Sometimes we choose words to learn because of a school assignment, when we need to memorize new words used in talking about an unfamiliar subject. Other times we’ll find words at random throughout the day, and jot them down on a piece of paper to look up later – words from magazine and newspaper articles, or overheard in conversation, or in the book we’re reading during the train ride home. Many people like having the choice of words made for them, and use “word of the day” calendars to get their new vocabulary. And some people like picking through the dictionary to find words by chance, or just because they’re interesting.

If you find some way in which each new word is interesting, you’ll be more likely to be able to learn and memorize it quickly. We’ve found one category of words you might find interesting today: English words that don’t rhyme with any other words. Rhymes are very useful when you’re trying to memorize things, and poetry makes a good memory training tool. Not all poems rhyme, of course, and even some rhyming poems rely on similar pronunciations, rather than exact ones. Today’s non-rhyming category is made up of words that have no “perfect” rhyme where the ending vowel and consonant sounds are exactly the same. This means that while set me free and galaxy might actually be used in a rhyming poem, they’re not a perfect rhyme. But perfect or not, it’s new way to think about words. Set yourself to memorizing this list and you’ll find even the most prosaic text more interesting in the future.

almond
chocolate
galaxy
wolf
elbow
orange
citrus
foible
justice
sandwich
transfer
husband
empty
problem
zigzag
fifth
bulb
oblige
gulf
month
plankton