Basic Details
Word: Memorising
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Learning something carefully so that you can remember it exactly, such as a poem, a speech or a list of facts.
Synonyms: learning by heart, learning by rote
Antonyms: forgetting
How to Spell Memorising
Syllables: mem - o - ris - ing
Tricky part: The e of memorise is dropped before ing. The vowels after mem are o then i. Memorizing with a z is also correct.
Watch out for: memoriseing, memmorising, memerising
Memory tip: Start with memory, swap its y for ise to get memorise, then drop that e when ing arrives.
Usage Examples
Example 1: I am memorising the poem for the recitation contest.
Example 2: Memorising dates is easier if you make a timeline.
Example 3: He spent the bus ride memorising the names of the planets.
Fun Fact
In 2015 Rajveer Meena, a student from Rajasthan, recited 70,000 decimal places of the number pi from memory, a Guinness World Record at the time.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Before the debate Kabir spent three evenings memoriseing his opening speech, but on the day he spoke without any notes.
a) debate
b) memoriseing
c) evenings
d) opening
Show answer
b) memoriseing. Memorise loses its e before ing, just as smile becomes smiling.
Word Connection
Choose the word opposite in meaning to memorising as used in the sentence:
Meera has been memorising the periodic table so she can write the first twenty elements without looking.
a) recalling
b) learning
c) rehearsing
d) forgetting
Show answer
d) forgetting. Memorising fixes something in your mind, and forgetting loses it; the others are close in meaning.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
The actors are still ginimsrome their lines a day before the school play.
a) memorising
b) moralising
c) mesmerising
d) motorising
Show answer
a) memorising. The letters have two m's and an o: memorising. Mesmerising needs two s's and no o, and moralising and motorising have only one m.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Memorising a poem means ____.
a) reading it once quickly and putting it away
b) copying it neatly into a notebook
c) learning it so you can say it without the book
d) writing a new poem in the same style
Show answer
c) learning it so you can say it without the book
2. The verb memorise was formed from which noun?
a) message
b) memory
c) member
d) moment
Show answer
b) memory
