There comes a time in everyone’s life when we want to look smart, intelligent, and well-read. We could don a pair of rimless glasses for that or even grow a beard to look a bit wiser, but deep down inside, we know that we won’t fool anyone with our appearances. It’s the way we talk and what we say that render us clever! And what’s an easier way to seem or even become more intelligent than by using big words to sound smart? There isn’t one if you ask us! And, by a lucky coincidence, we rounded up a bunch of fancy words, explained them, and put them on this list for you to learn and use in appropriate situations.
Of course, using smart words without understanding them just to seem smart or impress somebody is not something we should be doing, as we discussed in this article, but that doesn’t mean you should talk in obscure words all the time. It usually sounds like you either don’t know the language very well (even if it is your native tongue) or your speaking abilities are rather limited.
That said, learning these sophisticated words from our list and using them appropriately will absolutely make you sound a bit fancier and more serious. Besides, learning languages — even if it is deepening the knowledge of your mother tongue — is a good brain exercise, and we cannot find any flaws with such an activity. And, if you ever forget a simple word for an everyday thing, just like these people did, you’ll at least remember something fancy to use instead!
Right, our list of big words to sound smart in any situation is a tad bit below. Scroll down there, check these interesting words out, and give your vote to those you’ve encountered for the first time!
#1
Ennui.
Meaning: It’s the feeling you get when you’re simultaneously bored and annoyed.
#2
Bloviate.
Meaning: To speak pompously.
#3
Equivocate.
Meaning: Using vague language to hide the truth.
#4
Malinger.
Meaning: To pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one’s duty, avoid work, etc.
#5
Obtuse.
Meaning: Annoyingly insensitive or slow to understand.
#6
Flummoxed.
Meaning: So confused that you do not know what to do.
#7
Catch-22.
Meaning: An impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have done another thing that you cannot do until you have done the first thing.
#8
Fastidious.
Meaning: Giving too much attention to small details and wanting everything to be correct and perfect.
#9
Resplendent.
Meaning: Shining brilliantly.
#10
Maudlin.
Meaning: Self-pityingly or tearfully sentimental.
#11
Fiasco.
Meaning: A total failure.
#12
Scintillating.
Meaning: Funny, exciting, and clever.
#13
Perfunctory.
Meaning: Carried out without real interest, feeling, or effort.
#14
Winebibber.
Meaning: A person who drinks too much wine.
#15
Umbrage.
Meaning: “Offense” or “Annoyance.”
#16
Boondoggle.
Meaning: Activity that pretends to be useful but is really just a big waste of your valuable time.
#17
Euphemism.
Meaning: A coy alternative for an unpleasant or embarrassing word.
#18
Selcouth.
Meaning: Unusual, strange.
#19
Ubiquitous.
Meaning: Found everywhere.
#20
Fait Accompli.
Meaning: Something that has already happened or been done and cannot be changed.
#21
Quid Pro Quo.
Meaning: A favor granted in return for something.
#22
Pulchritudinous
Meaning: Physically beautiful.
#23
Amorousness.
Meaning: The act of being in love.
#24
Charisma.
Meaning: The charm or aura of a person.
#25
Parsimonious.
Meaning: Not willing to spend money or to give or use a lot of something.
#26
Quiddity.
Meaning: Whatever makes something the type that it is; the essence.
#27
Glib.
Meaning: Thinking that you have all the solutions, but you’re just blowing smoke.
#28
Beauteous.
Meaning: Beautiful.
#29
Amativeness.
Meaning: Relating to or indicative of love.
#30
Capricious.
Meaning: “Moody” and “Unpredictable”.
#31
Mellifluous.
Meaning: A smooth, flowing sound that hits your ears in just the right way.
#32
Cajole.
Meaning: To persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises.
#33
Flabbergasted.
Meaning: Feeling shocked, usually because of something you were not expecting.
#34
Quintessential.
Meaning: The most perfect example of something.
#35
Status Quo.
Meaning: The existing social and political affairs.
#36
Brogue.
Meaning: Compliment but using a word with a sense of history.
#37
Teetotaler.
Meaning: Someone who never drinks alcohol.
#38
Touché.
Meaning: Used to admit that someone has made a good point against you in an argument or discussion.
#39
Prodigious.
Meaning: Wonderful or marvelous.
#40
Wondrous.
Meaning: That is to be marveled at.
#41
Circumlocution.
Meaning: The use of an unnecessarily large number of words to express an idea.
#42
Gregarious.
Meaning: (of a person) fond of company; sociable.
#43
Innocuous.
Meaning: Not harmful.
#44
Axiomatic.
Meaning: Self-evident, requiring no proof.
#45
Ineffable.
Meaning: Incapable of being expressed in words.
#46
Canoodle.
Meaning: To engage in amorous embracing, caressing, and passionate kissing.
#47
Ebullience.
Meaning: The quality of lively or enthusiastic expression of thoughts and feelings.
#48
Cacophony.
Meaning: A “cacophony” is any loud, unpleasant mixture of sounds.
#49
Quagmire.
Meaning: A difficult and dangerous situation.
#50
Deja Vu.
Meaning: A feeling that you have already lived this moment before.
#51
Infatuated.
Meaning: Filled with or marked by a foolish or extravagant love or admiration.
#52
Orgulous.
Meaning: Proud.
#53
Excogitate.
Meaning: Thinking of something carefully or thoroughly.
#54
Consanguineous.
Meaning: Of the same blood or origin; someone who descends from the same ancestor.
#55
Anagnorisis.
Meaning: The point in the plot especially of a tragedy at which the protagonist recognizes his or her or some other character’s true identity or discovers the true nature of his or her own situation.
#56
Sycophant.
Meaning: “Suck-up” or a “Brown-noser”.
#57
Tryst.
Meaning: A meeting between two people who are having a romantic relationship.
#58
Vitriol.
Meaning: Violent hate and anger expressed through severe criticism.
#59
Accolade.
Meaning: Praise and approval.
#60
Bona fide.
Meaning: Done genuinely in good faith, having no intention otherwise.
#61
Bourgeois.
Meaning: Middle-class.
#62
Chic.
Meaning: Elegant and/or fashionable.
#63
Didactic.
Meaning: Intending to teach, in the manner of teachers.
#64
Disheveled.
Meaning: (of people or their appearance) very messy.
#65
Elucidate.
Meaning: Explain elaborately so as to clarify.
#66
Exacerbate.
Meaning: To make something that is already bad even worse.
#67
Fortuitous.
Meaning: Happening by luck, not by will.
#68
Idiosyncrasy.
Meaning: A strange or unusual habit, way of behaving, or feature that someone or something has.
#69
Aplomb.
Meaning: Imperturbable self-possession, poise, or assurance.
#70
Diatribe.
Meaning: A bitter, sharply abusive denunciation or criticism.
#71
Rococo.
Meaning: Ornate or florid in speech, literary style, etc.
#72
Pervicacious.
Meaning: Extremely willful; obstinate.
#73
Cloying.
Meaning: Causing or tending to cause disgust or aversion through excess.
#74
Neophyte.
Meaning: Beginner or novice.
#75
Adept.
Meaning: Very skilled; proficient.
#76
Stupendous.
Meaning: Astounding and marvelous.
#77
Immaculate.
Meaning: Having or containing no flaw or error.
#78
Splendiferous.
Meaning: Extraordinarily or showily impressive.
#79
Comely.
Meaning: Having a pleasing appearance.
#80
Sagacious.
Meaning: Having or showing keen mental discernment or judgment; shrewd.
#81
Tenderness.
Meaning: Gentleness and affection.
#82
Besottedness.
Meaning: Related to being blindly or utterly infatuated.
#83
Fondness.
Meaning: Affection for someone or something.
#84
Endearment.
Meaning: A phrase that expresses love.
#85
Halcyon.
Meaning: Characterized by happiness, great success, and prosperity.
#86
Acumen.
Meaning: Quickness to judge.
#87
Gasconading.
Meaning: To brag or gloat.
#88
Nidificate.
Meaning: To nest.
#89
Grandiloquent.
Meaning: A lofty, extravagantly colorful, pompous, or bombastic style, manner, or quality, especially in language.
#90
Aquiver.
Meaning: You’re so overcome with emotion that you’re practically trembling.
#91
Non-sequitur.
Meaning: It’s when the subject in a conversation gets changed without warning, usually abruptly.
#92
Vamoose.
Meaning: To leave hurriedly.
#93
Nefarious.
Meaning: Evil is just evil, but when it goes the extra mile that’s when it becomes nefarious.
#94
Empathy.
Meaning: The ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.
#95
Anomaly.
Meaning: Something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected.
#96
Ambivalent.
Meaning: Having two opposing feelings at the same time, or being uncertain about how you feel.
#97
Brusque.
Meaning: Abrupt or blunt.
#98
Carte blanche.
Meaning: Complete freedom to act according to your desires.
#99
Obfuscate.
Meaning: To make something less clear and harder to understand, especially intentionally.
#100
Equanimity.
Meaning: Mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain.
#101
Malaise.
Meaning: A vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
#102
Pusillanimous.
Meaning: Lacking courage or resolution.
#103
Quintessential.
Meaning: Perfectly typical or representative of a particular kind of person or thing.
#104
Statuesque.
Meaning: Majestic dignity, grace, or beauty.
#105
Perspicacious.
Meaning: Of acute mental vision or discernment.
#106
Discerning.
Meaning: Showing insight and understanding.
#107
Awe-inspiring.
Meaning: That arouses awe.
#108
Adulation.
Meaning: Excessive devotion to someone; servile compliments and flattery.
#109
Enamored.
Meaning: Affected by strong feelings of love, admiration, or fascination.
#110
Orphic.
Meaning: Mystic, oracular; fascinating, entrancing.
#111
Aeonian.
Meaning: Lasting for an immeasurably or indefinitely long period of time.
#112
Tantalizing.
Meaning: Tormenting or teasing with the sight or promise of something unobtainable; exciting one’s senses or desires.
#113
Usufruct.
Meaning: The right to use and enjoy the profits and advantages of something belonging to another.
#114
Luminescent.
Meaning: Something that displays light that is not caused by heat.
#115
Psychotomimetic.
Meaning: Relating to, involving, or inducing psychotic alteration of behavior and personality.
#116
Antidote.
Meaning: Something pleasant that counteracts something unpleasant.
#117
Avant Garde.
Meaning: Ultra-modern, innovative, or advanced.
#118
Dapper.
Meaning: A dapper man is dressed in a fashionable and tidy way.
#119
Faux Pas.
Meaning: A tactless remark or happening in a social situation.
#120
Hyperbole.
Meaning: Exaggeration.
#121
Solipsistic.
Meaning: Extremely preoccupied with and indulgent of one’s feelings, desires, etc.
#122
Lurid.
Meaning: Glaringly vivid or sensational.
#123
Commonsensical.
Meaning: Sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or the facts.
#124
Junoesque.
Meaning: Imposingly tall and shapely.
#125
Canonize.
Meaning: To treat as illustrious, preeminent, or sacred.
#126
Caustic.
Meaning: Sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.
#127
Non sequitur.
Meaning: A statement that does not correctly follow from the meaning of the previous statement.
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