Are there unusual words in your vocabulary you wish others knew and used? Are there any words that make you cringe when you hear them?
Share why if you wish.
Asking — and answering — life's interesting questions
Are there unusual words in your vocabulary you wish others knew and used? Are there any words that make you cringe when you hear them?
Share why if you wish.
My favorite word, and one that I obviously want in greater circulation, is “Snazzy!” As far as a cringe word, off the top of my head, “Kiosk.”
I’m quite fond of the word penultimate (definition: next-to-last). I find that when you know an interesting word, you tend to find ways to use it. For me, penultimate comes up more than it should in conversation.
As for words that make me cringe…. I almost always cringe when I hear the word unique. There is nothing wrong with the word itself, just the fact that so many people seem not to know how to use it. The definition is “one of a kind”, which means that when people use a phrase like “kind of unique” they are really saying “kind of one of a kind” which makes no sense. Unique cannot be modified, and I cringe whenever I hear it misused.
I hate it when one of our leaders uses the phrase “take them out” – a euphemism for “kill them”.
I do like the word “euphemism” by the way. Lee, I hope I’m using it correctly. 🙂
We often use a single word to describe multiple things, which is really a shame because there are so many amazing, underutilized words out there.
I submit an excerpt from a poem that I wrote in high school which contains several words that I would like to hear more often.
…the ghastly, cadaverous trees let loose their doleful leaves and they dance in a madcap reel, while the damp odor of descending rain fills the air, supervened by the frigid feel.
I also really like the word ‘quintessential’.
I cringe at the misuse of the word ‘literally’.
Love, love, love this!
There are so many words that I really like. One of my favorites is viscosity. Also, unrelated in meaning and origin, but sounding and looking similar, visceral. Oh…liminal is another great one. Both for the way it sounds and also for its meaning. Bananas. A classic. Best when used as an adverb.
The word “nosh” makes me nosh-us. Especially when it is used as a noun rather than a verb. Puke.
Oh, there are so many! There are so many words that make speaking fun that don’t get used very often like conniption, Whangdoodle, doohickey, discombobulate, shenanigans, catawampus, prevaricate, and blatherskite. Just to name a few.