20 Vocabulary Words You Should Use More Often

Grow your vocabulary to make your sound smarter! Here are 20+ vocabulary words that you should use more often, both in writing and in everyday life.

20+ Vocabulary Words You Should Use

There are so many interesting vocabulary words out there! Here are 20+ of my favorite vocabulary words that you should use more often!

1. Archaic (adjective)
Definition: very old or old fashioned
Example: Record players are archaic!

2. Zephyr (noun)
Definition: a brief gusty wind
Example: There was a nice zephyr outside today.

3. Quiescent (adjective)
Definition: peacefulness, dormant, inactive
Example: It is nice to have a quiescent day to spend with friends and family.

4. Plethora (noun)
Definition: excess, a large amount
Example: The young girl has a plethora of pebbles in her collections.

5. Degust (verb)
Definition: to eat slowly to appreciate the taste
Example: Mary degusted the incredible chocolate cake from grandma’s secret recipe.

6. Poignant (adjective)
Definition: touching and moving
Example: The Pursuit of Happyness is a memorable and poignant movie.

7. Abate (verb)
Definition: to become smaller
Example: It seemed that over time, the wins of the football team began to abate.

8. Sycophant (noun)
Definition: a person who flatters to gain personal favors
Example: We all become sycophants when a cop pulls us over for a speeding ticket!

9. Ravenous (adjective)
Definition: extremely hungry
Example: Goldilocks was ravenous, but she could not eat the first two bowls of porridge!

10. Defunct (adjective)
Definition: no longer existing or functioning
Example: Funky music, hair, and clothes from the 1970s are now defunct!

11. Munificence (noun)
Definition: being extremely generous, the quality of being lavishly generous
Example: The king’s munificence helped feed thousands of the poor, starving villagers.

12. Juxtaposition (noun)
Definition: two different, contrasting things being compared side by side
Example: Today, I juxtaposed the difference between Mac and Windows computers.

13. Alacritous (adjective)
Definition: brisk or lively
Example: The alacritous young boy jumped into a pile of leaves.

14. Magnanimous (adjective)
Definition: very generous or forgiving
Example: Despite their struggles, the couple was magnanimous and had a long and happy marriage.

15. Cachinnating (verb)
Definition: to laugh loudly
Example: Olivia and Alyssa were up cachinnating long past their bedtime.

16. Obsolete (adjective)
Definition: no longer used
Example: New technology can quickly become obsolete as new technology comes out.

17. Polychromatic (adjective)
Definition: multicolored, showing a variety or change of color
Example: The beautiful painting was polychromatic.

18. Albeit (conjunction)
Definition: although
Example: Tom began painting the fence, albeit with a grumpy attitude.

19. Incandescent (adjective)
Definition: giving off light after being heated, someone brilliant
Example: The incandescent lightbulb shone brightly in the whole room.

20. Banal (adjective)
Definition: boring and lacking in originality
Example: That new pop song is so banal!
Enjoy this list? You’ll Love The Ultimate Language Arts Cheat Sheets, filled with grammar hacks and vocabulary substitutions!