If you use these 11 tricky words correctly, you probably have above-average intelligence

The way we use words reveals more than surface-level knowledge. Vocabulary acts like a mirror of the mind — showing how we think, how observant we are, and how much effort we put into expressing ourselves with care. 

Communication experts often point out that a precise vocabulary is linked with sharper reasoning and stronger problem-solving skills.

Words are tools, and the ability to handle the trickier ones is a mark of mental agility. When someone selects exactly the right word, the effect is immediate.

The sentence lands with clarity, the meaning holds no confusion, and you can sense the intelligence behind the choice. 

Some words, however, have a reputation for tripping people up. They look simple but are deceptively complex. Using them correctly takes curiosity and attention — two qualities that tend to go hand in hand with above-average intelligence.

Here are eleven of those words. If you’ve mastered them, it says a lot about how your mind works.

1. Ironic

Thanks to a certain ’90s pop anthem, half the world grew up thinking irony meant “bad luck.” Rain on your wedding day? That’s unfortunate, not ironic.

Real irony lives in the clash between what’s expected and what happens. Like a marriage counselor filing for divorce, or the gym teacher who hates exercise. 

The fun of irony is in that disconnect — it makes the world feel slightly upside down.

One of my college professors once told us his car broke down right outside a mechanic’s shop. He called it “a master class in irony,” and the whole class laughed. 

It stuck with me because he explained why it qualified, and that’s the difference intelligent speakers notice.

2. Literally

Let’s be real, this poor word has been dragged through exaggeration. 

People use it as if it were confetti: “I literally died.” Unless you’re texting from the afterlife, that doesn’t quite work.

But here’s the thing: using “literally” correctly makes your language sharper. 

“I literally dropped my coffee on my lap before the meeting” is a clear picture. No theatrics, no confusion.

I still remember a friend of mine saying, “I literally froze waiting for the bus,” while we were both standing there with scarves and hot drinks. I teased him: “If you literally froze, I should be planning your funeral.” He’s never misused it around me since.

3. Peruse

This is one of those words that quietly tests people. Most assume it means “skim,” when it actually means the opposite — to study in detail.

I once told a colleague I’d “perused the report,” and she laughed, saying, “Oh, so you glanced at it.” 

That gave me the perfect opportunity to gently explain the real meaning — that I’d combed through it carefully. She was nonplussed (we’ll get to that one later).

When you peruse something, you’re slowing down, absorbing, examining. And that’s a habit of intelligent people in general, by the way: going beyond the surface.

4. Envy

Here’s a subtle distinction that trips people up. Envy is wanting what someone else has. Jealousy is fearing the loss of something you already hold.

Let’s use Rachel and Monica in Friends as an example. When Monica gets engaged, Rachel isn’t jealous — she doesn’t have that relationship. She’s envious of Monica’s new chapter. 

Jealousy would be if Monica thought Rachel was trying to steal Chandler.

I know it sounds like nitpicking, but really, precision in language goes a long way in expressing yourself intelligently.

5. Infer

The speaker implies, the listener infers. That’s the whole dynamic of it.

For instance, if your boss says, “We’ve noticed you’ve been coming in late,” they’re implying something. When you pick up that they’re hinting at consequences, you’re inferring.

It’s the kind of distinction you notice once, and then never forget. And people who use it correctly usually have a knack for seeing both sides of communication — what’s said, and what’s unsaid.

6. Bemused

At first glance, you’d think it meant “amused.” And I completely understand why people get confused about this. 

So let’s clear it up: bemused is the cousin of puzzled, not giggling.

I once saw a dad at Disneyland trying to assemble a stroller with one hand while holding cotton candy in the other. 

His face? Pure bemusement — somewhere between concentration, confusion, and resignation.

The word captures those gray areas of human expression, and the people who use it correctly tend to notice subtleties that others gloss over.

7. Nonplussed

This is one of my favorites because it gets so twisted. Modern slang often uses it as “unbothered,” when in reality it means so stunned or confused that you’re frozen.

Picture Jim from The Office hearing Michael Scott explain yet another baffling plan. That blank, wide-eyed look? Nonplussed.

It’s not a word you hear every day, but when you drop it in the right context, it shows you’ve taken the time to understand its real edge.

8. Albeit

Elegant, compact, and criminally underused.

Albeit means “although” or “even though,” but it does the work in one neat little syllable.

“The meal was delicious, albeit expensive.” You’ve added nuance without weighing the sentence down.

I once tried to sneak “albeit” into a casual text and my friend replied, “Who do you think you are, Jane Austen?” But she got the point. Words like this bring clarity (and a bit of a Downton Abbey charm, if I do say so myself!).

9. Moot

This word has two lives. Historically, a “moot point” referred to something that was up for endless debate. 

Over time, it also came to mean something irrelevant because circumstances changed. 

Well, both are correct, depending on context. 

You could say a heated argument over VHS versus DVD is moot because streaming has already replaced them both.

Or you could describe a college debate club wrestling with an unanswerable philosophical question as engaging in a moot discussion.

Knowing both meanings shows curiosity — you’ve gone beyond casual usage and learned the history.

10. Disinterested

Let’s get this straight – this word is definitely not the same as uninterested. 

Uninterested means bored. Disinterested means impartial.

Think of a referee in sports. You want them to be disinterested — fair and unbiased. If they were uninterested, the game would be chaos, right?

I once used this word at a dinner party and had to explain the difference to three people. The funny part was, one guy argued with me using Google, only to realize halfway through the dictionary proved my point.

11. Discreet vs. Discrete

Here’s a pair that looks nearly identical on the page but carries completely different meanings.

Discreet describes being careful, subtle, or private. Discrete means separate, distinct, or individual.

If you whisper a secret so only your friend can hear, you’re being discreet. 

But if a machine is built from several discrete parts that function independently, that’s a different story altogether.

Because they’re homophones, this mistake doesn’t show up when you speak — it shows up in writing. 

I once saw a résumé that proudly listed “skills in discreet mathematics,” which unintentionally made it sound like math you’d whisper about behind closed doors. They meant “discrete,” as in separate and distinct elements of math.

Spotting the difference — and using it correctly — shows you’re tuned into detail. And in language, detail is where intelligence shines through.

Final thoughts

At the risk of sounding like a grammar Nazi, I leave you with this – getting words right really does matter. Not because anyone’s keeping score with a red pen, but because language shapes the way people hear you and the way you hear yourself.

So keep collecting words. Play with them, use them, and let them sharpen the way you think.

At the end of the day, words are tools. The sharper yours are, the easier it is to build clear thoughts, strong conversations, and maybe even the occasional clever punchline.