Simple words and their meaning. Dictionary of modern words. Significant - significant
In this article, we invite you to expand your vocabulary with words that will help you sound smarter in a conversation.
TOP 50 smart words for an intellectual
WITH smart person It's always nice to talk. We do not encourage you to be boring and put everyone in an awkward position with your smart speeches. But sometimes it’s useful to use some smart word in conversation.
It is useful to replenish your vocabulary with new words. It's not as difficult as it might seem at first glance. If you want to know and learn smart words, we bring to your attention the top 50 smart words to take note of.
Abstraction
This term means a person's thoughts when the focus of his attention is located from the third position of perception. In other words, when a person puts himself outside the situation, above the situation. You can also say that abstraction is mental distraction. Abstraction is a subject of abstraction.
Offer withWithfishing: Daria is a terrible bore, but an excellent specialist. If her colleagues can ignore her tediousness, they will be able to work together.
Abulia
Abulia is a synonym for laziness. But this is not just classic laziness. Abulia- this is a person’s complete lack of will, desires, and ability to make decisions. Doctors should work with abulia.
Sentence with the word: If a person has abulia, then this is certainly and necessarily accompanied by indifference to the world around him.
Ambivalence
This is when the same phenomenon, object, person evokes dual feelings. Splitting, duality of attitude towards something.
Sentence with the word: Natalya has unconscious ambivalence towards men - she is looking for her father and running away from her stepfather.
Ambidextrous
Ambidextrous is a person who is both good with his left and right hand. According to research, ambidextrous They think quickly and make decisions. Congenital ambidexterity occurs in 1% of children. Among famous people Abidextrous people were Leonardo do Vinci and Nicolo Tesla.
Sentence with the word: Very few people can use both hands equally well. Such people are called ambidextrous.
Who is Abidextrous?
Stateless people
Stateless people are people without citizenship and without evidence of their belonging to any state. Stateless can be for several reasons:
- If a person’s parents have become stateless, and the state in whose territory he was born does not give the right to citizenship to those born on this territory.
- The person was deprived of citizenship for political reasons.
- The person voluntarily renounced the citizenship of the country.
- If the state ceased to exist.
Sentence with the word: He was a stateless refugee and remained stateless for the rest of his life.
Apology
Overprotection, prejudicial justification, praise of someone or something.
Sentence with the word: My speech should not be taken as an apology for slavery.
Binomial theorem
Initially binomial theorem- a complex mathematical formula. But in everyday speech it is used as a designation for something simple, it couldn’t be simpler. For example, the phrase “I also like Newton’s binomial!” means something very simple.
Sentence with the word: For my classmates, this task is not a Newton binomial.
Voluntarism
The behavior of a person who is guided only by his own whims and does not take other people into account at all. Word "voluntarism" can be used as an assessment of a person’s actions that you personally do not like.
Sentence with the word: “Nikolai drank all the cognac. This is real voluntarism!”
Gestalt
The effect of an unfinished action. For example, you are in sales. You have had many clients with whom the transaction went well. But there was one whose deal was difficult and unsuccessful. In the first case, you don't remember the clients, but you will remember the last problematic client. That's what it is gestalt.
Sentence with the word: The sooner you end this gestalt in a relationship, the sooner you can make a new acquaintance.
What is Gestalt? Grass
Grass- this means speaking in the French manner, loudly burring the letter “r”.
Sentence with the word: His speech was accompanied by decisive gestures, and he confidently walked.
Deviant
Deviation from the norm. Speaking the word "deviant" imply a person who violates morals and standards of behavior. For example, he commits crimes, drinks alcohol excessively, and behaves pervertedly.
Sentence with the word: Her deviant behavior was baffling.
Idiosyncrasy
This is when you can’t stand something or someone, you can’t stand it.
Sentence with the word: Yulia from the HR department experiences slight idiosyncrasy towards Sveta from the accounting department.
Hypochondria
A psychological disorder in which a person is constantly afraid of discovering that he has a serious fatal or difficult-to-treat illness.
Sentence with the word: You should not cultivate hypochondria in yourself.
What is hypochondria? The cognitive dissonance
This is when a person’s ideas about the current situation come into conflict due to previously formed ideas.
Imagine a situation: your colleague, whom you know as modest and quiet man. He doesn't see you, but you noticed him. And then you see that he is yelling at his wife, acting rudely and seeming like a completely different person. There is cognitive dissonance happening within you.
Sentence with the word: We would not like to cause cognitive dissonance among our readers.
Collaboration
Collaboration of people or organizations to share experiences to achieve a common goal. Cooperation. Do not confuse this with collaboration.
Collaborationism- voluntary cooperation with the enemy in his interests.
Sentence with the word: We were able to achieve this result in collaboration with our American partners.
Collision
A collision of opposing processes, forces, actions, interests.
Sentence with the word: Let's leave all the conflicts of our lives in the past.
Congruence
Coherence of verbal and non-verbal gestures, correspondence, equality.
For example, your friend does not want to go to the cinema, citing a bad mood. At the same time, it is clear that she has sad eyes and is not really in a mood. This congruence.
Another example: The teacher at the lecture talks in bright colors about the dangers of smoking. But at recess he is the first to take out a cigarette. This is incongruity. This phenomenon can cause you cognitive dissonance.
What is congruence? Consensus
The agreement that the disputants were able to reach as a result of rapprochement and discussion.
Sentence with the word: We strive for consensus and to ensure that no employee feels disadvantaged.
Conservative
A person who is a supporter of traditions and old morals. He doesn't want to accept anything new.
Sentence with the word: Alexander was an ossified conservative at heart.
Conjuncture
The situation that has developed in some area. Status. The current situation in any area.
Sentence with the word: Life does not stand still, human needs and market conditions change.
Cosplay
Literally translated, the word means “kos” - costume, “play” - game. Cosplay is a masquerade, a game. People have costume parties and dress up as famous characters.
Sentence with the word: A cosplay festival will be held in our city in August.
What is cosplay? Latency
The property of hiding one’s state, intentions, and not expressing oneself explicitly.
Sentence with the word: In women during menopause, sleep latency increases. That is, the time between closing your eyes and falling asleep lengthens.
Lumpen
In German, lumpen means rags. Karl Marx called the lower strata of the proletariat lumpen. Since then, in a word lumpen they began to call them tramps, homeless people, degenerate people.
Sentence with the word: In response to Victor’s words that living in debt and without normal conditions is normal, Nikolai exclaimed: “No, this is a complete lumpenization of society!”
Machismo
Masculine behavior is emphasized.
Sentence with the word: All his attempts to demonstrate machismo made the girls laugh.
Common man
A person who has limited views. Common man deprived of a broad horizon, he lives by his own petty interests.
Sentence with the word: Most lead a quiet and measured life of ordinary people.
Oxymoron
Translated from ancient Greek, the oxymoron means “witty-stupid.” Oxymoron is a combination of words with opposite meanings. For example: a living corpse, a public secret, a well-mannered boor.
Sentence with the word: I would like to believe that we will be able to survive those times when the phrase “honest politician” sounds like an oxymoron.
What is an oxymoron? Orthodox
An orthodox person, in the general sense, adheres to his worldview, a true believer, faithfully following his concept. synonyms: constant, traditional, proven.
Sentence with the word: He managed to outline a circle of friends and events. Now he felt normal, he was orthodox.
Panopticon
A space where you can see all the ins and outs. For example, an office might be called panopticon. However, be aware that this word is used with a negative connotation.
Sentence with the word: The comments to this article amounted to a veritable panopticon.
Paradigm
An established pattern, a model of something, a generally accepted example. A paradigm is an example of how to approach solving an issue in a given situation. Basically, the word is used in relation to a worldview.
Sentence with the word: His personal paradigm consisted of his attitude to life, to work and to the people around him.
Pacifist
A person who is on the side of the world. A pacifist opposes war in any form.
Sentence with the word: The Admiral had never been a pacifist, and he had no intention of becoming one.
Who is a pacifist? Precariat
People who work for menial wages do not have a social package and are not officially employed. The precariat cannot count on a pension. Literally translated, precariat means dangerous, dubious.
Sentence with the word: The precariat emerged in our society at the turn of the 21st century.
Purism
Striving for rigor and purity of morals. In cooking, purism is the desire for preservation traditional recipes. Language purism- the desire for purity of the literary language.
Sentence with the word: We don’t want you to accuse us of purism, and we immediately hasten to correct ourselves.
Reconnaissance
Study, survey of the area.
Sentence with the word: Upon entering the hall, I immediately conduct reconnaissance on the ground.
Reminiscence
Sentence with the word: This opera evoked a pleasant reminiscence in me.
Snobbery
Snob- this is a person who strives to get into high society, imitates it and deliberately emphasizes his belonging to the upper strata. A snob is not indifferent to what other people think of him; he imitates the manners and follows the tastes of the society that he explicitly considers worthy. Snobbery- a concept that characterizes the behavior and manners of a snob.
Sentence with the word: Your snobbery will not help you gain authority among your classmates.
What is snobbery? Sophistry
The ability to cleverly prove something in an erroneous way. The ability to philosophize and reflect, to challenge any statement. Sophistry replete with puns and tautologies. Sophist can prove anything to you. Even the fact that you have horns.
Sentence with the word: The way out of the situation can be found through sophistry.
Sublimation
In chemistry, sublimation is the transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid state. In cooking, it is the extraction of ice from frozen foods. In a modern interpretation sublimation means redirecting internal negative energy to activities that are approved by society and are socially significant. For example, a person with strong sexual energy can take up professional sensual dancing.
Sentence with the word: It is very important to release energy, to sublimate it.
Texttrovert
A person who finds it easier and easier to talk about his feelings and experiences in a message, letter, SMS, text than in person.
Sentence with the word: Roman is more of a texttrovert than an extrovert. He only likes to communicate in person with his loved ones.
Who is a texttrovert? Truism
A banality, a well-known truth that is stupid to prove.
Sentence with the word: In conversation, try to avoid truisms and clichés.
Facilitation
A technique when the process of activity is managed to increase efficiency. A method of work when a more experienced person takes an equal position with team members and helps them achieve results, master certain skills,
Sentence with the word: Our goal is not Feedback, and facilitation. We strive to motivate our employees to achieve results.
Feedback
Feedback from clients, visitors, readers. For example, you can write a comment on this article, and this will be feedback.
Sentence with the word: After the screening of the film there was good feedback.
Frisson
This smart word can replace the usual goosebumps for everyone.
Sentence with the word: This scene from the movie gave me frisson.
What is frisson? Frustration
Frustration, stress due to the inability to achieve the goal.
Sentence with the word: He became a victim of his own frustration.
Euphemism
Replacing one word with another, softer or more appropriate. If a word cannot be used in speech, it is used euphemism. For example, instead of “torture” they write “harsh interrogation methods.”
Sentence with the word: She used a euphemism for a bathroom in their apartment.
Egocentric
This is when a person is too fixated on himself, on his desires, on his feelings and interests. At the same time, he experiences complete disrespect for the boundaries of an outsider. Egocentric cannot put himself in the place of another.
Sentence with the word: He was a selfish, egocentric, spoiled child.
Ageism
The word comes from the English word “age”. In fact, ageism- This is age discrimination. For example, when they claim that young people are not yet mature enough to resolve these issues. When people are not hired because they are not of suitable age.
Sentence with the word: Ageism is rampant in the labor market.
What is ageism? Eclecticism
Combination, mixing of different styles, incompatible ideas, solutions.
Sentence with the word: Ekaterina dresses very eclectic.
Epicureanism
The desire for wealth, an easy life, a tendency to satisfy sensual desires and a pampered life.
Sentence with the word: Epicureanism attracts those who have tried to live this way.
Escalation
Gradual intensification, expansion, increase. This word can be applied to war, conflict, dispute.
Sentence with the word: The reasons for the escalation of this war have not been fully understood.
Empathy
The ability to put yourself in another person's shoes. When a person lets a situation pass him by.
Sentence with the word: Empathy is one of the important qualities and abilities of a person.
Now your vocabulary can become richer. Use buzzwords appropriately, in otherwise, it will be funny and ridiculous. Do you have any unusual buzzwords in your stock? Share with our readers which ones you use in your daily life.
Video: Words you need to know to appear smart
And their meaning. Many of them are probably familiar to you. However, not everyone knows what they mean. We took the smartest words from various areas of human knowledge.
Quintessence
Quintessence - in medieval and ancient alchemy and natural philosophy - the fifth element, ether, the fifth element. He is like lightning. This is one of the main elements (elements), the most accurate and subtle. In modern cosmology, quintessence is a model of dark energy (its hypothetical form, which has negative pressure and uniformly fills the space of the Universe). Quintessence in a figurative meaning is the most important, essential, main essence, the purest and subtlest essence, extract.
Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is a word that is an onomatopoeia that arose as a result of phonetic assimilation to various non-speech complexes. Onomatopoeic vocabulary is most often associated directly with objects and creatures - sources of sound. These are, for example, verbs such as “meow”, “croak”, “rumble”, “crow”, and nouns derived from them.
Singularity
Singularity - which represents a certain point at which the mathematical function in question tends to infinity or has some other irregular behavior.
There is also a gravitational singularity. This is a region of space-time where the curvature of the continuum turns to infinity or suffers a discontinuity, or the metric has other pathological properties that do not allow physical interpretation. - a short period of rapid technological progress assumed by researchers. The singularity of consciousness is a globally generalizing, expanded state of consciousness. In cosmology, this is the state of the Universe in which it was at the beginning of the Big Bang, it is characterized by infinite temperature and density of matter. In biology, this concept is used mainly to generalize the evolutionary process.
Transcendence
The term "transcendence" (the adjective is "transcendent") comes from the Latin word meaning "to step over." This is a philosophical term that characterizes something inaccessible to experimental knowledge. B was used together with the term “transcendental” to denote God, soul and other concepts. Immanent is its opposite.
Catharsis
“Catharsis” is a term from modern psychoanalysis that denotes the process of relieving or reducing anxiety, frustration, conflict through emotional release and their verbalization. In ancient Greek aesthetics, this concept was used to express in words the impact of art on a person. The term “catharsis” in ancient philosophy was used to designate the result and process of ennobling, purifying, and facilitating the impact of various factors on a person.
Continuum
What other smart words should you know? For example, continuum. This is a set equal to the set of all real numbers, or a class of such sets. In philosophy, this term was used by the ancient Greeks, as well as in the works of the scholastics of the Middle Ages. IN contemporary works in connection with changes in the “continuum” itself, it is often replaced by the noun “duration”, “continuity”, “indissolubility”.
Nigredo
"Nigredo" is a term of alchemy that denotes the complete decomposition or first stage of the creation of the so-called philosopher's stone. This is the formation of a homogeneous black mass of components. The next stages after nigredo are albedo (the white stage, which produces the small elixir, which turns metals into silver) and rubedo (the red stage, after which the great elixir is obtained).
Entropy
“Entropy” is a concept that was introduced by the German mathematician and physicist Clausius. It is used in thermodynamics to determine the degree of deviation from an ideal real process, the degree of energy dissipation. Entropy, defined as the sum of reduced heats, is a function of state. It is constant in various reversible processes, and in irreversible processes its change is always positive. We can highlight, in particular, This is a measure of the uncertainty of a certain message source, which is determined by the probabilities of the appearance of certain symbols during transmission.
Empathy
In psychology, there are often smart words, and their designations sometimes cause difficulties in definition. One of the most popular is the word “empathy”. This is the ability to empathize, the ability to put oneself in the place of another (object or person). Also, empathy is the ability to accurately identify a particular person based on actions, facial reactions, gestures, etc.
Behaviorism
Clever words and expressions from psychology also include a direction in this science that explains human behavior. It studies the direct connections existing between reactions (reflexes) and stimuli. Behaviorism directs the attention of psychologists to the study of experience and skills, as opposed to psychoanalysis and associationism.
Enduro
Enduro is a style of riding on special trails or off-road, racing over long distances over rough terrain. They differ from motocross in that the race takes place on a closed track, and the lap length ranges from 15 to 60 km. Riders cover several laps per day, the total distance being from 200 to 300 km. Basically, the route is laid in mountainous areas and is quite difficult to pass due to the abundance of streams, fords, descents, ascents, etc. Enduro is also a mixture of city and motocross motorcycles.
They are easy to drive, like road vehicles, and have increased cross-country ability. Enduros are close in a number of characteristics to cross-country skis. You can call them jeep motorcycles. One of their main qualities is unpretentiousness.
Other smart words and their meanings
Existentialism (otherwise known as the philosophy of existence) is a movement in the 20th century in philosophy that viewed man as a spiritual being capable of choosing his own destiny.
Synergetics is an interdisciplinary area of research in science, the task of which is to study natural processes and phenomena based on the principles of self-organization of various systems that consist of subsystems.
Annihilation is the reaction of the transformation of an antiparticle and a particle upon collision into some particles different from the original ones.
A priori (literal translation from Latin - “from what precedes”) is knowledge that is obtained independently of and before experience.
Modern smart words are not understood by everyone. For example, “metanoia” (from the Greek word meaning “rethinking”, “after the mind”) is a term that means repentance (especially in psychotherapy and psychology), regret about what has happened.
Compilation (otherwise known as programming) is the transformation by some compiler program of text written in a complex language into a machine-like, similar or objective module.
Rasterization is the conversion of an image, which is described in a vector format, into dots or pixels for output to a printer or display. This is a process that is the inverse of vectorization.
The next term is intubation. It comes from the Latin words for "into" and "pipe." This is the insertion of a special tube into the larynx in case of narrowings that threaten suffocation (with swelling of the larynx, for example), as well as into the trachea in order to administer anesthesia.
Vivisection is the performance of surgical operations on a living animal in order to study the functions of the body or individual removed organs, to study the effects of various drugs, to develop surgical treatment methods, or for educational purposes.
The list of “Smart words and their meaning” can, of course, be continued. There are a lot of such words in various branches of knowledge. We have highlighted only a few that are quite widespread today. Knowing buzzwords and their meaning is useful. This develops erudition and allows you to better navigate the world. Therefore, it would be nice to remember what smart words are called.
“Fill out the form and write your autobiography” - we often hear such phrases and do not think that this is a mistake from the category of “oil oil”. An autobiography is a description of one’s life (autos - “myself”, bios - “life” and grapho - “I write”). It is impossible to write someone else’s autobiography, so using a possessive pronoun in in this case unnecessary.
2. Ambitious
Think before you write ambition in the strengths column on your resume. An ambitious and purposeful person are different concepts. Ambition is heightened pride, excessive conceit, as well as various claims and claims. The adjective derived from this word also has a negative emotional connotation.
3. Appeal - operate
These words are often confused. In fact, they are completely different. To appeal means to turn to someone or something for support: “Appeal to authority.” This word is interpreted even more narrowly in legal practice: appeal - complaint, appeal - to protest something. You can operate with some tools or data. “An expert uses statistics” means that he skillfully demonstrates them. If he calls on statistical research for help, then he is already appealing to statistics.
4. A priori
Many people understand this adverb as something that goes without saying and does not require proof. But in philosophy, to think a priori means to have an idea about something without testing it in practice (from the Latin a priori - “from what precedes”). The antonym is the word “a posteriori” - a judgment based on existing experience. So you can’t be a priori sure of the meaning of a word until you look in the dictionary.
5. Test - try
These words are sometimes used interchangeably. To avoid such a mistake, remember: to test means to check and approve. As a rule, we are talking about some kind of official procedures: “Scientists have tested a new medicine - it will soon go on sale.” You cannot test semolina, unless, of course, it is some kind of major study, the results of which will result in a written conclusion.
6. Asexual
Sometimes they mistakenly call an unattractive person this way. The term "asexuality" means weak sexual instinct. An asexual person can be damn cute, but at the same time indifferent to.
7. Authentic
Fashionable word. Every now and then something becomes authentic - cafes, performances and even people. But the word “authenticity” ≠ “originality”. It means authenticity, correspondence to the original. Authentic can be a contract or a product, as well as works of art.
8. Hypothesis - theory
Close, but not identical concepts. A hypothesis is a scientific assumption put forward to substantiate a phenomenon and requires experimental verification. A theory (in one of its meanings) is an opinion about anything, developed on the basis of observations. In other words, within the framework of a theory, a hypothesis can be put forward to prove certain provisions of this theory.
9. Dilemma is a problem
Solving a dilemma and coping with a problem are not the same thing. A dilemma is a difficult choice between two mutually exclusive options. To be or not to be? The third, as a rule, is not given. A problem is, first of all, an unpleasant situation with many or no solutions.
10. Agreement - contract
Very similar concepts, but there are semantic and legal nuances. A contract is an agreement between two or more persons. By civil law it can be concluded either in writing or orally. A contract is always a written agreement. Moreover, according to the current legislation, one of its parties, as a rule, is the state.
11. Significant - significant
There is also a lot of confusion with these adjectives. Words, for example, can be meaningful, that is, having weight or having a special meaning. Significant is primarily large in size or strength; something that is of great importance. Therefore, the company's profit will always be significant.
12. For - so that
These conjunctions are often used incorrectly because they do not know their meaning. Look in the dictionary so as not to make a mistake when joining subordinate clause. The conjunction “for” corresponds to the conjunctions “because” and “since,” and “in order” corresponds to the conjunction “so that.”
13. Ideology - ideologicalness
These concepts cannot be replaced with each other. Ideology is a belief system that shapes a worldview. Previously, the world was clearly divided into adherents of one or another political and economic ideology. Ideology is loyalty to some point of view, idea.
14. Quintessence
This word comes from the Latin quinta essentia - “fifth essence”. In ancient and medieval philosophy, the quintessence was the essence, the basis of anything. Now for some reason this term is used to combine various concepts, for example: “The author noticed that his book is the quintessence of many genres, connecting many plots.” And this, of course, is not true.
15. Traveler - business traveler
“Hotel accommodations are for business travelers only” - many will pass by such an advertisement without suspecting a catch. But a business trip is something inanimate related to a business trip. You can't talk about people like that. A person who has gone somewhere to carry out an official assignment is on a business trip: “The company rented a hotel for business travelers and pays them travel allowances.”
16. Come il faut
Having heard the phrase “Call him, otherwise I’m somehow not comme il faut,” we immediately understand that one person is embarrassed to dial another’s number. This word is often used to mean “convenient/inconvenient” or “comfortable/uncomfortable”. Few people know that the dictionary meaning of the word “come il faut” is sophisticated, refined, corresponding to the rules of good manners. “In public he behaves comme il faut, but at home...”
17. Competence - competence
Knowledge and experience in a certain field should not be confused with the ability to use them. For example, if a company has a vacancy for a lawyer, then only a person with a higher legal education (competence) can fill it. But having a diploma does not guarantee the competence of applicants.
18. Congenial
Many are convinced that this is the superlative form of the adjective “brilliant.” Like, congenial - it’s like genius, only even better. But the word actually comes from the Latin con (“together”) and genialis (“pertaining to genius”). Moreover, “genius” in Latin is spirit. Thus, congenial is congenial. A congenial person is one who is close in way of thinking and values.
19. Credit - loan
These terms can sometimes be used interchangeably (depending on the context). However, it is important to remember the legal differences between these concepts. A bank or other lending institution issues money, for which interest is charged. The subject of a loan can be not only money, but also things, and not necessarily on a reimbursable basis.
20. Liberalism - libertarianism
Two ideological trends with similar names, but different content. Liberalism unites supporters of the parliamentary system, broad political freedoms and entrepreneurship. The main feature of libertarianism is the prohibition of “aggressive violence.” Supporters of this political movement believe that any manifestation of force and even the threat of its manifestation should be punishable by law.
21. Loyal
Many people equate this word with condescension: “If the teacher was loyal, he installed it automatically.” Let's look in the dictionary: “Loyal - keeping loyalty to the existing state power, the existing order.” Only in the second meaning - a correct attitude towards someone or something - is loyalty similar to condescension, but it is still impossible to put an equal sign between these concepts.
22. Marginal
When the press does not want to offend the homeless or beggars, they are “politely” called marginalized. But in sociology this term is much broader. A marginalized person is someone who finds himself in a new situation and has not yet adapted to it. For example, a marginal position is occupied by a person who has just moved from a village to a city.
23. Misalliance - union
Following the logic that "alliance" is the root, some believe that misalliance represents some kind of union of people or states. In fact, misalliance is nothing more than an unequal marriage (the root is “misalliance”). The phrase “Japan-Korea misalliance” may sound ambiguous and sometimes offensive.
24. Misanthrope
Avoids people, does not strive to communicate - this characteristic suits not only misanthropes, but also introverts. Therefore, these concepts are often confused and identified. But a misanthrope (literally, a misanthrope) not only reduces social contacts to a minimum - people infuriate him. He doesn’t trust anyone, sees only the bad in everything and suspects everyone of something. Misanthropy can be selective and manifest itself in hatred only towards men or, conversely, towards women. for the most part they are absolutely darling.
25. Mental - conceivable
Feel the difference with examples: “Is it conceivable to fail a session!” - the mother screamed in rage. “La-li-lay...” - the daughter mentally sang. A mental one is an imaginary one that lives somewhere in your thoughts. And conceivable is something that is difficult to imagine (but possible).
26. Unflattering - unpleasant
The first word is often used as a synonym for the second: “What an impartial guy!” But it is wrong to say so. In fact, impartial is impartial, fair, one who does not seek to please anyone. If someone calls you an impartial person, consider it a compliment.
27. Intolerant - intolerable
Words similar in spelling, but different in meaning. An intolerant is someone who lacks tolerance, or something that cannot be tolerated. For example, an intolerant misanthrope or intolerant rudeness. Intolerable is unbearable, acting so strongly that it cannot be tolerated. Pain or wind can be unbearable.
28. Nonsense
This word is often given the wrong meaning: “The new iPhone is just nonsense!” They wanted to emphasize the incredible coolness and sensationalism of the gadget, but they said that it was nonsense and absurdity. After all, this is precisely the meaning of the word “nonsense”.
29. Odious
Be wary if someone in your environment is called an odious person. It’s good if people simply don’t know that odious is not extravagant and extraordinary, but something that causes a storm of negative emotions. What if not?
30. Organic - organic
Adjectives in which it is easy to get confused if you do not learn once and for all that organic is determined by the very essence of someone or something (synonym - natural). And organic is related to a living organism. Even more narrowly - consisting of carbon. Example: “The monument to doctors fighting organic brain damage fits organically into the city’s landscape.”
31. Pathos
This word is often understood as pretense. In fact, páthos means “passion” in Greek. Pathos is elation, inspiration. In literary works, this term denotes the highest emotional point reached by the characters and which finds a response in the hearts of readers.
32. Teacher - teacher
An equal sign is often put between these words, although these concepts are not at all identical. A teacher is a person who is engaged in teaching or educational activities (synonym - mentor). A teacher is a middle- or higher-level worker educational institution teaching any subject (mathematics teacher, literature teacher). Thus, a teacher is an occupation, a profession, and a teacher is a specialization.
33. Gift - souvenir
Using these words as synonyms is not always appropriate. A souvenir is a memorable thing associated with visiting a place. What we buy as a memory of a country, city or person. The expressions “memorable souvenir” or “memento souvenir” have semantic redundancy. If the gift is not related to the trip, it is better to write “gift”.
34. Under the auspices
According to ancient Greek mythology, the aegis is the cape of Zeus, which has magical properties. To be under the auspices means to be protected by some powerful force, to rely on the support of someone or something. It is incorrect to use this expression to mean “under pretext.” You cannot say: “Under the auspices of protecting consumer rights, Rospotrebnadzor conducted a raid on retail outlets in the city.”
35. Change - change
Words that are in writing literary speech should not be mixed. To exchange means to give away what is yours and receive something else instead, that is, to exchange something. To change means to make something different. The expression “He completely changed his life” is wrong, as is “She changed her maiden name to her husband’s last name.”
36. Almost - almost
These adverbs are often confused. You can write “Almost everything remains the same” and “Almost everything remains the same,” but the meaning will be different. The adverb “practically” can be replaced by the expression “in practice” or “essentially.” Then our example would sound like this: “In practice, everything remains the same” or “In essence, everything remains the same.” In other words, things are still there. The adverb “almost” means that something is missing; it can be replaced by the expression “almost.” The sentence “Mostly everything remains the same” has a different semantic connotation: something has been done, but not much.
37. Painting - signature
Related words, but they should not be identified. A signature is an inscription under something (under + write). For example, write your last name under the text of the contract. Painting is decorative painting on walls, ceilings or objects. From a literary point of view, the request to put a signature on the document is incorrect. Replacing a signature with a signature can only be done in colloquial speech.
38. Today's - present
“Today’s”, that is, relating to the current day, should not be confused with the word “present”. The last concept is broader. It covers everything that relates to the current year (month, summer, season).
39. Sentence
Maxims usually mean some statements, remarks or theses. But it is important to remember that, according to the dictionary, these should not be any statements, but sayings of a moralizing nature.
40. Sociopath - social phobe
The first suffers from dissocial personality disorder, and therefore does not take into account social norms and rules, does not care about morality and constantly challenges others. The second is a person who is afraid of society. He may be afraid to talk to a stranger on the street or be in a crowded place. Sociopathy is a type of mental disorder, social phobia is. It is impossible to put an equal sign between these concepts.
41. Typical - typical
Consonant, but different in meaning words. Do not confuse: typical - embodying characteristics someone or something. Typical is one that corresponds to some pattern.
42. Frustration - prostration
These concepts are often confused even by psychologists themselves. Frustration is a feeling of anxiety that arises from the inability to achieve what you want. In other words, dissatisfaction. Prostration is a depressed, apathetic state, a loss of strength, when you don’t want and can’t do anything.
43. Functionality - functionality
Even in serious IT publications they make the unfortunate mistake of calling functionality functionality and vice versa. It's not the same thing. Functionality is a collection possible options use or possible actions performed by a certain object: the functionality of a smartphone or laptop. A functional is a numerical function defined on a vector space.
44. Empathy
This psychological term is sometimes confused and identified with sympathy. Empathy is the ability to enter into the emotional state of another person and feel his experiences. We are not always able to take the place of another person, even if we like him.
Valued in any society. It is easier for a person who knows how to correctly and competently compose a dialogue to find a job, get promoted up the career ladder, and make new acquaintances. People around him listen to him more often; his monologue never seems inappropriate or stupid.
But the paradox is that in order for others to perceive you as smart and educated person, it is enough to expand your vocabulary by only about fifty words. It is enough to use some for communication in order to appear in the eyes of others as an extraordinary, creative person.
The art of competent communication
It won't be difficult to master if you want. Much more important will be a confident voice, clear diction and the appropriateness of using certain words. Surely you have encountered a situation in life when a person, conducting a dialogue, tries with all his might to use abstruse words to communicate, sometimes using them completely out of place and in the wrong inflection. Such attempts look ridiculous and funny. To prevent this from happening to you, armed with a vocabulary for all occasions, do not be lazy to find out the exact meaning of words, their synonyms and antonyms, declension, gender and stress. This is the only way you will be able to use them correctly and competently in conversation.
Getting rid of banality
The first thing you should do is try to minimize the use of hackneyed expressions and words that you use in your everyday life. For example, a banal set of words like “good”, “beautiful”, “smart”, etc. can be replaced with less hackneyed, alternative options, because each of them can be accessed using explanatory dictionary choose at least a dozen synonyms.
For example, the word “beautiful”, depending on the situation, can be replaced with “bright”, “elegant”, “luxurious”, “incomparable”, “magnificent”, “delightful”. “Useful” in everyday conversation can easily be used as “beneficial”, “fruitful”, “expedient”, “practical”, “necessary”. Even to a simple word"smart" has many synonyms. You should remember and appeal to them as necessary. Here are some of them: “witty”, “resourceful”, “smart”, “good”, “wise”, “smart”.
It also doesn’t hurt to learn a few that will help you create the desired effect on others:
Idiosyncrasy - intolerance.
Transcendental - abstract, mental, theoretical.
Esoterics is a mystical teaching.
A truism is a well-known fact, statement or opinion.
Euphemism is the replacement of harsh, rude words and expressions with more acceptable and soft ones.
Sophistry is the ability to argue sharply, to skillfully juggle words.
Eclecticism is a combination of different types of theories, views or things.
Homogeneous - homogeneous.
Invective - swearing, obscene language.
Decadence is decline.
Hyperbole is an exaggeration.
Frustration is disappointment.
Discourse - conversation, conversation.
At first, when using smart words to communicate, you may experience some awkwardness in the conversation; your language will seem to get tangled and stumble over “new expressions.” It's okay; a new colloquial form, like a new pair of shoes, should be worn in. After a while, you will, without thinking, choose better synonyms and expressions to express your opinion.
Speech-clogging expressions
The most difficult part of this process may be learning to notice them in your own speech. If you cannot notice them on your own, you may need the help of loved ones with whom you often communicate, or a voice recorder. At the next stage, you should learn to either skip them or replace them with smart words for communication; to consolidate the result, you also need to periodically listen to your own monologue recorded on a voice recorder. In the process of mastering the organization and production of your own speech, try to speak thoughtfully, logically constructing each phrase; this is the only way, after some time, you will be able to master the art of competently conducting a dialogue.
By learning to clearly structure sentences, using smart words to communicate, and getting rid of expressions that clog your speech, you will be able to make an excellent impression, because the more competently a person speaks, the more intelligent and successful he seems to his interlocutors.