# Why do (smart) people use big words? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 26, 2017, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862 "2017-10-26T01:31:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 8:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/21 "2017-10-26T08:48:44Z")
Short answer: Because big words have more precise, narrower definitions, which leads to less of the kinds of ambiguity that smart people try to avoid. Also, citing the above example of “escape velocity”, that is a recognized term among scientific colleagues, and its use signals that the speaker is knowledgeable enough to know that. In a sense, it is something like a secret handshake among insiders. Rather like football fans using words like reception and encroachment and plane, with the understanding that everyone in the conversation knows the context. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/22 "2017-10-26T11:03:11Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Is it innate with higher intelligence to use a wider set of language or is it mostly pretentiousness? Are people who use big words actually smarter than the rest of us? nm. You wouldn’t have understood it anyways. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/23 "2017-10-26T11:14:59Z")
Judicious application of appropriate vocaulary makes for an erudite blah blah blah, ran out of steam. What’s most important is a small vocabulary is most certainly a sign of low intelligence. Not that I’m referring to any specific President, you understand. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/24 "2017-10-26T11:31:30Z")
Someone’s vocabulary reflects their environment. If one reads a lot of “high brow” stuff and is surrounded by “high brow” speakers, they are inevitably going to incorporate “high brow” words into their speech. People who write for a living also tend to reach for “fancier” words than people who don’t. I do a lot of technical writing, which is typically low on the flowery fluffy words you find in literature. But I still need to use sophisticated language sometimes. Words like “concomitant” or “heterogeneous” have simpler synonyms. But if you’ve already used “associated” or “non-uniform” eleventy-billion times in a paragraph, the strategic insertion of GRE words may be called for. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/25 "2017-10-26T11:39:28Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > There are obviously people who are pretentious about all sorts of things, and so language may be one of those things. I’ve had to wean more than one writer off using either words they themselves didn’t understand, or a very obscure meaning for a word which had many others. “A meaning which was used once by Lord Byron in a poem written when he was 15 is not one I expect our highly-international audience to be familiar with. Change it. Now.” But both those and the people using malapropisms are easy to spot: the sentence doesn’t really make sense as written/said. And yes, I just used a big word 🙂 When the people using it are using it to be precise it’s like what you said about Pinker: the meaning is crystal clear, no need to dig into Byron’s bibliography… (There was one guy who did use a meaning that yes, apparently had been used by Byron, once. And by nobody other than English Literature students, since.) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/26 "2017-10-26T12:16:55Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > The guy who writes xkcd did an interesting experiment in describing complex ideas with a very small vocabulary. > Here it is: > > [xkcd: Up Goer Five](https://xkcd.com/1133/) That would be Randall Munroe. In a similar vein is the [Simple English Wiki](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Simple_English_Wikipedia). Although not required, it is recommended that articles in it use the same “ten hundred” word vocabulary Munroe did or even the more restrictive Basic English vocabulary of 850 words. And just to be meta, [here](https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xkcd) is the SEW article on XKCD. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/27 "2017-10-26T12:32:46Z")
I never use words of more than two syllbles, it’s 'tentious. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/28 "2017-10-26T12:39:10Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > An expanded vocabulary allows one to convey ideas succinctly. > The ones that ramble on with (or without) big words are idiots and/or trying to show off. I know what you mean, but I’ve wrestled with this idea for some time. One thing that becomes apparent when you read [authors from centuries past](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=20562450&postcount=33) is that they frequently used ten words where two would suffice. Sentences were often much longer and commas and semicolons connected numerous lengthy clauses. Was this just a function of style and common practice or were these authors attempting to put on intellectual airs? > **[The Art of Letter Writing - Early 19th Century Style](http://the-lothians.blogspot.com/2014/08/the-art-of-letter-writing-early-19th.html)** > > An Eclectic Appreciation of Things Old, Stately, Quirky or Simply of Historical Interest Or maybe this kind thing is a result of survivor bias - the samples of, say, Victorian writing style that that are held out as being representative are the ones that were retained _because_ of their remarkable verbosity? (“well lookee hyar Jebidiah, this feller shore wrote purty, didn’t he? I’m a gonna keep this here letter…”) ---
**Author:** ![ZonexandScout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zonexandscout/32/544_2.png) [@ZonexandScout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZonexandScout)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/29 "2017-10-26T12:51:02Z")
I’m not an expert in this area. I wish Pinker would chime in. It’s my general impression that people who use unusual (in the ears of the average listener) words fall into three categories: 1. People who read a lot and are quite used to such words. Some of the words might just happen to be “buzzwords of the day,” but the individual does see them on a regular basis and uses them properly. These people can say “corruscating” with a straight face. 2. People who are striving to use these words properly because they are simply pretentious. The best example is when I talk about crepuscular feeders or axillary odors. 3. People who have a “Word-A-Day” calendar. These are the ones who comment on how their coffee and creamer are unusually miscible today. I’m a voracious reader myself, so I don’t usually have a problem with understanding these words, but they are usually $100 bills when a quarter was needed. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/30 "2017-10-26T13:01:44Z")
Maybe a good way to put it is, when I use big words I am not trying to be pretentious. I _am_ pretentious. Those are the words I use in my head. I was once told I sound like William F. Buckley, which was not meant as a compliment but came across that way. Srsly, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/31 "2017-10-26T13:09:08Z")
Your OP is like asking why a great painter would choose a gradient of blue when there is a perfectly serviceable stock shade of blue. Listening to an eloquent speaker is akin to looking at a beautiful painting. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/32 "2017-10-26T13:21:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > For example, a person can show off by lighting their farts. But you can’t be pretentious by lighting your farts. So being pretentious and showing off are not the same thing and the two terms are not interchangeable. Brother, please take temporary custody of my canister of ale and Behold! In one hand I hold the stolen spark of Prometheus. Observe now the effulgence that shall transpire when the emission of my intestinal aether meets its combustion… ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/33 "2017-10-26T13:34:43Z")
[Even a six-year old](http://sfb806irtg.uni-koeln.de/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Calvin-and-Hobbes-by-Bill-Watterson.png) understands the main reason to use big words. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/34 "2017-10-26T14:12:03Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Is it innate with higher intelligence to use a wider set of language or is it mostly pretentiousness? Are people who use big words actually smarter than the rest of us? There is so much to unpack in this. The use of the word pretentiousness, and “the rest of us”? It sounds like you’re playing the anti-intellectualism card? Are there some people who use big word to try to sound smarter? Sure, that exists, but I’d say it’s a very small sliver of people. Some poor souls have a bad habit of it. A million years ago, the show In Living Color had a bit where the character used big word gibberish. It was funny because we’ve all met someone like that. In addition, there’s a strain of goof-ball hipster nerds who like to talk like they’re from the 1800’s, OK you be you, and good luck getting a date. But in normal day to day life, not so much. But, just because you hear someone use a word that you are not sure about, it doesn’t mean they are doing it to get the better of you, or to show off. If you think they are doing it to try to get the better of you, that says more about you than it does about them. There are a lot of people who are fans of reading and fans of words, so they naturally use words they know. They may accidentally use them in front of people that are not in the same place they are in terms of being fans of reading and words, but that’s not really their fault. And I would say it’s kinda offensive to call them out as NOT being part of “the rest of us.” ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/35 "2017-10-26T14:16:00Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Maybe a good way to put it is, when I use big words I am not trying to be pretentious. I _am_ pretentious. Those are the words I use in my head. > > I was once told I sound like William F. Buckley, which was not meant as a compliment but came across that way. > > Srsly, > Shodan Apparently, during one broadcast, Buckley used the word irenic, and someone asked him why he didn’t just say “peaceful” - “I desired the extra syllable” was his reply. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/36 "2017-10-26T14:21:11Z")
I didn’t get a Ivy League education so I could dumb down my speech with small words. Or at all. Still, the point remains. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/37 "2017-10-26T14:48:33Z")
> [@tomndebb](#): > > I suspect that many people use “show off” words simply because they know the words without realizing that their audience does not. > I was in a data center, surrounded by recent college graduates, and brought down the wrath of a dozen or so of them when I noted that we were having a surfeit of problems that week. I was soundly criticized for using surfeit. I pointed out that it was not a big word, having only two syllables and seven letters, but I was still accused of trying to show off with big words. I went home, that night, and turned on The Muppet Movie on TV, (hardly a BBC import on PBS), only to encounter Mel Brooks using the same word in a kids show. > _meh_ I was accused of the same thing when I was in the military. I grew up loving books and read voraciously - oops, I mean “a lot” - from a very early age. Reading = vocabulary unless you limit yourself to comic strips. A friend in the military took me to task, telling me that everyone thought I was talking down to them and that I thought I was smarter than everyone else. While the latter was probably true in that particular milieu, the former was not. It’s just the way I speak. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/38 "2017-10-26T14:50:59Z")
Not that I’m smart, but when I use big words I do it because it feels good, kinda like stretching my legs. The odd thing is that it’s a similarly nice feeling when I speak neighborhood vernacular and know it’s just right. In my life, I’ve met a number of people who can nail just about anything in their own clumsy way. The important thing is that they use few words and are unambiguous. I think it’s an art form. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/39 "2017-10-26T14:57:32Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > telling me that everyone thought I was talking down to them and that I thought I was smarter than everyone else. While the latter was probably true in that particular milieu, the former was not. It’s just the way I speak. That seems to be the problem whenever these subjects come up. The folk who see you as different take the difference as an affront, and impose the affront on you. It works in all sorts of ways in society. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862/40 "2017-10-26T15:06:58Z")
Categorically, highly intelligent individuals employ the precise vocabulary necessary to accurately convey their concepts to the audience at hand. Or, Actually, really smart people use words that their listeners will easily understand yet still get the message across. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-smart-people-use-big-words/799862.md?page=3)