…because there has to be a better word than “awesome.”  I mean, really, how can a wreck you saw on the highway and your girlfriend both be awesome?  Awesome has been so overused in the past many years that it has come to have no meaning at all.  Sure, at one time it meant “breathtaking, tremendous, overwhelming,” but now it means everything from “OK” to the most amazing thing you’ve ever seen.  When something is truly awesome, we need a better word for it, so people will not just think it’s… awesome.

And awesome is not alone.  While compiling this list (a compilation) I’ve noticed a marked propensity for the majority of the words to be adjectives.  I think that’s true for words as a whole.  We are less in need of new names for those things we see around us than we are in need of new ways to describe them.  Take for instance the common vehicle.  Sure, you can call it a car, truck, or SUV, as the case might be, but if you want me to find it in the parking lot, you had best be using some adjectives, such as size and color, for beginners.

And to circumvent the argument, sure, people probably will know what you mean if you say that it was an awesome sunset.  Your girlfriend will probably even be flattered if you tell her she’s  wearing an awesome dress.  But would she even be more flattered if you told her she was breath-taking?  Awe-inspiring?  Splendidly adorned?  Well, maybe not the last one, but hopefully you get the idea.

After all, if we want to be unique individuals, if we want to be different than everybody else, then why are we willing to limit our entire repertoire of language to Clichés? 

What it comes down to is that writers are wordsmiths.  Their medium is the written word.  Imagine trying to create a painting with only primary colours.  You could do it, but it probably will never hang in the Louvre.  The shades and hues – the adjectives – are what really brings a painting to life.  Therefore, almost by default, writers, the really good ones, will have a better vocabulary than most normal people.  And what’s the point of having a better vocabulary if you don’t use it?  After all, if we never expanded our vocabulary, then we would all probably still be grunting in caves… that is, if we ever could’ve gotten out of the trees.  And you should never expect anybody to dumb themselves down for you.  It’s insulting to them, and it’s insulting to you.  Therefore, if you want to become a better writer, you really need a better vocabulary.