When learning new words, look for antonyms, the words with an opposite meaning. It will help you to figure out the exact meaning of a word and, often, how to use the word properly.
For example, a Russian word гордый is usually translated as proud. Yet, the opposite for гордый in Russian is смиренный, скромный, humble, submissive, and “ashamed”, пристыженный, would be somewhere in the very end of the list. Probably, this is because гордый in Russian is rather a personality trait (permanent), not a reaction to some event (temporary). When you learn relations, how words are connected in the language, you understand their meaning better, comprehensively.
Also, memorizing words in pairs, along with their antonyms, will help you to expand your vocabulary faster.