Free The Words You Should Know to Sound Smart by Bobbi Bly

boldly, loudly, and publicly defies the conventions of a religion, society, culture, or set of beliefs.
    “The HERETIC is always better dead. And mortal eyes cannot distinguish the saint from the HERETIC .” – George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright
    hermetic
(her-MET-ick), adjective
    Isolated, or unaffected by outside influences.
    “Reality, whether approached imaginatively or empirically, remains a surface, HERMETIC.” – Samuel Beckett, Irish writer, dramatist, and poet
    hiatus
(high-AY-tuss), noun
    An interruption or break.
    Lorelei’s coming-out party was a welcome HIATUS in our otherwise uneventful social calendar.
    hidebound
(HIDE-bound), adjective
    Inflexible and holding narrow opinions.
    Wallace can be rather HIDEBOUND when pontificating on the virtues of classic Mercedes-Benz models versus the condition of the automobile company at present.
    hierarchy
(HIGH-uhr-ahr-key), noun
    A pecking order or ranking according to status or level of authority.
    In the HIERARCHY of the military, a medical doctor, who is assigned the rank of captain but is not a military man, automatically outranks a lieutenant who may have years of battle experience.
    histrionics
(hiss-tree-AHN-iks), noun
    Over-the-top, unnecessarily dramatic behavior.
    “Enough with the HISTRIONICS!” his mother scolded, immediately shutting off the flow of tears and silencing his bawling.
    hoary
(HOAR-ee), adjective
    Impressively old; ancient.
    “Feminism has tried to dismiss the femme fatale as a misogynist libel, a HOARY cliché. But the femme fatale expresses women’s ancient and eternal control of the sexual realm.” – Camille Paglia, American author, feminist, and social critic
    hoi polloi
(HOY-puh-LOY), noun
    A pejorative term used to describe the masses or the common people.
    “My practice is to ignore the pathetic wishes and desires of the HOI POLLOI,” the governor said haughtily.
    holarctic
(hole-ARK-tik), adjective
    Anything relating to the geographical distribution of animals in the Arctic region.
    Our so-called Arctic safari was a bust. No one told us that, due to HOLARCTIC conditions, we would find no polar bears near our encampment.
    holistic
(ho-LISS-tik), adjective
    Refers to medical practices that treat the whole person and not just a specific organ, condition, or disease.
    Marsha’s HOLISTIC approach to healing involves channeling energy through crystals.
    homage
(HOM-ij), noun
    Respect paid and deference shown to a superior or other person one admires, fears, or wishes to emulate or praise.
    Gary took black and white photos with a non-digital camera in HOMAGE to Ansel Adams, whose works he greatly admired.
    homeopathy
(HOME-ee-oh-path-ee), noun
    The medical practice of giving patients minerals, metals, herbs, and other bioactive compounds in extremely diluted form.
    Most modern scientists believe the effectiveness of HOMEOPATHY in some cases is due mainly to the placebo effect.
    homeostatis
(ho-me-oh-STAY-sis), noun
    A dynamic system in which balance between input and output has been achieved, so no net changes take place.
    When HOMEOSTATIS is achieved in a sealed biosphere, the animals and plants can live without outside air, food, or water.
    homogenous
(ho-mo-JEAN-yus), adjective
    Consistent in composition or uniform in structure.
    “By the mere act of watching television, a heterogeneous society could engage in a purely HOMOGENEOUS activity.” – William J. Donnelly, American media critic
    honorific
(on-err-IF-ik), adjective
    A tribute or reward given in an effort to honor someone as a sign of deep respect.
    Lifetime achievement awards aren’t for any single work, but an HONORIFIC for long service and a track record of excellence.
    hubris
(HYOO-briss), noun
    To possess pride, arrogance, or conceit not justified by reality.
    Those who accuse us of HUBRIS are simply unaware of the efforts our families have made to perfect our bloodlines.
    humanism
(HEW-man-iz-um), noun
    The philosophy or belief that the