Great words... that you actually use

Metroid Baby — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:24:21 -0800

What are some interesting, uncommon "vocabulary" words that you use regularly or semi-regularly? I have a serviceable but unremarkable vocabulary. I look up unfamiliar words when I come across them and I subscribe to a word-of-the-day email, but I've found that I tend to forget new words if I don't use them in writing or conversation. And as fun as it is to learn new words for trivia's sake, I'd rather learn words that will help me communicate, not just make me look like a smartypants. (Floccinaucinihilipilification is practically worthless, and I see no reason to use defenestrate when "throw out the window" works fine.)

In expanding my own working vocabulary, I've started to wonder what lesser-known words other people find useful, figuring they'd probably be good words for me to know, too. So I'm looking for words that not many people might know, but that you have found worth knowing – words that have successfully made their way from the word-of-the-day lists to your own speech or writing, words that you're glad you've learned.

Thanks in advance!

Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with workingvocabulary

Great words... that you actually use