Voluminous (adj.) – large, ample

I had a large amount of homework this weekend, so when my friend asked me to go to the movies on Saturday, “I said no, I have a voluminous amount of homework I have to do. Sorry” He replied “No idea what you said, but whatever.”

In the above situation, the vocabulary word was used correctly in the part of speech. However, voluminous would be best used in formal writing, I felt like an idiot when speaking the word since no one understood me. A large amount would be used to replace the word.

Laceration (n.) – a cut, a rip

One day, I accidentally got a paper cut, and I said to my mom “I have a laceration from paper.” She had a funny look on her face and replied “Uh…. You need a Band-aid?”

Even though laceration is commonly understood, a cut would be better used in daily speech.

Inextricable (adj.) – hopelessly confused or tangled

I had to fix my annotated bibliography over the weekend, and I didn’t understand one of the comments from Mrs. Turner. So I asked my friend on FaceBook about the comment by saying “I have an inextricable problem in English.” Since she was in AP English, she understood the word and explained the comment to me.

Inextricable could be used in daily speech to replace confused, and I felt confident in stating the word.

Gape (v.) – to open the mouth and stare stupidly

One day, I had an argument with my parents, and I said “I’m going to gape at you until you accept my demands.” They replied “No way is it going to work.”

Even though the verb was used correctly, I felt awkward stating the word. Gape would be used in writing instead.

Malleable (adj.) – easily shaped or formed

In B4, I had to give a presentation on the photoelectric effect, and I said “When a non-malleable, metal surface is exposed to an incident light above a certain frequency, the surface absorbs energy from the light, and electrons are emitted or ejected from the surface.” And I continued on with my presentation.

I felt very confident when I used the word malleable, the word could be used in formal speech or in a science class.