As NPR podcast hosts and language experts, we regularly hear people misusing words that seem alike but mean very different things. We call them "confusables" — because they are, well, confusing. These ...

There are two ways to appear smart—look it or sound it. Looking smart is OK, but if it ends when you open your mouth, how does that help you? There are many life hacks, but finding the perfect word in ...

Effective communication lies at the heart of human connection. It helps us collaborate with each other, solve problems and build relationships. And communicating clearly is a major consideration for ...

Fairly or not, people judge you for how you speak just as much as they do for what you say. Brilliant and hard-working as you may be, if your way of speaking comes across as immature or scattered, ...

Made-up words like “clisious” and “smanious” are easier to remember when they sound beautiful. Could the feel of a word shape how we learn languages, sell products and even how languages evolve?

Greig de Zubicaray receives funding from the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Foundation. We’ve all experienced that moment mid-sentence when we just can’t find the ...

Feeling words are used often — sometimes daily — to express needs, define expectations, or mark boundaries. This is an important part of communication in relationships, but when they’re used vaguely ...