Mental Lexicon (Noun)
Meaning
A language user's knowledge of words.
Classification
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents.
Examples
- A person's mental lexicon contains a vast collection of words, their meanings, and the associations between them.
- Every time we learn a new word, it gets added to our mental lexicon, expanding our vocabulary.
- Researchers are still unsure how the brain organizes the mental lexicon, but they know it's not just a simple dictionary-like list.
- Her impressive mental lexicon allowed her to effortlessly recall obscure words during the spelling bee.
- Studying foreign languages helps build a stronger mental lexicon by increasing knowledge of word roots and prefixes.