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Last updated:
January 7, 2023
Learning English is not always easy. English is especially known for having a crazy vocabulary that can make things tricky for learners.
Even if you’ve mastered all the important grammar rules, slang words and idioms, weird English words come along and can still leave you feeling a bit confused!
Lucky for you, this post will introduce you to 15 weird English words that you should know!
Contents
- 1. Kerfuffle (kəˈfʌf(ə)l)
- 2. Hullaballoo (ˌhʌl.ə.bəˈluː)
- 3. Cacophony (kəˈkɒf(ə)ni)
- 4. Ragamuffin (ˈraɡəmʌfɪn)
- 5. Whippersnapper (ˈwɪpəsnapə)
- 6. Gobbledygook (ˈɡɒb(ə)ldɪˌɡuːk)
- 7. Gibberish (ˈdʒɪb(ə)rɪʃ)
- 8. Poppycock (ˈpɒpɪkɒk)
- 9. Discombobulate (ˌdɪskəmˈbɒbjʊleɪt)
- 10. Flummox (ˈflʌməks)
- 11. Curmudgeon (kəːˈmʌdʒ(ə)n)
- 12. Lackadaisical (ˌlakəˈdeɪzɪk(ə)l)
- 13. Woebegone (ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn)
- 14. Lollygag (ˈlɒlɪɡaɡ)
- 15. Frankenfood (ˈfraŋk(ə)nfuːd)
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1. Kerfuffle (kəˈfʌf(ə)l)
Kerfuffle (noun) has been around since the early 1800s and probably came from either Scottish Gaelic or from Celtic Irish, the languages that were used historically in Scotland and Ireland.
It means to make a fuss or a bother, usually when people have different points of view.
What’s all the shouting for? Why are you making such a kerfuffle?
2. Hullaballoo (ˌhʌl.ə.bəˈluː)
“Did you hear all that hullaballoo in the office today?”
A word that really sounds like what it means, hullaballoo (noun) is the loud noises and shouting that people make when they’re angry.
It’s been part of the English language since the middle of the 18th century.
3. Cacophony (kəˈkɒf(ə)ni)
Another word related to noise, a cacophony (noun) is a mixture of horrible sounds. Imagine birds screeching, alarm bells ringing and babies screaming… and you’ve got yourself a cacophony!
You may already know that words that end in phone or phony are related to sound in some way. Cacophony comes from a Greek word made up from kacos (bad) and phone (sound). It entered English in the mid 1600s.
4. Ragamuffin (ˈraɡəmʌfɪn)
Ragamuffin (noun) comes from the English that was used during the Middle Ages.
You’ve probably heard the word rag, right? A dirty and scruffy piece of old cloth. So it’ll make sense to know that a ragamuffin is a person who wears dirty and scruffy clothes – clothes that are just like rags!
It’s usually used for children, and you may also sometimes hear it used to describe scruffy-looking animals.
I send my children to school dressed smartly, and they come home like little ragamuffins!
5. Whippersnapper (ˈwɪpəsnapə)
Nothing to do with whips or snaps, say whippersnapper (noun) quickly and you’ll create a funny and harsh sound!
Although this term is a little bit old-fashioned today, it’ll certainly make people smile if you use it.
It’s been part of the English language since the 17th century and is a mixture of two terms. One referred to a lazy person who had no ambitions. The other term was used for young people who lived on the street and did bad things, like stealing.
The meaning has changed over the years, and today it’s used for a young person who’s too confident and perhaps a little cheeky! It’s a perfect word to use for an inquisitive child who just can’t stop questioning and correcting their parents!
6. Gobbledygook (ˈɡɒb(ə)ldɪˌɡuːk)
Close your eyes for a second and think of a turkey. What sound does it make? Does it sound something like “gobble, gobble, gobble”? That’s exactly where this word came from!
Created from the meaningless sound that turkeys make, gobbledygook (noun) was originally an American English word. It was created in the 1940s to mean words that are nonsense or have no meaning.
It also describes when people use too many technical words and so other people can’t understand what they’e saying.
The Director was talking a load of gobbledygook in that meeting. I have no idea what he wants!
7. Gibberish (ˈdʒɪb(ə)rɪʃ)
If someone is talking gobbledegook they’ll also be talking gibberish!
Gibberish (noun) means the same: nonsense words and phrases that sound like English but have little meaning.
Gibberish is an older term than gobbledegook. It’s been in use since the mid 16th century. It’s not known where the word came from, but many people believe it was taken from either a similar Spanish or Swedish word.
8. Poppycock (ˈpɒpɪkɒk)
Have you ever listened to somebody trying to talk about something that they know absolutely nothing about? You know that what they’re saying is completely untrue, yet they insist on continuing to talk?
It’s highly likely that they’re talking poppycock! Poppycock has nothing to do with poppies (a type of flower) or cocks (a male bird and a slang term for a man’s intimate body parts!)
Poppycock actually came from the Dutch word pappekak, which is made from pap (soft) and kak (poop!). It’s been part of English since the 1800s.
What a load of poppycock!
9. Discombobulate (ˌdɪskəmˈbɒbjʊleɪt)
Mainly used in North American English, if somebody’s talking lots of gibberish, gobbledegook and poppycock, they may be trying to discombobulate (verb) another person. You may feel a little discombobulated (adjective) by all these strange words!
Confused? You should be! Discombobulate means to confuse!
It’s been used since the mid 19th century, and is mainly used in a funny way.
What’s the matter? You look a little discombobulated!
10. Flummox (ˈflʌməks)
If you’re now feeling very discombobulated you are also flummoxed (adjective)!
To flummox a person (verb) means to confuse them a lot.
It came into the English language in the middle of the 19th century. It was taken from dialects used in some parts of the UK.
11. Curmudgeon (kəːˈmʌdʒ(ə)n)
Are you trying to find just the right word for someone who’s very bad-tempered and grumpy? Curmudgeon (noun) might be just the word that you’re looking for!
Dating back to at least the 16th century, this word has been used for a long time.
I don’t like our English teacher… he is a real curmudgeon!
12. Lackadaisical (ˌlakəˈdeɪzɪk(ə)l)
How about if you want to describe that someone’s lazy and has no enthusiasm or determination? Lackadaisical (adjective) would be perfect in this situation!
It’s been in use since the 1700s, although where it came from isn’t clear.
My sister has no job and is doing nothing to find one. She is so lackadaisical.
13. Woebegone (ˈwəʊbɪɡɒn)
Another terrific adjective. Can you guess what a woebegone person looks like?
It’s easy to break this word into two parts – woe (extreme sadness) and begone (an old-fashioned word that means surrounded by something).
So, woebegone means “surrounded by sadness.” It comes from Middle English, English that was used during the Middle Ages.
Why do you look so woebegone?
14. Lollygag (ˈlɒlɪɡaɡ)
What a fantastic verb: to lollygag! Nothing to do with lollies or gags, it actually means to be idle and lazy or to waste time.
It’s most common in the USA. It’s not unusual to hear parents shout to their children to “stop lollygagging” – now you’ll know what they’re talking about!
The word has been used since the 1800s.
15. Frankenfood (ˈfraŋk(ə)nfuːd)
Very new when compared to all the others on the list, the word Frankenfood (noun) came into existence in the 1990s.
It’s used informally for genetically modified (GM) foods. GM foods are those that have been scientifically altered in some way, that haven’t grown naturally.
Frankenfood is a combination of the words Frankenstein and food.
I’m not eating there! They use Frankenfoods!
While these are all great examples of weird English words, they are not the only ones out there. To find more strange words, you can expose yourself to native English and naturally come across some of those funky words.
Try reading books, watching movies or listening to music in English. All of these are great ways to pick up new vocabulary.
You can also try FluentU which intentionally introduces you to English as it’s actually used through authentic videos like movie clips, music videos etc.
There are also learning tools like interactive subtitles, quizzes and flashcards that will help you learn. FluentU is available on iOS and Android.
There’s no need to feel discombobulated if you hear gibberish – learning new words can be easy once you start!
Download:
This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you
can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
As long as I can remember, I’ve had a love of the English language. I think it comes from my father. Whenever I came across unusual words, he would treat it as an adventure of sorts.
‘Look it up’, he’d say, all the while giving me clues as to the meaning of the word. Now, when I don’t know what a word means, I can hear my late father’s words in my ear and I’ll look up the word in question. Some of my favourite words include loquacious (talkative), pulchritude (physical beauty), and bucolic (pleasant countryside).
Here are some unusual words in English. You may already know what they mean, or, like me, you might be surprised.
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Acnestis
No, this isn’t associated with spotty teenagers. In fact, we’ve all suffered from a spot of acnestis at some point in our lives. It’s the part of the back between the shoulders that you can’t reach to scratch.
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Agastopia
This is one of those unusual words that looks as if it means one thing but in actual fact, means the opposite. When we’re aghast at something, we’re horrified. However, this word means a fascination or love of a particular part of the human body.
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Clinomania
I often have clinomania, especially in the morning as I’m a bit of a night owl and struggle to get up. If you haven’t already guessed, clinomania means an overriding desire to stay in bed because you love sleeping.
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Cromulent
When I first saw this word, I thought it sounded like a cross between one of those New York bakery mash-ups. You know the one I mean, the cronut. However, while you might not find it in a dictionary, it first appeared in an episode of the Simpsons’ and means adequate or fine.
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Defenestration
Defenestration comes from the French word for window ‘la fenêtre’ and means to throw out of a window. Defenestration was first thought to be used to describe events in Prague, 1618, when angry Protestants threw out two Catholic officials from a window, leading to the Thirty Years’ War.
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Evancalous
Have you ever cuddled up to your partner and thought to yourself, ‘This feels so nice I could stay here forever’? That’s exactly what evancalous means. It means something that is pleasant to embrace. Just don’t ask me to tell you how to use it in a sentence!
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Halfpace
Now, this is one of those unusual words that owners of certain types of houses might know. It is a small landing in a house where you have to turn at some point to walk up another set of stairs.
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Hiraeth
This is a beautiful Welsh word that will resonate with millions of refugees across the world. It means feeling homesick for a home you can never go back to.
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Incandescence
Now I always thought that incandescence meant light from a certain source, like a candle. But in actual fact, it is the particular light that is produced from extremely high temperatures.
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Ineffable
I think that in my head I must have confused this word with affable and thought it must have something to do with being pleasant. Actually, it means indescribable or beyond words.
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Jentacular
Are you the sort of person that likes to eat breakfast as soon as you get out of bed? This is an unusual word and not much used these days, but it pertains to breakfast and comes from the Latin word jentaculum, meaning breakfast.
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Kakorrhaphiophobia
Lord only knows how to pronounce this unusual word, but thanks to the ending, we already know it is a fear of something. It is an all-consuming fear of failure.
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Limerence
This isn’t some kind of Irish poetry, although you could use the word in a sonnet or two. It means a person’s state of mind resulting from a romantic infatuation including fantasies and obsessive thoughts about forming a relationship.
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Meritocracy
If only all governments were meritocracies, I’m sure we’d see better decisions in the long run. Why? Because meritocracy is a society governed by people elected by their experience and ability.
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Nudiustertian
It’s up to you to decide whether it is easier to say ‘the day before yesterday’ or ‘nudiustertian’. It is an Armenian word that simply means two days ago.
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Petrichor
If you are one of those people that go outside after a thunderstorm and breathe in the air, then you love petrichor. Petrichor is that metallic, earthy smell left after the rain.
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Phosphenes
You might think that phosphenes are some sort of chemical you find in food additives, but the truth is stranger than that. They are the light or coloured spots you produce in your eyes when you put pressure on them. For example, when you rub them when you’re tired.
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Pluviophile
Word lovers know that any word ending with ‘phile’ means a lover of, and ‘pluvio’ relates to rain. So a pluviophile is someone who loves the rain.
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Sonder
I love this word because I didn’t realise there was a word for the feeling I got occasionally. Sonder is realising that everyone, including random strangers in the street, is leading as full and complex lives as you are.
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Tittynope
Ooh, matron! Don’t worry. This isn’t some leftover phrase from the Victorian era to describe a saucy barmaid with a buxom offering. In fact, it’s far more commonplace and ordinary. Tittynopes are the leftovers of a meal or a snack. The last drops left in a glass, or the few crumbs of a cake, a couple of beans left on a plate.
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Ulotrichous
Some women pay a lot of money to be ulotrichous whereas others pay a lot not to be. You may have guessed from the ‘tricho’ part of the word that it refers to hair in some way and you’d be right. Ulotrichous means people who have curly hair.
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Xertz
This is a great word to remember for any word game where you have an x and a z left to play. It means to gulp something down quickly and is pronounced ‘zerts’.
Do You Know Any More Unusual Words?
Well, those are my favourite unusual words, for now anyway! If you have some, I’d love to hear them!
References:
- www.merriam-webster.com
- www.lexico.com
- Author
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Sub-editor & staff writer at Learning Mind
Janey Davies has been published online for over 10 years. She has suffered from a panic disorder for over 30 years, which prompted her to study and receive an Honours degree in Psychology with the Open University. Janey uses the experiences of her own anxiety to offer help and advice to others dealing with mental health issues.
Copyright © 2012-2023 Learning Mind. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint, contact us.
Here is our top list of dictionary words that you can add to your writing. Read our guide.
Although the exact number of words in the English language is still uncertain, we use more than 170,000 common and unusual words today. Unusual English words can make your writing and speaking more interesting. Check out our list of the most extraordinary words to expand your vocabulary and upgrade your writing skills.
Contents
- What Are Unusual Words?
- Unusual Nouns
- Unusual Adjectives
- Unusual Verbs
- Unusual Beautiful English Words
- More Unusual Words in the English Dictionary
- Author
What Are Unusual Words?
These are the words recorded in different dictionary versions that are not usually used in conversation or writing. However, some writers employ unusual words because they are fun, unique, and sometimes the only way to get their message across or to immerse readers in a specific historical era or fantasy setting.
| Aboideau | Hospitium | Quell |
| Abord | Hypnosis | Quincunx |
| Adhibit | Idyllic | Quintessence |
| Agastopia | Impignorate | Quire |
| Ambiguous | Immure | Quixotic |
| Aurora | Incendiary | Rambunctious |
| Barmcloths | Jejune | Renaissance |
| Bastinade | Jentacular | Sanguine |
| Bungalow | Kakorrhaphiophobia | Scrumptious |
| Bypass | Levant | Serene |
| Cachinnate | Limerence | Serendipity |
| Caffoy | Lithest | Snood |
| Calvary | Loquacious | Tenacious |
| Capricious | Lucid | Tintinnabulation |
| Chads | Mabble | Tittynopes |
| Cherish | Melancholy | Triskaidekaphobia |
| Cynical | Mellifluous | Ulotrichous |
| Dap | Misanthrope | Uncanny |
| Deliquescent | Narrative | Uranism |
| Decalcomania | Nebulize | Vamp |
| Demure | Nemesis | Velleity |
| Dragoman | Nostalgic | Wanderlust |
| Eclaircise | Nudiustertian | Wanton |
| Eftsoons | Obdurate | Wherewithal |
| Elixir | Omnishambles | Winklepicker |
| Esoteric | Opulence | Xenophobia |
| Euphoria | Paradox | Xertzes |
| Flabbergast | Pejorate | Yarborough |
| Flimflam | Persiflage | Yawner |
| Floccinaucinihilipilification | Perspicacious | Yearn |
| Gallizes | Pique | Zealot |
| Guise | Plethora | Zenith |
| Halfpace | Pristine | |
| Hent | Quackles |
Unusual Nouns
The English dictionary has thousands of fancy and uncommon words you can see in some writings but won’t be able to hear in conversations. Like other nouns, people use these words to name living and non-living things.
- Agastopia
Her previous penchant for touching her neck has turned into an agastopia.
- Chads
Niki has a talent for creating art using chads of different paper types.
- Flimflam
His explanation for cheating on his wife is a complete flimflam.
- Floccinaucinihilipilification
Floccinaucinihilipilification is a 29-character word among the longest words in the English dictionary.
- Halfpace
The client requests a larger halfpace with bigger storage space under the stairs.
- Kakorrhaphiophobia
Juliet needs professional help as her Kakorrhaphiophobia now interferes with her daily life.
- Limerence
Jay doesn’t know if what he feels towards his friend is love or pure limerence.
- Omnishambles
Derren’s birthday party is disorganized, resulting in omnishambles and more expenses.
- Persiflage
The brothers’ persiflage demonstrates their fondness for each other.
- Quincunx
Our dance teacher loves using the quincunx formation in our performances.
- Quire
To complete our medieval era theme, we must create quire manuscripts.
- Serendipity
My best serendipity was when mom made me clean out the attic, and I found vintage and branded clothes.
- Snood
The wife knits a snood to keep her husband’s neck warm in the coming winter.
- Tintinnabulation
Jake rushes to his window at the sound of familiar tintinnabulation from the streets below.
- Tittynopes
Mom asked the waiter to pack our tittynopes so she could give them to our animals at home.
- Triskaidekaphobia
If you notice that most high buildings don’t have a 13th floor, it’s because the owners and contractors have triskaidekaphobia.
- Velleity
World peace lately seems like a velleity.
- Winklepicker
My dad has winklepicker boots because they remind him of his favorite British rock band, Teddy Boys.
- Yarborough
Gray accepts his loss as he looks at the yarborough in his hand.
- Zenith
No one knows when he will reach the zenith of his popularity.
Unusual Adjectives
Adjectives describe the characteristics and features of a person, thing, animal, place, and others. Unusual adjectives are essential because profound and unusual words make the description more beautiful and compelling.
- Ambiguous
The new president has ambiguous dreams for the country.
- Capricious
His lab results for the past three months have been very capricious.
- Cynical
Having Alexa as a group leader is terrible because she has a cynical view of everything.
- Deliquescent
Our chemistry teacher asked us to bring a deliquescent substance for our experiment tomorrow.
- Esoteric
Sunshine presents esoteric ideas to her managers that they do not clearly understand.
- Jentacular
Johnny likes to upload videos of his post-jentacular exercise on his social media accounts.
- Loquacious
Hani is a loquacious member and deserves to represent the team during the discussions.
- Lucid
Her lucid dreams make her believe she’s a modern prophet.
- Narrative
Our English professor mentions a 5,000-word narrative essay about life goals as our final project.
- Nostalgic
Folding my late grandfather’s clothes gives me a nostalgic feeling.
- Nudiustertian
You should have told me you couldn’t do that nudiustertian afternoon when we were together.
- Obdurate
Kevin has a very obdurate attitude that always causes friction in their relationship.
- Perspicacious
A good leader must have great perspicacious thinking.
- Quixotic
In most cases, children create quixotic goals and change them as they grow.
- Scrumptious
Just thinking about my mother-in-law’s scrumptious dish makes my mouth water.
- Serene
I recommend going to a serene place away from the city and technology for total relaxation.
- Tenacious
His tenacious studying keeps him on top of the students’ ranking.
- Ulotrichous
Mikaela has always had ulotrichous hair and wants to see if straight hair suits her.
- Uncanny
The cook has an uncanny way of cooking and serving seafood to customers.
- Wanton
The people accuse the witch of all the wanton killings that recently happened in their town.
Unusual Verbs
Unusual action words are primarily for formal pieces and in novels, stories, and other narrative writings.
- Abord
I want to abord the transfer student, but she doesn’t want to talk to anyone.
- Adhibit
As your life coach, I hope you will adhibit what you learned from this retreat.
- Bastinade
The police chief had no choice but to allow the police to bastinade the protesters as they began to attack other officers.
- Bypass
According to the map, we must bypass the late president’s old mansion and turn right to reach the destination.
- Cachinnate
Introverts Aran and Honey cachinnate after hearing the teacher’s dad jokes, surprising everyone in the room.
- Dap
To ensure catching the fish, gently dap the bait in the water.
- Eclaircise
Miss Andrews, please eclaircise your statement.
- Flabbergast
Their performance at tomorrow’s event will surely flabbergast the audience.
- Gallizes
My mother gallizes the unfermented grape juice to ensure that there is enough for everyone.
- Hent
Violet is the type of person who will hent every opportunity presented to her.
- Impignorate
We must impignorate our valuable things to support grandad’s hospital bills.
- Levant
Be careful about lending money to James because he can levant as he did with Carla.
- Mabble
Mabble your paper with a summary of all your research findings.
- Nebulize
It’s sad to see children having to nebulize a solution to breathe easier.
- Pejorate
To pejorate the situation, the King’s stubborn brother kidnaps the Queen to force her into marriage.
- Quackles
Driven by rage, the King quackles his brother to death.
- Quell
To quell today’s meeting, here are the names of those who will be promoted at the end of the year.
- Vamp
They plan to vamp their way into the club.
- Xertzes
You can see the old man’s thirst as he xertzes everything in the bottle to the last drop.
- Yearn
My mother will always yearn for the return of my father, who disappeared three years ago.
Unusual Beautiful English Words
English will always be laden with words depicting beauty in all shapes and forms. These terms often engross readers and listeners with a story’s whimsical elements. They are also for positive or motivational messages.
- Aurora
You’re like a beautiful aurora that lightens up my dark life.
- Bungalow
If I buy a new place to stay, it will be a bungalow house.
- Cherish
I promise to cherish all our memories together.
- Demure
Many people like Lilly because of her demure personality.
- Elixir
The healer made the King drink an elixir that cured his illness.
- Euphoria
He has always been by my side and loves me for me. He’s my ultimate euphoria.
- Idyllic
I want to have an idyllic love story, but real life isn’t a fairytale.
- Incendiary
Clyde’s parents are concerned about his obsession with incendiary objects.
- Lithest
Of all the dance club members, Jimmy has the lithest moves.
- Mellifluous
The singer’s mellifluous voice makes for a great jazz album.
- Nemesis
He’s my nemesis but also my greatest friend.
- Opulence
He is a billionaire with a good heart who shows off his opulence by regularly donating to various organizations.
- Paradox
He is a true example of paradox – what he says contradicts his actions.
- Plethora
It’s funny that we only get a plethora of messages on our birthdays and never when we actually need someone to talk to.
- Pristine
My husband is obsessed with keeping our kitchen as pristine as it was when we first moved in.
- Quintessence
Many believe that the late president Franklin D. Roosevelt is the quintessence of a good and effective leader.
- Renaissance
Let’s watch “The Serpent Queen” I heard it’s set during the renaissance period.
- Sanguine
Our manager remains sanguine that we will hit the quota tomorrow.
- Wanderlust
He’s about to fulfill his wanderlust as he is now a cabin crew member of the Royal Caribbean.
- Wherewithal
Mae can’t get her school records because she doesn’t have the wherewithal to pay her balances.
More Unusual Words in the English Dictionary
Knowing more unusual words broadens knowledge and deepens your appreciation of the language. Expand your vocabulary with these words that you can use in different writings and situations.
- Aboideau
Mayor Rodriguez is asking for an order to open the aboideau to prevent the dam from breaking to avoid a bigger disaster.
- Barmcloths
The restaurant owner smiles when he sees all his kitchen staff wearing barmcloths.
- Caffoy
I’m looking for a caffoy suit to wear to the school prom on Saturday.
- Calvary
Until now, she’s still experiencing calvary on the passing of her grandmother.
- Decalcomania
Ryan uses the decalcomania technique in producing his beautiful glass art.
- Dragoman
My sister has been a dragoman in Saudi Arabia for a decade.
- Eftsoons
They were lost but found the right way back to their camp in eftsoons.
- Genophobia
Richard is the only one who stays with Sophia even when she admits she has genophobia.
- Hospitium
Mark doesn’t have a choice but to send her mother to a hospitium to earn money to support both of them.
- Hypnosis
Some of our patients are put under hypnosis to relax their minds before a medical procedure.
- Immure
Everyone is helping the victim to immure her abuser.
- Jejune
Since he’s the youngest, he still has a very jejune understanding of his surroundings.
- Melancholy
He didn’t understand why he suddenly felt melancholy after finishing the movie.
- Misanthrope
Old Henry admits he’s a misanthrope, so he chooses to live in the forest for good.
- Pique
Out of pique, he gave up his position as the group leader.
- Rambunctious
The outdoor event becomes rambunctious the moment more people arrive at the venue.
- Uranism
Did you know that the ancient Greeks practiced uranism to foster strong bonds between masters and apprentices?
- Xenophobia
It’s good to know politicians are doing their best to stop xenophobia in the country.
- Yawner
I’m sorry, but your speech a while ago is a yawner.
- Zealot
Adelle is a zealot of Korean pop and has a massive collection in her room.
Do you want to learn more? See our list of fry words to develop your English.
When editing for grammar, we also recommend taking the time to improve the readability score of a piece of writing before publishing or submitting
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Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn’t only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.
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Some expressions in English sound plain weird. Discover fifteen English words that you had never heard before.
Among the million words that the English language supposedly includes, some of them sound very strange, others words are written in an unexpected way. Of course, it will become easier to write an essay with the most unusual words if you know how long a 500 words essay is. Moreover, these words are never taught in an English language class. Here are the fifteen most unusual words you can find in the English language.
1. Serendipity
This word appears in numerous lists of untranslatable words and is a mystery mostly for non native speakers of English. It refers to a happy and unexpected discovery or event.
2. Gobbledygook
The word was invented by Maury Maverick —a United States politician— and was first used in 1944 when he gave a speech to describe a text riddled with official jargon and extremely complex sentence structures.
3. Scrumptious
This word is practically an onomatopoeia and refers to a delicious dish.
4. Agastopia
If you are familiar with ancient Greek roots, the meaning of this word should be clear… It expresses fascination or love (we could even speak of fetishism without mincing words, much less in an article like this) for a particular part of the human body. It first appeared in this book: Depraved English. You may not find it in a dictionary.
5. Halfpace
It is a landing, certainly, but not just any landing. It refers to that small landing at the top of a flight of stairs where you have to turn and take another flight of stairs whether going up or down.
6. Impignorate
Why make life difficult when it could be easy? One could say “to mortgage” or “to hypothecate”, but not “to impignorate”. This word certainly has all the charm of another era that truly makes you want to pawn something…
7. Jentacular
When you are getting out of bed in the morning, if you are offered a “jentacular” cup of tea, don’t be offended: it means just about anything (in this case, tea) related to breakfast.
8. Nudiustertian
To make it simple, the word nudiustertian refers to two days ago (that is to say the day before yesterday). Unfortunately, it has fallen into disuse, although it is far more melodious than the day before yesterday.
9. Quire
You surely must have, at one time or another, wanted to order in English 24 or 25 sheets of paper without having to say “I would like 24 or 25 sheets of paper, please”. Right? Problem solved: Ask for a quire.
10. Yarborough
Another particularly useful term for daily life, especially if you play bridge, in which case you may already be familiar with it. At all events, you probably know that unpleasant feeling of having a hand where no card is higher than 9. That’s a yarborough hand.
11. Tittynope
Let us be precise: the scattering of crumbs left on one side of the plate, the few grains of rice sitting at the bottom of the bowl, the few drops remaining in the glass, are not mere leftovers and dregs. They are tittynopes.
12. Winklepicker
If someday you ever manage to prepare mollusc skewers using pointy shoes, this will illustrate perfectly the sense of a winklepicker. Not clear about this yet? Winklepickers are shoes with such a sharp point that they evoke the utensils used to prise winkles from their shells.
13. Ulotrichous
It’s always the same story: men and women who are ulotrichous don’t want it this way while those who are not, would like it to be this way. Of course! Ulotrichous refers to people with curly hair.
14. Kakorrhaphiophobia
If you suffer from this, then you would very much rather not have this word appear in a spelling bee, since it describes the fear of failure.
15. Xertz
Who would have imagined it? This is not the name of the villain in a bad science fiction movie, but the act of gulping something down in haste. Another word that you may not find in a dictionary.
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It’s never a bad idea to try to increase your vocabulary in English. Learning new and unusual words will make your writing more interesting, impress your friends and colleagues, and help you to better articulate your ideas. It can also be fun to learn some less common words; you might find it interesting to learn about their origins, and pick up some knowledge that could help you with further English studies, such as reading more complex texts.
We’ve put together a short list of some of the more unusual words in English that you can add to your vocabulary after a little bit of memorisation and practice. Take a couple of minutes to read through the list and write down the words, then try using them in a sentence. You’ll be using new and interesting language in no time!
Anachronism
An anachronism is something (or someone) that is out of place in terms of time or chronology. This is most common with old-fashioned items in a modern setting, but can also occur with futuristic items in period pieces. Most anachronisms are there by mistake, especially within movies and television shows.
E.g. Showing the Pharaoh wearing a wristwatch was an obvious anachronism.
Accismus
A form of irony in which someone feigns indifference to something he or she desires. Aesop’s fable The Fox and the Grapes illustrates accismus when the fox dismisses some grapes he is unable to reach, stating that he is sure they are sour anyway.
E.g. “Oh I couldn’t possibly accept…” Exclaimed Veronica upon being presented with a pair of diamond earrings, her natural affinity for accismus shining through.
Cacophony
A cacophony is a harsh mixture of sounds. It descends from the Greek word phōnē which means sound or voice, and is joined with the Greek prefix kak-, meaning bad; creating the meaning bad sound. In a similar way, the word symphony (which means a harmonious arrangement of instruments) traces to phōnē and the Greek prefix syn-, which means together.
E.g. I couldn’t hear over the cacophony of alarm bells.
Draconian
An adjective to describe something that is excessively harsh and severe. Derives from Draco, a 7th-century Athenian law scribe under whom small offenses had heavy punishments; prescribing death for almost every offence.
E.g. The new parking fines are positively draconian.
Limerence
The word limerence was coined only recently, in the 1970’s by psychologist Dorothy Tenov. It can be defined as an involuntary state of mind resulting from a romantic attraction to another person combined with an overwhelming, obsessive need to have one’s feelings reciprocated.
E.g. Eva wasn’t sure how to shake her recent feelings of limerence.
Pareidolia
A psychological phenomenon in which the mind perceives a specific image or pattern where it does not actually exist, such as seeing a face in the clouds. Pareidolia can be used to explain a host of otherwise unexplained sightings.
E.g. Alex was sure he saw a human face on the moon’s surface, but it was more likely to be pareidolia.
Riposte
A quick or witty retaliatory reply. In the context of the sport of fencing, a riposte means a counterattack that is made after successfully fending off one’s opponent.
E.g. Cora was known for having an excellent riposte to any insult.
Sanctimony
Pretend or hypocritical religious devotion or righteousness. Someone who is sanctimonious will preach about the evils of drug use whilst drinking a beer, for example. Associated with a holier-than-thou attitude.
E.g. There was an air of sanctimony in the way he detailed his charity work.
Serendipity
The act of finding something valuable or interesting when you are not looking for it. Coined by English author Horace Walpole in the mid-1700s, crediting it to a fairy tale he read called The Three Princes of Serendip. In the tale, three Persian princes sail to an island called Serendip (today known as Sri Lanka) to find their fortunes, making wondrous discoveries along the way.
E.g. It had to be serendipity that I found my dream house during a random drive in the country.
Verisimilitude
Something that merely seems to be true or real. Many writers or filmmakers try for some kind of verisimilitude in their stories, to make them believable. Including a great many details in a novel, for example, adds to its verisimilitude.
E.g. She was experiencing a nightmare of the most extraordinary verisimilitude.
For some general tips on how you can improve your English, take a look at our previous blog post, that will tell you How to develop good English communication skills.
If you you want to expand your vocabulary and need some extra help, check out our English courses or contact us today to find how The Language Gallery can help you reach your English language goals.