Word |
Phonetic Pronunciation |
Part of Speech |
Definition |
|
a-POK-ri-ful |
adjective |
1. of doubtful authenticity
2. spurious; false |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
He lays claim to this parcel of land with an apocryphal deed.
High-Falutin' Insults
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|
a-pre-PO |
|
1. (as an adverb) at an opportune time; seasonably
2. (as an adjective) being to the point |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym. |
Your arrival was apropos (adv).
I appreciate the clarity of an apropos speech (adj).
French à propos, "to the
purpose"
|
|
ar-jen-TI-fer-us |
adjective |
containing silver |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
I see you have bedecked yourself in argentiferous riches in an effort to dissuade me from ogling other women.
The Mississippi is often mined for its argentiferous deposits of galena.
From the Latin argentum, "silver"
Words That Impress
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|
BRASS CAUL-er |
adjective |
1. having unwavering loyalty to a political party
2. having the character-istic of always voting along party
lines |
Ex.
Etym. |
Grandpa is a diehard, brass-collar Democrat, having never voted for a Republican in his life.
Likely from the image of a faithful dog, bound
by a collar and leash.
|
|
BREW-mul |
|
archaic : indicative of or occurring in the winter; wintry |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The brumal winds howled like a pack of wolves and sucked the warmth from my bones.
From the Latin bruma, “winter”
Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words
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|
cal-i-PIJ-i-en |
adjective |
pertaining to or having shapely buttocks |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The gym was full of men on a quest for the callipygian ideal.
From the name of a statue of Aphrodite, Aphrodite Kallipygos. From the Greek kallos "beauty" + pyge "buttocks."
Apo Mythologia | High-Falutin' Praises | There's A Word For That?
|
|
KLOY-ing |
adjective |
something originally pleasing that is made disgusting or
distasteful by excess |
Ex. |
The air was full of the cloying smell of sweet perfume.
|
eldritch
Old English |
EL-dritch |
adjective |
1. strange or unearthly
2. eerie |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The eldritch screams
froze his bones and sent a chill through his heart.
Likely Literary
|
eleemosynary
Late Latin |
e-li-MAW-sin-air-ee |
adjective |
of, relating to, or supported by charity; CHARITABLE |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Victims of large natural disasters frequently
depend on eleemosynary relief
from private individuals.
The church is supported by donations from
an anonymous, eleemosynary benefactor.
From the Late Latin eleemosyna, “alms.”
Complex Words for Simple
Things | Little-known
Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
encyclical
Greek |
in-SICK-li-kul |
adjective
noun |
1. addressed to all the individuals of a group
2. noun : a letter, esp. one sent by the Pope to the bishops
of the church |
Ex. |
My inbox is constantly overflowing with daily encyclicals from the school dean.
|
fuliginous
Latin |
fyoo-LI-juh-nus |
adjective |
1. sooty, obscure, murky
2. having a dark or dusky color |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
At the height of the Industrial Revolution, London
was perhaps the most fuliginous city on earth.
The mountains were obscured in a fuliginous mantle of storm.
From the Latin fuligo, “soot.”
Likely Literary | Little-known
Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
|
grandiloquent
Latin |
gran-DIL-o-kwent |
adjective |
1. pompously eloquent
2. making a show of knowledge by using large words |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
He was so grandiloquent I could barely understand him.
Big Words About Big Words | There's A Word For That? | Words That Impress
|
hyperborean
Greek |
high-per-BOR-ee-un |
adjective |
1. of or relating to an extreme northern region: frozen
2. of or relating to any of the arctic peoples |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Although she had endured many a hyperborean winter during her childhood, she always wore a jacket whenever
the mercury dipped below 60.
From Greek hyper- "above"
+ Boreas "god of the north wind." Literally,
"beyond the north wind."
Apo Mythologia | Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words | There's A Word For That? | Words That Impress
|
|
le-BID-i-nus |
adjective |
having or exhibiting lustful desires |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
It is perhaps every young man’s dream to
find a libidinous mate and her
like-minded circle of friends.
Complex Words For Simple Things
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|
mag-NIL-o-kwent |
adjective |
1. extravagance in speech
2. bombastic in style or manner |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
He was so magniloquent I could barely understand him.
Big Words About Big Words | Words That Impress
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|
myoo-NIF-i-cent |
adjective |
1. liberal in giving or bestowing
2. characterized by great generosity |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Rel. Themes: |
Bill Gates is perhaps the most munificent individual in the world’s history, having contributed
billions of his own money to charities worldwide.
(as a noun) She relied on the munificence of her father when she asked for a new pony.
High-Falutin' Praises
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|
o-NIGH-rik |
|
of or relating to dreams; DREAMY |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Rel. Themes: |
Salvador Dali was a master of oneiric landscapes.
The warm rays of the sun and the subtle buzzing
of insects cast an oneiric haze
over the whole afternoon.
Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words | There's A Word For
That? | Words That Impress
|
|
PRAW-di-gul |
adjective |
1. recklessly extravagant
2. characterized by wasteful expenditure; LAVISH
3. yielding abundantly |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
His prodigal ways
earned him many friends, but quickly left him bereft of any
wealth.
High-Falutin' Insults
|
|
re-BAR-buh-tiv |
adjective |
extremely unattractive; repellant; irritating |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
Her rebarbative demeanor made it difficult for me to maintain my composure.
Complex Words For Simple
Things | High-Falutin' Insults
|
|
REV-eh-nah |
|
1. one who returns after death or a lengthy absence
2. characteristic of a revenant; recurring |
Ex.
Etym. |
Every Hallows Eve these grounds are haunted by
that revenant specter.
From the French verb revenir, “to
return”
|
|
rur-i-TAY-knee-en |
adjective |
of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an imaginary place of high romance |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
Tolkien set the standard for Ruritanian fiction when he penned The Hobbit in the 1930s.
From the mythical kingdom of Ruritania, setting of Anthony Hope's 1894 novel The Prisoner of Zenda.
Toponyms | There's A Word For That?
|
sapphic
Greek
Eponym |
SAF-ik |
adjective |
1. capitalized: of or relating to the Greek poet Sappho
2. lesbian |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The inclusion of a sapphic romantic subplot lent the play an unusual allure.
From the Greek lyric poetess Sappho, who lived on the isle of Lesbos c. 600 B.C.
Eponyms | Little-known Synonyms for Well-known Words
|
|
scabrous
Latin |
SKAB-rus
SKAY-brus |
adjective |
1. difficult
2. rough to the touch; having small, raised dots or patches
3. dealing with indecent or scandalous themes |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Ex. 3.
Rel. Themes: |
We found ourselves in a scabrous situation.
The dragon’s scabrous skin was rough to the touch.
The film was far too scabrous for my taste.
Likely Literary
|
sententious
Latin |
sen-TEN-chus |
adjective |
1. using wise sayings, aphorisms, or proverbs
2. using pompous language |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
There goes a sententious fellow; so vain with his knowledge of the language that he
can hardly speak it.
Big Words About Big Words
|
sesquipedalian
Latin |
ses-kwi-pi-DALE-yen |
adjective |
1. having many syllables
2. tending to use long words |
Ex.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
I prefer the more sesquipedalian Wall Street Journal to the local papers.
Literally, "a foot-and-a-half long,"
from Latin sesqui- + ped- (foot).
Big Words About Big Words | Words
That Impress
|
|
SOM-no-lent |
adjective |
1. drowsy; sleepy
2. inducing or tending to induce sleep |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The quiet murmur of the somnolent stream made vigilance a chore.
Likely Literary
|
sororal
Latin |
suh-ROR-ul |
adjective |
of, relating to, or characteristic of a sister; sisterly
(fraternal is the male equivalent) |
Ex. |
Tennis has attracted a whole new following: avid fans
of the intense, sororal showdowns
between Venus and Serena Williams.
|
toothsome
Other |
TOOTH-sum |
adjective |
1. pleasing to the taste; delicious
2. sexually attractive |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Rel. Themes: |
That Chinese restaurant across the way has been
serving up toothsome dishes for
years.
Every eye was on the toothsome young blonde as she entered the room in a swirl of white linen and lace.
High-Falutin' Praises
|
trenchant
Middle French |
TREN-chent |
adjective |
1. keen; vigorously effective and articulate
2. caustic
3. clear-cut and distinct |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Ex. 3. |
He gave a very trenchant analysis.
His trenchant remarks were quite upsetting.
There are trenchant divisions between right and wrong.
|
vertiginous
Latin |
ver-TIJ-i-nus |
adjective |
1. tending to produce vertigo or dizziness
2. inclined to frequent and often pointless change; inconstant
3. revolving; whirling; rotary |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The ship hurtled along at a vertiginous speed as it climbed to the very parapets of Heaven.
Likely Literary | Words
That Impress
|
vinaceous
Latin |
vi-NAY-shus |
adjective |
having the color of red wine |
Ex.
Ex. 2.
Etym.
Rel. Themes: |
The vinaceous petals
stood out in stark contrast against the surrounding greenery.
The vinaceous rosefinch is a stunning find for a birdwatcher.
From the Latin vinaceus, meaning "of
wine."
Likely Literary | There's
A Word For That?
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