Subtitle: Without sounding like a jerk.

There is a special art to choosing the perfect word for a situation,

particularly in the workplace.
You want your vocabulary to be impressive but not so impressive it
garners scoffs, professional but not stiff. It has to sound natural in
context, like youve used it before.
You want people to understand what it means, but maybe Google it
just to make sure.
Most importantly, it has to make sense, connotation very much
included. If youre looking to stretch your workplace vocabulary
without sounding like a pretentious asshole, here are some
suggestions.

1. Caustic (kstik)
Adjective: sarcastic in a scathing and bitter way.
Synonyms: derisive, acerbic, abrasive
Example: I didnt appreciate the caustic tone of that email.
Note: Yes, it also means able to burn or corrode organic tissue by
chemical action or formed by the intersection of reflected or
refracted parallel rays from a curved surface, but this is less likely to
be applicable in the workplace. Unless of course you are a chemist or
physicist, in which case a liberal arts major who works in book
publishing is unlikely to be of much assistance anyway.

2. Idiosyncrasy (idsiNGkrs)
Noun: a distinctive or peculiar feature or characteristic of an
individual, place, or thing.

Synonyms: peculiarity, oddity, eccentricity

Example: Ah, just another charming idiosyncrasy of our printers I see.
[sarcasm]

3. Paradoxical (par-uh-DOK-si-kuhl)
Adjective: having the nature of a paradox; self-contradictory.
Synonyms: contradictory, incongruous, anomalous
Example: I know that this idea sounds paradoxical, but I believe its
our most effective solution.

4. Beleaguer (bilr)
Verb: to cause constant or repeated trouble for a person, business, etc.
Synonyms: harass, pester, badger, vex
Example: The beleaguered school system cant take much more of
this.

5. Exacerbate (izasrbt)
Verb: make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse.
Synonyms: inflame, aggravate
Example: I understand that youre trying to help, but what youre
doing is only exacerbating the situation.

6. Didactic (ddaktik)
Adjective: in the manner of a teacher, particularly so as to treat
someone in a patronizing way.
Synonyms: patronizing, pedantic

Example: He would be a good choice for the conferences if his

speeches werent so didactic.

7. Innocuous (inkyooos)
Adjective: not harmful or offensive.
Synonyms: harmless, innocent
Example: Theres no need to be defensive, it was an innocuous
question.

8. Parsimonious (prsmns)
Adjective: unwilling to spend money or use resources.
Synonyms: stingy, frugal, cheap
Example: In this campaign, there is no room to be parsimonious.

9. Bloviate (blvt)
Verb: talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.
Synonyms: spiel
Example: Its tough to watch them bloviate about sweeping change
when our internal processes are still such a mess.

10. Aplomb (plm)

Noun: self-confidence or assurance, especially when in a demanding
situation.
Synonyms: poise, composure
Example: It was a tense meeting, but you carried the presentation
with aplomb.