and noted in your word journal, you’ll undoubtedly come across words that have two or more meanings, some of which will be related, and some of which will not. A simple example of the latter is the word bank, which has definitions that include “a place to store money,” “the edge of a river,” and “an alteration in direction,” none of which have anything to do with the others. You may have to decide which of the definitions you’ll focus on when learning the word, in order to avoid confusion. However, most high-level vocabulary words will have one main definition that is most commonly used; this definition is usually the first one listed in a dictionary entry.

You’ll also find that there are words which have two equally-common meanings, and it’s a good idea to be familiar with them both. For example, the word inexorable can mean either “unrelenting, unwilling to change” or “inevitable, impossible to prevent.” While both definitions have the underlying meaning of “something you can’t alter” the first one refers to something that you can’t move (metaphorically) and the second to something that you can’t stop from moving (physically or metaphorically).

Example 1: The judge was inexorable in his ruling that the defendant be given 500 hours of community service, in addition to his jail sentence and fine.

Example 2: The children’s sand castles were washed away by the inexorable advance of the incoming tide.

Inexorable is a good example of a word that you’ll find on SAT or GRE examinations, in that it is descriptive, precise, and has more than one common definition. If you’re studying for one of these tests, you may need to devote some time to learning more than one way to use the advanced vocabulary words on your list.

Don’t let the prospect of additional work deter you from continuing your daily vocabulary study! Once you’ve started expanding your vocabulary, your progress and success will be impossible to stop.