One of the many charming personality traits of my current boss - who does this every chance he gets. He apparently understands the definitions but it's so darned obvious that he's trying hard to talk over the heads of the rabble it would be sad provided I could manage any sympathy for him. He also tends to quickly get so caught up in his own verbose web of words he often has to strain to actually get his point across. In his ego-driven quest to be a snot box intellectual he sacrifices a lot of his communication skills. Not surprising behavior for a guy who actually enjoys being referred to as arrogant. I guess there are all kinds of ways of being needy.

A person don't need to use big words to get their point across.

  The dichotomy here, given the propensity of many RIA reviewers to support antidisestablishmentarian ideals, is that, when a conservative  uses big words he or she is at risk of making these same RIA reviewers less than gregarious.

(I don't know if that made sense or not. But hey...my IQ is approaching triple digits)

Dat makes you look like a proper boff, innit

Thats true.

Developing a voluminous vocabulary is virtually a prerequisite for writing more evocative and varied prose. There's seldom anything more boring than trawling through text laden with repetitious usage of words. Also, the more extensive one's vocabulary, the better they can articulate exactly what they're trying to say. On the other hand, some just use big words because they're exceedingly pretentious (and I would know).

Another pretentiousness indicator. If you don't know you're using big words and people comment on it, then you're good. If you just throw it out there and barrage people with it, you are a psuedo-intellectual. I've had people criticize me now and then, to which I respond with complete confusion.

You look foolish when you use big words the wrong way dudes.

Actually I read in a MENSA book that vocabulary makes up more than half your intellect, but I do agree that if you feel the need to use "larger" words, a true intelectual should emphasise on clarity.

This works...just ask Don King.

More likely to make you look like a pretentious ass, particularly if you use them incorrectly. As most folks who try this do.

Guaranteed failure, you will not even impress yourself!

The problem with this is that people who commonly make a point of using them often utilize them in the wrong context.

if i tried to use big words trying to impress someone I would probably use it the wrong way and make a big ass of myself. so i will stick to my little words. at least i will not look like an idiot.

When I played softball as a teenager, one of my teammates hated my habit of using big words. She hated that habit so much that she didn't want me using them in the dugout! LOL!

. . .then again, what do you have against people that know big words?

I think a truly smart person would use simple language to both get his point across to the most people and not seem pretentious.

Generally speaking, if you want to impress someone with your intelligence, it would be best to avoid using big words whose meaning or context you might not be clear on. If you want to be seen as intelligent, know what you are talking about and express it clearly before opening your mouth.

Again, impressive to the feeble-minded (and frighteningly so). It's not by vocabulary that you can tell a person's intelligence, but by how effectively they use it. Use big words that you don't understand, and you'll just end up looking like a moron.

That is the epitome of a paradigm which comes around biennially and only circumspect sycophants would coutenance this conundrum.