BIG
WORDS
(ABOUT BIG WORDS)
The
English language is not without a sense of humor. I've come
across several tongue-in-cheek words that are ridiculous for
their pomposity, and I have assembled them here for your amusement.
Just by using these words, you are falling prey to their definitions.
My favorite word in the whole of the English language is thus
highlighted in green. |
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BIG
WORDS (ABOUT BIG WORDS)
Key: The word's language of origin appears directly below it, and to the right of that is an example sentence and an etymology, along with any related themes.
Word |
Phonetic Pronunciation |
Part of Speech |
Definition |
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
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lex-i-FAN-i-ciz-em |
|
the use of pretentious words or language |
Ex.
Rel. Themes: |
The style of many 19th-century poets suggests
they all took a university-level course in lexiphanicism.
Big Words About Big Words | Words That Impress
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mag-NIL-o-kwent |
|
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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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
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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
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