Welcome to Acronymaker.

If you're a student and you want to remember a list of concepts for a test, you're in the right place. Any list is fair game; it could be anything from a list of symptoms (medical school) or exceptions (law schools), to a list of shifters of demand (undergrad economics) or nucleophiles/electrophiles (undergrad chemistry). As you use this tool more and more, you'll realize that you can use it much more often than you think.

How it works: Enter your list of words into the "enter a word" textboxes. Then, under each word a plus sign will appear; this is what you click to add synonyms/substitute words. For example, if your word is "sickness," you could put "illness" as a synonym. Once you finish inputting everything, hit "generate," and it'll give you every possible acronym that spells out a word in your chosen language from your combination.

An example of such an acronym would be something like HOMES for the great lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Eerie, Superior). Now you won't ever forget the great lakes again. You're welcome.

Disclaimer: Some produced acronyms may be offensive.

Language:
Clear form
+
Ordered? Retains the original order (left to right) of the words even if synonyms are used.

Waiting for an input . . .

Advanced Instruction

You may have realized that the algorithm behind Acronymaker is a little more nuanced it seems. Why do some combinations create hundreds of useful acronyms while others create none? Is there a method to this madness?

There is, actually. If your combination fails to generate an acronym, there are generally three possible reasons why:

  • You don't have enough words that start with vowels;
  • You don't have enough words that start with consonants; and/or
  • You don't have enough words that start with common consonants (j, x, and z, for example, are uncommon).
If you can say NO to all three of those, then there's no reason your combination shouldn't generate acronyms.

You may have also noticed that the true trick to generating good acronyms is getting creative with synonyms. In fact, even though it may seem hard to believe, it's actually extremely difficult to have an un-ordered combination of words that can't provide an acronym if you add synonyms wisely. I (the creator) have been using this tool myself for quite some time, and I don't remember ever failing to produce a useful acronym, although sometimes it can take up to 5 minutes of trying to think of good synonyms.

So at the end of the day, this tool is a skill; the more you use it, the better you get at thinking of synonyms and having an "instinct" for how to make a combination work. At least, that's if you're as nerdy about it as me.

Some extra editor's notes:
  • Don't add synonyms with the same starting letter as the original word; the point is to have a different starting letter (you already knew this, right?)
  • If you're failing to generate acronyms due to one of the Three Errors, focus on adding synonyms that cure the Error (if you don't have enough vowels, adding a ton of archaic words starting with q won't exactly help)
  • When choosing which acronym to use when multiple are generated, choose the word that's most memorable to you personally (obviously) but also try to avoid picking one with a repeated letter. They still work, just not as well, because you can get confused between for example which e word corresponds to which e in the word "teepee" and whatnot

Why is This Useful?

Let's face it. What is a random word vomited out by a confusing algorithm gonna do to help me pass my organic chemistry test at seven in the morning tomorrow?

The answer is: a lot. "Mnemonic acronyms," as they're called, have been scientifically proven to help you remember lists more effectively than without them, and it's not even really close. Although it might seem like a list of random words, you naturally associate those words with the concepts behind them; you're not just remembering the word itself. In most cases this is obvious, but even if for example you associate the word "late" in your acronym with being past a 21-day deadline, every time you think of the L in your acronym you'll also think about the 21-day deadline, so you'll end up remembering that the deadline is 21 days.

This is called "associative memory," and it's also the reason why using synonyms instead of the original word doesn't get in the way of your memory; it actually boosts it, because it creates multiple neuronal pathways through which your brain can retrieve the information.

TLDR: While this tool might not be as effective as a cup of coffee for your organic chemistry grade, it does get darn close.

Insider tip: if you find that the mnemonic acronyms aren't helping you remember, try testing yourself on them on increasing intervals (for example, test yourself in your head twice in the first hour, then another time at the end of the day, then another time at the end of the next day, etc.). This uses what's called "active recall" and "spaced repetition" to help you burn it into your brain.

Common misconceptions

Despite the fact that mnemonic acronyms have been shown again and again to improve retention and knowledge, there are a few common misconceptions that mislead people into thinking they don't work:

  • "Acronyms are only good for rote memorization and prevent you from getting a deeper understanding"
    • This isn't true and is probably the biggest reason why people miss out on this technique. The reason it isn't true is because of the principle of association: associating the mnemonic acronym with the conceptual understanding helps you remember the conceptual information behind the acronym. It might seem like memorizing a random string of words, but in reality, if you know the concepts behind the words, it's a very powerful tool for remembering those concepts.
  • "Mnemonic acronyms only help with short-term memorization."
    • Mnemonic acronyms are incredibly effective for both short- and long-term memorization. Because they encode information in an efficient, memorable way, using mnemonic acronyms actually reinforces neural connections, making recall easier over time. With periodic review, mnemonic acronyms can become a part of long-term memory, helping you retain important information indefinitely.
  • "They're only useful for simple concepts or lists."
    • Mnemonic acronyms are highly versatile and can be used to distill complex topics into bite-sized words designed for simplification. It's true that mnemonics are useful for simple concepts, but they're also effective for more sophisticated subjects — in fact, we've used Acronymaker to generate acronyms for students in medical school and law school (you can hardly get more sophisticated than that!).
  • "Mnemonics are too childish and silly"
    • The only thing that's childish and silly is this reason for not using them. Stop missing out and learn faster with the power of mnemonic acronyms on your side!