Big words, old words.

Here's a little bit about two extremes that make writing fun... until they make your writing utterly impenetrable to new readers. As in *DANGER!* don't do this without a good reason.

My experiences over the years have had me in several communities professionally that value precision in communication. They valued that so highly that they tended to have jargon of a highly specific nature, and a habit of ascribing a very tight meaning to any one possible synonym applicable in a use. Basically, find all the hairs of meaning, and split them.

Even in the case of simpler and more specific words, there was a habit of picking one that applied precisely to a required meaning and then attaching all the related nuances to it. The use of the words "a make" as a noun that meant a positive identification with complete understanding and confidence, and the parallel use of "make someone or something" meaning to form such a positive identification in real-time, was used in Remember When. It comes originally from 1950's or 60's police detective jargon, if I recall correctly.

Big words are fun. They are also intellectual self-gratification to the writer and a small number of readers. "I'm so... smart!!!!" Yeah. spare me. I'll roll out the "lascivious" rather than "wanton" or "lustful" as appropriate, and I certainly will use dialogue that is appropriate to a character's speaking style, but really... if the right word for the description is short, to the point and accessible to the average reader, it's probably better.

Same rule applies to archaic meanings and usages. I happen to love the descriptive term "Minx" for a certain type of female character. Yes, that says something about me, too. The primary meaning of that appellation is "A pert, flirtatious or impudent young woman", which is fine... until one realizes that "impudent" is functionally archaic at this point in modern English-using society. When used at all, it deals with a failure to show respect due to someone or thing for social status reasons. That word's original meaning of "shameless" in a more general case is pretty much lost now. Yet that shamelessness is the part of impudent that is referred to in the definition of Minx, above.

So, yeah... when you toss open the Thesaurus and go looking for synonyms, show a care about it. Your readers will appreciate it.