Have you ever seen or heard any of those words that have really, really specific meanings? You know, the ones that when you see them you think to yourself “wow, there’s exactly one situation where I’d be able to use this word.” They seem kind of unnecessary, but at the same time it’s kind of nice that they exist. It really speaks to the human desire to describe our experiences for each other as accurately as possible.
Plus, they’re just cool. Here are some of the best ones the Internet has to offer. I’ll admit, I definitely didn’t intend to have this many when I started, but there are so, so many amazing words we don’t use enough!
Eighty Words You Should 100% Add to You Vocabulary
1. Abacinate: to blind by holding a red-hot metal plate before someone’s eyes
2. Acersecomic: a person whose hair has never been cut
*So if you’re ever talking to a toddler who’s about to get their first haircut, nod wisely and say “Ah, so you’re an acersecomic.”*
3. Acnestis: the part of an animal’s skin that it cannot reach to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades
4. Alexithymia: the inability to identify and express or describe one’s feelings
5. Amphisbaena: a mythical serpent with a head at each end
6. Anatidaephobia: the fear that somewhere, somehow, a duck is watching you
*Well, I wasn’t afraid of that until now.*
7. Anophisthographic: having writing or printing on one side only
8. Antepenultimate: one before next to last, third from last (see also Preantepenultimate)
9. Bathykolpian: deep-bosomed
10. Batrachophagous: feeding on frogs
11. Blatherskite: a person who talks at great length without making much sense
12. Cacodemonomania: the pathological belief that one is inhabited by an evil spirit
13. Callipygian: having well-shaped buttocks
*The best part about this one is that you can use it to talk to your friend about your crush without too much worry that they’ll overhear your embarrassing adoration. And if by some chance they do hear and undferstand what you’re saying, they’re definitely a keeper.*
14. Colposinquanonia: estimating a woman’s beauty based on her chest
15. Diplasiasmus: the incorrect doubling of a letter when spelling a word
16. Drintling: the clucking noise made by turkeys
*Answering the age-old question of “what does the turkey say?”*
17. Dysania: the state of having a rough time waking up in the morning
18. Eccedentesiast: a person who fakes a smile, such as on television
19. Ecdysiophile: a person who likes to visit strip joints or watch people strip
20. Engastration: the stuffing of one animal inside another before presenting it for dinner
21. Erinaceous: of, pertaining to, or resembling a hedgehog
22. Escutcheon: decorative metal plates around doorknobs or locks
23. Floccinaucinihilipilification: the action or habit of estimating something as worthless
*So if you’re staring at someone you don’t like and they ask what you’re doing, say “floccinaucinihilipilification.” A blank stare on their part will bolster your assessment.*
24. Filipendulous: suspended by a single thread
25. Gargalesthesia: the sensation commonly associated with tickling
26. Girouettism: altering one’s opinions to match public trends
27. Gossypiboma: a foreign object, such as a mass of cotton matrix or a sponge, that is left behind in a body cavity during an operation
28. Griffonage: illegible or sloppy hand writing
*We already use the phrase “chicken scratch” for this, but just in direct animal-to-animal comparison, “griffonage” is infinitely better.*
29. Groak: to stare at someone who is eating in hopes of getting food
30. Gynotikolobomassophilia: proclivity for nibbling on women’s earlobes
31. Hadeharia: the practice of constantly using the word “Hell” in speaking
32. Halfpace: a platform of a staircase where the stair turns back in exactly the reverse direction of the lower flight (see also Quarterpace)
33. Haptodysphoria: an unpleasant feeling caused by handling any fuzzy surface
34. Hypobulia: trouble making up one’s mind
35. Iatrapistia: a lack of faith in the medical system
*Next time a doctor misdiagnoses you or informs you that you have a gossypiboma, simply shake your head and let them know that they’re reinforcing your iatrapistia.*
36. Illeism: the practice of referring to oneself as “he” or “she”, or by one’s name
37. Infracaninophile: one who supports or defends the underdog
38. Interfenestration: the space between two windows
39. Jeofail: a costly mistake made by a lawyer , usually in court
40. Jentacular: pertaining to breakfast
41. Jowfair: an event which does not occur after much planning, such as a wedding with no groom
42. Jumentous: smelling strongly of horse urine
*This one really makes you wonder about the situation that created a need for this word.*
43. Keraunoscopia: divination using thunder
44. Kirkbuzzer: one who robs churches
45. Lalochezia: emotional relief gained by using indecent or vulgar language
46. Luposlipaphobia: the fear of being pursued by timber wolves around a kitchen table while wearing socks on a newly waxed floor
*I had a difficult time verifying this one, but I decided to include it anyway. Even if it’s not a documented fear, it’s a hilarious image.*
47. Lygerastia: the condition of one who is only amorous, or sexually aroused, when the lights are out
48. Misodoctakleidist: someone who hates practicing the piano
49. Mytacism: the incorrect or excessive use of the letter m
50. Nidorosity: belching with the taste of undigested meat
51. Nudiustertian: of or relating to the day before yesterday
*This is definitely one I could see myself using frequently. But I’ll have to learn how to pronounce it first . . .*
52. Oikonisus: the desire to start a family
53. Omoplatoscopy: divination involving a shoulder blade which has been charred or cracked from a fire
*So, so specific. What exactly are we hoping to divine from this?*
54. Pogonotrophy: the act of cultivating, or growing and grooming, a mustache, beard, sideburns or other facial hair.
55. Preantepenultimate: fourth from last (see also Antepenultimate)
56. Qualtagh: the first person you see after leaving your house; the first person who crosses a threshold, especially after New Year’s Day
57. Quarterpace: a staircase landing where the stair turns at a right angle (see also Halfpace)
58. Raith: a quarter of a year
59. Rouleau: a cylinder of coins rolled in paper
60. Rubricate: to add elaborate, typically red, capital letters or other decorations to a manuscript
61. Sabrage: the act of opening a bottle with a saber
*Yes. So incredibly excessive, but yes.*
62. Scripturient: possessing a violent desire to write
63. Taligrade: walking on the outer edge of one’s foot
64. Tarantism: a disorder characterized by an uncontrollable urge to dance
*This one sounds the fakest, but supposedly it’s a real medical thing, especially common in Italy from the 1400’s to the 1600’s and believed to be caused by a tarantula bite. Next time you meet someone, consider using that little fact instead of traditional small talk.*
65. Tegestologist: a collector of beer mugs and beer coasters
66. Thrip: to snap one’s fingers
67. Tibialoconcupiscent: having a lascivious interest in watching a woman put on stockings
68. Tritavia: the great grandmother of one’s great grandmother; the female ascendant in the sixth degree
*To avoid the awkwardness of referring to her as my great-great-great-great-grandmother.*
69. Truttaceous: of, pertaining to, or resembling a trout
70. Undecillion: a large number; a one followed by either 36 (US) or 66 (British) zeroes
71. Undinism: an obsession with or a sexual pleasure derived from water, especially urination and urine
*Maybe this relates back to jumentous . . . I’m not sure I really want to know.*
72. Vernalagnia: a romantic mood brought on by spring
73. Vigesimation: the act of killing every twentieth person
74. Warison: a musical note used to signal the start of an attack
75. Wegotism: an obtrusive and too frequent use of the first person plural by a speaker or writer
76. Xeniatrophobia: a fear of going to strange or foreign doctors
77. Xylopolist: one who sells wood products
78. Yarborough: hand of cards containing no card above a nine
79. Zenzizenzizenzic: a number raised to the eighth power
*If it were possible to play this word in Scrabble, it’d be worth 72 points, not even counting triple letters, double words, or the bonus for using all your letters.*
80. Zoanthropy: delusion of a person who believes himself changed into an animal
Now, how much more sophisticated are you going to sound when you comment on the warison in a war reenactment video during history class or when you call a guy out on his colposinquanonia? And of course, I didn’t just come up with all these words out of thin air. Huge credit to the following websites, and dictionary websites as a whole.
http://www.islandnet.com/~egbird/dict/dict.htm
http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/unuwords.htm#A
https://hellogiggles.com/lifestyle/food-drink/words-that-describe-incredibly-specific-things/
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/weird-and-wonderful-words
https://voxy.com/blog/2011/03/weird-english-words-from-a-to-z/
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/heres-that-thing-youre-feeling/leucocholy
http://www.theprojecttwins.com/a-z-of-unusual-words
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/surprising-uncommon-words/biblioklept