A good vocabulary can help you become more articulate, helping you communicate more precisely. A better vocabulary can be useful for a student for obvious reasons – helping with exams, admission tests and so on. For a professional, it can help to convey an impression of greater competency and proficiency at the work place.

And since we all seem to have a handheld device within arm’s reach at all times, we can all take advantage of vocabulary building applications that help enhance our word power for free.

1. Dictionary and Thesaurus

When you come across a word that you don’t know the meaning of, refer to the dictionary. This is the golden rule for vocabulary building. Also if you’re not sure of the meaning of a word, don’t use it without first referring to a dictionary. Also when you can use a more precise word why use a generic word – say “commendable job” rather than “nice job”? So have a dictionary/thesaurus at hand.

Dictionary.com has an excellent free app for android – with a daily word to learn, thesaurus application, and another very useful tool: how to pronounce a word. For those who want a more advanced dictionary, the app Advanced English and Thesaurus may be the thing with 1.4 million words including lots of really obscure words.

2. Flashcards

This is another free app from dictionary.com that quizzes you on various types of words: Latin root words, figures of speech, SAT English, commonly misspelled words, literary concepts, parts of speech, and more. These are multiple choice questions that you answer within the given time. Flashcards is a challenging and educational app to improve the vocabulary!

3. PowerVocab

Another engaging and challenging way to test your vocabulary is PowerVocab. You can challenge yourself with multiple choice questions, challenge others (matched opponents online), search for and learn new words, review marked words and select different word packs.

4. Classic Words Solo

Classic Words Solo is a Scrabble like game that lets you play against your device. You can play at your own pace and don’t have to wait for friends to make their move. There is a built-in dictionary feature that works if you’re connected to the net.

5. Miss Spell’s Class

This is the app that helps you improve your spellings. Miss Spell’s Class helps identify commonly misspelled words so that you can avoid future bloopers. The app will also tell you the correct spelling and definition of each word.