I think all of us would like to sound more intelligent and competent when we're speaking English
So today I'm going to tell you ten great adjectives to help you do just that.
That's coming up.
Welcome to today's lesson, which is more of a vocabulary lesson,
because I'm going to talk to you about 10 amazing adjectives
that you can use to sound more academic, more professional, and more competent when you're speaking English.
And these are not words that you're going to hear every day on the street.
Instead, you're more likely to hear these adjectives in presentations, debates,
or in-depth conversations that are a bit more serious.
Because these are words that sound more professional, more convincing,
and they give us a bit more authority when we're speaking about a topic.
So I'm going to tell you the adjective, show you how it's phonetically pronounced,
give you the meaning, as well as a sentence, so you can see how it's used in context.
Are you ready? Let's begin.
So the first adjective I have for you is germane.
Now this is two syllables, and the stress is on the second syllable.
And it means that something is relevant, that it is closely related to something else.
and we could use it in a sentence and say
The next word, and it's one that I really like, is preposterous.
And this adjective has four syllables, and the stress is on that second syllable.
and remember that "ous" has that schwa, that "uhs" sound.
and this means that something is contrary to reason, it's just ridiculous, it's absurd.
And the way it's used is: somebody would usually say something and it's ridiculous,
It's absurd, and the other person would say: That's preposterous!
That's absurd, that's preposterous!
You're not going to like this video? That's preposterous!
Next is a very cool word and that is perfunctory.
and perfunctory has four syllables and the stress is on that second syllable.
That third syllable has the schwa, and it's going to end with that long e sound: perfunctory.
And if something is perfunctory, it means that that you're doing something out of routine.
You're doing it without even thinking about it. It's habit. It's a ritual,
You just do it in haste without giving it much thought, and we would say that that it is perfunctory.
The next adjective is truculent.
And this word has three syllables and the stress is on that first syllable
Keep in mind that that "cu" is pronounced
it's like you're saying the letter "q": tru - kyuh-luhnt. That last syllable has the schwa.
If somebody is being truculent, then that means that they're being fierce, a little cruel, kind of very aggressive.
Aggressively hostile- if someone's being truculent. So it's not a good word. It kind of means that
that this person is upset with you, maybe because of something you said,
and they're just being a bit cruel. They're truculent. They're standoffish
Sometimes when I've had a really bad day, and I don't want to talk to people and I'm just upset,
I can be kind of truculent with others if they're trying to approach me, and I don't want to deal with anybody - I can be truculent.
A great example would be in politics. People - maybe they do something wrong, and
the media wants to talk to them about it and they're angry,
they don't want to speak to the media, and they might be truculent.
So we could say:
Another great word is this one right here: austere.
And this has two syllables and the stress is on that second syllable with that long e sound
And if somebody or something is austere, it means that they're very severe in their manner
They're very strict or even without excess
Austere
The next adjective, which is one of my favorites, is capricious.
And this word has three syllables and the stress is on the second syllable.
And keep in mind that first syllable has that schwa sound: that kuh. kuh-pri-shuhs.
And if someone or something is capricious then that just means that they are subject to sudden or even unpredictable change
So you could say a person is capricious. Perhaps the weather is capricious,
or maybe even your plans are capricious. They're subject to change.
And I could use it in an example sentence and say:
Next is the word defamatory.
And this word has five syllables, and the stress is on that second syllable
Defamatory - it's not a good adjective because if something is defamatory,
we're talking about false or unjustified harm caused to one's reputation.
And we could use it in an example sentence and say:
The next word, which is another one of my favorite adjectives, is esoteric.
And this word has four syllables, and the stress is on that third syllable:
es-uh-ter-ik
And when we describe something as esoteric,
we're talking about something that's really understood by a small group of people
because they have knowledge or interest in that thing.
Usually it's somebody that has direct experience with it.
So we say that it is esoteric.
For example, somebody could have esoteric knowledge about something.
Maybe they have an esoteric experience because there's
just a few people that really understand and know what it's like.
Another great adjective is nascent.
And this word has two syllables and the stress is on that first syllable.
It has the long /a/ sound.
That second syllable has that schwa.
And if something is nascent, then that just means
it's beginning to exist or beginning to develop.
It's at the early stages. It is nascent.
And we can use it in a sentence and say...
Another very cool adjective is quintessential.
And this word has four syllables and the stress is on the third syllable.
And when we say that something is quintessential
it means that it is representing just the most perfect example
It's quintessential.
Now, let me give you the quintessential example sentence.
If you agree with that last sentence,
please, please, please, show us some love and hit that LIKE button down below.
And now I really want to hear from all of you.
So in the comments, let me know what is an adjective that you have recently learned.
Or what's an adjective that you like to use all the time?
What's your favorite adjective? Let me in the comments.
I hope you enjoyed learning about these adjectives
and can go on to use them the next time you are giving
a presentation, or you're having a debate, or even just a serious conversation
Thanks so much for watching, and I'll see you next time.