If someone uses these 7 words regularly, they're highly intelligent but socially awkward

I used to pepper my conversations with words like "moreover" and "furthermore." I thought they made me sound articulate and thoughtful.

What they actually did was make people uncomfortable. My partner eventually told me I talked like I was writing an essay, not having a conversation.

Smart but socially awkward people often have vocabularies built from books and academic writing rather than actual social interaction. They use words that are technically correct but contextually weird.

These aren't obscure vocabulary words. They're formal terms that work perfectly in writing but sound strange when spoken in casual settings. Using them regularly signals high intelligence—and low awareness of how language works socially.

1) "Indeed"

"Indeed" works fine in writing or formal speeches. In casual conversation, it sounds weirdly formal and old-fashioned.

Socially calibrated people say "yeah," "definitely," or "exactly." Those words feel natural in spoken interaction. "Indeed" feels like someone performing intellectualism.

I caught myself using "indeed" constantly in my twenties. I thought it sounded sophisticated. What it actually communicated was that I was more comfortable with written than spoken language.

People who regularly use "indeed" in conversation are usually highly intelligent people who learned language primarily through reading. They're applying written vocabulary to spoken contexts where it doesn't quite fit.

2) "Furthermore" or "Moreover"

These transition words work great in essays. They help organize written arguments and connect ideas logically.

In conversation, they sound like you're presenting a thesis defense rather than talking to another human.

People naturally connect ideas in conversation using "also," "plus," or "and." Those words maintain conversational flow. "Furthermore" stops conversation dead to signal a formal transition.

I used "furthermore" in casual settings for years before someone pointed out how strange it sounded. It wasn't wrong, it just wasn't how people actually talk.

Smart but socially awkward people use these words because they're genuinely helpful for organizing complex thoughts. They just haven't learned that verbal communication uses different organizational markers than written.

3) "Thus" or "Therefore"

These words signal logical conclusion. They work perfectly in formal writing or academic contexts.

In casual conversation, they sound robotic and overly precise.

Normal conversational equivalents are "so," "because of that," or just letting the logical connection be implied. Those feel natural. "Thus" and "therefore" feel like someone translating their thoughts into formal language before speaking.

People who regularly use these words are usually thinking in logical frameworks and expressing that structure explicitly. That's a marker of intelligence but also of not understanding that casual conversation doesn't require making every logical connection explicit.

4) "Utilize"

This is the classic smart person word that makes others wince.

"Utilize" means the same thing as "use" but sounds more formal and technical. There's almost never a reason to say "utilize" when "use" works perfectly.

Except smart, socially awkward people say "utilize" constantly because they think it sounds more precise or sophisticated.

I used to say "I'll utilize this method" or "we could utilize that resource" before realizing it made me sound pretentious. "Use" is clearer, more direct, and what everyone else is already saying.

People who default to "utilize" are often highly educated and have internalized academic or corporate language patterns. They're not trying to show off, they've just absorbed formal vocabulary and haven't learned to code-switch to casual language.

5) "Whilst"

In American English, "whilst" sounds archaic and unnecessarily British. Even in British English, it's formal.

"While" works perfectly for everything "whilst" attempts to do. The extra letters add formality but no meaning.

Smart but socially awkward people use "whilst" because they've read it in older texts or academic writing and think it's the proper form. They're applying written, formal language to contexts where it sounds affected.

This is a particularly clear marker because there's no functional difference between "whilst" and "while." Choosing "whilst" is purely about aesthetic preference for formal language over conversational ease.

6) "Endeavor" as a verb

"I shall endeavor to complete this task" sounds like someone roleplaying a Victorian gentleman, not someone talking to a coworker.

"I'll try" or "I'll work on that" are what people actually say. "Endeavor" is formal language that creates unnecessary distance.

Smart people who've read extensively sometimes adopt these formal verbs because they're used to seeing them in writing. They haven't calibrated their spoken vocabulary to match how people actually talk.

Using "endeavor" as a verb in casual conversation immediately marks you as someone who's spent more time with books than people.

7) "One" as a pronoun for yourself

"One must consider the implications" or "One finds this situation problematic" is formal academic language trying to create objective distance.

In conversation, it sounds like you're avoiding saying "I" or "you" through unnecessary formality.

Smart but socially awkward people sometimes use "one" because they're trying to make general statements or avoid seeming self-centered. But it has the opposite effect—it makes you sound disconnected from normal human interaction.

This pronoun choice is particularly telling because it reveals someone who's internalized academic writing conventions where "one" creates appropriate distance. In conversation, that distance just makes you seem weird.

Final thoughts

Using these words doesn't make someone bad at communication. It just reveals that their vocabulary developed primarily through reading formal texts rather than through extensive social interaction.

Highly intelligent people often learn language this way. They read voraciously, absorb sophisticated vocabulary, and then apply that vocabulary to all contexts without recognizing that spoken language works differently than written.

The social awkwardness comes from not code-switching. Everybody has multiple language registers—the way you write an email to your boss versus a text to a friend. Socially calibrated people automatically adjust their vocabulary based on context.

Smart but socially awkward people often haven't developed those adjustments. They use their full vocabulary in every context, not realizing that formal words in casual settings create distance rather than connection.

I had to actively learn this. My default vocabulary was built from years of reading, and I thought using that vocabulary made me sound intelligent. What it actually did was make conversations feel like lectures.

Learning to code-switch—using "yeah" instead of "indeed," "so" instead of "furthermore," "use" instead of "utilize"—didn't make me less intelligent. It made me easier to talk to.

If you regularly use several words from this list, you're probably highly intelligent with extensive vocabulary from reading. You're also probably making social interactions more difficult than they need to be.

The good news is that unlike intelligence, which is relatively fixed, language patterns can be adjusted. You can learn to match your vocabulary to your context without losing precision or sophistication.

It just requires awareness that how you write and how you talk should be different, and that casual conversation doesn't need or want the full formal vocabulary you've developed.

People will still know you're smart. They'll just also find you easier to connect with.