Modulo

Vocabulary.com

Recommended Ages

Ages 5-18+ (adaptive, elementary through high school)

Traditional vocabulary study can feel like endless lists and flashcards with little real-world payoff. Vocabulary.com turns word learning into an adaptive, game-like experience where students answer questions, see words used in context, and gradually move them into long-term memory. Built by a team of lexicographers and technologists, the platform draws on a massive corpus of real-world usage to generate explanations and example sentences. We love how it quickly zeroes in on each learner’s level and keeps review going just when it’s needed. It’s ideal for middle school through adult learners, including SAT/ACT prep and advanced readers who crave new words. The interface is text-heavy and may feel dry to younger kids seeking cartoons, but serious word lovers tend to thrive. Pro tip: assign specific word lists tied to your reading or subject units and schedule short, regular practice sessions instead of long cram sessions.

Best for roughly grades 5–12 students who are solid readers, enjoy on-screen games, and either want to boost vocabulary for literature and writing or are preparing for tests with challenging word lists.

Pros

Adaptive, game-like vocabulary platform where students practice words through short, varied question types and earn points and badges, with teacher accounts that let parents assign existing word lists aligned to literature or tests and track progress; it’s frequently recommended in secular homeschool circles as a flexible tool for middle and high school vocabulary. oai_citation:7‡cathyduffyreviews.com

Cons

The gamified format can tempt some kids to click quickly for points rather than thinking deeply about word meanings, and the interface can feel busy or text-dense for younger learners; free teacher accounts have some limits, and it’s not designed for early readers or students who need heavy decoding support.

Funding options vary: some schools and districts purchase classroom or site licenses with public funds, while individual families typically pay for learner subscriptions out of pocket or, where permitted, through ESA or charter curriculum budgets.

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Vocabulary.com
$0.00 USD

Skills

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Vocabulary.com Mission

Vocabulary.com’s mission is to make building a powerful vocabulary feel like an engaging game rather than a chore, using adaptive technology to meet learners where they are. By blending a vast word database, smart multiple-choice questions, and human-crafted explanations, the platform aims to help students unpack the nuance and context of English words so they can read, write, and think more precisely.

Vocabulary.com Story

Founded in 2008 by a multidisciplinary team of educators, lexicographers, data scientists, and developers, Vocabulary.com grew out of the recognition that traditional word lists weren’t sticking for most students. The team built an adaptive learning engine that selects practice questions based on what each learner knows, then wrapped it in achievements, leaderboards, and teacher dashboards so it could work equally well for self-motivated kids and classroom use. Today, as part of the IXL Learning family of products, it serves schools and independent learners around the world who want a research-backed, game-like way to master academic vocabulary.

About Modular Learning

FAQ: Additional Details about Vocabulary.com

In practice, a session might look like your child logging in for ten minutes and answering rapid‑fire questions that feel like a quiz game—cheering when a streak continues and groaning when they miss a word. The system quietly adjusts, revisiting troublesome words in new contexts, and at the end you can glance at a dashboard showing which terms they’ve mastered and which still need work. 

Vocabulary.com is an adaptive website and app where learners master new words through short, game‑like multiple‑choice questions powered by VocabTrainer, an award‑winning engine that adjusts difficulty in real time. Teachers and parents can assign curated word lists linked to novels or content areas, track progress with proficiency scores, and host live “Vocabulary Jams,” while individual learners can follow personalized study plans that target their specific word gaps. 

Kids can use Vocabulary.com independently in short daily bursts, but parents and caregivers add value by helping choose meaningful word lists, connecting new vocabulary to real reading, and checking in on progress dashboards.

Students should be comfortable reading short English sentences and multiple‑choice options; the platform is used widely from upper elementary through adult learners, and it can be tuned for test prep like SAT, ACT, and GRE. 

Vocabulary.com’s adaptive quizzes and explanations can be engaging for teens who like gamified learning, including many ADHD and gifted learners. Because it quickly increases difficulty, dyslexic or anxiety‑prone students may need limits on time spent and encouragement to treat mistakes as data, not failure.

For paid subscriptions, Vocabulary.com allows you to cancel at any time, continues access through the end of the billing period, and offers a satisfaction guarantee with full refunds available within about 30 days of purchase; beyond that window, partial periods are generally non‑refundable. 

Less suitable for beginning readers, kids with significant decoding or language-based learning disabilities who need structured, multisensory instruction, or families who prefer to keep language arts completely screen-free.

Alternatives include print-based programs like Wordly Wise 3000, apps like Membean, teacher-made Quizlet sets tied to specific books, or simply building personal word banks from read-alouds and independent reading. oai_citation:8‡cathyduffyreviews.com

The platform continues to roll out enhancements such as VocabTrainer, proficiency‑score reporting, and new subscription options for individuals and classrooms; its team regularly analyzes billions of answered questions to refine the adaptive engine. 

Tie each list to something meaningful—such as a novel your child is reading or a science unit—and keep sessions short (10–15 minutes), then use any repeatedly missed words as copywork, sentence-writing prompts, or discussion starters at the end of the week.

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Meet Marc

Marc Tinkler is a technologist and entrepreneur who helped found Vocabulary.com and serves as its longtime chief technology officer, leading development of the site’s adaptive learning engine. Working closely with educators and lexicographers, he has overseen the creation of the platform’s rich word database and the algorithms that tailor practice to each learner’s needs. Under his technical leadership, Vocabulary.com has evolved into a widely used tool in schools and districts seeking data-informed support for reading and test preparation.