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RSSBig Words Make You Sound Smart, Don’t They?
Many people think that they sound smarter when they use big words. The truth of the matter is that smart communicators use words that (a) they understand and (b) their readers are likely to understand.
The purpose of writing is to communicate. Communication is the process by which meaning is created and exchanged. If the person who reads your writing doesn’t understand what you are trying to say, no communication occurs when he or she reads your writing.
In order to communicate effectively, you have to use language properly, and you have to use language that people are likely to understand.
Lately I have noticed many people misusing the word “detrimental” when what they really mean is “instrumental” or “important.” For example, I read a memo that someone wrote requesting permission to attend a meeting. The memo said, “It is detrimental that I go to the meeting next week.”
Ironically, the misuse of the word implies the exact opposite of what the person meant. Detrimental implies that some negative outcome would be associated with the person’s attendance at the meeting. What the writer meant was “important.”
A misused big word has the opposite effect of making you sound smart! A big word used correctly, but unnecessarily, has the effect of making you sound pedantic. If you have to go get a dictionary to see what “pedantic” means, I have made my point!
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really nice writing,
thanks ms mary.
i love it
That’s a good point. I’m guilty of that sometimes and it was a daily encounter in college papers (if used incorrectly). But how can you expect people to expand their vocabulary when they’re constantly writing for people who see the same words over and over again? Throwing in a few words, that require a brief flip of the dictionary, can only be beneficial.
It’s not just about making sure you use the right word correctly! It’s about making sure you use an appropriate word.
By that I mean that because writing (or presenting, which is what I do) is not about you, it’s about your audience, it’s important to use the kinds of words that they can understand.
The problem is that most people who misuse “big” words actually think they KNOW what the word means. They’re not usually reaching for something to make them sound smart. The example you give sounds like it’s an instance of this. In my office, people misuse phrases all the time – but they have ready (incorrect) definitions for them. I was amazed when I found this out. The problem can’t be fixed by asking people to be humble in their word choices, since they don’t know what they don’t know.
do not fear to negotiate, and don’t negotiate without fear.
I think there is a very fine line between using the precise word, and using a word that sounds important.
I would much rather use the precise word to describe a situation, than to settle on another word that just doesn’t convey the same feeling.
anyone can say big words. however, doing so does not prove your intelligence. infact, it’s more of how you speak and use your words.
I don’t remember exactly when, but an old teacher of mine was telling me how if you use “big words,” generally people will listen to you LESS because they don’t understand what you are saying. Or they have to much pride to admit they don’t know what you are saying so will be even more confused.
Just a thought to chew on.
quite the detrimental point you have made.
XD
Great article!
I completely agree and am afraid to say that i have done this many a time to impress my piers but more often than not, it has the opposite effect. I do however, find it hilarious how people use the the term “ironic” completely inappropriately when in fact the situation is merely coincidence. Then agen i also agree with some of the comments above, if you dont use words that people cant understand then they wont ever learnt he meaning of them and stick to the restricted vocabulary that they have. Im aware that i probably sound like a complete idiot so im going to stop typing now.
‘Detrimental’ is a “big” word now?
I’m sorry, but if that’s the case, I don’t think writing in English has much of a future. And it certainly won’t if we start dumping words our readers may not know; that can only lead to a vicious cycle where generation upon generation of writers reduce the vocabulary available.
I still remember being told that one of my stories was poorly written because the reader did not understand the word ‘lascivious’, and suggested I find an alternative. The thing is: that was exactly the word I’d wanted to use and it was exactly what that sentence needed. No alternatives could be used as replacement that wouldn’t add at least a couple of words, and in all cases broke the flow of the story…
I felt like I was stuck between two extremes: use the tools available for the job, or literally pander to ignorance.
the way we are going to do this is were going to take different sized batteries and doing the same to each of them by taking steel wool and attaching it to each side of the batteries and finding out which battery burns the steel wool tyhe fastest
Hi,
I was having coffee with some friends at a side-walk cafe. Then we heard a loud crashing sound. It must have came from an accident few blocks away.
I overheard one guy in the cafe said, ” I think, its a crucial accident “. He probably meant that it was a serious one.
To me, his use of the word “crucial” is worse than the accident.
Your comments are valid and well made. Your readers’ blogs are embarassing. Poor spelling, poor grammar, poor vocabulary — did anyone listen in grammar school?
I agree that a good vocabulary is necessary, and I think everyone should be well rounded and affluent in their own language. But the laughable thing I see when I read certain things, such as comments on a science blog etc., is that people tend to use words that they probably had to look up in a dictionary while writing it, just to try to sound intelligent. I usually see right through it and see that the writer is over-compensating for a lack of a good vocabulary, which doesn’t necessarily mean you are any less intelligent, I regress. I think you should just write about what you want, and how you want, and try to learn how to write better by taking a class or (stay with me here) actually going to college and getting your full potential.
Anyway, sorry for the rant, I guess it’s just a pet peeve of mine to see people trying too hard and not being themselves.
This was dreadful. Thanks but no thanks.
uhh detrimental could have been used correctly in that context if it was impervious to their health in order to go to this meeting…
I couldn’t agree more.
Azmanar’s comment about the man who wrongly used the word “crucial” is something I commonly witness here in Asia. (I laughed when I read that!;))
On a side note, I was in a cafe and there was a chinese lady talking to an Arab tourist. She said, “I never talk chinese one. Cantonese, mandarin I dono one. I just speaking english one.” I understand that she was trying to impress the tourist with her English skills, by perhaps pretending that she only speaks English (in asia, somehow if you only speak English and don’t know how to speak your mother tongue, it shows that you are of a higher ’status’) but I just had to laugh hard when I heard what she said.
Sorry for the long rant!
Yes, I am categorically certain that it is unequivocally incontrovertible that I recurrently employ gargantuan and multifarious terminology throughout the progression of otherwise ingenuous assertions with the intention of facilitating the manifestation of the opinion that I am of extraordinary and superior astuteness.
(laughing along with haha)
Joe, I agree completely. There are instances wherein only a particular word will suffice and nothing else will cut the muster. Unfortunately, there are many people who wouldn’t know how to use a dictionary (if they even own one!) for anything more intellectually stimulating than squashing spiders.
I suppose the issue becomes what we, as writers, are seeking to accomplish. If we’re writing to convey information to readers on an intellectual level equal to our own, then we should use whatever words the work needs to do the job; if we’re writing for children, farm animals, or dullards then we must “dumb down” our vocabulary accordingly, lest we leave our readers in the dust. Neglecting to follow this simple equation will likely lead us to failure.
I tend to be a bit verbose in my writing, I think, and certainly use some wording that would have been more at-home in a previous generation. I don’t think I’m wrong for doing so, because I get my point across, convey the information I wish to transmit, and entertain my readers (many of which are intelligent and discerning persons [after all, look whose work they're reading hahaha] and aren’t derailed by my word choices)…and at the same time I’m enjoying what I do, which makes it a solid-gold win-win situation for me.
thanks for helping the word.