100 Advanced Words To Sound Fluent | English Vocabulary Masterclass

In this English Vocabulary Master class,  

you're going to add 100 advanced  alternatives to common words.

Welcome back to JForrest English.

Of course, I'm Jennifer.

Now let's get started.

Our first common word.

Let's review these in examples.

Your car is fast compared to mine.

Instead of fast, you can say  rapid, the service was rapid.

During lunch hour the service was fast, or  the response from customer support was speedy.

Speedy.

You can also say he took a brisk walk.

Brisk, brisk.

He took a brisk walk to clear his mind.

Now, brisk is used for actions  involving energy and speed,  

such as walking or weather, but  not objects like cars or processes.

Here's a sentence hopefully you'll agree with.

I'm making rapid progress or speedy  progress with my English fluency.

Do you agree?

Put let's go, let's go, Put  let's go in the comments.

The rapid change in pressure and  temperature produces huge amounts of steam.

Visitors can ride 1 of Europes  fastest elevators and take a  

speedy climb to some of the best views in Berlin.

Interactions that could be seen as pleasantly  

brisk and convenient in some  cultures could be seen as.

Horribly rude in others.

And don't worry about taking notes because  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

Our next common word?

The Internet is too slow to load videos.

Instead of slow, you could  say the traffic was sluggish.

Sluggish.

How fast does a slug move?

Not fast at all.

Sluggish traffic was sluggish during rush hour.

Or you can say I felt  sluggish after a heavy lunch.

Now sluggish is used to mean  less power or less energy.

You could also say they took a  leisurely stroll by the lake.

Now stroll is another word for walk Leisurely.

This sounds positive, so traffic is slow.

That's negative.

But we took a leisurely walk.

This sounds positive because it  means slow and relaxed on purpose.

You can say progress on the  project was gradual but steady.

Gradual also sounds positive  whereas slow sounds negative.

So gradual means slow but steady gradual.

Get sluggish.

Let your body just eat the fat that  you've stored up, just the way you should.

Hibernate a little bit.

Around 500 million years ago, an ancient  fish was out for a leisurely swim.

Our next word?

It was quiet.

Quiet in the library.

You can say the room was silent  after the shocking announcement.

You could say this spa has a serene atmosphere.

Serene sounds positive.

It means peaceful and calm.

Oh, that spa is so serene.

You can say the baby's room was hushed.

SHHH hushed so she could sleep now.

If something is hushed,  just like when you say SHH,  

it means deliberately muted so any noise from  people, music outside so you close the window.

The room was hushed.

We must be participants of  change, not silent observers.

This exhibit features playful river  otters in a serene environment that  

is a combination of land and water habitats.

Even toddlers will love this hands on  museum where they are never hushed.

What's the opposite of silent?

Our next word?

The traffic is too loud for a meeting.

Instead you can say the Thunder was deafening.

So loud I cannot hear deafening during the storm.

Or how about the applause was  booming after the performance.

Now deafening and booming  both mean extremely loud.

Sometimes this can be positive, like an applause.

You want applause to be extremely loud  how about this one, her piercing scream.

Her piercing scream startled everyone now piercing  

is used for very high pitched or sharp  sounds and they get your attention.

Right now, students around the world are screaming  for change in the piercing voice of despair.

Ah, crickets.

The deafening silence that occurs when someone  doesn't respond to our e-mail, phone call or text,  

or in some way fails to acknowledge that we exist.

Our next common word.

It's too hot to sit outside instead of hot.

You can say the sand was scorching.

Do you know this one?

Scorching.

Or the sun was blazing at midday.

You can say she finished the race  despite the sweltering, sweltering heat.

Now, all of these mean extremely hot, but  sweltering specifically means uncomfortably hot.

It is an extreme temperature.

Now, India is a country infamous  for its scorching heat and humidity.

And everything smoking, blazing, quickly moving,  

steam's going in your face,  everything's smelling super good.

And that's the beauty of wok cooking.

It's another sweltering night  here in the swamps of Texas.

And the opposite of hot,  it's too cold in this room.

You can say the wind was  chilly during the evening walk,  

the leisurely evening walk or stroll,  or the lake felt icy or freezing when  

I dipped my hand in the frigid for  rigid air froze the pipes overnight.

Now these adjectives are listed from least  extreme so least cold to most extreme most cold.

Well, it's chilly out here, isn't it?

Or at night.

Surrounded by the swirling currents and  freezing water of San Francisco Bay,  

Alcatraz was believed to be inescapable,  holding his breath under dark, frigid water.

Our next common word?

She was angry about the mistake.

The boss seemed irritated.

Irritated during the meeting.

You don't want that.

He was furious when his flight was cancelled.

Maybe you've experienced that.

Or she became enraged.

Enraged when her suitcase was lost.

Again, these are listed from least extreme.

So least angry to most extreme.

Enraged means extremely angry.

You know, sometimes I get irritated,  annoyed and wonder what the heck,  

what are you doing, why are you driving like that?

Or he was really furious at Hostider,  as he was by the way, at Minsky.

Torvald finally reads the letter  from Krogstad, and he is enraged.

Let's talk about hungry.

Of course you can say I'm hungry.

Let's get lunch.

Now you can say I'm a little  peckish or just I'm peckish.

Let's have a snack.

You can say after hiking all day I was  famished, damaged, or he felt ravenous.

Ravenous after skipping breakfast again.

Least extreme peckish only means slightly hungry  to most extreme ravenous means extremely hungry.

We can whip up a sandwich if we're feeling  peckish, but we have to consume proteins  

and sugars and other essential  molecules made by something out.

The ravenous swarm stretches  as far as the eye can see.

Let's talk about so tired.

I was so tired after the long flight.

You can use weary.

We were weary, weary After the 10 hour flight.

He felt drained from back-to-back meetings.

Drained.

Or you can say she was exhausted.

I'm sure you know this one, but  how frequently do you use it?

She was exhausted after the marathon.

I really believe.

But it is a weary game.

And then as Kyle's strength drained  away, he sensed the end was coming.

On the one hand, if they do  so, they'll be exhausted.

They'll suffer from Bruno.

Let's talk about stupid.

Of course, you can describe someone as  stupid, which is quite a rude thing to say.

Not very polite, but we often use  this adjective with ourselves.

I made a stupid mistake.

Have you ever said that I made a  stupid mistake in front of my boss?

Oh no.

Well, instead of stupid, you can say dumb.

Oh, that was dumb of me.

That was stupid of me.

You probably know that one.

How about foolish?

It's foolish.

Not very smart.

So stupid or dumb?

Not very smart.

It's foolish to leave your car unlocked.

Would you agree with that?

So saying something is foolish  sounds slightly less rude than  

saying that's dumb when you're  saying it to another person.

Or if you even want to sound more polite,  

you can say he made a silly a silly  mistake by wearing mismatched socks.

So we use silly when something is  more lighthearted, not very serious,  

and is not as harsh of the others.

So if you want to say this to someone,  if you say that was dumb of you,  

that was stupid of you, that  sounds quite harsh, quite rude.

But if you say that was foolish of you or  that was silly of you, that sounds less harsh.

How can you be smart and have  this dumb idea at the same time?

This was nuts without fear.

We'll do foolish things.

I also do silly things like  I have a reggae air horn.

Let's talk about rich.

He's rich enough to afford a yacht.

Notice that pronunciation?

Yacht.

Yacht you can use wealthy.

Warren Buffett is extremely wealthy, so you  can still modify this to make it stronger.

Extremely wealthy.

You can say his wife's family is loaded.

Loaded.

This is a casual way of saying extremely  wealthy, but native speakers use this a lot.

He's loaded, she's loaded, they're loaded.

To sound more formal or professional  you can use affluent are prosperous.

They live in an affluent  or prosperous neighborhood.

You can use these to describe people, but  they are more commonly used to describe  

communities, countries, businesses.

Many wealthy countries have adopted a carbon tax  that makes consuming carbon fuels more costly,  

encouraging households to  adopt carbon neutral energies.

Many neighborhoods will be redeveloped as  affluent housing, while thousands of residents  

will be forcibly pushed out of their homes  and into affordable housing outside the city.

The city dates back to medieval times and  was already prosperous by the 13th century,  

when a dam was built to separate  the rot from the new Hamas.

And the opposite of rich.

Hopefully you don't need to use this.

He's too poor to afford a yacht.

You can say we're raising money  for disadvantaged children.

Notice that pronunciation disadvantaged.

So children who don't have the advantages that  wealthy families have disadvantaged children.

The community became impoverished  impoverished after the hurricane.

The organization helps destitute  destitute individuals find housing,  

so these are people in the most need destitute.

There's disparities.

It exposes, you know, that they're  not taking care of certain, you know,  

minority groups or disadvantaged groups.

So there's a lot of political impediments, but  there's spectacular examples of the opposite.

They want to.

Impoverish all of humanity today to  solve a putative problem in the future.

There's some desperate poverty out  there and it's not just an anomaly,  

it's half of humanity struggling to make it work.

Let's move on to clean.

Your kitchen is so clean you can  say the hotel room was spotless.

Spotless.

Extremely clean.

You can say the lab must remain pristine.

Pristine.

Or your white countertops look Immaculate.

Immaculate.

Not an imperfection or a spot or a mark.

Immaculate.

There's no.

Spotless leaders, I mean.

None of us in here are  morally unstained characters.

In life's grand story, Even so, given  this risk, it is a pristine find.

He's also committed to the  idea of an Immaculate empire.

And the opposite.

My kitchen is so dirty.

The hotel room was filthy when we arrived.

Extremely dirty, filthy.

The windows became grimy after the storm.

His unkempt repeat after me.

Unkempt, unkempt, disheveled, disheveled.

His unkempt or disheveled  appearance surprised everyone.

So if I started this video and my hair was  super messy and my shirt had stains on it and  

maybe my lipstick was smeared, you  might say Jennifer, you look unkempt.

Or Jennifer, you look disheveled so  this is used with personal appearance  

and it means poorly maintained or neglected.

I neglected to brush my hair and fix  my shirt before recording this video.

Crowded tenements, filthy streets and  unsanitary conditions all around contributed  

to an annual death rate of one out of every 36  residents, according to the Living City archive.

The kitchen area is dirty and grimy.

Why was he unshaved, with unkempt hair and  torn jeans and paint all over his clothes?

Should someone call the police?

Our next word?

Boring.

I'm sure you've used this one.

The lecture was boring.

Hopefully you're not thinking  that right now with this lesson.

Or you can say the movie was dull, dry, or slow.

All of these are synonyms to boring.

You can say filling out forms is always tedious.

We use this with tasks that are boring.

Or you can say this job is so mundane,  monotonous, so these mean routine not changing.

So the same task over and  over again every single day.

And because it's routine and not  changing, it's therefore boring.

I know all of this may seem  tedious or boring I was finding.

Ways to motivate myself.

When things kind of got a  little bored and mundane.

An audio book.

It gets astoundingly monotonous.

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Now let's continue with our  lesson, our next common word.

Amazing.

Our vacation was amazing.

I'm sure you know the word amazing.

And you might think, well this is  a replacement to a common word.

It's a replacement to good, very good or great.

And that's true.

But this replacement word  amazing has become overused.

And I say I'm guilty of it because there  are 30 or more common alternatives.

So why just use the same word over and over  again when 30 or more alternatives exist?

So let's review the most common  The concert was simply incredible.

So here the alternative word is incredible.

Incredible.

Now you can modify this to make it sound  stronger and say simply incredible.

My English progress in just  one month is astonishing.

Astonishing now hopefully that's something you  are thinking right now and hopefully my lessons  

play a role in helping you get astonishing  results, amazing results, astonishing results.

If you think so, then put that's right, that's  right, put that's right in the comments.

We also use Amazing to describe scenery  or buildings or situations even.

For example, the sunset was breathtaking  to use a replacement to Amazing.

Now don't worry about taking notes because  I summarize everything in a free lesson PDF.

You can find the link in the description.

We're bringing incredible talent and tools.

The story of the Lake Penyer drilling  accident is an astonishing record.

It was initially constructed in  1436, but the astonishing front  

for God wasn't completed until the 19th century.

Our next common word, the restaurant was nice.

Nice.

This is a positive adjective.

It's a feeling of general satisfaction.

Of course you can use it to describe  people, things or experiences.

For example, you can say what a  pleasant day, what a pleasant day.

So this is something you can use every single day.

Or you can say the receptionist  at the hotel was lovely.

Instead of describing him  or her as nice was lovely.

Now that is a person.

You can also describe an  experience or a specific object.

Our stay at the hotel was delightful, delightful.

We had an enjoyable time at the park.

It's been a night.

It's been a pleasant surprise to be involved.

In this kind of thing, this really  does have a lovely sauce to it,  

even though we put cream cheese in it.

Now, sleeping is delightful.

Here's a common word you probably use every day.

The exam was easy.

Easy.

You can say I studied for weeks.

So the exam was a piece of cake.

I find that most students know  this idiom to be a piece of cake.

The exam was a piece of cake or  hopefully you're thinking right now,  

Jennifer makes learning English easy peasy.

So you just add the word peasy here.

Easy peasy.

It sounds very fun, very  casual, very light hearted.

So if you agree that Jennifer  makes learning English easy peasy,  

put that's right, put that's  right in the comments.

Or you could say you make speaking  in public look effortless.

Look easy, look effortless.

Now you could say the instructions were  easy to follow or easy to understand.

So you can replace easy to follow with the  instructions were straightforward and or clear.

So you can use both or you can just use one.

If it would work, we know it would work.

Piece of cake.

I think most people would get behind it.

It's effortless.

We just do it without really thinking about.

It seems pretty straightforward.

Now, what's the opposite of easy?

The exam was hard.

You can say I didn't study.

So the exam was challenging.

The exam was difficult, or you could  say we thought the hike was going to  

be a piece of cake or easy peasy,  but it was strenuous strenuous.

It was arduous, arduous.

Both strenuous and arduous mean  requiring much effort or energy,  

so they're generally used with physical tasks.

You can also say I had a tough day  instead of saying I had a hard day.

The cosmetics were challenging.

It's.

Going to be difficult to get them to pay.

Because of this, couples avoid tough  conversations about money before getting married.

How about this easy word?

The traffic downtown is always bad instead of bad.

You can say the traffic this morning was dreadful.

Dreadful or I had a terrible headache last night.

Instead of bad headache, the  food on the plane was appalling.

Appalling.

This is more severe than bad.

It means very bad.

So often these alternatives can replace  very or so plus the common adjective.

You know, they're just so earnest and dreadful.

I asked my son.

Who is by the?

Far terrible terrible  athlete gets it from his dad.

I wouldn't crave it, but it's not terrible.

How about this common one?

She's a happy person.

I think this describes me overall.

Instead, you can say she's a joyful person.

She's a cheerful person.

You can say he was elated, Elated.

After hearing the good news,  she felt ecstatic, Ecstatic.

When she got the job.

It was so good and I brought the joyful grains.

I know that others felt devastated or elated.

But I didn't care.

I was jumping up for joy.

I was ecstatic.

I was happy.

Our next common word?

That was a smart question instead of smart.

You can say that was a clever question.

That was a brilliant question.

Brilliant sounds like very smart.

Or you can say he's extremely intelligent.

He's extremely bright.

You don't have to use the modifier.

Extremely is just an option.

Just like you could say he's  extremely smart or just he's smart.

He gave an astute, astute, he gave  an astute analysis of the market.

That is an excellent word to use in a  more professional or academic environment.

You can say his ingenious, ingenious, his  ingenious method solved the issue quickly.

There are more clever ways to  prove bounds on the cop number.

Yeah, I think that.

That's.

Very actually a very astute observation.

Well.

Local officials came up with a brilliant plan.

Here's a common one that native speakers overuse.

The documentary was interesting  interesting instead of interesting.

You can say the history of ancient  Egypt is fascinating, fascinating,  

or the speaker gave an intriguing,  intriguing presentation.

His captivating performance held the  audience's attention captivating.

These are great alternatives because  interesting can sometimes mean negative,  

but the three alternatives I gave you  are always used in a positive way but.

I just think it's a fascinating idea.

I think it's so captivating to see this couple  in this really intense night of their lives.

I find the definition of compassion  is a fascinating 1 and it's.

Not one that I hear people talk about.

Our next common word.

Thanks for the beautiful flowers.

Again, there is nothing  wrong with saying beautiful,  

but there are so many beautiful alternatives.

Like the word gorgeous.

Her garden is gorgeous.

The colors of the leaves in  fall are stunning, stunning.

Or the flower vase is exquisite.

Exquisite.

Now notice I said vase.

Both pronunciations vase which rhymes with  face, and vase which has an aw but AZ sound.

Both are used in American English,  which is interesting because vase  

is the American pronunciation and  Vaz is the British pronunciation,  

and generally in American English we  don't adopt British pronunciation.

But for this specific word, vase or Vaz,  both are commonly used in North America.

There are kind, loving men looking  for a gorgeous woman like you.

Deep sea corals actually come in a stunning.

Array of brilliant color.

Cajal was in awe of its exquisite detail,  both as a scientist and an artist.

Our next common word?

I have an important meeting this afternoon.

How many times do you describe  something as important?

I know I sure use it a lot.

Instead, you can say the meeting is crucial.

Crucial or this is a significant,  significant opportunity for our company.

You can say it's vital,  

vital or it's essential essential to get enough  rest before the exam, but their influence is.

Crucial in the development of their children.

Now, the site is a work in progress,  

but it's significant progress because it's  designed with the users who matter most.

Having these vital money talks before  getting married will prepare you to  

have them during marriage from a  place of honesty and understanding.

Our next common word.

The movie was funny instead of funny.

You can say the comedian is hilarious.

Hilarious.

This sounds like very funny  or her reaction was humorous.

Her reaction was comical.

Instead of saying you're very funny,  you can say you're very witty witty.

Keep in mind though, that this means  funny in a clever way, so it does have  

a slightly different meaning from funny,  but it's a great alternative to know.

Made-up nonsense gibberish  is frequently hilarious.

He's very keen on his.

His work is is.

Very humorous, anyway.

He was a very.

Witty, very wise man.

How about this common word?

I made a big mistake rejecting the job offer.

You can say it was a substantial,  substantial mistake, but we can fix it.

Or this is an enormous, enormous.

That sounds like very big, enormous project.

You can use enormous to describe objects.

You can also use massive.

Elephants are massive.

Elephants are massive.

Elephants are enormous.

We've come to a very substantial  phase one deal patient.

All these things are areas where  we've made an enormous investment  

and there have been significant payouts.

These are machines.

And what's the opposite of big?

It was a small mistake.

A small mistake.

Let's review some common alternatives.

Don't be mad.

It's a tiny mistake.

We can fix it.

Tiny is very small, so if you want to  minimize the importance of a mistake,  

you can say it was a tiny mistake.

Here's a great one.

I made some minor changes to the report.

Minor changes.

Or you could describe an object and  say only compact cars can park here.

It's an alternative to saying small cars,  

only compact cars can park  here with money or resources.

You can say we invested a  modest, a modest amount of money.

Soil is mostly made of little tiny rocks.

It's texture depends on the size of those rocks.

In between all these minor  changes, wash your hands,  

wear a mask, get a vaccine, you know the drill.

So although the findings were pretty modest,  The Who thinks this one's worth a shot.

Here's one that might apply to you.

Many students are scared of  speaking English in public.

You can say she became terrified.

Terrified.

That sounds like very scared.

She became terrified when she found out she had to  

give a presentation or the  noise frightened the kids.

Frightened instead of scared.

Now to say extremely scared,  you can use the word petrified.

I'm petrified of spiders.

We are terrified of being wrong.

What are you frightened of ever losing?

My engagement, right?

It was.

I was absolutely petrified of this man.

Let's review this common word.

It was brave of you to agree to give the  presentation in front of 2000 people.

Even though you were  petrified, it was brave of you.

You can say she made the  bold decision to move abroad.

It's brave.

It's bold.

She made the bold decision or it was courageous.

It takes a lot of courage.

It was courageous of you to quit your job.

For the first time in my life, I  understood how courageous she is.

So we were so proud of him.

Because he was so.

Courageous.

So visionary.

Now that's a pretty bold statement.

There are many more alternatives to  common words that I could teach you,  

and honestly, this lesson benefits me as well.

It's a reminder to myself and all native speakers  to start using all the common alternatives.

I was going to say amazing alternatives  because I overuse that word.

All the common alternatives that exist.

So if you want me to make another lesson  just like this, put more, more, more,  

put more, more, more and I will find  more spectacular instead of amazing.

I will find more spectacular alternatives for you.

So put more, more, more in the comments.

And of course, make sure you like this lesson,  

share it with your friends and subscribe so  you're notified every time I post a new lesson.

And you can get this free speaking guide where  

I share 6 tips on how to speak  English fluently and confident.

You can click here to download it or  look for the link in the description.

Now here are some other words that you should  remove from your vocabulary immediately.

Make sure you watch it right now.