It all started when I was vacation back in April. I was talking with one of the lecturers on the cruise about something, and I used the word “ponder.”

He stopped me, mid-sentence, to say, “Ponder. What a great word!”

And it is.

That little interaction has stayed with me ever since, and has encouraged my ears to listen for words that just sound so delightful. I don’t know about you, but I feel like sometimes—as an adult—my vocabulary rarely expands anymore.

I want to change that.

When we’re little in school, we’re learning new words all the time (weekly vocab words tests on Fridays, anyone?) Then, sometime between college and young adulthood, the urge and importance of adding new words to your vocab kind of just falls aside. Maybe it’s because, as adults, we think we are supposed to have it all “figured” out and don’t need to learn something like new words. Or perhaps, just normal adulting takes up a lot of time… leaving little room for expanding our vocabulary.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have it all figured out. Yes, in many ways, I feel like I have more things figured out than when I was a teen/kiddo, but I absolutely don’t have everything figured out. Nor, do I want to. Life is about expansion. It’s about growing. About evolving.

So, while incorporating words to my vocab more may sound a bit meaningless/unimportant, it’s a subtle reminder for me to keep learning.

These are some words I’ve heard recently that I’ll be adding into my day-to-day word choice more.

May they encourage you to keep evolving —and listen more to some of the marvelous words out there!

1.) Ponder

Definition: to consider something deeply and thoroughly (Dictionary.com)

Had to kick it off with this one!

Somewhere, sometime about five/six months ago I saw a clip about how our culture has shifted with the invention of search engines right on our phones. When we didn’t remember or wonder something… like that one band name from high school… we used to have to a.) wait until we got to a computer sometime to look it up and/or b.) had to simply wait and ponder on it.

Now, we skip this largely and entirely. When we don’t know something right away, how many of us simply reach for our phone to type in our question only to receive an answer back in seconds? There’s no lag time—no time to ponder about it. So, when that gentleman on the river cruise stopped me and said “Ponder. What a great word.”, I couldn’t agree more. Ponder IS a great word. Let’s try to ponder more.

2.) Kismet

Definition:  Destiny, fate (Oxford English Dictionary)

Kismet was one of those words that a friend texted me in a conversation, and then I heard it no less than five times in the span of a week or two (even heard it just yesterday!). How kismet! It’s such a fun word to replace fate or serendipity (although I do love how the word serendipity sounds!) in instances where it just seems like the stars aligned perfectly without any effort on your part. Mark those fun times with the word kismet!

3.) Menagerie

Definition: a varied mixture (Webster’s Dictionary)

It’s not just the title of a Bill Withers’ album! Menagerie is a great word to use when you are describing an eclectic mix of things. Right now, I’m looking at the various fruits on the counter as I type this. I see bananas (which desperately need to be turned into banana bread, but I digress), oranges, apples, lemons, and even a random squash and tomato. It’s quite the menagerie of produce to be sure! Doesn’t that sound so much cooler than saying quite the mixture? Equally cool as menagerie would be saying, “hodgepodge”. So, whether it be menagerie—or hodgepodge!—consider elevating your word choice when it comes to a mixture of something!

4.) Cacophony

Definition: a discordant and meaningless mixture of sounds. (Dictionary.com)

This is one of those words that whenever I hear it, I immediately have the thought, “Wow! That’s such a fun word!” Cacophony, it works for a variety (perhaps even a menagerie…) of circumstances. While it technically means an unpleasant mixture of sounds… I like the idea of using it for a mixture of sounds, good or bad. Am I allowed to change word meanings? Let’s just go with it.

Your toddler nephew running around laughing while your dog’s barking outside chasing a squirrel… a cacophony. The mixture of TVs playing when you’re at a friend’s house and there’s a football game on in one room and a movie playing in the other… equally a cacophony. Or even when you are in a cafe and hearing the mixture of several conversations in the background… also a cacophony.

If you want to be technical—the construction crew on the road in the morning with the honking of cars? A cacophony. The sound of your alarm going off while your roommate has the shower running and is playing (not your favorite) music? A cacophony. The oven alarm dinging while the cats are hissing at each other and someone is yelling for you in the next room? You guessed it, a cacophony.

We experience cacophonies all the time, yet we rarely—if ever—use the word. Why not start describing those instances for what they are… a cacophony?!

5.) Bespoke

Definition: custom-made (Webster’s Dictionary)

Much like kismet, bespoke was another word that once I heard it… I kept hearing it over and over again. First it was on a TV show I was watching, then it came up randomly in conversations, other TV shows said it. Interesting you just start picking up on things like that, isn’t it? At first glance, you might feel like bespoke has something to do with speaking. Or perhaps a past-tense version of to speak. However, it’s a word that simply means, “custom made”. And how much better does a custom made project sound if you say it’s bespoke? It just ups the elegance and beauty so much more. Try to be more bespoke in your language when it comes to custom made things!

What words would you add?

Photo by INFOE Studio on Unsplash