I wouldn't define ennui as troubles. It's more like tedium, or listless melancholy.

If anything it's the lack of troubles lmfao

Or an inabiity to find anything that seems worth doing. In many ways it sounds like a pre-modern way of saying "clinical depression" in the real sense rather than 'someone who is just sad a lot'.

When making a dictionary like this it's important to make sure your definitions are actually correct and you aren't just talking absolute nonsense. Other posters have already pointed out that "salient" means something else entirely, but "spartiate" has a specific meaning too, it's the ruling citizen class within Spartan society.

Ennui basically means a more sad kind of boredom as well, I don’t think troubles is accurate.

French speaker here, it's actually correct in some cases. I'll try to include random examples: Ennui can mean boredom, not particularly sad, just boredom. As in "Je m'ennuie" (I'm bored) or "Cette émission est d'un ennui mortel" (This TV show is deadly boring, not sure if I've translated this one well lol). It can also means troubles or problems, as in "J'ai des ennuis" (I'm in troubles), mon voisin a des ennuis avec la police (My neighboor is in troubles with the police), or "L'ennui, c'est que je ne sais pas nager" (The problem is, I can't swim).

I may be missing some context here, but I was more referring to its usage in English. Thank you for your contributions though, that definitely makes more sense if OP is a french speaker.

TIL ennui is also a word in the english language. I'm adding it to my vocabulary then, thank you for the clarification :))

I actually started to compile all the French words I noticed in English They are usually a fancier way of saying the same thing! Like: droll = drôle (instead of funny), piqued my interest = a piqué ma curiosité, crayon = crayon (even though we all learned pencil at school!) etc.

I mean, Salient has that meaning too; I doubt people would mind if you used it well with context.

But their definition of salient is correct? The name of the jutting out part of a fortress or piece of land is what led to the word being used as a euphemism for something important, obvious, or apparent.

maybe because there was an important reason for the fortress to have that feature, or it offered some benefits when referring to the land aspect. These may have also been obvious features of the land or fortress. As a note, a little over 200 years ago, regulate meant to keep regular; but now it has the connotation of controlling

Spartiate essentially does just mean Spartan, not just in French but in Greek too. BUT in ancient Greece, that terminology came with a big unspoekn assumption: you weren't considered to be a Spartan unless you were a male citizen of the polis, it didn't matter if you'd been born there or how long you'd been there. The same goes for Athens and other places.

You might have the idea right in your head but Catechisms are much more specific than the definition here lets on. They're kind of like prayer-adjacent long passages about faith which you are taught to memorise and repeat back.

But salient does also mean what he's using it as. The second entry in the Oxford dictionary is :  salient; plural noun: salients a piece of land or section of fortification that juts out to form an angle. I don't see anything wrong with using lesser known definitions of words, you might teach the audience something in the process. I particularly enjoy when a writer dives into etymology and imagines an alternate evolution of a word.

The noun Salient is a piece of land or section of fortification that juts out to form an angle. OP is right. The adjective is basically just noticeable or conspicuous. But there are two versions of the word.

salient is correct here. as an adjective it can mean important, as a noun it means a piece of land that juts out at an angle.

I would definitely recommend looking up the definitions and then trying to simplify them to make it easier to understand for you. Some of these while close, are not quite accurate. But yeah for words I frequently have a hard time remembering what they mean I will make flash cards in Anki

Malady *tips fedora*

M'laria *mosquito bites you*

Mark Twain once said that the wrong word is like a lightning bug, but the right word is like lightning itself. The right word isn't necessarily the most complex or obscure one. A voluminous vocabulary is important, but over-relying on "fancy" words could make one's writing feel too stuffy.

Then you go and use "voluminous vocabulary"

Dang ol big ol vocab ain’t no use to no one I tell you what man

I can tell by your comment, and I am just hoping you’re just having a laugh xD

At least he didn't go and use "sesquipedalian vocabulary"

And by Twain, that was lightning

A loquacious lexicon if you will.

That's the thing though, if you actually KNOW the words and how to use them properly there's noting wrong with doing so. At least in contexts where that'd be appropriate. As Twain goes on to mention in the same essey that the person above quoted [Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/3172/3172-h/3172-h.htm) that even when used correctly big words can be a bad decision, as Fennimore Cooper did with his Mary Sue character Deerslayer who alternatively talked like it would hurt him to use a word with less than three syllables and then in the next paragraph would have his dialog written in over the top ignorant bumpkin dialect. If this had been intended to show him code switching, or using the big vocabulary to mock someone who mistook his normal bumpkin mode of speech, it would work. But instead it just looks like Fennimore Cooper couldn't make up his mind about what his character was like.

I think you took my comment more seriously than intended but it's interesting and relevant information so thank you.

Jack Vance is shaking.

The quotation is "the difference between the right word and the almost right word ... is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning."

Do you read a lot? Reading helps improve diction so I would say read more if you don’t already

Nah I just keep a few online thesauruses open

This, also I don't worry about it for specific characters' dialogue, since lots of people like to repeatedly use the same words. I do try to make sure that characters that use repeated wording often don't use the same ones as each other, though.

This is what I do, as well.

"Spartiate" is a thing in English, too. While "Spartan" is a demonym for anyone in Sparta, the Spartiates were the ruling upper class, the ones who did all the stuff we associate with Sparta today.

Most of those aren't "fancy" words. They're just part of a normal native vocabulary.

Then explain to me why I have them in a note called “fancy words to use when writing” and why they sound fancy >:( /j

They sound fancy because most words here come from French, and therefore were used by the Norman nobility who invaded England in 1066. English has many examples of pairs of synonyms in which one is fancy while the other is not, like to defecate/to shit. One other interesting thing is that animal names come from Germanic roots, while meat names come from Latin ones. This is because the peasants (speaking old English) were in contact with the animals, while the nobility only saw the meat they ate. Examples: cow/beef, pig/pork, sheep/mutton…

> why they sound fancy Romance language sounds fancy to Anglos

Only for terms that have a particularly unique meaning or specified users (e.g. certain people that exclusively use this term) within the setting.

That really isn't what "ennui" means.

is english not your first language? because these are literally just english words.

No it isn’t my first language

please tell me the last time you used the word quinvenerate

Earlier today when I visited a popular burger restaurant founded by such a group.

You guys need a list of fancy words to use when writing?

But they’re fancy and I like fancy stuff :(

Honestly I think this thread is overall needlessly harsh to you. The key things people are saying seem to be: - You're wrong about the meanings - Don't use fancy words, I don't know what they mean - These aren't fancy words, because I know what they mean. But ultimately, what you said hear is what matters. Like yeah, you should maybe know what the words mean more precisely, but most of your meanings are close enough. And it's totally legit to like fancy words. Fancy words are cool as fuck. I don't have a physical list of them, but that's basically because there is a list of cool words in my head, and I just enjoy using them regularly enough that I don't need a list. Don't let this thread get you down (if it is). Fancy words are great, you should use them if they make you happy, and you aren't the only one that will appreciate them. (I would say that I personally find fancy words cooler when I know their more precise definition, because then when you need a word you can be like, damn, I have the *perfect* word here) Here's some words that I find cool if you want to add to your list. I'm gonna be imprecise with the definitions, so you probably wanna double check :P Soliloquy - A speech delivered by a character in a play to themselves(and the audience), talking about their thoughts. A bit like a monologue, but not usually actually directed at someone. Furor - an outbreak of anger or passion, mostly in crowds Haberdashery - a hat shop Defenestrate - to throw someone out a window Candor - honesty, forthrightness

You could also try a thesaurus (dictionary for synonyms) just be sure to check if the context fits the word's connotations

Spartiate refers to the specific upper-crust slave driving class within Spartan society.

probably best to write with words you actually know. if you don’t know what you’re writing, your audience won’t either

It's good to improve your documentary, but there is no point whatsoever in using words your audience doesn't know anything about, that's would create immersion breakers edit: I did mean vocabulary, but that works I guess.

Counterpoint, make an immortal vampire talk in 𝕰𝖓𝖌𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖍 with his speech being barely readable (like that one guy saying "the cemetery" To graveyard Or "arachnid" To spider) and make it in plot point of characters struggling to understand whatever the fuck he said. Bonus points if at some point he just snaps and starts to talk like a 30 year old shitposter(look into death from Castlevania movie)

Just be careful doing this. That guy on TikTok frequently uses the wrong words. Cemeteries and graveyards are two different things. He made the same mistake with coffin and casket. And in other cases he uses the wrong term. You wouldn’t use the term arachnid to talk about spiders any more than you would use the term quadruped to talk about dogs.

You're splitting hairs about a taxonomic classification, but you've got it backwards. The Greek root of arachnid is arachne, meaning spider. The taxonomic classification of class "arachnida" (named such because its members are all spider-like/related to spiders) doesn't dictate people's use of the English word "arachnid". It's completely reasonable to use the term arachnid when talking about spiders in a non-taxonomic context. If someone writes that they have arachnophobia, do you sit there wondering if they're afraid of mites and ticks as well, just because those are also in class arachnida? A comparable word for talking about dogs would be "canine," and it is completely normal use that term when writing/talking about dogs. Again, because the root word is the Latin canis which means dog. The fact that the taxonomic family canidae (named such because its members are all dog-like) also includes wolves and foxes etc., doesn't control the usage of the English word canine/canid.

This isn’t true though? A graveyard and a cemetery are synonyms that both mean a place where dead bodies are buried according to Cambridge dictionary. In the US, a casket is another acceptable word for a fancy coffin. Also, “arachnid” is certainly a more acceptable word to refer to a spiders than “quadruped” for dogs. Sure, it does technically also refer to scorpions and mites, but everyone knows what you mean. The point of writing stories is to communicate vivid stories rather than cold definitions. These words might have technical definitions that are different from your intended meaning, but intended meaning is better communicated through context anyway. Plenty of authors eschew grammatical correctness in the pursuit of telling stories, and using words for their colloquial meaning is common and acceptable depending on the story you want to tell

A graveyard is attached to a church, a cemetery is not. A casket is squared and has poles, a coffin is tapered and does not have poles, regardless of what Americans think. If I have a conversation with a coworker and they talk about their pet arachnid the whole time, at some point I’m going to have to ask what kind of arachnid they have. You’re right about communication, but accuracy is also important. If I’m reading a story, and the author describes a character going into the church attached to the cemetery to look at a flag draped casket of a soldier who died from an arachnid bite, it’s going to call into question every other description in the story. Now if a character wants to call it a graveyard instead of a cemetery, etc. that’s different because it’s an individual who may not know. But when writing in the third person, an author should strive for accuracy where possible.

[A graveyard is often attached to a church, that does not mean always.](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/graveyard#) [The word for “casket” as a vessel for holding a body and not fine goods literally comes from America. If you’re gonna be obnoxious about “Americans”, then stop using the word at all. Regardless of where the word comes from or means in a technical sense, it is used colloquially as a “fancy coffin”.](https://www.civilwarmed.org/coffins-to-caskets/) Arachnid as a fancy word for describing a spider is fine in context, with other descriptors and a setting to further enhance the image. In your own example, a soldier dying to an arachnid bite surely died to a spider, and not a mite or scorpion. Accuracy is not the penultimate measure of a story, and I would recommend you read something by Henry Dumas to see how colloquial language and grammar can be tinkered with to evoke certain moods. Edit: You mentioned third person writing, and I don’t have time to pull up an example rn but colloquial language can be use from third person perspectives or come up in dialogue. These aren’t writing mistakes, and I think it’s wrong to call them so.

You’re the one being obnoxious by insisting that the American standard for a word is The Standard. And it’s not obvious. What if I’ve decided to use bite as a colloquial term for any puncture wound sustained from an animal or insect? It’s perfectly acceptable to do that in Ontario or New Brunswick so I could still be referring to a scorpion sting. I couldn’t get into Dumas’ writing. So I’d say that’s subjective.

> You’re the one being obnoxious by insisting that the American standard for a word is The Standard Americans are the ones who invented the use of the word you insist on people using “correctly”, I pointed that out. I am the one advocating for using words as the author sees fit rather than by The Standard. You have clearly gotten us confused here. I want authors to use THEIR standard rather than yours. Ultimately, the author is incapable of writing in tongues so that all may understand their work. Using the “correct” usage for any word is just as liable to misinterpretation through colloquial understanding. Vernacular is different from place to place, and the author has no responsibility to write for anyone other than their intended audience. There is a very cool documentary called “Talking Black in America” about how people who speak AAVE are isolated by people who speak white english, and [another one here that talks about how language barriers presented by “proper” english hurt african americans and puerto ricans in New York.](https://www.linfield.edu/assets/files/admission/soan-article_5.2-bourgois.pdf). This doesn’t just happen in America, as nearly every region has a unique vernacular. Again, it is ultimately the author’s choice to choose who they are writing to, and write to them. I didn’t say you had to like Dumas’ writing, I was lifting it as an example of how it’s not necessarily an author’s job to always be correct. It is your opinion that they must write using correct grammar and definitions, it is the truth that a writer can be successful without doing so.

I think that if a character/story is from a specific part of the world or a specific community that doesn't use "proper English" (white english) then the use of colloquialism is really beautiful. I would also say that despite the fact that people did sit down and agree on all the definitions in the dictionary, that doesn't necessarily define the limits of description and language. Language is inherently decided by the people that speak it. So if I know that casket, to my friends and family, means "fancy coffin" then I'll use that word without regard to how many poles it can support or whatevs. I also think that definitional semantics aside, some of the very best writing gets its description across without outlining "we were in the graveyard and we cried over his coffin because he died from a spider bite" tends to be more impactful than writing that gets caught up over tiny details that don't aid the reader's digestion of the setting. Cormac McCarthy is a wonderful example of this in my opinion, though of course enjoying his writing is as subjective an experience as enjoying that of Dumas'.

A vampire? You mean a hemomancer

None of the words here are all that obscure...

Ahh Ennui. I hear it all the time. "Nobody knows the ennui I've seen"

Using Quintumvirate to describe a group of 5 is also a bit out there

Documentary?

yeah, but none of these words are particularly obscure (except maybe quintumvirate and spartiate.)

Absolutely, have a full spreadsheet as a fantasy vocabulary

That definition of ennui as just "troubles" really bothers me lol

I’d recommend avoiding using “fancy words” for the sake of appearing more literary. Use words you need to use and that you are comfortable with.

I am sorry but that definition for salient is driving me bonkers.

Technically not wrong in a specific context such as being used as a noun. “Physical Geography. a landform that extends out beyond its surroundings, as a spur projecting from the side of a mountain.” - My qualifications: I work for Dictionary.com

So, technically it is wrong, because that is not what he has written down. I would love for OP to use that in a sentence the way he has it defined. edit: to be clear I am hung up on the important part he has added as well as the "piece of land" vs landform

A better word for spartiate would be austere. I also have a list similar to this, which I will copy and paste for you now. Panopticon - a circular prison centered around central observation. Apoptosis - the death of cells naturally Apotheosis - the culmination of a climax Apoplectic - overcome with anger, fury Sequelae - consequences of previous Paucity - insufficient Demure - modest, shy Timorous - lack of confidence Mellifluous - pleasing to the ear Confluence - a meeting of people, time, location Equanimity - mental stability Pernicious - having a harmful effect Didactic - intending to teach Felicitous - well suited Serendipity - nice events that come together by chance Catharsis - emotional release or cleansing Erudite - knowledge person on specific topic Vitriolic - spewing hurtful mean things Pusillanimous - weak or scared Bloviate - brag, showy, boastful Copious - loads Barbigerous - bearded, hairy Coruscating - flashing, sparkling Vivacious - attractive in a lively manner Ebullient - cheerful and full of energy Cromulent - acceptable Defenestration - out the window Jenticular - breakfast Langour - lethargy Limerence - infatuation Nadir - lowest point in situation Tergiversation - twisting words Languish - lack of vitality, force to remain Loquacious - saucy deets Vociforous - loud and powerful Temerity - excessive boldness Effrontery - insolent, impertinent perspicaciousness - spatous perspective Tawdry - showy but cheap Eschatological - death and judgement exculpatory - proving ones innocence Alacrity - speed Celerity - speed Fecund - rotund, spherical vituperative - bitter, abusive Mooker - unpleasant, disagreeable Terpsichore - relating to dancing Melpomene - tradegy and lyre playing/acting Clangour - loud continuous noises (Colin with his truck horn) Snollygoster - an unprincipled but shrewd person Lickspittle - arselicker Smellfungus - excessively fault finding person Transom - strengthening crossbar Succour - to aid in hard times Gunwale - upper edge of planks/rim of boat I may or may not have found words to describe colleagues who are horrible to work with, in case I get a chance to do an anonymous review or something

Fecund means fertile, carrying connotations of giving lots of vegetation or offspring. It can be used metaphorically to mean round, but that's not the inherent meaning of the word.

A list? No. Remembering them in my head? Yes

Ennui is closer to boredom or restlessness

you needed a note for the word "impede"

Yes.

Oh, i have one, i use it mostly to keep naming ideas

I do keep a list of interesting words I'm not likely to think of in the moment, but aside from the wrong definitions, I want to point out that most people keep a list of words like this to *avoid*. Using obscure words is generally worse than using normal words with a lot of rich associations.

I would strongly recommend you DON'T do that. It leads to thesaurus syndrome and you using not the right word but a word vaguely related to the right word. All it takes is misusing a single word and suddenly instead of looking erudite and wordy you look like a buffoon. Most of the words in your list have other definitions, and are not interchangable with the words you use. For example, cowl. A cowl was originally a hood built into a cloak or cape, not just any random hood. And these days it tends to be used to refer to an upper body garment incorporating a hood but usually also sleeves and part of the chest or at the very least the shoulders. You encounter them mostly with superheros (Batman) or some religious clothing (many types of Catholic priestly vestiments). Importantly though, it's the entire article of clothing, not merely the hood part. A cowl has a hood, a hood is not necessarially part of a cowl. Technically a hoodie is a cowl, oddly enough, but it comes across as pretentious if you try to describe it that way. Seriously, please do yourself a huge favor and do NOT use words you aren't completely comfortable with and you don't know the full defition of and all the ways it can be misused. Your writing will be much better. Or, to phrase it the way you might accidentally wind up sounding like: "Earnestly, beseechingly execute a prodigious benefaction and abstain from employing lexemes with which you lack comprehensive comfort and whose exhaustive definition and potential for erroneous utilization you do not possess. Your composition will be exponentially superior."

No. I believe that "write what you know" also applies to vocabulary.

Not necessarily for the purpose of writing but I do keep notes on words I don’t recognize when I’m reading a new book. I put the page number of the book so I can go back and see it in context

Nah, my brain is a thesaurus. I have to use notes to remember real life things that normal people seem to have no trouble remembering.

I have a word bank like this that has about 1000 words.

Laconic is better for sparta...

Yes but i always forget to use it 😭 

lol based

Ennui doesn't mean troubles, it's more of an existential boredom.

That moment when you ask someone to "elucidate themselves" and they turn invisible.

i've got something similar to keep track of the best words if they ever slip my mind. words like susurrus or cavalcade

My goal with writing is to resonate with people. I would never use random obscure words that nobody knows like quintumvirate, spartiate, ennui

Yes 😭 but mine is names of geographic structures, natural and man made, from the common to obscure. Mountain to guyot.

Aren't most of those just regular words?

Never never ever use the word Quintumvirate, ever

Nah, I like it. Could absolutely see McCarthy dropping it somewhere when describing a small group moving along the dessert. Has a more fanciful and eye-catching feel to it than a group of five. There's no word that should be entirely avoided, only used carefully.

Why? It just means groups of 5.

I literally get more annoyed the more I look at it, it's so pretentiously fancy, just say "Five", there's no reason for fuckin "quintumrivate", no reader will understand it

If it was used as a description of goverment/political situation like triumvirat is it would be fine, for just a normal group of 5 people though it's really unnecessary.

Yeah using it to literally just mean five people (or men if we’re really translating from latin) I would say is straight-up wrong in English. The only context triumvirate and anything similarly derived are used is to describe a government/organization/etc where leadership is shared by the specified number of people (or to refer to said individuals).

As in "decisions are made by the Five"?

> Why? It just means groups of 5. It specifically means a regime of five men, analogous to the term Triumvirate, a regime of three men.

It does not. It's a cabal of five men / people. Much more specific. If you use it for anything else one would assume irony.

No, but I will from now on.

I keep notes of archaic terms for professions and the like. I just use a thesaurus n dictionary for other words

I use notes for not only this, but also fictional slang or words that don’t exist in the current English language

Yes

Oh i surely do

Quintumvirate is new for me but I can see how it comes about. All the rest I know, except maybe that French word for spartan.

Don't keep notes like that but I often use a thesaurus to remind me of alternative ways to phrase things. Occasionally learn a new word too, which is always a good thing.

I don't even understand most of these words. (Not a native speaker)

Reading makes our speech or writing better. I do read a lot in English, but I write mainly in Polish, so if I wanted to translate my work to English, and didn't know an equally "fancy" translation for a "fancy" word, I'd just use google translate, or a dictionary, or skip that entirelly, and use words I do know, while maintaining the original meaning. Also I do use words from different languages, that either haven't been used in the given context or at all, but that's mainly when there's not a good enough word in Polish, and I try to give explanations for it's meaning, unless it's something obvious, like "etcetera". Also sometimes a foregin word's meaning's obvious in some setnences. Also as the others said: be sure about the meaning of words you use.

I try to just keep words I know in my head instead of writing them down like a lil thesaurus. No offense though everyone has different methods. Accuracy is the most important.

Wait, I thought Catechesis was the instruction and Catechism was the textbook.

I now got full-fledged constructed languages and not just words

Peruse would be in mine. I don’t know how my mom meant it when I was a kid, but it always seemed like it meant “look over quickly,” while it means the opposite of that. She would often say that about shopping for something. “We’ll go peruse the shoe section.” Maybe she meant to carefully look for something that fit me or whatever, but it was never more than a few minutes. I dunno.

I do this for the opposite reason, so I don’t use these fancy words too much.

I don‘t think troubles is the right way to put „ennui“. I would say more of depressed boredom?

I don;t try to make things too fancy. Don;t want the person reading things to feel talked down to, or feel they have to look things up. Too annoying. Have to find a nice balance between changing things, and KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid)

No, a dictionary does that for me.

Some of these aren’t really fancy I’d say, I use them regularly. Also some are just plain wrong. Don’t put “fancy” words in your writing to make it more impressive or high brow or something.

Personally, I'm of the opinion that unless a character works in a specific field and needs to speak jargon, if I don't know the word off the top of my head, I probably shouldn't be using it. I have a large vocabulary, but it isn't endless. That's not to say others can't do this. It's whatever works for you.

Half of these are just regular words.

This is a solid list for remembering common words in your world. I have a similar reference for how I define/refer to government branches in my world, so I get it. I think for your purposes, you may get decent mileage out of googling “[word] synonym/definition” as needed. I have a reasonably large vocabulary but a lousy memory, and that helps me a lot. It also ensures I’m not using a word the wrong way.

No, you are not the only one who is learning French. /s

heres a suggestion why dont you make your own language and words and use that

I've never done that...but it might not be a bad idea, honestly. :)

Purple prose speedrun guide

Lol "juts" is not a fancy word

I’ve got Abominalphabet - [ ] A is for Abomination - [ ] B is for Bite - [ ] C is for Creature - [ ] D is for Demonic - [ ] E is for Extraterrestrial - [ ] F is for Freak - [ ] G is for Gargantuan - [ ] H is for Humongous - [ ] I is for Icky - [ ] J is for Jarring - [ ] K is for Killer - [ ] L is for Looming - [ ] M is for Monstrous - [ ] N is for Nightmarish - [ ] O is for Ominous - [ ] P is for Peculiar - [ ] Q is for Qabalistic - [ ] R is for Repulsive - [ ] S is for Sacrilegious - [ ] T is for Torturous - [ ] U is for Unnerving - [ ] V is for Violent - [ ] W is for Weird - [ ] X is for Xyloid - [ ] Y is for Yearning - [ ] Z is for Zoetic

I usually go to Google if I struggle with a word. This list is OK, but you should be aware of the more specific meaning and alternate definitions of the words that you write down. For example, "cowed" means "frightened into submission". The "frightened" part is vital to portraying a scene. If you were to submit to another's will voluntarily, you would not be cowed.

I was a class clown in highschool ages ago, so individuals thought I was meme'ing when I would read a thesaurus during Silent Reading periods. I wasn't meme'ing lol.

Not exactly, but I do have a list of hypothetical ship names

Catechism is Catholic instruction, not general religious instruction.

Catechism is specific to catholic religious instruction. Idt protestants use the term and definitely non-christians don't use it

A lot of these are pretty significantly off. Especially catechism, you might as well define blackberry as "fruit, in general"

Jut is a fancy word? I hear the word "jut" and "jutting out" quite a lot from older women here in NZ that it feels like a slang to me more than fancy lmaooo While I dont have a list per se, I love to look in to "military speak", not necessarily the phonetics like the alphas and bravos or the slangs like blue falcon and the jodys, but the way they speak for authenticity sake. Stuff like "The Captain egressed southbound of the facility via the west entry control point at 1339 hours to rendezvous with a contact"

Such list is a great idea! I, for example, have a list full of special metaphors.

I don’t understand the hate in this thread. I also keep a list of neat words I find. Words are fun. Thurible, catafalque…

OP this could Legit be a screenshot straight outta my notes app lol. I’m a sucker for a good list i cant fake haha. Got one for words like this, one for quotes, I got one for conversions and measurements, imperial to English(vice versa), other twrms that denote distance (block, fathom, nautical mile etc) One for important historical dates and events… Honestly any excuse I can think of to make a lil list and I’m gonna run w that hhahaaa

These words are pretty self explanatory

Nah, I've always striven for a smattering of elocution in my lexicon. Unfortunately my parlance vexes those to whom the common lingua is just so. /silly

One of my favorite words: Inexorable - Impossible to prevent.

Having this is pretty smart, my brother uses this to learn new long words like: panoply or verisimilitude.

cool, now the reader has to google it to understand, there is a reason esoteric words are rarely used

No. If I need a similar word that isn’t exactly what I’m thinking I use a thesaurus. I think too many fancy words end up making it sound forced. Although I don’t really think “impedes,” “cowled” “juts” “seclusiveness” or “abhorrence are really fancy, those are all pretty normal words. “Malady” is a bit more dated but would be completely normal in some time periods, I believe “cowed” would too.

I keep them in my mind because I am a learned person.

No...no you are not xD I keep notes like this one right next to my shopping list lol Don’t really call em “fancy words”, but i have a collection of ancient and archaic words that i use for names of countries, towns, entire worlds, characters, mythological creatures of my own making, you name it.

Only when I need to. Otherwise I just don't lol

I sometimes come across random notes mixed in wirh all the genuine stuff that are basically just insane 3AM ramblings, ideas that I’d had and didn’t want to forget… only for their meaning to then be lost in translation

Yeah, no. Good idea though. I have other lists I use. Mostly to do lists and names of places. Mind maps and diagrams are a must for me. I often get caught up in a particular aspect and forget all the things happening around that.

I have a dictionary, more like an "encyclopedia", but terminology is something I try to be careful. Usually, I making terms that can be understood from context (that includes pronunciation). For exemplo, "curses" can either refer to the magical meaning, as well as to trauma or medical condition, that is, someone who was born unable to speak (mute) is likely to be refered as someone bearing the "curse of silence" instead of a new term. Now if I need to create a new term, I try using already existing words but with a "twist" in their meaning or slightly change in their ortography as to give the impression of a derivated word.

Okay there, Lovecraft

I open the Translator on for learning it in both languages. Coincidence, I learned the word ENNUI just 2 days ago. These types of words are mostly used in books before 40s or 50s...

Not as a general list, but in Obsidian when I'm writing up character information I usually try to include sample dialogue for them in case I need to 'ground' myself on how this or that person has sounded previously. This is mostly because of my squirrel-brain, I need to be able to keep those sorts of notes because I'll lose track way too quickly otherwise.

I use the WordHippo app

Nope, i've got one too!

Just use a thesaurus like the rest of us.

My problem is I picked up a large vocabulary from reading a lot as a kid, but since I didn't keep a dictionary on hand a lot of the words I just picked up from context, so I'll sometimes use a word that I thought I knew the definition of, but in reality it means something subtly different.

I dont, but my brain usually knows which word i want

I spent an hour a week ago trying to remember the word commission.

clearly my brain cannot decipher the difference between Malady and M’lady without some deep thought, because you had me tweaking over “problem, or disease,” as i thought “it can be like that sometimes”

Catechism relates more to Christianity than any religion. If you wrote it in fantasy setting it’s probably fine to use it about some made up religion but would only use it if the made up religion is Christianity-esque.

Not really, but I probably should with all the Old English/faux Old-English I'm using.

It's a cool list. I think I'll make one now.

Here's another for the list Sthenic- excessive strength

I have one for names I'll find that I either think sound interesting or fitting, or colloquialisms that I think would work for a setting (multiple versions of "Seven Hells!" for example).

Sort of, but I don't write the definitions as that would interrupt my reading more than it already does. I just keep them locked away look them up later — which ranges from anywhere between a few days and a month. My PR is almost 90 fancy words in a single day (I still haven't looked them up).

You could get a thesaurus

I don't know. Not everyone should use these otherwise all worlds will look like they all came from Cambridge or something. Same reason I don't understand why keep using archaism in every single of FromSoftware games.

No but I should, gosh dang

Nope I do exactly the same. Whenever I hear a fancy word when watching shows and movies that I can use, I pause and note it down. It's usually from period piece dramas as my story is set in a medieval world.

I’ve also been keeping one for a couple years! I just find it interesting to document and try to remember words that I very rarely, if ever, see. English isn’t my first language either so I understand where you’re coming from. I think people here have a tendency to love to correct others, and a lot of the commenters come off as rude/look down on the op when errors happen. Continue to do what you’re doing and good luck

Close. I have a list of names I’ve collected over time.

A ten dollar word can’t help a two dollar sentence. 

I have a spiral notebook where I write down any word I don’t immediately know the definition of, but I include example phrases, synonyms and the etymology. It’s fun!

I don't use a note like this and I almost never use a thesaurus. I think if the word doesn't come to you naturally, it's probably not the right word.

I keep notes for words I made up for the world and its spoken dialects. That's it.

Have you tried [https://www.thesaurus.com/](https://www.thesaurus.com/) ? Probably a lot easier than keeping a list. You also might want to get a vocabulary calendar or something. These are like High School reading level words.

I have a list like this, but the one I maintain is in alphabetical order

The word for "quintumvirate" is actually [quinquevirate](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/quinquevirate), but I actually prefer **[THE PENTAVIRATE!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKRFlNryaWw#t=60)**

i wouldn’t use big words just for the sake of using big words

I use a spreadsheet and write down examples, references, and definitions. I have over 1k words so far. I have a separate tab for magic, beasts, flora, relics, heraldry, movie/show dialogue or sentences. Another tab is for page references that explain scenery for example.

No, but I am stealing this list

I keep a list like this of words and phrases I find interesting or profound. I collect old dictionaries for the same reason. Words are fun.

Not really and many accounts on Instagram have such lists for new writers. I saved some of them

Pardon me as I add these words to my list

Not really. A lot of these words I use more often than most people. If you want to use big and Arcane words join Freemasonry. That’s all I’m going to say on that subject though as the Catechism (and yes we actually call it that) and rituals are…well you know. As for Quintimvirate I’ve not heard of that one although as a student of history I’ve heard of something similar called a Triumvirate (It was a big thing in the waning days of the Roman Republic).

When I started listening to Opeth more seriously I went through all their lyrics and made a list like this with all the words I didn’t know, and looked up their definitions/meanings. Helped my vocabulary quite a bit lol.

Mine is named and almost 20k long at this point. I may have a problem

I have no idea what the French word for Spartan is, but Spartiate is also Greek for Spartan. However, it referred exclusively to the *citizens* of Sparta, a highly insular club of elite slave-driving men who ran the polis. If you weren't a citizen, you weren't a Spartan, even if you were born and raised there. Lakedemonian is the word for someone who was from Sparta, but wasn't a citizen (including women who were of citizen status but don't seem to have been considered to be citizens). The same goes for Athens and other ancient Greek poleis (plural of polis, which can be translated as "city-state," although it doesn't require there to actually be a city present).

I don't have anything like that, but I do have long lists of phobias, names, and possible character elements

Haha this resonates with me but I don't keep a list, I just build my vocab and etymology understanding. I'm constantly googling synonyms and Latin/greek translations

I also have a document with cool words I wanna use!

Not since taking the GRE.