Instead of using a common word like "sad", one can use "morose" to make a more vivid image. Or in professional fields words like "pedagogy" are used instead of a more common word like "education". We usually see this kind of vocabulary in academic writing or literature, which require ideas to be expressed more precisely than normally.
Is there a name for this? I have thought about:
- advanced vocabulary, but it doesn't express the idea of giving the speakers or the writers "liberty of thinking"
- GRE vocabulary. In fact I had the idea of this kind of vocabulary when I studied for GRE, but I don't think taking the name of a test is a good use here.
- academic vocabulary. Well, a large portion of it is academic vocabulary, but "morose" is not an academic vocabulary, is it?
Example usage: by learning the ______ vocabulary, my writing is sharper and mightier.
I would like the word to convey the sense of "making the message more precise"
Best Answer
Most of the time, "plain" words have synonyms that sound more sophisticated or advanced. These synonyms are usually obscure and sometimes difficult to understand. Certain dictionaries, Google's in particular, will classify them as archaic, meaning the word is dated, rare, meaning the word is uncommonly used, or literary, meaning the word is almost always used in writing and literature rather than speech and everyday use.
Otherwise, these words are known by a very wide variety of terms, the most common being the first and third you mentioned: advanced and academic vocabulary. I have also heard this broad category referred to as "high-leveled", "sophisticated", and "intellectual".