The English language, with all its words, is understandably difficult to master completely. Our daily vocabulary goes only so far.
The words often spoken nowadays are usually cherry-picked only from the pool of the most popular. As such, there are many words that have fallen out of favor.
Check out the following forgotten words and incorporate them into your vocabulary today:
1. aberration [ab-uh-rey-shuh n] - the act of departing from the right, normal, or usual course.
There has to be an explanation for the aberration in the records.
2. appease [uh-peez] - to bring to a state of peace, quiet, ease, calm, or contentment; pacify; soothe; to satisfy.
The mother could not do anything to appease her crying baby.
3. brazen [brey-zuh n] - shameless or impudent.
The boy’s brazen behavior got him in trouble.
4. cajole [kuh-johl] - to persuade by flattery or promises; wheedle; coax.
The witch cajoled Hansel and Gretel with sweets to get them to follow her.
5. chide [chahyd] - to express disapproval of; scold; reproach.
Students arrived early to class so that the teacher wouldn’t chide them for being late.
6. clandestine - [klan-des-tin] characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception; private or surreptitious.
The young woman is in a clandestine relationship with a married man.
7. demure [dih-myoo r] - characterized by shyness and modesty; reserved.
The girl who sits in the back of the class is demure, but will stand and speak up for her friends.
8. hypocrisy [hi-pok-ruh-see] - a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
He said he didn’t like liars, but he’s a big liar himself; his hypocrisy is disgusting.
9. impeccable [im-pek-uh-buh l] - faultless; flawless; irreproachable.
The Queen’s sense of fashion was impeccable.
10. inept [in-ept, ih-nept] - generally awkward or clumsy; haplessly incompetent.
Nobody wanted to talk to that boy since he was considered socially inept.
11. lithe [lahyth] - bending readily; pliant; limber; supple; flexible.
A ballerina should have a lithe body.
12. meticulous [muh-tik-yuh-luh s] - taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise; thorough.
Architects should be meticulous about the details when designing new structures.
13. nuance [noo-ahns] - a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc.
Voice actors should be able to pull off the nuances of the emotions of their characters with just their voices.
14. perusal [puh-roo-zuh l] - the act of perusing; survey; scrutiny; careful examination.
A salesman sends potential customers a document about the product for their perusal.
15. predilection [pred-l-ek-shuh n] - a tendency to think favorably of something in particular; partiality; preference.
The designer has a predilection for more natural colors for his clothing line.
Practice using the words on this list and watch as you’re able to communicate your thoughts in a clearer, more concise manner. There’s no harm in taking a gander at a thesaurus, too--who knows what other words you might discover!
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