Vocabulary.com
By Stacy Zeiger,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Intense, game-style vocab practice challenges teens.
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Vocabulary.com
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Based on 1 parent review
Excellent way to learn
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Pass
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Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
Privacy Rating
Our expert evaluators create our privacy ratings. The ratings are designed to help you understand how apps use your data for commercial purposes.
Pass
Meets our minimum requirements for privacy and security practices.
Warning
Does not meet our recommendations for privacy and security practices.
Fail
Does not have a privacy policy and should not be used.
What’s It About?
VOCABULARY.COM encourages teens to build their vocabulary skills by introducing them to high-level words in a variety of contexts. The adaptive format helps gauge teens' vocab skills and presents words designed to challenge them. They also have the opportunity to study words from subject-specific or literature-specific word lists. However, rather than simply having users study word lists, the app engages players in a game wherein they must guess the meanings of unfamiliar words, insert words into sentences, and identify words to fit given definitions. As they answer questions correctly, the questions increase in difficulty, with the game throwing in a few words for review every so often. When teens have trouble coming up with an answer, they have the opportunity to eliminate half the answers, see a definition, or see the word used in context. All passages contained in hints and contained within the game's questions come from high-quality publications, including Scientific American and The New York Times. The more teens answer questions correctly, the more points they score. They also get the opportunity to track their progress after each round and see how they stack up against the day's top scorers, encouraging them to keep playing and score even higher.
Is It Any Good?
Although learning new vocabulary words may not appeal to teens, playing a game will. Vocabulary.com turns learning vocabulary into a game for teens by providing them with opportunities to earn points and unlock achievements as they improve their skills. The game lacks some of the animations and sound effects that will reel most teens in, but, if they give it a shot, they may find it to be surprisingly addicting. Instead of answering the same type of question about the same words over and over again, teens will discover different question types and words appearing in a variety of contexts. Specialized word lists also allow teens to practice words they'll find in specific books, historical documents, and academic subjects or on SAT preps. As they play, they'll see which words they master and which need more work, providing some focus for their practice.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Pull out a dictionary and find a random word. Read a fake definition along with the real definition and see if other family members can determine which is real.
Choose a new word each day and try to use that word in conversation as much as possible throughout the day.
Make up new words and definitions and incorporate them into conversations.
App Details
- Devices: iPhone , iPod Touch , iPad
- Subjects: Language & Reading : letter or word recognition, vocabulary
- Skills: Thinking & Reasoning : memorization, thinking critically, Self-Direction : achieving goals, identifying strengths and weaknesses, motivation, work to achieve goals
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Release date: March 21, 2014
- Category: Education
- Publisher: Vocabulary.com
- Version: 1.0.1
- Minimum software requirements: iOS 6.1 or later
- Last updated: October 4, 2019
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