5 Words That Will Make You ‘Sound Smarter’ Instantly!

With an estimated million words in the English language, there are a lot of ways you can express yourself with your vocabulary. However, not all words are created equal if you’re trying to make yourself sound smarter. In fact, an oft-cited 2005 study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology actually concluded that using unnecessary, long, hard-to-define words made a person seem less intelligent than people who used simpler language. But there are certain words that can have the opposite effect. If you want to sound smarter, we’ve rounded up five words that will do the trick.

Merriam-Webster recommends adding “austere” into your vocabulary as a way to “enrich a conversation without sounding ridiculous.” The word means to be “marked by rigorous restraint, simplicity, or self-denial” and can be used to replace other descriptive words like “simple” or “plain.”

Susan Mackey-Kallis, an associate professor at Villanova University who teaches public speaking, told The New York Times that using the word “like” too often is a surefire way to make yourself sound less intelligent, especially to those older than you. Unfortunately, many people use “like” as a filler word when speaking. To help yourself sound smarter, switch it out. Instead of “like,” use the word “namely,” which is just another way to say “such as” or “that is.”

“Per se” is a phrase with Latin origins, used when referring to a single, particular thing. According to Vocabulary.com, in Latin it means “by itself,” and it’s a simple phrase that you can inject into sentences to make yourself sound more intelligent.

“Facade” is another word with foreign origins that will make you sound smart. According to Merriam-Webster, you can use this word in several ways: It can be a synonym for “fake,” or used to describe “the front of a building.”

Sure, you can describe something as “small,” or even “tiny,” but that can grow tiresome. Instead, use the word “infinitesimal,” which means “immeasurably or incalculably small.” In fact, according to Merriam-Webster, this word actually “derives from the mathematical concept that a quantity can be divided endlessly; no matter how small, it can be subdivided into yet smaller fractions, or ‘infinitesimals.'” #24x7newsalert