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Fun With Words

Glossary of Fun Words


Sometimes new words can be a lot of fun. This glossary contains three types of fun words: words that are unusually specific and therefore perfect for certain situations, like specious (seeming good or sound at first but lacking real merit) and apolaustic (wholly devoted to the seeking of enjoyment); words that are simply fun to say, like absquatulate (flee, make off; abscond) and quidnunc (a busybody or a gossip); and, my favorite, words for things you never knew there were words for, like omphalopsychite (one who contemplates his navel) and nothosonomia (the act of calling someone a bastard).

absquatulate
flee, make off; abscond.
agelast
one who never laughs.
aglet
the plastic tip on the end of a shoelace.
agrestic
characteristic of the country, rustic; also, unpolished or uncouth.
akimbo
of the arms, with the hands on the hips and elbows bent outward. "He stood akimbo and surveyed the wreckage."
anadromous
of fish, migrating up rivers from the sea to spawn in fresh water.
anile
like a doddering, foolish old woman.
anserine
goose-like; also, silly, foolish, or stupid.
anthropophagy
cannibalism.
apolaustic
wholly devoted to the seeking of enjoyment.
arcadian
idyllically pastoral, simple, or untroubled.
avuncular
of or pertaining to an uncle; also, uncle-like.
barratry
the offense of frequently stirring up lawsuits or quarrels; also, in maritime law, fraud or gross criminal negligence by a captain or crew at the expense of a ship's owner or of the owner of a ship's cargo.
bastinado
torture by beating on the soles of the feet.
bezonian
a scoundrel.
bibcock
a faucet that is bent downward
bibliobibuli
those who read too much.
biffy
a toilet or outhouse.
bodewash
dried buffalo dung, used as fuel for fire.
boeotian
stupid, dull, obtuse; also, such a person.
bolus
a large medicinal pill; also, a mass of chewed food.
boondoggle
an unnecessary activity or wasteful expenditure.
borborygmic
pertaining to the rumbling of one's stomach or intestines.
bosky
having an abundance of trees or shrubbery.
brobdingnagian
enormous, immense.
brummagem
cheap and showy but inferior and worthless.
buccal
of or pertaining to the cheek or the mouth.
bugaboo
something that causes baseless fear or worry; also, a false belief used to intimidate.
bumf
toilet paper; also, worthless paperwork, literature, or junk mail.
callipygian
having shapely buttocks. See also: steatopygic.
captious
apt to raise objections to trivial faults or defects; given to fault-finding; difficult to please.
caryatid
a draped female figure supporting an entablature.
caseifaction
the act of turning into cheese.
cataglottism
kissing with the tongue.
cerumen
earwax.
chatoyant
changing in luster or color, as cat's eyes.
chiaroscuro
distribution of light and shade in a picture
chthonic
dwelling in the underworld.
cicisbeo
a male escort or lover of a married woman.
collation
a light meal.
contumelious
insolently abusive and humiliating.
corrigendum
a mistake to be corrected, especially an error in a printed book.
corybantic
frenzied or agitated.
crapulous
given to, characterized by, or suffering from gross excess in eating and drinking.
cynosure
a center of attraction or admiration.
dandle
to dance (a child) on one's knees; the action taken by a dandler.
deasil
clockwise. See also: widdershins.
defenestrate
to throw out of a window
dendrochronology
the study of growth rings on trees.
dipsomania
uncontrollable craving for alcohol.
discalced
barefooted.
doddle
something easy or requiring little effort.
donnybrook
a brawl or heated public dispute.
dottle
the plug of unburned tobacco left in a pipe after smoking.
draggle
make wet and dirty by dragging on the ground.
duff
decaying matter in a forest
ecdysiast
stripper.
edacious
devouring, consuming, voracious.
eesome
pleasing to the eye.
emollient
characteristic of that which softens or soothes the skin.
enantiodromic
characteristic of something that has become its opposite.
energumen
one who is possessed by a demonic entity.
epeolatry
worship of words.
epigone
an undistinguished imitator or descendant of an illustrious person or family.
eructation
belching; also, discharge of a volcano.
esprit d'escalier
a remark that occurs to someone later, after it should have been said (often a witty retort that occurs after the moment to use it has passed).
estivate
to spend the summer.
esurient
hungry.
evancalous
pleasant to embrace.
expiscate
to learn through laborious investigation.
exsanguinate
to drain blood from.
factotum
employee or assistant who does just about everything.
fantods
a state of nervous irritability; the fidgets; the willies. "Waiting for this semester's report card is giving me the fantods."
fernticle
freckle.
fescue
a small stick used to point out letters to a child learning to read.
flews
the pendulous corners of the upper lip of certain dogs, such as the bloodhound.
floccinaucinihilipilification
the categorizing of something as worthless.
flummery
meaningless chatter; also, deceptive language.
footle
to talk or act foolishly; to waste time.
foudroyant
dazzling, flashing; also, thunderous, noisy.
friable
easily crumbled; crumbly.
frisson
an emotional thrill; a shudder of emotion.
frowzy
ill-smelling, musty; also, slovenly, unkempt.
fugacious
fleeting, transitory; difficult to capture.
funambulist
a tightrope walker
gallimaufry
jumble or medley; hodgepodge.
geck
a dupe.
genuflect
bend the knee and lower the body, especially in reverence.
gleek
to joke or jest.
gobbledygook
windy gibberish or jargon.
gorbellied
corpulent.
gormless
dull, stupid, clumsy.
gound
the gunk that collects in the corners of the eyes during sleep.
gowpen
two hands placed together to form a bowl-shape; also, the amount that can be contained in a pair of cupped hands.
graustark
an imaginary place of high romance.
grimthorpe
remodel or restore an old building without proper grounding or knowledge of its authentic character or without exercising care to remain faithful to its original quality and uniqueness; after Baron Grimthorpe, English lawyer and architect, restorer of St. Alban's cathedral.
hallux
big toe.
hangdog
shamefaced, browbeaten, or intimidated.
hebdomadal
weekly.
hircine
goat-like; also, lustful.
hirple
to hobble or walk lamely.
hornswoggle
bamboozle, deceive.
hoyden
a boisterous, carefree girl; a tomboy.
infucate
to apply cosmetics.
inglenook
a nook by a fireplace.
insouciant
blithely unconcerned.
insufflate
to blow on or breathe into.
izzat
honor, prestige, reputation.
jillick
to skip a stone across water.
jocoserious
combining serious and humorous matters.
jugulate
to slit the throat.
kalopsia
the delusion that things are more beautiful than they really are.
katzenjammer
a loud, discordant noise; also, a hangover; also, a state of depression or bewilderment.
kibitz
to look on and offer unsolicited, meddlesome advice; to make wisecracks when others are trying to work or speak seriously.
kickshaw
a trinket or bauble; a culinary delicacy.
lambent
softly radiant; of a light or flame, playing on a surface without burning it; also, dealing lightly and gracefully with a subject of discussion.
lapidate
to stone to death.
latrinalia
graffiti found in restrooms.
legerdemain
slight of hand; magic tricks.
liripipe
a long scarf or cord attached to and hanging from a hood.
ludic
characterized by playfulness.
macerate
to make or become soft by steeping in a liquid; also, to waste away by fasting.
madefy
moisten.
maffick
to rejoice with an extravagant and boisterous public celebration.
malinger
pretend to be ill in order to avoid work or shirk duty.
marmoreal
resembling marble.
mawkish
excessively or feebly sentimental; also, having a faint, sickly taste.
meldrop
a drop of mucus at the end of the nose.
mendacious
telling lies, especially habitually; untruthful.
miasma
a noxious atmosphere or influence; unpleasant or unwholesome air.
misprision
neglect or wrongful action committed by a public official.
moiety
about half of something.
monomania
obsession with one idea or interest.
moonglade
the bright reflection of the moon on a body of water.
mordant
bitingly sarcastic.
mosh
to engage in uninhibited, frenzied activities with others near the stage at a rock concert. See also: mosh pit.
mosh pit
the place near the stage at a rock concert where moshing occurs. See also: mosh.
mulct
to take money from, by taxation or by trickery.
mundungus
stinky tobacco.
myrmidon
an unscrupulously faithful follower; henchman.
napiform
resembling a turnip.
neologist
one who makes up new words.
nidify
to build a nest.
noctambulist
a sleepwalker; somnambulist.
nosocomephrenia
depression due to a prolonged hospital stay.
nothosonomia
the act of calling someone a bastard.
nudiustertian
pertaining to the day before yesterday.
nyctalopia
night blindness.
obdormition
numbness caused by pressure on a nerve, as when one's foot is "asleep."
obnubilate
cloud over, darken, or obscure.
ochlocracy
mob rule.
octothorpe
the '#' symbol; also, "octothorp."
omphalopsychite
one who contemplates his navel. See also: omphaloskepsis.
omphaloskepsis
contemplation of one's navel. See also: omphalopsychite.
opsimath
one who begins to learn late in life.
ort
a scrap of food left after a meal is completed.
osculate
kiss.
ovoviviparous
producing eggs that hatch within the female's body without obtaining nourishment from it.
oxter
armpit.
pandiculation
the stretching that accompanies yawning.
panjandrum
a pompous official or pretender; also, the mock title of a self-important person.
pantaloon
a man's close-fitting garment for the hips and legs, worn especially in the 19th century
pate
top of the head, usually a bald head.
penny-farthing
an old-fashioned kind of bicycle with a huge front wheel.
penultimate
next to last.
perendinate
to put off until the day after tomorrow; also, to keep postponing from day to day.
peripatetic
going from place to place; itinerant.
philtrum
the vertical groove between the nose and upper lip.
picaresque
of fiction, dealing with the adventures of a rogue.
pilose
covered with hair.
pilpul
a nitpicking, unproductive argument.
pinguid
fat; also, greasy.
placebo
a harmless substance given as medicine, usually to humor a patient.
poetaster
an inferior poet.
popinjay
a talkative and conceited person.
popliteal
of or pertaining to the back of the knee.
preponderate
to surpass others in numbers, intensity, force, or prowess.
prescind
turn aside.
psithurism
a low whispering sound, such as the rustle of leaves.
puckeroo
useless, broken.
pulchritude
attractiveness.
purulent
containing, consisting of, or discharging pus.
pusillanimous
timid, faint-hearted, or cowardly.
quidnunc
a busybody or a gossip.
quincunx
the pattern of five objects arranged such that four of the five objects form a square, while the fifth is positioned in the middle. "The dots on the '5' side of a die are arranged in a quincunx."
quisquilious
like rubbish; trashy, worthless.
raconteur
one skilled in telling stories.
rebarbative
causing aversion or irritation.
recension
an editorial revision of a literary work.
recidivist
one who continually commits crime and seems incurable of criminal tendencies.
recrudesce
of a disease, sore, or hostile feeling, to break out again.
renitent
resistant to pressure.
retroussé
turned up at the tip, especially a nose.
rhabdomantist
one who practices divination by means of a rod to locate underground water; a dowser.
riant
smiling.
sanguinary
bloodthirsty; murderous.
sanguine
cheerfully confident or optimistic; also, having a healthy, reddish color.
saturnine
characteristic of a person having a gloomy or forbidding appearance.
scuttlebutt
gossip.
seersucker
a light, thin fabric, such as cotton or rayon, with a crinkled surface and a usually striped pattern.
serendipity
the faculty of accidentally making happy, unexpected discoveries.
sericate
silky.
simous
having a very flat or snub nose, with the end turned up.
skosh
a small amount; a tad.
smithereens
fragments or splintered pieces.
snollygoster
a shrewd, unprincipled person.
sockdolager
a conclusive blow or remark; also, something outstanding.
somnambulist
a sleepwalker; noctambulist.
spanghew
to cause a frog or toad to fly up in the air.
spartle
to move the body or limbs in a sprawling or struggling manner.
specious
seeming good or sound at first but lacking real merit.
squabash
to crush with criticism.
squidger
the huge disc, or wink, used to propel other winks in the game of Tiddly-Winks.
squiffed
intoxicated.
steatopygic
having fat buttocks. See also: callipygian.
sternutation
the act of sneezing; also, a sneeze.
stymie
to thwart, stump, or obstruct.
subderisorious
ridiculing in moderation.
subfusc
drab, dusty.
suppurate
to form pus; to fester.
susurration
whispering, murmuring, or rustling.
sycophant
one who attempts to gain a personal advantage by servile flattery.
tantalolagnia
arousal caused by teasing.
tantivy
a headlong dash or rapid gallop; also, characteristic of one in a tantivy; also, the blare of a trumpet or horn. "The man was running tantivy after the thief."
tauromachy
the art of bullfighting.
tenebrific
producing darkness; obscuring.
tergiversate
to turn one's back on one's party or cause; also, to make evasive statements or equivocate.
termagant
a shrewish, bullying woman.
thewy
muscled, brawny.
tintinnabulous
of or relating to bells or the ringing of bells.
tizzy
a state of nervous excitement or confusion; a dither.
tohubohu
a state of chaos, disorder, and confusion.
tonsure
the shaving of the head of those entering certain priesthoods or monastic orders; also, the part of the head left bare after such a shaving.
tragus
the little flap of cartilage that projects over the hole in one's ear.
trollop
a promiscuous woman.
twee
affectedly cute or quaint; overly precious or nice.
ultra-crepidarian
giving opinions or criticism beyond one's own range of experience.
ululate
lament loudly and shrilly; wail.
umbrage
the feeling of being offended.
undulate
sway in place.
uvula
the thing that hangs down in the back of one's throat.
vermiculate
having wavy, wormlike lines or motion; sinuous, tortuous.
vexillologist
one who studies flags.
vicarious
characteristic of feelings or emotions felt or shared imaginatively through the feelings or emotions of another person.
vicissitude
a change of circumstances affecting one's life.
walla-walla
the unintelligible sound made by many people talking at once.
welter
wriggle, writhe.
whelm
to cover or engulf completely, usually with disastrous effect.
whinge
complain fretfully, whine.
widdershins
counterclockwise; also, in a contrary direction. Same as "withershins." See also: deasil.
withershins
See: widdershins.