One of the proudest moments of your English learning journey is when you gain the confidence to use stylish words in your day-to-day conversations. There’s something very satisfying in knowing that you have a huge vocabulary and can create beautiful words with the right words.
Adding new words to your vocabulary offers immense benefits. It helps you get fluent in English, deliver better-articulated speeches, improve your pronunciation, and enhance your reading and listening comprehension. Additionally, it helps you appear competent, which you can use to your advantage in professional situations.
It means second to last. For example, when watching a TV series with eight episodes and you’re about to start the seventh episode, you can tell your friends that you’re on the penultimate episode.
You can use this word when you describe something as extremely small. Instead of using familiar phrases like “little” or “tiny,” you can use diminutive to sound smart. Here’s an example of how to use it in a sentence,
Surrounded by tall skyscrapers, my single-storey home looks diminutive in the neighbourhood.
You can use this word to describe a gathering of a diverse group of people, a group of ideas, or a meeting of minds. For example,
The confluence of the design and engineering teams helped us create a remarkable product.
This word refers to fine details. You can use it to describe your attention to detail in your planning, thinking, or day-to-day work. For example, you can say,
Let’s focus on the granular details to create a project execution roadmap.
This is a portmanteau (pronounced as port-MAN-toe) of the words “awesome” and “sauce.” A portmanteau is a new word that is formed by combining two or more words. It combines the meanings and sounds of the original words.
When we combine the words “awesome” and “sauce,” we get “awesomesauce,” which means the same as awesome but with more awesomeness. It’s an adjective, and you can use it to describe something extraordinary.
I’m watching an awesomesauce documentary about the origin of the universe.
Stan is a person who obsesses or idolizes a celebrity. You can think of stans as devoted or loyal fans. The word can be used both as a noun and a verb. To stan is to idolize or love something obsessively. Here are a few examples of this word in action:
I stan Barack Obama. He’s my role model.
We stan athleisure. They’re so comfy and elegant to wear at work and the gym.
This combines the words “face” and “palm.” It describes covering one’s face in embarrassing or difficult situations. Here’s an example of how to use it:
It was a facepalm moment when my manager pointed out the typos in my client presentation.
This is another portmanteau of the words “hungry” and “angry.” It’s when you’re in a bad mood because you’re feeling hungry. Here’s an example of how to use it:
I hadn’t eaten anything since morn. So, it was evident that I was hangry before the meeting.
When you photobomb, you spoil the photo by unintentionally appearing in the frame when someone else clicks the picture. The person who photobombs is known as a photobomber, which could be a random stranger or a friend pranking the group. Here’s an example of how to use it in a sentence:
You won’t believe how hard it was to click a picture in front of the Taj Mahal without strangers photobombing our shoot.
You would have come across this word in your conversations with your friends, especially those addicted to TV dramas. The word binge means to overdo something. For example, binge eating means eating without any control. Similarly, binge-watch is when you have a marathon session of TV, where you watch one episode after another without stopping.
I spent the whole weekend binge-watching Squid Game, which was so addictive.
This is another portmanteau of “glamorous” and “camping.” Traditionally, camping is when you rough it out in the woods and experience living outdoors without proper facilities like running water, cosy beds, or electric lights.
Glamping is camping with all the modern facilities like nice bathrooms, soft beds, and even gourmet, chef-cooked meals.
I’m not an outdoorsy person. But I love glamping.
Staycation combines the words “stay” and “vacation.” You would have heard the term vacation, where you go on holiday. Staycation is a particular holiday where you take off from work but stay in. It can either be at your home or at a luxurious hotel. It’s mainly to relax and get freed of your daily stresses.
I love travelling, but I enjoy staycations more as I get to recharge my batteries.
This one’s another portmanteau. It combines the words “man” and “explain.” It refers to the annoying habit of certain men who explain things to women in a condescending manner. It’s when men dumb down things for women or feel they know better than the other sex.
Whenever my co-worker begins to mansplain, the women in our team do a silent eye roll and stop paying attention.
Have you ever given a disapproving look to someone? This practice is known as giving someone the side-eye. It’s when you’re annoyed and want to disapprove of someone’s behaviour silently.
I gave the side-eye to my student, as he was constantly yawning and failing to pay attention in my online English-speaking classes.
Nomophobia is the fear of being separated from your mobile phone. An individual has nomophobia when they’re worried they wouldn’t be able to use their mobile phone. I guess the majority of us are guilty of this one.
In today’s digital world, nomophobia is one of the biggest phobias among the younger generation.
You might be frightened to use new words, especially if you’re just learning to speak English. After all, these words are complicated and, if misused, can make you feel embarrassed. Worry not; here are a few tips to include these smart words in your conversations and speak English fluently:
If you’re looking for an online English-speaking teacher, connect with me to learn more about my courses and how I can help you become a confident and stylish speaker.
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