Now, that doesn’t mean memorizing a dozen or so words with six or more syllables will make you the smartest person in your social circle. No, strengthening your vocabulary is more about having a sincere curiosity about language, and wanting to find new, more creative ways to describe the world around you. To help you on your quest for greater intelligence, here are 30 words that won’t just make you sound smarter, but just might make you smarter.
Accolade:
An expression of praise, where someone is given an award or a privilege, to acknowledge their merit.
Anomaly:
An irregularity or deviation from what is normal.
Antidote:
Something pleasant that counteracts something unpleasant.
Ambivalent:
Having two minds or mixed feelings about something.
Avant Garde:
Ultra-modern, innovative or advanced.
Bona fide:
Done genuinely in good faith, having no intention otherwise.
Bourgeois:
Middle-class.: conforming to the standards and conventions of the middle class
Brusque:
Abrupt or blunt.
Cacophony:
Harsh noise.
Cajole:
To coax someone or flatter them to have something done.
Capricious:
Unpredictable or changing from time to time.
Carte blanche:
Complete freedom to act according to your desires.
Catch-22:
A situation from which you cannot escape because of contradictory rules.
Caustic:
Critical or sarcastic.
Charisma:
The charm or aura of a person.
Chic:
Elegant and/or fashionable.
Dapper:
Smart.
Deja Vu:
A feeling that you have already lived this moment before.
Didactic:
Intending to teach, in the manner of teachers.
Disheveled:
Untidy.
Elucidate:
Explain elaborately so as to clarify.
Empathy:
The ability to understand what others feel.
Equivocate:
Using vague language to hide the truth.
Euphemism:
A coy alternative for an unpleasant or embarrassing word.
Exacerbate:
Make worse.
Fait Accompli:
Something that has already happened before others hear about it, leaving them with no option except accepting it.
Fastidious:
The nature of perfectionists usually, having an acute attention to detail.
Faux Pas:
A tactless remark or happening in a social situation.
Fiasco:
A total failure.
Flabbergasted:
Greatly shocked.
Flummoxed:
Utterly confused.
Fortuitous:
Happening by luck, not by will.
Gregarious:
Social.
Hyperbole:
Exaggeration.
Idiosyncrasy:
An unusual feature of a person.
Innocuous:
Not harmful.
Mellifluous:
Pleasing to the ear.
Nefarious:
Wicked.
Non sequitur:
An illogical conclusion.
Obfuscate:
Confuse.
Parsimonious:
Illiberal in terms of money spending.
Perfunctory:
Carried out without effort.
Quid Pro Quo:
A favor granted in return of something.
Quintessential:
The most perfect example of something.
Rendezvous:
Meeting at an agreed time and place.
Scintillating:
Sparkling.
Status Quo:
The existing social and political affairs.
Sycophant:
Creep.
Touché:
Used as an acknowledgment to the attack of the opponent.
Ubiquitous:
Found everywhere.
Thank you