11 Words That Will Make You Sound Super Smart

The Huffington Post  |  By 
Posted: 10/28/2013 7:59 am EDT  |  Updated: 10/28/2013 9:33 am EDT

When someone constantly uses the filler word “like,” you probably think they don’t sound so smart.

But have you ever met someone who’s babbling “like” after “like,” and then suddenly inserts a zinger of a vocabulary word such as “sycophant,” which means a person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage (or “obsequiously,” which means full of or exhibiting servile compliance)? All of a sudden, you’re looking at this person in a whole new light. Maybe they’re smarter than you thought they were.

Just for fun, we asked our Facebook fans to name the words they think make someone sound, well, sagacious (uh, smart). Have any words to add? Let us know in comments. We included the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition below each suggestion.

1) “Paradoxically,” said Lee Enry Erickson.
Def: Of the nature of a paradox; not being the normal or usual kind — a paradoxical pulse — paradoxical drug reactions.
— par·a·dox·i·cal·i·ty noun
— par·a·dox·i·cal·ly adverb
— par·a·dox·i·cal·ness noun

2) “Oxymoron,” said Maria Regina Encarnação.
Def: A combination of words that have opposite or very different meanings.

3) “Ennui,” said Mayda Tapanes.
Def: A lack of spirit, enthusiasm, or interest.

4) “Beleaguered,” said Cindy Jarrett, who added “plethora” and “oligarchy” as well.
Def of beleaguer: To cause constant or repeated trouble for (a person, business, etc.): examples: the lack of funds that beleaguers schools — beleaguered the castle for months.

5) “Exacerbate,” said Ginger Amelia Perry.
Def: To make (a bad situation, a problem, etc.) worse.

6) “Didactic,” said Kat Wood.
Def: Designed or intended to teach people something.

7) “Anathema,” said Suzanne Fluhr.
Def: Someone or something that is very strongly disliked.

8) “Logistics,” said Michael James Cooper.
Def: The things that must be done to plan and organize a complicated activity or event that involves many people.

9) “Quixotic,” said Lea Thompson.
Def: Hopeful or romantic in a way that is not practical.

10) “Non sequitur,” said Fred Crandall.
Def: A statement that is not connected in a logical or clear way to anything said before it.

11) “Verisimilitude,” said Lauren George.
Def: The quality or state of being verisimilar — having the appearance of truth.

 

What’s a word you like to use to make you sound sagacious? Please enter in the comments below with your word, the definition, and your name. The first 10 persons to do so will earn 10 bonus points to their homework grade.

Grade 7: EA 2

Timeline: 6-7 class periods

Monday: Planning/Drafting on the assignment given three weeks ago. Change: 1-2 vignettes, instead of 2-4
Tuesday: Continue with Drafting/ Checkpoint 1
Wednesday: Editing and Revising/Checkpoint 2/Editing and Revising
Thursday: Checkpoint 3/Finalize
Friday: Due

Grade 7: IW/Grammar

Materials:     IW #1 and Handout-Verb Diagram

Directions:

1. Number the squares on the handout 1-12 (horizontally – by rows)

2. Number the sentences in your IW.

3. Rewrite your sentences changing only the verb tense.

  • For example: Sentence #1 of your IW will be revised to have a simple present verb tense.

4. Number your work this way:

  • 1.1 (1st IW sentence.1st verb tense)
  • 2.2 (2nd IW. 2nd VT)
  • 3.3
  • 4.4

If you run out of IW sentences, start over with the first one:

  • 1.5 (1st IW.5th VT)
  • 2.6

5. Underline/Highlight the verb tenses

Help Needed: Frisco Family Services

Student Citizens and Parents:
In Grade 7, we are currently reading The House on Mango Street. As we study the novel, we are discovering the various cultures with which the main character associates herself and the cultures that surround her. Also, we often learn that the characters are often in “need” — an identity, a neighborhood, basic necessities — that are sometimes taken for granted by others. As a part of the learning experience and connecting the classroom learning to the real world, I’ve let the student citizens know of this need in our own town/neighborhoods. Over the next two weeks, they may bring items listed below to help their community.  
Dear friends,
Frisco Family Services Food Pantry’s shelves are almost empty. We have experienced a 20% increase in the demand for this critical service. As Frisco’s only Food Pantry, we call upon you to help us ensure that families in crisis in our community do not go hungry. FFS needs to collect 60,000 pounds of food this October. We are calling on you to donate food to help our neighbors in need. Listed below are ways to help. As a community, we can do this!
Partnering with you to prevent hunger,
Nicole S. Bursey, MSW
FFS Executive Director 
How to Help:
  • Take the list of needed items to the grocery store to help in choosing foods and items to donate to the food pantry.
  • Food donations may be dropped off at the Frisco Family Services Food Pantry at 9085 Dogwood Street, Frisco, TX 75033 from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and from 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. on Wednesday.
  • The Food Pantry will be open for two special Saturday donations on Oct. 12 and Oct. 19 from 10 a.m.- 2 p.m.
  • Frisco Family Services cannot accept bulk, expired or open items.
  • Every food donation, no matter the size, helps in the fight against hunger.

Frisco Family Services Food Pantry Needed Items:

  • Peanut Butter
  • Jelly
  • Canned Pasta Meals (Ravioli, Spaghetti O’s, etc.)
  • Boxed Meal Helpers (Hamburger Helper, etc.)
  • Boxed Mac and Cheese
  • Children’s Cereals
  • Fruit Cups
  • Fruit Juices (small boxes or pouches)
  • Flour (5 lb. size or smaller)
  • Cooking Oils (48 oz size or smaller)
  • Snack Items (popcorn, granola bars, etc.)
  • Sliced Sandwich Bread
  • Saltine Crackers
  • Condiments
  • Baking Mixes
  • Laundry Detergent (approx. 40 load size or smaller)
  • Size 4 and Size 5 Diapers
  • Body Wash
  • Shampoo
For more information, resources and a Tool Kit, visit www.friscofamilyservices.org/FeedFrisco.

Hunger in Frisco? Hunger and food insecurity are realities for many in Frisco and Frisco ISD, which serves Frisco and parts of Little Elm, McKinney and Plano. In 2013, more than 463,000 pounds of healthy food was distributed to neighbors in need. As the Frisco community grows, so does the need for the FFS Food Pantry. FFS is seeing more and mroe neighbors who, because of a crisis in their household (like job loss, illness or divorce), need help putting food on their table. The FFS Food Pantry distributes more than 40,000 pounds of food each month and will see an increase in demand with the upcoming holiday season.

FISD Mentoring Program

Frisco ISD will partner with community volunteers to offer a mentoring program to middle and high school students. The program will be held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Student Opportunity Center, 6928 Maple Street, on select Saturdays during the 2013-2014 school year. Parents and guardians are invited to refer students in grades six through twelve for participation in the program. For more information, contact FISD Coordinator of Student Achievement and Involvement Larry Lewis at lewisl@friscoisd.org or 469-633-6594.