A good list of good words |
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| Absquatulate | to make off, decamp. Absquatulation - the act of making off. |
| Abulia | being incapable of making a decision |
| accag | the sound your cat makes when it spits up a hairball. also the acronym for a service group in Vermont. |
| aesthetic | rolls off the tongue and has to do with beauty |
| aestival | of or pertaining to summer, I just like the "ae" |
| Alabaster | |
| allegedly | rolls off one's tongue |
| Ambidextrous | |
| antepenultimate | the one before the penultimate |
| anthropophagous | Brings a whole new meaning to the epithet "bite me." |
| apophasis | the device of mentioning something by stating that it will not be mentioned. |
| appypollyloggy | |
| azure | pretty color, pretty word |
| bedebai | Fun to say when there is an uncomfortable pause in conversation or when you have just accomplished a striven- for achievement. |
| beepilepsy | The spasm your body goes through when your pager goes off. |
| Beguiling | this word was popular back in the 20's and 30's as I have heard it quite a number of times when watching old action movie of that era. |
| bilateral myringotomy | |
| blah, blah, blah | this is just fun to say over and over and over...until someone hits you over the head with a shovel. |
| blitzkrieg | It makes a good exclamatory to be used like "Gadzooks!" or "My word!" It actually means war (or more accurately in history, 'lightning war). But it just sounds sooooo good. |
| Bogus | Say the word and feel the contempt for something phony |
| bombastic | Fabulous word. Denotes something that makes great and immediate impression. Great fun to say. |
| Borborygmy | medical term for that growling noise your tummy makes. It's fun to say, and it sounds much worse than it is (try saying to someone, "I believe you're suffering from borborygmy-- maybe you should eat something") |
| Byzantine | I could explain what it means, but it's too complicated. |
| Braggadocio | love how is sounds, rolls off the tongue, and its ultimate definition of an arrogant braggart! |
| cacophony | Riotous clamor or discordant noise. The terrible din of modern life. |
| Callipygian | having shapely buttocks |
| cantaloupe | looks, feels, sounds and tastes wonderful. |
| careen | as in, the car lost its brakes and went careening down the road |
| Caterwaul | a harsh cry or angry quarrel |
| Chewy | go ahead and say it! Doesn't it sound so beautiful, so heavenly, so sweet, so....CHEWY! |
| chiaroscuro | the contrast of light and darkness in a painting, but can also be used just in general. Like "Look at the chiaroscuro effect that couple has." It makes you sound very intellectual. |
| Chondrichthyes | pronounced kon-drik-thees, and is a class of cartilaginous fishes, including sharks and rays, etc. |
| chuck-a-curly | to fake an illness. So the next time you take a "sick day" away from work just tell your boss that you are chuck-a-curlying. |
| circumambulate | |
| circumambulate | It's good!! It's good! Say it! NOW! I found it in 6th grade. It means to wander around. |
| circumdition | Same thing but only diff'rnt. |
| civil | I prefer to use "civil" instead of polite. polite has become too hackneyed a word for my liking. |
| clepsydra | |
| clock | it's gooooooooood. mightygood. clock. |
| colloquialism | |
| Condiments | Just for fun, ask for these next time you go to McDonald's and watch the look on their faces. |
| countenance | pertains to one's facial expression |
| crapulous | Perfect word! Perfect sound! -- For how you feel the morning after |
| crumulent | a savory tidbit; coined by Homer Simpson and especially, but not exculsively, applied to food. "That crumulent guy over there is eating a donut." |
| cylindrical | it even sounds cylindrical when you say it. |
| debacle | it makes an unfortunate event sound more serious |
| Debonair | a swanky way to say 'swanky' |
| defenestrate | v, to be thrown out of a window |
| dipsodic | craving alcohol |
| dotage | |
| effluvium | stuff, as in "Addicted to Effluvium" |
| Egregious | |
| enigma | a mystery... I love how creepy it sounds when you say it right..! |
| Epiphany | What you achieve when your brain goes, "Duh!" |
| erethic | abnormal irritability |
| Ergo | it's better than therefore, and there's a certain way to say it: "airgo" |
| Esurient | very very hungry |
| euphemism | |
| euphoric | |
| Expignant | It doesn't mean anything. I used it several times in a newsletter to see if anyone actually read my stuff. Nope! Not one person asked what it meant even though it had different meanings depending on context. |
| Extentual | to extend |
| Farf | A great word to say to someone who just said something completely moronic. |
| Festoon | To drape loosely. It sounds great, especially if you use it out of context. |
| finial | an ornament at the top of a spire, gable, etc. |
| firktoodling | a wonderful word that means caressing or fondling |
| fisticuffs | a delicate reference to a fist fight. |
| fixin' to | as in "I'm fixin' do that job right now." An invaluable phrase that disarms criticism and implies far more industry and activity than any alternative.criticism |
| Flabbergasted | causes one to guffaw |
| flitter | something which apparently is very flat. "That steamroller ran over my hat and mashed it flatter than a flitter." |
| Floccin- aucinihili- pilification |
the act or habit of estimating as worthless |
| flourish | to prosper |
| Fortitude | |
| Frock | meaning 'dress' mostly from the 1950's; for example, "Eunice wore a nice frock". Especially useful these days to bitchily put someone else down, for example "Love your frock, Gwyneth Paltrow!" |
| fulsome | sounds like a compliment but means offensive to good taste, excessive, gross, disgusting, repulsive, insincerely lavish |
| fungible | |
| gibbous | the shape of the moon when it's more than half-full but less than full |
| gingham | |
| Glom | To eat quickly or hog. |
| Grandilloquism | (gran dill' oh kwizm) A large word used where a smaller would do |
| grape | |
| Gription | of or pertaining too the soles on one's shoes. "Gee these shoes have good Gription" |
| Grotesque | But only if you pronounce it "grotaskew". |
| Heresy | Great to shout at the top of one's lungs (also, "blasphemy!" and "sacrilege!" are great, too.) |
| idyomatic | |
| Incentify | To motivate a consumer, retailer, sales rep, company, to purchase, use, repurchase, an item where they receive an value-added incentive to make it worth while |
| Infernal | I was trying to load a Pez Dispenser the other day. I made a mistake putting them in, and they flew threw the air, breaking as they hit her ground. "Infernal PEZ!" I screamed, and got applause. |
| Infidel | a truly great word for the opposition. |
| jurassic | something old and 'unfashionable' -as in, "I can't believe you're still using a 286! That is soo jurassic!" |
| Kumquat | an excellent word as well as an excellent fruit. The actual fruit is tart, tart, tart on the inside and the edible skin is sweet, sweet, sweet. |
| Lagniappe | An extra measure for "smooth" business in old times, like a baker's dozen |
| Lascivious | Kinda rolls off the tongue like a kiss |
| Lecherous | it just SOUNDS like a slobbery dirty old man |
| limicolous | means dwelling in mud |
| Limpopo | A river in Africa. Kipling wrote of 'the great, grey, green, greasy Limpopo...' |
| Lollygagging | and do it |
| lummox | a clumsy, stupid person, but fun to say. |
| Luscious | very pleasant to smell or taste |
| macabre | It's malevolently delicious, ghastly, and vile. |
| maroon | those big fat guys who have been lifting weights for year but have never really gotten in shape. Easily identifiable by chest hair, slicked hair and cheesy gold bracelets and chains. |
| mattress | |
| melanoma | A lovely word albeit with a terrible meaning. It is a joy to roll off the tongue and has a certain almost Hawaiian flavor to it. |
| melbatoast | |
| Mellifluous | |
| mellifluous | Rolls right off the tongue. |
| mendicant | an alternate word for a bum |
| Merkin | A pubic wig?! Also the given name of the US President in Dr Strangelove. |
| Metasequoia- glyptostroboides |
botanical name for the Dawn Redwood (thought extinct till the 1940's when it was rediscovered in China) Say it-- it's fun. |
| Methyl- chloroisothia- zolinone |
a common ingredient in most shampoos. |
| milksop | |
| Monstrosity | good to call someone this in your most horrified and disgusted voice. |
| mullet | |
| Mumbo Pocus | Attributable to Frank Zappa |
| Mushu pork | |
| Neener | Put your thumbs to your cheeks and wave your hands, now repeat after me: "Neener Neener" Now don't you feel better? |
| nepenthe | a Greek drug said to have the power to eliminate sorrow |
| nonchalant | |
| oaf | a large, bumbling person. (Sounds good also as oafish, oaflings, oafishly, etc.) ex: "Why is that large, blonde oaf staring at me?" |
| obersuperpanamatoll | that's german, and it's about what it sounds like |
| obsequious | It's safe to accuse anybody who is, of being so. |
| obstinate | substitute for "stubborn" |
| obstreperous | |
| oid | anything-oid. For example, "My hair gets the frizz-oids when I go out in the rain." |
| oligodendroglia | a type of cell in the Central Nervous System. mmmmm -- say it -- yummy! |
| Onomatopoeia | Happy-poetic word. You can skip it and sing it. You can SPLISH SPLASH CRASH BASH MASH CRUNCH and BOING it too. |
| oophyte | |
| Pacheyscephelo- saurus |
pronounced packEESefellowsAUrus a Dinosaur |
| Pecksniffian | Hypocritically benevolent. It's just a great word to say. |
| Pedantic | A friend was once told, by a grade school teacher, that he was pedantic. He cried all the way home, until he was told to look it up! |
| pepo | some sort of fruit. commonly used to refer to someone glittery. |
| Perdictity | too fussy for fussy. As in don't be so perdictity. |
| Perpendicular | |
| Perspective | An evolutionary word that works |
| petunia | a tropical herb (according to maven) I think it's a pretty flower (from joyce) |
| phantasmagoric | I love this word because it sounds so sexual but it's not |
| picaroon | a logger's tool (steel pick at the end of a wooden pole) |
| Pleonasm | a phrase that uses more words than necessary |
| plethora | |
| Plethora and Ennui | Viewing the vast assembly of teenagers in the Auditorium during a lecture on Economic trends, I noted a plethora of ennui. Just makes your lips pucker up, doesn't it? |
| Pneumo- noultra- microscopic- silicovolcano- coniosis |
a lung disease gotten from breathing teensy-weensy volcanic dust particles |
| Pompous | |
| portly | |
| prestidigitation | a tricky way to say legerdemain |
| puerile | synonymous to the word 'childish' |
| pulchritude | because it doesn't seem to match its definition. |
| putupwithable | able to put up with something |
| Quagmire | just a personal favorite. Sounds like its definition. |
| Quixotic | A sure winner within a certain class of sucker bar bets. As in, "to wax quixotic" |
| reciprocity | |
| rustoleum | I have always loved saying the word "rustoleum" I don't know why, it just sounds cool |
| salacious | |
| Scarf | as in " to scarf " : " I scarfed down the whole pizza , dude ". |
| schleck | the beauty of it is that it's so multifunctional--"get the schleck out of my way," "what the schleck is that?". It can also mean kissing: "I saw them schlecking in a corner." |
| schmarnn | folding pancake batter and whipped egg whites to form doughy balls by constant stirring in the frying pan as they cook. Serve with powdered sugar or syrup |
| scruple | |
| Scubalate | A high school coaches word for goofing and looking cool at the same time, as in " Let's all SCUBALATE out to lunch a mite early y'all." |
| Sentient | One who or that which is capable of feeling or perception. Conscious. The mind. |
| Severance | a beautiful word describing a gruesome state |
| Shvitzing | to sweat |
| skosh | (pronounced with a long 0) a little less than a little bit, definitely less than a pinch. Better than saying "just a hair" Use it well, use it often. One of my all-time favorite measurements. |
| slipstream | |
| Sloop | it's a kind of small sailing ship, and the word has this nice gliding sound, just the way a sloop glides through the water. |
| Slurp | The word sounds, looks, and feels just like the action movie it describes |
| smock | , over and over and over |
| solipsism | belief that the self is the only reality |
| sophomoric | describes one who displays haughtiness and over-confidence despite lack of knowledge |
| soporific | sleep-inducing |
| spagurken | it means geek |
| spiffy | said with pursed lips |
| Splendiferous | as my Grandfather would say, " Now that's a two-bit word, for shore " |
| spoon | |
| spunky | It sounds energetic, vibrant and alive like what it actually describes. |
| Subunquis | (SUB-UN-GWISS) The skin immediately under the fingernail. When you bend your fingernail back, it is the tearing of the nail from the subunquis that causes the pain. |
| Suss | Which the OED says means a "slattern" or a "slut", but which current British slang means "to investigate". I just love saying "I'll suss it outfor you". |
| Susurrus | this means a rustling or whispering sound. Very onomatopoeic. |
| swallowable | meaning able to be swallowed. Kind of a tongue-twister, ain't it? |
| Sycophant | so much more evocative than "brown-noser" |
| tautology | overstating a point |
| tellurium | Element 52. tel-LURE-ium. A good tongue-curling word. |
| tempestuous | isn't it great? passionate, fun to say, basically a yummy word |
| Tentacle | It dances it your mouth. |
| tergiversate | (means to change opinions or defect (political), but I use it much like vacillate |
| thrust | |
| titillating | |
| Transmogrify | to change or alter often with grotesque or humorous effect. My dad used to threaten us kids with this when we were playing up. |
| trilobyte | Extinct arthropod. Say it fast. Say it again. Try to stop. |
| umfaloscepsis | contemplating one's own belly button |
| Unctuous | |
| undawest | this is what happens to someone who has done something against the law. Used in a sentence, it would sound like: 'You robbed the bank so I'm gonna undawest you! |
| uxorious | |
| Valkyriosis | A condition brought by watching the entire "Ring Cycle" by Wagner over the course of a short period. Characteristic symptom: wearing winged helmets and shouting "Hoyotoho!". |
| vermiculite | the stuff found in potting soil. "Vermiculite. Vermiculite. Vermiculite." |
| vespertilian | of or pertaining to bats. It sounds sinister and rather sleek. And almost NOBODY knows what it means. |
| vestibule | v., to delay departure from another's home, office, whatever, by standing just inside the door where one continues to talk at/with the person who wishes one would just LEAVE! |
| vulpine | denotes a foxlike quality such as looking sleek or predatory. |
| wax | grow slowly, gradually e.g. Her speech waxed eloquently. |
| Weiner | I love to say "weiner." Weiner, Weiner, Weiner, Weiner |
| wrought | made, fashioned, worked, completed by a craftsman |
| y'all | A good and descriptive word when used by a Southerner; only marginally better than chewing tin foil when used by a Northerner. |
| yurt | a circular domed tent of skins or felt stretched over a collapsible lattice framework and used by the Kirghiz and other Mongol nomads of Siberia; also a structure that resembles a yurt in size and design |
| Zircon | |
| zaftig | slang "zaftig" |