Which words do you sometimes use and you end up sounding pretentious without any intention?

Question

Which words do you sometimes use and you end up sounding pretentious without any intention?

Answer 1

I remember sounding incredibly pretentious in an Epistemology seminar I attended while in college.  I used the word that seemed to fit better than any other when trying to defend my understanding of belief systems:  ".......(blah, blah, blah)..it really is a RAPPROCHEMENT of understanding.'

I thought I sounded like an arrogant and pretentious jerk.  It still does!

Answer 2

I LOVE YOU

Answer 3

Grasshopper ;)

Actually

Generally

Not necessarily

A lot of times I use words for clarification rather than leaving a statement as an absolute. Some take this as being pretentious, though that really isn't my intention.

Answer 4

Y'know just proper grammar makes me feel like I am in someway elevating myself above my friends and therefore I feel the dread feeling: pretentious. Everyone I know talks in clipped sentences, especially in texts and emails. Sometimes it feels like a constant replaying of that Saturday Night Live clip where everyone shortened each word so as to "save" time. Ugh.  

Answer 5

Apparently.

People always think I'm being mean or something.

Answer 6

About 25 percent of my vocabulary.  Don't sweat it.

Hey, that didn't sound pretentious, did it?

Answer 7

Hello.

Answer 8

Most of my vocabulary, probably.  I get weird looks when I speak to a lot of people.  All because I'm using my brain!

Most recently - While talking to a coworker, I used the words "indubitably", "therefore", and "inasmuch" in the same few sentences.  You'd think I grew another head judging by raised eyebrow.  (Apparently, I'm using "a lot of punctuation", again.)

EDIT: I just got the blankest, deer-in-the-headlights stare for using the word "exacerbates" in a conversation with a teenage neighbor.  Do they teach kids anything these days?  Like how to read, or how to use a dictionary?

Answer 9

Hackneyed. Most words in common usage are. So we are left with two options: Sounding like the human equivalent of a cut & paste off a lame poet-wannabe, or be considered pretentious. =/ whatev.

-bf jb nm