Assuming knowledge of your reader comes off as you not knowing the words you're using

If you're going to use terminology that abstracts what you're talking about, you hide what you're trying to say to some readers.

The less clear you are about what you're talking about, the more your writing comes off as ignorant at best, and pretentious at worst. Writing is not about showing off how smart you are. Writing is about communication. Having less clarity in your writing means it is not conveying information well. It's confusing and easy to misunderstand.

Another form of this is using the rhetoric cliché, "I know what you're thinking..." and then asking the question you think your reader has. [[Accommodate for your wide variety of readers]]

Honestly, it really depends on who you're writing for. There really isn't anything wrong with using more less-used words. It's more of a "warning" that if you do decide to use them, you'll be reducing the accessibility of your work.

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Higher-Level Links [[Writing]] -

title: References
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- [[Building Story Themes and Gamer Engagement Through Game Mechanics]]
- [[Sin And Syntax - How to Craft Wicked Good Prose]]
	> "Pompous phrasing often serves no purpose other than to puff up the speaker."
	
	> "Prose is an intimate exchange between writer and reader. Always think about your reader; hold your audience in your mind. Don't talk to readers as if they are strangers, or as if they are beneath you."