Name: Improve Your Vocabulary: Stop Saying BAD!
Uploaded: 2025-07-19T20:00:02.000Z
Duration: 16 min 25 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Mr. E is wearing a top hat, has a cane, and a bow tie.

Because he kind of looks a little funny for a dressed up worm.

Well, what I want to introduce you to are some words that...

Some words that are going to mean bad, because this lesson is actually on stop saying bad, but not for what you think or the reason why you think.

I'm going to introduce some words that actually describe things in a bad way, but then I'm going to throw on the other side some opposite words that you can use.

The reason why I'm doing this particular lesson is, do you need other words that don't mean bad?

I mean, it means doesn't work, not a good quality, it's a great, great word.

But when we talk about people and things, sometimes we want to dress up the words, and it will take us from an intermediate stage.

I've got a student named Liliana, and she found that when she learned words like this, she went from an intermediate to an advanced stage.

Are you going to use these words all the time?

Because once you go from basics, you're going to read books, talk to different people, and these words are going to come up, like snappy, snazzy, dusty.

And you're going to want to know what they mean, not just an idea of them, right?

So today, I'm going to give you, I think it's about six words, we're going to go to the board, and I'm going to give you their opposites.

Let's use some different words, some better words.

Now, if you look at it, the bad words are going to be in red.

And the good words are going to be in black, okay?

So first one I'm going to talk about is dowdy.

Dowdy is like old-fashioned or not very stylish.

I'm not saying it can't be used for men, but if it's a young woman and she's wearing, like, a dress that doesn't fit her and it's baggy and it's old-fashioned, let's say she looks rather dowdy.

Like, you can say it for men, but it's usually used for women, so just understand that.

The opposite of that is actually snazzy, stylish, looking good, right?

When you're being stylish or snazzy, right?

So, I'm sure you've seen a movie where it's about teenagers and they're going through so much, so many problems and having so much angst or stress, and they're being played by 35-year-old adults, you know, they've got the beard and they're like, Sally's really sad.

It's like, you're old, why are you playing a teenager?

And then they're like, high school is just so horrible.

Also, sometimes something is cheesy, like you go to a restaurant and they've got the plastic on the tables and, like, those brown bottles with candles inside of them, and you're like, oh god, this place is so cheesy, right?

And we're saying it's cheap, and then because of that, it could be considered unpleasant, right?

When something's cheesy, it makes you, ugh, alright?

The opposite of being cheesy is elegant, stylish, and manner.

I didn't want to leave the women out, because some of you women are like, James is so sexist, he talks about women being dowdy.

So when you're out, and you're at the club, and you see some guy who hasn't showered in a week standing there, can't afford a drink, he's broke, has no money, maybe he looks very disgusting, you go, he's dusty.

It means, imagine dust, and you know what dust is when you go in your furniture?

It's like, he's so old and dirty, he's got dust on him.

So if a guy looks dusty, he's going to look bad, he probably has no money, he might be ugly, right?

So there, that's from me to you, gift, okay?

Next time you tell your girlfriend, your boyfriend looks dusty, she goes, I need a new man.

All right, so, the opposite of dusty is successful and affluent.

I want to use my glasses again and show you, it's like, that man who's got the big watch, the nice suit, looking good, they're successful and affluent, and that's the opposite of being dusty.

Well, nasty means disgusting, awful, or rude.

If someone's being nasty to you, they could be rude.

You know, you go into a store, and they're like, what do you want?

You go, you don't have to be nasty, right?

Or it could be disgusting, like, ew, what's on the floor, that's nasty, you don't want to step in it.

If someone is a nasty person, they're not very nice, but if they're pleasant, they're charming, right?

No, not like, not like me, like, like the word.

Ew, gross, that's gross, yes, that is gross.

Some people think insects are gross, or weeds are gross, which I find funny.

Weeds are just flowers we don't like, just saying.

Anyway, the opposite of being gross is being nice or beautiful.

If you say to somebody, you look lovely, right?

It's another way of saying beautiful, which is a nice word, right?

I actually have a video on stop saying nice and beautiful, check it out.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Improve Your Vocabulary: Stop Saying BAD!

obvious

sophisticated

nasty

gross