Letter U ~ UNUSUAL Words

Vocabulary is important in writing. Word choice--Diction--can be all the difference between a successful sentence and one that makes the reader go Huh? The way we choose to communicate our message through sentence, chapter, and ultimately story structure is also vital.



There's plenty of familiar 'U' words found in an average writing day: unlike, understood, use, universe, unite, unwilling, up, and underline. Of course, we could go on for quite a while creating this list. But we don't have to. If you're interested, you can go HERE for a rather concise list of average 'U' words.

What about the not-so-ordinary 'U' words, or words of other letters? How do we weave them into our writing without becoming overbearing?

~ as with all good things use in moderation.
~ as with all things in life: balance is necessary.

But by all means, use words that aren't seen everyday. Sometimes what a sentence is looking for is that added spice and the not-so-ordinary word to give it the punch it needs.

Here's a few of those not-so-ordinary 'U' words I find interesting.

Ultracrepedate ~ to criticize beyond sphere of one's knowledge.

Uliginous ~ slimy; oozy; swampy; growing in swampy places.

Umber ~ brownish red.

Upas ~ poisonous or harmful institution or influence.

Ustion ~ action of burning or searing.

Uxorious ~ excessively fond of one's wife.

Any interesting 'U' words you can think of? What about excessive use of not-so-ordinary word? What are your thoughts?