There are many types of vocabulary, and there is a lot of confusion over the differences between them.
Here is a detailed list of words that are informal and their formal equivalent:
Informal / Formal
Mad = Insane
Put off = Postpone
Want = Desire
Put in = Insert
Keep = Preserve
Pick up = Collect
Say no = Reject
Lucky = Fortunate
Hopeless = Futile
Put up with = Tolerate
About = Regarding
Sight = Vision
Hurry = Haste
Kidding = Jesting
Break down = Collapse
Childish = Infantile
Empty = Vacant
Give = Provide
Make up = Invent
Thanks = Gratitude
Let = Permit
Put down/Set down = Deposit
Stubborn = Obstinate
Blow up = Explode
Ask for = Request
Need = Require
Pin down = Determine
Shorten = Decrease
Tell = Inform
Get = Receive
Look into = Investigate
Hungry = Famished
Worse = Inferior
Find out = Ascertain
But = However
Lack = Deficiency
Clear = Transparent
Buy = Purchase
Make up = Fabricate
Come in = Enter
Let = Allow
Think = Consider
Block = Undermine
Show up = Arrive
Seem = Appear
Cheap = Inexpensive
Whole = Entire
Show = Demonstrate, Illustrate, Portray
Point out = Indicate
Go before = Precede
Set up = Establish
Ring up = Call
Here = Present
Look at = Examine
Rack up = Accumulate
Wrong = Incorrect
Give up = Quit
Formal and informal vocabularies can be difficult to understand, but we will try to make things easier with this guide.
Formal and informal vocabularies play a big role in the English language. However, it is often difficult to know which words are formal or informal and how they should be used.
Formal Vocabulary: It is used in Formal settings like interactions with your colleagues, your boss, strangers, people who occupy higher positions or titles, like state officials.
Informal Vocabulary: It is used in any situation which possesses any personal associations. Meaning, any position in which there is personal involvement and relationship between all parties allows for the use of informal vocabs. For example, with state officials whom you know personally, the informal discourse is natural, and of course, family, friends, and youngsters.
In this blog, we have discussed the various situations where you use different types of vocabulary. In English, there are many more words that have been derived from Latin and Greek. However, many of these words have been Anglicized and adapted to British English. In some cases, a word will retain its original meaning but be used in a slightly different way or in a new context. For example, the word “council” is derived from the Latin word “consilium”, which means advice or council. The word has two main uses: to refer to a group of people with specific responsibilities (for example, the Council of Ministers) or to refer to a meeting where decisions are made (for example, an executive