zlacker

>>cosmoj+(OP)
I couldn't disagree more with this piece, especially the idea of a "draft #4" where you go through what you've written and replace all "pedestrian" words with less common ones from the dictionary. I know these writers, and how they "write" - it's painful to read and oozes pretentiousness. You can always tell when someone tries to fake having a wider vocabulary.

>>suctio+l9
The whole point here is not to mindlessly replace words but to be able to find words that more accurately describe what you are trying to convey. The expanded definitions and examples are great starting points for digging deeper into both the language and the underlying motivation.

>>adzm+Fa
I understand it wasn't meant to be "mindlessly", I don't appreciate you putting words in my mouth.

Still, if you don't have the more accurate word in your vocabulary, then don't use it. It will sound stilted and unnatural in the context of your sentence.

>>suctio+cb
There’s an important subtlety here — you’re meant to be replacing the words that don’t sit right with you. Your starting point is that it’s already potentially stilted and unnatural and you’re trying to fix that.

Most importantly though — this is a tool, and not a replacement for taste and judgment. Seen from that perspective, it’s a much more potent tool than what a traditional dictionary offers.

>>pdpi+Sb
"He has never been known to use a word that might cause the reader to check with a dictionary to see if it is properly used"

-- William Faulkner, of Ernest Hemmingway

"Poor Faulkner. Does he really think big emotions come from big words? He thinks I don’t know the ten-dollar words. I know them all right. But there are older and simpler and better words, and those are the ones I use."

-- Hemmingway, of Faulkner

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/01/26/dictionary/