(ABC 6 News) – If you’ve ever wanted to sound a little more impressive in conversation, you could spend hours reading classic literature and memorizing words most of us forgot after high school. Or you could take a shortcut.
There’s a smartphone app called Vocabulary that’s designed to build your word bank without feeling like homework.
The average person knows around 20,000 words. But in everyday conversation, most of us rely on a much smaller set. Words like “cool,” “okay,” and “awesome” do a lot of heavy lifting. Vocabulary is built to change that.
Available on both iPhone and Android, the app helps you learn new words throughout the day. You can choose topics that interest you, like business, society, or literature, and Vocabulary will send notifications with new words to learn.
You can also browse through its library at your own pace. That’s where you’ll come across words like phlegmatic, indolent, and officious. Each word comes with a definition, examples of how to use it, and even pronunciation, so you don’t confidently say it wrong in front of a group. And yes, that happens more than people admit.
The app isn’t all serious vocabulary either. It mixes in modern slang, which might come in handy if you want to keep up with your kids. Terms like “flexitarian” or describing something as “bussin” might actually get a reaction at the dinner table.
What makes Vocabulary stand out is how easy it is to use. Instead of scrolling through social media, you can spend a few minutes learning something new. Over time, those words start to stick.
Before long, you might even become what’s called a logophile, someone who loves words. And if a friend asks where you picked up your expanded vocabulary, you can casually mention you learned it “yestreen,” which just means last night.
Just don’t overdo it. Using too many words when fewer will do has a name, too: pleonasm. And nobody wants to sound like they’re trying that hard.
Vocabulary is free to download, but a subscription runs about $50 a year.
