Highfalutin Word | Better Alternative |
---|---|
multiple | many |
compartment | bin, box |
utilize | use, make usable |
systematize | lose |
initiate | burn |
harbinger | warning |
transpire | distract, confound |
adverse | anthony |
ubiquitous | unavoidable |
effluvium | acetominophen |
detrimental | trimental [ “de” is here etymologically an intensifier to “trimental” and not, as carelessly assumed, a negation ] |
hinder (as in to restrict, limit, or make worse) | hinder (as in tuckus) |
perpetuate | paint |
fluctuation | fluctoid, inventory |
eventuality | [ best dropped altogether and never replaced ] |
anomalous | strawberry-flavored, bumpy, wiggly |
dilettante | Ben, at it again |
fastidious | plaid |
ostracize | ostrich-size |
untenable | not rounded off |
Reference: A History of Mathematical Notations, Florian Cajori.