swallowed the dictionary
Uses big words
Swallowed the dictionary describes someone who uses obscure, elaborate, or excessively formal vocabulary—often to show off rather than communicate clearly.
The phrase implies the words were consumed whole rather than digested: Every email from him reads like he swallowed the dictionary.
Usually mildly mocking.
- sesquipedalianismHabit of using overlong words
- big wordsElaborate, showy vocabulary
- verbosityUnnecessary word excess
- bombastPretentious hollow language
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
circumlocution · word salad · verbal diarrhea · pretentiousness · articulation · intellectualism · pedantry · academicism · jargon · overthinking · loquaciousness · rhetoric · erudition · prolixity · vocabulary building · floridness · elitism · verbal reasoning
swallowed the dictionaryplain-spoken
Speaking without ornament
monosyllabic · down-to-earth · calls a spade a spade · dumbed-down · basic vocabulary
swallowed the dictionaryunpretentious
Lacking false superiority
down-to-earth · no-nonsense · folksy · homespun · unaffected
swallowed the dictionarytongue-tied
Unable to express oneself
inarticulate · at a loss for words · laconic · terse · tight-lipped
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