Re: pretentious words

retrosorter wrote:
[...]
It seems to me that the writer's choice of the word "sedulously" was
pretentious as there are a host of well-known words such as
"assiduously," "dilligently" etc that could have been used and the
writer's selection of "sedulously" added nothing (except perhaps
confusion) to the article.

Then again, maybe I feel this way solely because I had never heard the
word "sedulous."

The question I am posing, therefore is, Are some words prententious or
is the pretense totally in the mind of the beholder?

I have a rough scale of dictionaries to determine whether I am safe in using a word.
If it appears in (checking from the top down)
The Pocket MW, use without qualm
Both COD11 and MW11CD use without qualm
One of COD11 or MW11CD check for adequate synonyms
SOED5 use only with educated audiences
OED use only with educated audiences and
only if circumlocution is too unwieldy
MW3ID or Chambers avoid

There are fine dictionaries missing, but I use them for checking words found, not for ones I want to use.

"Sedulous" satisfies the top tier, being in the Pocket MW. To cavil about such a word speaks of ignorance of the reader rather than pretentiousness of the writer.
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