How do you use big words without sounding pretentious?

>>9516780
You don't.
Use short, complex words that should be used more.

>>9516790
t. Hemmingway

Verbal vs written speech, don't sound autistic.

>>9516790
But there are so many interesting obscure words that sit around being unused

>>9516780
You make them a part of your personal lexicon when very young. Over time they become naturalized denizens of your vocabulary.

>>9516780

ok, lethologica, fine. but what do you call it when you have a thought for which precise words seem to fail, and you've already done etymological analysis and even gone to the thesaurus? this, friends, is where prose breaks down, and we are forced to move to poetry.

>>9516780
Use them accurately and consistently

>>9516800
The reason they are unused is because they cannot be understood. Infinite jest is a perfect exactly of how it distracts the reader and makes them have to exit the story to look up the word (Although DFW did this for a symbolic reason)

>>9517326
Poetry uses the same words as prose fyi

>>9516780
Have a plot point where one of your characters memorizes the dictionary and use all those big words in his scenes :^)

>>9517322
Wanna be my boyfriend? ^.^

>>9517842
>Infinite jest is a perfect exactly of how it distracts the reader and makes them have to exit the story to look up the word (Although DFW did this for a symbolic reason)
lol ya, that's why. i've seen this more than once, and it's always good for a laugh.

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>>9517856