There are many ways to say something and many words that have the same meaning, but sometimes the very way you say something has an extra meaning. In particular, a writer may want to take the high road of artificial literary vocabulary, rather than the words we use in daily talk. This may be thought of as the precious style, for the writer is paying as much attention to the pretty words themselves, as to their meaning.
You don't cry, you weep.
You don't die, you pass on, or expire.
You don't have arms or legs, you have limbs.
You don't hug, you embrace.
You don't have a look on your face,
you have an expression on your visage.
You don't travel, you journey.
The precious child is not smart, but advanced or even precocious or better yet a prodigy.