RD.COM To know
Alison Caporimo
Jeff BogleUpdated: February 15, 2022
We all want to look smarter. With these fancy words you can take your vocabulary to a whole new level and impress everyone.
Orcel Anthony/EyeEm/Getty Images
Choose your words carefully
Even ifyou can pronounce them, some fancy words can make you sound pompous if you're not comfortable with them. Others will make you look like you're trying too hard to look smart, which is the complete opposite of what you want. Bottom line: When using complicated words, choose wisely. Your best bets are the ones that snap into the moment and flow easily as if you've been using them in conversations for years. Here we highlight 30 words - including the top 5 from recent research.PrepareSurvey - that will make you look smarter in an instant. They're just fancier ways of saying everyday things, but they'll help you update your vocabulary quickly and effortlessly. You can find more ways to expand your vocabulary herefunny words that sound wrong,words difficult to spell, and these otherscommonly misspelled words.
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Nice word for penultimate
Attempt:Penultimate. It's a big word that simply means the penultimate. For example, if you watch a TV series such asSquid Game, which has nine episodes, you can let your friends know you're about to watch the penultimate episode by sitting down with a pizza and a glass of wine for number eight. Be amazed by these as you improve your vocabularywords difficult to spell.
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fancy word for small
Attempt:Diminutive. Use it when the object, animal, or person you are describing is exceptionally small and you want a better alternative to the familiar adjectives "tiny" or "small". Here's an excellent example, as Merriam-Webster notes: "Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg [was] a small but imposing advocate for women's rights who became the court's second female judge." Just be careful when you start , to exchange words –You probably think these 50 words are synonyms, but they're not!
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Nice word to unite
Attempt:confluence. Use this word when talking about a discussion of opinions, a brainstorming session, or a gathering of several people for a meeting. For example, a conference may involve a confluence of ideas. However, it is also often used to describe streams or rivers that come together in nature. Whileconfluencedid not create this list30 most beautiful words in the English language, is certainly the number 31.
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Fancy word for finely detailed
Attempt:grainy. Alluding to the minute details of tiny particles, this word can help describe a meticulous level of detail in your own work, thinking, or planning. If you've literally thought of everything, then you've gotten granular with your thinking! can you guess itthe most abused word in the English language?
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Fancy word for a way of speaking
Attempt:speak. Choose it when you want to describe a set of words used by a group, sometimes for a specific purpose. For example, a language or jargon that is unique to a particular region of the country may be considered a "local language". These are theThe most confusing grammar rules in English.
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Fancy word for a brief comment on the content
Attempt:conciseif you want to talk about how your friend responded to the Tinder prospect with a short, smart, blunt comment. Your answer to the guyTinder-Hotlineit wasn't concise - it was concise!
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fancy word for hopeless
Attempt:sad. If the past two years have affected you, use a more sophisticated word to express your hopelessness. Reservationsdepressivefor medical diagnosis and usesadto articulate extreme discouragement and hopelessness.
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Fancy word for clear and understandable
Attempt:Clearto add a literary touch to its clarity. Whyclearcomes from the Latin adjectivehell, Meaningglowing, is the perfect word for intelligent thinking that shines the light through the confusion. Sometimes you want to throw out a fancy word, but other times you want silly jewelry likebang!estrike!- and these othersExamples of onomatopoeia.
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Fancy word for enthusiastic
Attempt:Bubblyif you want to find a more sophisticated word to describe your bubbly, excited best friend.bubblingliterally means having the property of making bubbles so that the carefree person in your life is naturally bubbly.
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Fancy word for reduce or diminish
Attempt:shoot downwhen you want to talk about the rain letting up or the pain from your nagging headache finally easing. That's right:shoot downmeans "to reduce," but when you use it, you expand your demanding vocabulary. Are you having fun with these new words? look at theseThesaurus jokesGrammar nerds will appreciate it.
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Fancy word for tailor-made
Attempt:under fairs. This edgy word sounds beautiful when said out loud when it comes to bespoke jewellery, a finely tailored suit with exact measurements or anything else designed and made just for you.
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fancy word for beautiful
Attempt:radiant. The official Merriam-Webster definition is "brilliant: characterized by a brilliant aura". That word is sure to make that special someone swoon when they're all dressed up for a night on the town and you tell them they look radiant. Whileradiantexists since the 15th century,These new words have been added to the dictionary for 2022.
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fancy word for smart
Attempt:Taught. This switch makes you sound smarter when describing yourself or another smart and knowledgeable person. You can work on that toolearningwhen a fancy noun is needed to discuss how sophisticated you are.
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Fantasy word for two weeks
Attempt:fourteen days. It sounds a bit dated and (ahem) scholarly, but you might as well use it to refer to something that happened two weeks ago or will happen over a two-week period. For example, instead of telling your co-workers that you will be out of the office for two weeks, tell them that you will see them in two weeks. Bonus: You get that beautiful and elegant word back from the generation of Fortnite players! We know you can't resistGen Z slang.
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fancy word for boredom
Attempt:Boredom.You've probably heard this word before, but maybe you never knew how to use it in everyday conversation. We're in the process of fixing that! Useboredomwhen you want a more elegant disguise for your apathy caused by boredom or dissatisfaction. I was almost bored last week.
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fancy word for rant
Attempt:diatribe, means an awkward (and usually long) speech, whether spoken or written. Do you tend to hate speech when angry? They're the perfect excuse to use fancy words that your interlocutor might not understand. Can you tell if thisfunny words are real or made up?
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fancy word to mean
Attempt:poisonous. The wordVitrioloriginally related to sulfates. It evolved over time but retained the "caustic" and "destructive" connotations of its association with sulfuric acid. It is now used to describe an uncomfortable, blunt comment or action. Charlie wrote a scathing letter to the person who dropped his mailbox.
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Fancy word for fear or shyness
Attempt:Kleinmuth.The Wizard of Oz himself uses this, telling the Scarecrow that "every faint-hearted creature that crawls on earth or slinks through slimy seas has a brain!" Bonus: It's really fun to say. Who would have thought that you could learn vocabularyfamous movie quotes?
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fancy word for boasting
Attempt:blowingspeak or write in a pompous and grand way. If you brag about your achievements, you may be guilty of bloviation. You can also be guilty of talking too much if you fill your speech with fancy words to sound smarter. Did you know thatthe most complicated word in englishJust three letters?
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Fancy word for overly ornate
Attempt:Rococo. The artistic style that dominated the early 18th century was imaginative and very elaborate. The term for it is so fancy - no,Rococo-and meant "overly ornate". Use it the next time you find an elaborately designed piece of furniture or artwork. And have fun with thesedark jokes.
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fancy word for trust
Attempt:serenity, signifying complete composure and confidence, especially in a skill. If you're unsure of your pronunciation, skillful use of some of these vocabulary words will help you become fluent (as will thesetrust quotes).
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fancy word for stubborn
Attempt:condemnation, meaning stubborn and inflexible. This term comes from the Latin word for "to prevail". You can use this in a sentence when describing a person's stubbornness.
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Fantasy word to confuse
Attempt:overshadow, meaning to make obscure or unclear. Criminal suspects and politicians often obfuscate when they don't want to answer a question directly.
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fancy word for meticulous
Attempt:carefully, meaning overly specific or picky, and particularly overly concerned with accuracy and detail. The next time a potential employer asks you about your strengths, you can brag about your attention to detail. Don't miss theseclever jokesit also makes you look smart.
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fancy word for sucking
Attempt:sycophant, a selfish creep. It's so much easier to call someone a kiss-ass when you're not actually using the word.Zucker-up.
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fancy word for well spoken
Attempt:Articulated, meaning having the ability to speak fluently or coherently. This word was the first choice in a poll conducted byPreparein terms of complex vocabulary. 1,916 people were asked what words they think make people sound smart. They articulated that the word "articulate" was most impressive.
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fancy word for compliments
Attempt:Forgive, an award given in recognition of merit. This took second placePrepareOpinion poll. Another finding: 58% of people used a word to sound smarter without knowing the real meaning. But now you know and you will definitely get the Secret Service award for using this one, or maybe you can give someone a prestigious award for using your own fancy words.
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fancy word for concise
Attempt:brevity, meaning the succinct use of words in writing or speech. Enter number three after thePrepareResearch is “brevity”. Maybe you like the brevity of this article, or maybe you appreciate the brevity of a friend's story — and his ability to use the word brevity.
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fancy word for weird
Attempt:Anomalies, meaning something that deviates from what is normal. Using kind words is no longer an anomaly. OPrepareResearch has found this to be the 4th most impressive word, so make sure you use this word if you can. 78% of respondents also believe that using big words makes someone sound smarter.
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fancy word for flattery
Attempt:glorification, meaning admiration or excessive praise. Last but not least, this word reached number five in thePrepareOpinion poll. Use this term when talking about creeps, like fans creeping a musician, artist, or maybe even this list. We hope that now that you've flattered yourself with these pretty words, you'll continue testing your vocabulary with oursWord Power Quiz.
Sources
- Prepare: "Words that make you sound smarter, according to Americans"
Original post: February 15, 2022
Jeff Bogle
Jeff Bogle is an Iris Award-winning photographer, avid traveler and English football fanatic who is a regular contributor to Reader's Digest on travel, culture, cars, health, business, environment and more. He is the proud father of teenage daughters.