Home Latest Articles 10 Daily Use Smart words – English Vocabulary

10 Daily Use Smart words – English Vocabulary

by Chetna Vasishth


We are all looking for some quick ways to sound more fluent in English. I understand that it is annoying when there are only a few words stuck in our head like awesome, cool, chill and epic and we keep using them for everything. So how about some smart words which you can use in your daily life to instantly elevate your vocabulary in a few minutes.

Today we will learn 10 daily use smart words , their meanings, root words with example sentences. So let’s get going..

1. Swamped –

Meaning –

though the word means drowning, flooded, Swamped is used in the context of work – the phrase swamped with work is an informal way to say ‘I am extremely busy’

Root –

A swamp or swampland is a wet spongy land. A person walking in a swamp could easily drown if they stepped in the wrong spot. Therefore, as a verb “swamp” means to sink.

Use –

So if you have too many projects to submit and a test coming up and your friends want you to hang out with them, you can say, I’m so sorry, I am “swamped with work,” or “I am swamped”.

Example –

‘I am so swamped with work this entire week, I’ve had no time to breathe’

Other words

you can use instead of swamped are – I am drowning in work, I am deluged in assignments, I am tied up and overwhelmed with things to do OR there is too much on my plate.

2. Catch 22

Meaning –

An impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have done another thing that you cannot do until you have done the first thing:

Example

I am in a Catch 22 situation, I cannot get a job without work experience and to get work experience I first need a job.

Root –

This phrase was coined by Joseph Heller in his famous book by the name Catch-22, to explain some contradictory rules faced by soldiers during World War II

Example –

Getting a loan from a bank is like a catch 22 situation where the only way to qualify for a loan is to first prove to the bank that you don’t need a loan

Use –

If you are ever caught in such a tricky situation, remember to use the word ‘Catch-22’ and get admiring looks from your friends

Other words

you can use to describe similar situations are ‘paradox’ and ‘dilemma’

3. Suave

Meaning –

To be suave is to be smooth, polite, and a little bit cool. Sophisticated, very polished in manner and speech

Root –

The word seems to have a few different roots, interestingly one of the Indo European roots is the word *swād- meaning “sweet, pleasant”.

Example –

‘He is so poised and suave especially in front of the ladies’
Barack Obama is very suave and polished
The word is used when you are trying to say that the polish and smoothness may be on the outside.

Use –

So, next time you come across this very sophisticated and well mannered person at a party, remember to say – ‘His suave mannerisms are impressive’. Using this word can instantly make your vocabulary sound very ‘suave’

4. Atrocious

Meaning –

atrocious means very cruel, evil, brutal, terrible, offensive, appalling.

Root –

The adjective atrocious comes from from the Latin ‘atrox’, which means “fierce”, ‘terrible’ and “cruel.”

Example –

The recent incidents of rape in Delhi were atrocious
Prisons have been the sites of atrocious mistreatment of prisoners.

Atrocious can also be used in day to day things – to exaggerate common wrongdoings – example –
his table manners were atrocious OR
her taste in clothes is just atrocious or
his grammar was atrocious

Use –

Next time you hear about a horrific act on the news, remember to remark and call it ‘atrocious’
The noun form of atrocious is atrocity – meaning ‘ terrible acts’
Example Atrocities were committed by armies on both sides of the war.
Killing of innocent children is an atrocity.

5. Stupendous

Meaning –

amazing, astonishing or overwhelming. We tend to over use the word ‘awesome’ and Stupendous can make for a good replacement.

Example –

‘today I got a stupendous score on the test” which means a very high or perfect score on the test.

Root –

Stupendous has classical Latin roots from stupere, to be stunned. Stupendous is used to describe something stunningly good.

Example –

You look absolutely stupendous in that dress
What a stupendous view !
I am reading a stupendous novel that I just can’t out down.

Use –

How about you tell your friend that ‘ChetChat is a stupendous channel for students’.
Other words you can use – incredible, fantastic, astonishing

Remember to comment under the video telling me which of these words was your favourite one.

6. In a fix

Meaning –

In a fix means, in a troublesome situation.

Example –

Boy! I’m in a fix because I have made plans with two different friends for tonight
I lost my phone this morning and now I’m in a fix
Our school bus broke down this morning. That put us in a fix
He always turns to me for help when he’s in a fix, but when the going is good he forgets me.

Use –

so if you every find yourself in a situation where you have homework to do and you have forgotten your book at school, you can tell your friends that you are in a ‘real fix’. You may think that the word ‘fix’ might have something to do with repairing something, but no this is about being in trouble

Other phrases –

in a spot of bother, or just ‘in a spot’, in a mess or in a pickle

7. Flummox

Meaning –

to confuse someone so much that they don’t know what to do. Confuse is another overused word and flummox makes a clever replacement

Example –

He looked completely flummoxed today when the teacher asked him a question in class.
In the interview, she was flummoxed by the last question
The tourist was flummoxed by the strange customs he saw on his travels.
The flummoxed puppy barked every time he saw his reflection in the mirror.

Use –

so if you every find the questions in your exam difficult or confusing – remember to say – ‘Because I had not studied seriously for the exam, I was flummoxed by some of the questions’

Other words to use –

bewildered, perplexed, baffled, puzzled

8. Rendezvous

Meaning –

it’s a very French way to say ‘meeting’ or ‘date’

Example –

you can call your lunch date with friends or an evening at the movies a rendezvous if you like.
In France, the army used rendezvous to mean “a place for assembling of troops.”

Use –

You can also use Rendezvous as a verb by saying – “Let’s rendezvous on Saturday at the mall.”
Earlier, Rendezvous was used for a secret meeting but now it is being used for a regular meeting too. But not really for an official meeting. There’s something fun and exciting, slightly secretive about a rendezvous.

Example –

The police arranged to rendezvous with their informant at an old warehouse

9. Obtuse

Meaning –

this is not a compliment – it is used to describe someone who is stupid, dumb, slow, unintelligent,

Root –

You have heard this in geometry, where an obtuse angle is larger than 90deg but less than 180deg . The opposite is acute. Just like acute means sharp, clever ; obtuse means blunt and dim witted. Examples of acute – e.g. he has a very acute observation or I am having an acute pain in my head.

Examples of obtuse –

The obtuse young man had a hard time understanding the simple instructions
He was so obtuse that he gave away his password to a fake caller
The obtuse student was not able to answer a single test question.

Use –

so if your girlfriend or boyfriend is upset and you have no clue why – try saying this ‘Maybe I’m being obtuse, but I don’t understand what you’re so upset about’

10. Sluggish

Meaning –

to be slower than usual, having less energy and moving in a tired and slow manner

Examples –

A heavy lunch makes me sluggish in the afternoon.

Root –

Sluggish has an English root – slugge which means lazy person. A slug is an animal that moves around very slowly just like a snail.

Examples –

The Economy has been very sluggish for the past few months
The match has picked up after a sluggish start
Business has been sluggish this quarter

Use –

so if you’re not feeling very active some day, try saying ‘I am feeling so sluggish today, I could do with an energy drink’
Other words to use – I am dragging my feet, lethargic

If you are looking for phrases and words to use on a telephone call, then see this video

Secret Tip

The secret tip is to use only one smart word in a sentence. Sometimes we get over excited and fill our sentences with a lot of difficult words, that does not sound natural. So, one at a time!.

And practice them often, make sure you are pronouncing them correctly by using the speaker button on the google seach results and keep learning.

Related Videos

6 comments

Keshav March 15, 2020 - 5:29 am

Dear mam I think your whatsup number is not active because I tried but couldn’t so please tell me how to join with u on whatsapp

Reply
Chetna Vasishth March 20, 2020 - 2:25 am

the number is for whatsapp groups, we do not reply personally

Reply
Dr. Sandeep Tiwari March 16, 2020 - 2:41 am

Good morning Ma’am, I am Dr. Sandeep Tiwari, Director, Krishna Engineering College. I am impressed with your Chit chat platform. Is it possible to connect all KEC students through Whatsapp and email ?

Reply
Chetna Vasishth March 20, 2020 - 2:15 am

Sir, could you please write to us at chetna@chetchat.in and we will try to work out something

Reply
Liju paul March 17, 2020 - 12:58 am

Good

Reply
Brianpsymn March 17, 2020 - 12:10 pm

Sustain the spectacular job !! Lovin’ it!

Reply

Leave a Comment