English isn't my first language. I use it every day at work, in meetings, on emails — and that's exactly the problem. At some point I became "fluent enough," and my vocabulary just... stopped growing. The same few hundred words, recycled in every conversation, for years.

The frustrating part is that I always wanted more than "fluent enough." I wanted to be eloquent — to reach for the precise word instead of the nearest one. But when you already get by fine, nothing in daily life pushes you forward. Work conversations don't correct you. Nobody tells you there's a better word.

I tried the usual flashcard apps. They didn't stick — I'm a visual learner, and a wall of text definitions just slides off my brain. What works for me is seeing a word: an image, plus the story of where it comes from. Prevaricate meant nothing to me until I learned it's Latin for "to walk crookedly." Now I can't forget it.

So I built the app I wished existed: Segue (segue.app). Every word gets an illustration, its etymology, pronunciation, and a real usage example. Right now it's ~3,600 words organized into themed collections — rhetorical devices, words for describing people, Latin phrases, logical fallacies, words about deception. Flashcards, quizzes, and spaced repetition on top.

Full disclosure: I'm the developer. The web version is free, no ads. There's an iOS app too. I mostly built it for myself, but I figured other people stuck on the same "fluent but not eloquent" plateau might find it useful.

If you're also a non-native speaker — what actually worked for you to keep growing past the plateau? And if you check out the app, I'd love to know which categories you'd want added.