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50 Words That Make You Sound Smart
(5/5, 13 votes)

Label Versace gown or Tommy Hilfiger pants will make you look neat, no doubt on that. But if
you have ever wanted to enlighten yourself and others with the smartest set of words, you have
come to the right place. I'll take you through 50 words that will make you sound smarter, make
you actually smarter if you use them in the correct time with the correct meaning, and will let you
please others ears, and your heart.

Here you go:

Accolade: An expression of praise, where someone is given an award or a privilege, to

acknowledge their merit. The Chairman received an accolade from a foreign University for his
extraordinary role in education.
Anomaly: An irregularity or deviation from what is normal. The anomaly of people doing the
same job but getting different pays irritates me.

Antidote: Something pleasant that counteracts something unpleasant. Family and loved ones
are the antidotes to loneliness.
Ambivalent: Having two minds or mixed feelings about something. Jenna was ambivalent about
her relationship with Mark: she neither liked it nor hated it.
Avant Garde: Ultra-modern, innovative or advanced. The mansion has a Swiss construction
and an avant-garde touch to it.
Bona fide: Done genuinely in good faith, having no intention otherwise. He acted bona fide
when Sumner's husband was out of town, providing them with the necessities.
Bourgeois: Middle-class. The bourgeois of France had suffered a great lot and ultimately rose to
protest in the French Revolution.
Brusque: Abrupt or blunt. His sarcastic and brusque nature often offended many.
Cacophony: Harsh noise. The alarm clock creates such a cacophony in the morning that even
our dog Sniper wakes up.
Cajole: To coax someone or flatter them to have something done. Mr. Roland can't be cajoled
into promoting Alex, however hard he tries.
Capricious: Unpredictable or changing from time to time. Kate is very capricious so you never
know how she will deal with your behavior.
Carte blanche: Complete freedom to act according to your desires. 9-5 offices are seldom carte
blanche, so Rita chose entrepreneurship.
Catch-22: A situation from which you cannot escape because of contradictory rules. You can't
land a job without the experience, to have experience you need a job is a modern catch-22.

Caustic: Critical or sarcastic. When Geoff gets bored, he speaks in a very caustic tone.
Charisma: The charm or aura of a person. The way she can please everyone, no wonder her
parents named her Charisma.
Chic: Elegant and/or fashionable. She has a Parisian Chic touch to her personal style sense.
Dapper: Smart. It's in the title so I am pretty sure you wouldn't need explaining with another
example.
Deja Vu: A feeling that you have already lived this moment before. Whenever I am going down
Park Street to my way to the office, I get a feeling of deja vu, like I've known the streets since
my childhood.
Didactic: Intending to teach, in the manner of teachers. Her tone went from didactic to caustic.
Disheveled: Untidy. After spending 10 hours in the office, Max comes home looking twice as
disheveled as before.
Elucidate: Explain elaborately so as to clarify. The second and third chapter elucidates the
background of the antagonist mentioned in chapter one.
Empathy: The ability to understand what others feel. The policewoman showed empathy with
the arrested, something not very characteristic of them.
Equivocate: Using vague language to hide the truth. The way he equivocates the details, it will
not be very hard for any psychologist to tell the truth from the falsehood.
Euphemism: A coy alternative for an unpleasant or embarrassing word. "Passed away" is a
euphemism for "died".
Exacerbate: Make worse. Stress doesn't only affect the mental health but exacerbates the
physical health also.

Fait Accompli: Something that has already happened before others hear about it, leaving them
with no option except accepting it. He had been transferred to Oklahoma before he thought of
writing a letter to the management not to transfer you outside NY.
Fastidious: The nature of perfectionists usually, having an acute attention to detail. He was a
fastidious man, so examined the hygiene of the food in his restaurant in the strictest of manners.
Faux Pas: A tactless remark or happening in a social situation. An abrupt color combination can
change you from fashionable to faux pas in parties.
Fiasco: A total failure. Lucy's surprise party was a complete fiasco thanks to Mark's driver who
told her everything before she came into the venue.
Flabbergasted: Greatly shocked. Her mom was flabbergasted to see her after marriage, she
had gained so much weight!
Flummoxed: Utterly confused. He's easy with routine work but gets flummoxed when given
challenges.
Fortuitous: Happening by luck, not by will. Their meeting in a relief camp was totally fortuitous,
but their choice of marriage was willful.
Gregarious: Social. Parrots and dolphins are gregarious animals.
Hyperbole: Exaggeration. Hyperbole isn't just a part of his speech, he even writes
overstatements.
Idiosyncrasy: An unusual feature of a person. One of his little idiosyncrasies was collecting dead
cockroaches.
Innocuous: Not harmful. Her statement was innocuous but still, it raised eyebrows.
Mellifluous: Pleasing to the ear. The mellifluous Parisian Jazz was a blessing to my ears.
Nefarious: Wicked. Her nefarious motives were out in the open after she was busted.
Non sequitur: An illogical conclusion. Her whole thesis was that dairy wasn't good for humans,
but her ending seemed non sequitur.
Obfuscate: Confuse. The debate on whether or not video games should be played or not often
obfuscates readers.
Parsimonious: Illiberal in terms of money spending. Even the parsimonious George treated his
friends to delicacies on his birthday.
Perfunctory: Carried out without effort. The simple assignment was a perfunctory example of
Mary's job performance.
Quid Pro Quo: A favor granted in return of something. His pardon was quid pro quo for his past
honesty.
Quintessential: The most perfect example of something. He was the quintessential Prince
Charming: tall, dark, and handsome.
Rendezvous: Meeting at an agreed time and place. Macy was late for our monthly rendezvous.
Scintillating: Sparkling. Luna was scintillating in that sequined dress she made for the party.
Status Quo: The existing social and political affairs. The Government wishes to fix this status
quo of unrest.
Sycophant: Creep. The way the boss flatters his secretary sometimes seems sycophantic.
Touché: Used as an acknowledgment to the attack of the opponent. "I must finish this early."
"So you're saying that at 12 in the night?" "Touché."
Ubiquitous: Found everywhere. His influence was ubiquitous, from his family to his workplace.
So, practice using these, and you will instantly get smarter.

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