English is full of specific, descriptive words that you can use to enrich your conversation or add interest to a presentation at work or at school. The more words you know, the more confident you’ll feel having a conversation with anyone, from a chance meeting with a stranger in a shop or at a show, to a high-level company meeting where you have a chance to impress your employers with your capability and insight. However, you don’t have to use all of your fanciest words all of the time. Think about how you might be dressed in each of the scenarios above – would you be wearing the same clothes to get the groceries, go to work, and attend the opera? You’d probably have different outfits depending on the situation. In the same fashion, you can use your beautifully elaborate words when they’ll fit in the setting you’re in, and enjoy the practicality of the more utilitarian words in your day-to-day life.

The adjective utilitarian means useful, practical, and functional. It shares the Latin root word utilitas (service, benefit, profit) with other words with similar meanings or nuances, including utilize and utility. In general, the word carries the sense that the thing being described consists of only the basic essentials necessary for it to perform its function, without anything that is only there for looks or show.

Example 1: Robert is always dressed in the finest Italian suits, with highly-polished shoes, but when we had a work day at the office to move all of the client files, he showed up in a utilitarian outfit of a flannel shirt and well-worn jeans, ready to haul boxes with the rest of us.

Example 2: Emily likes the carved Chinese-style cabinets with drawer pulls shaped like dragons and phoenixes, but I prefer the utilitarian Swedish style, with open shelves and plain wooden knobs.

Whether plain or fancy, the right words make a difference. A large and flexible vocabulary will help you adapt to, and effectively communicate in, any situation.