#BigWordLove: Celebrating Big, Beautiful Words with the Huffington Post

As a followup to a Huffington Post story on big words, readers tweeted their favorites to #BigWordLove. Here we compile the findings in a list to share and learn!

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. ameliorate
    make better
    Championship titleholder has ameliorated his social anxiety, giving him a voice he has enjoyed exercising. New York Times (Aug 4, 2014)
  2. amorphous
    having no definite form or distinct shape
    But the community is amorphous, with no coherent lobby or apparent leadership. New York Times (Aug 2, 2014)
  3. anachronism
    locating something at a time when it couldn't have existed
    In recent years the royal family has been besieged by scandal and widely criticized as an extravagant anachronism amid an economy in crisis. Slate (Jun 7, 2014)
  4. autumnal
    of or characteristic of or occurring in the fall
    The moon shone brightly, the night was quiet and crisp, already an autumnal tinge rode the air. The Milagro Beanfield War
  5. buffoon
    a person who amuses others by ridiculous behavior
    To his detractors, including members of his own party, he was often seen as a reckless buffoon. Washington Post
  6. cacophonous
    having an unpleasant sound
    All manner of critters traipse across the land: deer, moose, pine martens, even a pack of cacophonous coyotes. Seattle Times (Jun 29, 2014)
  7. copacetic
    completely satisfactory
    That’s not to say everything’s copacetic in Copenhagen. BusinessWeek (Sep 20, 2013)
  8. crepuscular
    like or relating to twilight; dim
    Out of fog Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco in fog and crepuscular rays. Forbes (Feb 10, 2014)
  9. defenestration
    the act of throwing someone or something out of a window
    Did Jaime's story change your mind about him or does his defenestration of Bran place him beyond the pale for ever? The Guardian (Apr 29, 2013)
  10. dichotomy
    a classification into two opposed parts or subclasses
    Eek exemplifies an uncomfortable mashup of state education standards and the traditions of subsistence living; a dichotomy that exists in many native communities today. Forbes (Jul 29, 2014)
  11. discombobulated
    having self-possession upset; thrown into confusion
    Thomas said the Texans had plenty to do with Denver’s discombobulated performance that so upset Manning. Washington Times (Aug 19, 2014)
  12. effervescent
    marked by high spirits or excitement
    Franklin’s effervescent personality led one Cal teammate to joke recently, “What did she do, fall out of a box of Lucky Charms?” New York Times (Aug 16, 2014)
  13. evisceration
    the act of removing the bowels or viscera
    Of course, nobody else looked like World beaters, either, until Germany's evisceration of Brazil. Los Angeles Times (Jul 9, 2014)
  14. gallimaufry
    a motley assortment of things
    Another contemporary critic announces that “our English tongue was a gallimaufry or hodge-podge of all other speeches.” Disraeli, Isaac
  15. gossamer
    a gauze fabric with an extremely fine texture
    Rue, who is dressed in a gossamer gown complete with wings, flutters her way to Caesar. The Hunger Games
  16. homunculus
    a person who is tiny or diminutive
    We had been eager to interview Ms. Holmes about small men — the homunculi who infest her character’s house in the movie. New York Times (Aug 12, 2011)
  17. hypocorism
    a name of endearment
    Most teenagers will reject the family hypocorism that delighted them as a child.
  18. hypocritical
    professing feelings or virtues one does not have
    Charging non-Californians so much extra, he complained, is "hypocritical in today's day and age of egalitarianism." Los Angeles Times (Aug 18, 2014)
  19. idiosyncratic
    peculiar to the individual
    Roberts’ career represents a triumph of talent, grit, and idiosyncratic personal style. BusinessWeek (Aug 18, 2014)
  20. inconceivable
    totally unlikely
    Hamas officials have repeatedly said that disarmament is inconceivable. The Guardian (Aug 13, 2014)
  21. indefatigable
    showing sustained enthusiasm with unflagging vitality
    The man does have indefatigable self-confidence: “We are fixing society,” he says. The Guardian (Aug 12, 2014)
  22. indubitably
    in a manner or to a degree that could not be doubted
    Like Lee, Wilson is left-handed, freethinking and indubitably quotable. The Guardian (Jun 29, 2014)
  23. jubilation
    a feeling of extreme joy
    But it will bring jubilation to the terrified thousands on Mount Sinjar, for whom salvation is now coming. Time (Aug 8, 2014)
  24. juxtaposition
    the act of positioning close together
    The juxtaposition of change and permanence is intriguing and evocative. Washington Post
  25. labyrinthine
    resembling a maze in form or complexity
    She also favors labyrinthine sentences, which mimic the perpetual motion of Elyria’s restive mind. Slate (Jul 10, 2014)
  26. magnanimous
    noble and generous in spirit
    And on recent occasions, with that magnanimous impulse only allowed to victors, I even start to feel something akin to forgiveness. Washington Post
  27. obfuscate
    make obscure or unclear
    The details of the incident remain maddeningly unclear, and the reluctant revelations by the police only obfuscate further: Was Brown a robbery suspect? Newsweek
  28. obstreperous
    noisily and stubbornly defiant
    Though he could be a sweet boy, he was often short-tempered and obstreperous. Unbroken
  29. onomatopoeia
    using words that imitate the sound they denote
    The splendid onomatopoeia of "hoary roaring sea" reminds us how well assonance and alliteration work throughout the poem. The Guardian (Jun 25, 2012)
  30. perspicacious
    mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
    Trueba captures it all with a lilting grace worthy of the Beatles at their most enchanting and perspicacious. Seattle Times (Aug 7, 2014)
  31. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    Roberts will hold a precarious leadership position, and one in which the demands and expectations for reform are particularly strong. Washington Post
  32. prestidigitation
    manual dexterity in the execution of tricks
    I hope to convince the reader that these things really exist, and are neither illusions nor farces, nor feats of prestidigitation. Flammarion, Camille
  33. serendipity
    good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries
    That game’s success can be chalked up to serendipity. Forbes (Aug 19, 2014)
  34. sesquipedalian
    a very long word (a foot and a half long)
    As it would have been an absurdity to have appended diminutives to sesquipedalian names, national wit, rather than deliberate plan, prevented it. Bardsley, Charles W.
  35. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    Now he was a sturdy, straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. The Great Gatsby
  36. superlative
    highest in quality
    Savor a superlative cappuccino at an outdoor table, a fine vantage point from which to watch the city streets spring to life. New York Times (Aug 7, 2014)
  37. synecdochic
    using the name of a part for that of the whole or the whole for the part; or the special for the general or the general for the special; or the material for the thing made of it
    Hysterical realism is basically synecdochic: it substitutes the finite part for the infinite whole. Time (Jul 11, 2012)
  38. tintinnabulation
    the sound of a bell ringing
    They begin their brazen tintinnabulations at breakfast time, and ring on, at intervals, until past the supper hour. Various
  39. triskaidekaphobia
    a morbid fear of the number 13
    Even for golfers not given to triskaidekaphobia, 2013 began nervously. Golf Digest (Dec 3, 2013)
  40. unctuous
    unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating
    Words like: viscous, impunity, paroxysm, unctuous, nefarious, onanistic, perfidious, lugubrious. Hole in My Life
  41. vivacious
    vigorous and animated
    Grace International’s original Scarlet property in Singapore exudes a similarly vivacious style. Forbes (Aug 12, 2014)
  42. voluptuous
    (of a woman's body) having a large bosom and pleasing curves
    Why she was cast in these roles is obvious: Johansson is a classically beautiful, voluptuous blonde. Time (Jul 25, 2014)
Created on Wed Aug 20 14:28:56 EDT 2014 (updated Wed Aug 20 15:04:31 EDT 2014)

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