Elegant Vocabulary

[Erstwhile]

Hello, I'm a year 10 looking to expand my vocabulary range. If you know useful but complex words, please post a reply . The goal here is to make me sound sophisticated even though I am the exact opposite .

[zhen]

In my opinion sentence structure and clarity of expression is much more important than using elegant vocabulary. If you want to add a level of sophistication to your essays, I'd just recommend using words you know but don't use often. You'd be surprised the number of sophisticated words you know that aren't too over the top. For example, instead of saying something is bad, you could say it is despicable/abhorrent/atrocious/deplorable. Instead of saying someone shows something you could use the words demonstrate/highlight/underscore. These are words that most people know, but sound sophisticated and adds variety in your vocabulary. Chucking in fancy words that you haven't used before generally results in using them incorrectly. If you really want to use elegant words that you're unfamiliar with, I recommend looking up example sentences before you actually use it, but generally your vocabulary should be sufficient to cover most of your needs in my opinion.

[Erstwhile]

I see what you are talking about and I agree with 100% of what you said. Sentence structure and clarity definately takes priority over vocab range. I just made this post to increase my word power and potentially help others along the way. My main goal here is to excel at english, and have consistent, impactful english by year 12.

[Sine]

Hello, I'm a year 10 looking to expand my vocabulary range. If you know useful but complex words, please post a reply . The goal here is to make me sound sophisticated even though I am the exact opposite .

zhen's advice is on point

Just do more reading of anything you like

However for a VCE I think once you start writing essays for a particular text you will begin learn to use and reuse these "complex" or "sophisticated" that are useful for your text by writing essays or reading someone else's essays.

[Erstwhile]

Ah alright, I'll try to do a lot more reading especially since it is holidays right now, does the books I read have to be non-fiction or are fictional books just as good? Thanks for the replies Zhen and Sine, I really appreciate it.

[patriciarose]

Hello, I'm a year 10 looking to expand my vocabulary range. If you know useful but complex words, please post a reply . The goal here is to make me sound sophisticated even though I am the exact opposite .

tbh? it'll work better if you find your own. a lot of people use the thesauruses online to pick a common word and find other ways to say it, but i'm not a massive fan of that because words tend to not mean exactly the same things and often the meaning will be just different enough for you to miss but your english to at. wide reading is one of the best ways to improve your vocab longterm, but it only really works if you make an effort to include the new words. after around ten conscious choices of a word you've recently learned, it'll (most likely) stick as part of your lexicon. what i tend to do is go through the essays of better students in the exam reports vcaa publishes, and pick out words i don't know, define them, then try and work some of them into my own work. not all of them will suit you but you'll still be able to learn a few (: since you're in year ten, you can probably just do this with everyday words – if you find one that you don't know, work the meaning out, then if it seems usuable write it down on a stickynote somewhere near your desk so that if you see it when you're next writing an essay, you might be able to squeeze it in. this works especially well if it's a practice one, actually (though a lot of people think the opposite), because if you get it wrong your teacher will point it out and help you work out where you could use it correctly. sometimes simple words work just as well though! there's nothing wrong with replacing 'says' with 'decries,' but don't be stopping to google synonyms of simple words just because a few extra syllables make you feel more complex. (:

[Erstwhile]

Thank you Patriciarose! I'll try to improve the range of books I read and hopefully learn some useful vocabulary. Your post also allowed me to learn a new word "lexicon", as well  .

[exit]

It's really important to find a mix of sophisticated expression and clarity. Examiners have a high level of English and they will pick up on issues that are not explicit in your essay - they can tell whether you're using complex words just for the sake of doing so or whether it adds an air of legitimacy, depth or profundity to your essay. This means that if a word sounds right, it probably is! But, the chances of getting something wrong will significantly increase  if you already have a perfectly adequate word and you replace it with something you just learnt.

[Bri MT]

Wide reading is, in my opinion, the best way  (and my year 7 nickname from some people was dictionary). Please, please, please, don't grab a word listed as a synonym and use it instead because it "sounds fancier" unless you understand the connotations of it because that will detract to your writing rather than adding to it. There are apps/websites (eg freerice.com) which are designed to increase your vocabulary but again, make sure you read multiple examples of the word in context so that you can see the subtleties of it.

[Erstwhile]

Thanks for the reply miniturtle  . Freerice.com is actually a really cool website, I tried it out and donated some rice 

[exit]

It's really important to find a mix of sophisticated expression and clarity. Examiners have a high level of English and they will pick up on issues that are not explicit in your essay - they can tell whether you're using complex words just for the sake of doing so or whether it adds an air of legitimacy, depth or profundity to your essay. This means that if a word sounds right, it probably is! But, the chances of getting something wrong will significantly increase  if you already have a perfectly adequate word and you replace it with something you just learnt.

Adding to my reply, it's sometimes quite efficient to highlight a word in a word document, and bring up the synonyms. It's quick and far more effective than manually searching it. Not sure if you already know this

[Erstwhile]

Sorry I didn't see your reply before, I was probably scrolling too fast. Thanks for the heads up Exit  I will be sure not to sound like I'm using a word just for the extra syllables. VCE examiners sound really scary, I'm so lucky I have around 5 more months to prepare for them x)

[peterpiper]

I'm just going to go contrary (because why not) to everyone on this thread and encourage you to expand it - but on the condition that you think it's fun and enjoyable. Like I mean it - go nuts.

I know for sure that I have trouble recalling words, and it's always sort of pesky when you have to lean on words/phrases that are either a) inadequate or b) too hefty for something which you want to subtly hint on. So I think making lists is pretty helpful. Expansive vocabulary is absolutely paramount to good (or what I consider to be good, anyway) writing because it gives you so much advantage in how you would like to shape/pitch an idea. It may not be the best idea to improve a VCE english essay - but it is good for writing in general. I don't think you can argue against that (you can, but yknow I'm trying to make a case here). Whether it is to draw on a particular aspect of an object/characteristic or whatever or to compound feelings into a satisfying compact sexiness - vocabulary gives potential for all sorts of life and colours, I believe.

So, from the start of this year I started compiling words I never found from just simply scrolling through synonym lists. I'll put it down below, and I'll continue to update it when I find new ones. I think it's an absolute luxury to be exposed to different words, but yes, while I don't recommend it purely for year 12 study - I recommend it because it is good for life. I mean words are just so beautiful sometimes, I just want to hug them and have them consume me.

Anyway, the best way I found to incorporate any ol' vocabulary into your life is to experiment with it - and use it at any opportunity you get with it. Prepare to sound stupid, but do it anyway. It's also helpful to have extremely pretentious/snobbish friends, but yah know - we don't all have that 'luxury'. In any case, I'd recommend watching how authors/brilliant thinkers speak the way they do as well. The most verbal people tend to be better writers - so I'd recommend just searching their name on youtube and watch and mimic etc. I'm not kinda actively encouraging unoriginality or whatever - but it's really a different and perhaps underrated way to sort of learn/approach writing, which while I'm here - I believe is an extension of speaking. Check out Susan Sontag for example and how she articulates her thoughts. Like, she's an example of a really good thinker, you could sort of glean from.

Personal vocab list in no particular order
Cordoned (out/ something off)
Consternation (a feeling of anxiety or dismay)
apotheosis (highest point in development)
putative (generally considered or reputed to be)
chimerical (fantastical; illusory)
recondite (little known; abstruse)
litany (religious repetitious recitations ie. amen, or glory to the bead etc.)
quandary (a state of uncertainty over what to do in a difficult situation)
lode ( a vein of metal ore in the earth)
parochial (church-ish/ narrow in scope)
behest (a person’s command)
peregrination (a journey; meandering yarn)
platitude (thoughtful remark)
everted (turned inside out)
redoubt (temporary fortification)
preclude (make impossible)
apostasy (the renunciation of a religious/political belief)
peroration (concluding part of a speech; i.e.. inspirational part)
unabashed (not embarrassed)
malaise (a discomfort; a feeling difficult to pinpoint)
unbidden (without having been commanded/invited)
vicarious (experienced in the imagination)
acme (the point at which something is at its best)
calve (give birth to a calf/ to split; genesis)
iconoclast (destroyer of religious images)
impinges (to have an effect/usually negative)
oubliette (a dungeon)
accretion (growth by gradual accumulation of matter/layers)
cunctatory (from latin cunctor ‘to delay’)
coralline (derived from corals)
seance (a meeting to contact the dead)
coterie (a small group with shared interest)
priapic (relating to the phallus)
captious (tendency to find petty faults)
opprobrium (public disgrace arising from shameful conduct)
insurrection (violent uprising against authority)
hebdomadal (weekly)
antipathetic (showing/feeling a strong aversion)
chagrin (distress which follows humiliation)
anathema (something or someone that one vehemently dislikes)
parity (state of being equal)
sartorial (relating to clothes)
bedevil (cause trouble to; to beset from the path of righteousness)
ephemeral (lasting for a short time)
hermeneutic (interpretation concerning particularly the bible)
diaspora (dispersion of jews from Israel)
temerity (audacious; excessively confident)
inveigh (to speak/write about something with great hostility)
megalomania (obsession with an excess of power; ie. Kurtz)
genuflect (to bow in worship)
excogitate (to think out/ devise)
corollary (a natural consequence/proposition of something proven true)
foisted (to impose something on someone/thing)
grist (useful material for an argument etc)
moratorium (temporary prohibition)
perdurable (imperishable)
invective (insulting; highly critical language)
axiomatic (unquestionable)
covet (yearn to possess)
callowness (immature)
abstemious (indulging only in moderation)
parsimonious (unwilling to spend money)
jeremiad (long mournful complaint)
antecedent (preceding what follows logically)
lacuna (a missing portion of a book/ unfilled gap)
enervate (make someone feel drained)
paucity (something in small or insufficient quantity)
dour (gloomy; relentlessly severe)
brio (vigour or vivacity of style or performance)
meretricious (apparently attractive but having no real value)
zephyr (a gentle breeze)
coruscating (flashing/sparkling)
dross (something regarded as useless/rubbish)
mendacity (untruthfulness)
deracinated (to uproot someone from their natural place)
benighted (overtaken by darkness/ a state of contemptible intellectual ignorance)
crepuscular (relating to twilight)
succour (support in times of hardship)
buttress (reinforce)
hagiography (a biography that treats its subject with undue reverence)
impervious (not allowing fluid to pass through)
risible (provoking laughter through being ludicrous)
concomitant (naturally accompanying or associated)
ancillary (something which functions supplementarily)
intractable (hard to control or deal with)
demiurge (a being responsible for the creation of the universe)
anodyne (not likely to cause offence; dull)
iridescent (luminous colours that show differently at different angles)
disquisition (a long/elaborate essay or discussion on a particular topic)
purview (the scope of influence or concerns of something)
imbibing (drink (alcohol)/absorb)
rebarbative (unattractive/objectionable)
coterminous (sharing boundaries with)

Also other words (but more common):

resembles
fracturing
defamiliarisation
estrangement
vanishing
unflinchingly
hallucinatory
belongs
vaudeville
matrix
progeny
winnow (sifting grains)
eudaemonia
odalisque

EDIT:

Updated vocabulary
peripatetic ( n. Aristotelian/a person who travels from place to place briefly for work etc/ adj. travelling from place to place)
vertiginous (extremely steep/high)
liminal (initial stage of a process/occupying a position at a threshold or boundary)
replete (sated/very full)
orotund (resonant/pretentious/imposing; describing —> voice)
lapidary (of language - elegant and precise)
nadir (lowest point/most unsuccessful point in a situation)

[Erstwhile]

Wow thank you for the great reply, I've never looked at english that way until now. I feel like that just granted me a boost of motivation to explore new parts of the language, parts that I have never voyaged to before. Also thanks for the list of words, it really allows someone like me to expand my vocabulary range. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into your reply, it really makes me feel warm inside  .

[peterpiper]

Wow thank you for the great reply, I've never looked at english that way until now. I feel like that just granted me a boost of motivation to explore new parts of the language, parts that I have never voyaged to before. Also thanks for the list of words, it really allows someone like me to expand my vocabulary range. Thank you for putting so much time and effort into your reply, it really makes me feel warm inside  .

No problem ~ you'll do swell. Keep up the attitude