SKIP TO CONTENT

Words for Hiddlestoners: "Guaranteed to Make You Swoon"

"Tom Hiddleson Swallowed a Dictionary" begins a recent headline on Bustle, introducing a compilation of Hiddleston's greatest feats of vocabulary derring-do, words "guaranteed to make you swoon."
11 words 80 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Full list of words from this list:

  1. predilection
    a predisposition in favor of something
    He's an enormously vain character and he has a predilection for very glamorous scarves.
    --Tom Hiddleston describing the Loki character he created in the film "Thor."
    Bonus second use of the word: [Loki also has an] “eternal predilection to dance on the fault lines of villainy and redemption.”
  2. gratification
    the act or an instance of satisfying
    "Maybe this can be an exercise in delayed gratification."
    --Tom Hiddleston, "Sesame Street," telling Cookie Monster that he can't have a cookie.
  3. pulp
    an inexpensive magazine printed on poor quality paper
    "I became an actor because of Shakespeare & Ibsen. But we all need pulp from time to time."
    --Tom Hiddleston via Twitter
  4. magisterial
    offensively self-assured or exercising unwarranted power
    Tom Hiddleston on Loki: "beautiful, regal, magisterial, magical"
  5. mewl
    cry weakly or softly
    "You mewling quim!"
    --Tom Hiddleston, "The Avengers"
  6. cognoscente
    an expert able to appreciate a field
    "To all dedicated cognoscenti & aficionados of THOR and THE DARK WORLD: all will be revealed. In time."
    --Tom Hiddleston, via Twitter
  7. aficionado
    a serious devotee of some activity, genre, or performer
    "To all dedicated cognoscenti & aficionados of THOR and THE DARK WORLD: all will be revealed. In time."
    --Tom Hiddleston, via Twitter
  8. unalloyed
    free from admixture
    "By the way, Joss Whedon's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is a box of pure, unalloyed delight. See, and be happy."
    --Tom Hiddleston via Twitter
  9. compassion
    a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering
    "Compassion actually comes from two Latins words. (I studied Latin at university, don’t ask me why.) The first word is the word for suffering, which is patior (P-A-T-I-O-R) and its participle passus, which means suffering. And the com part obviously, for anyone who knows any Spanish or Italian, is with, so compassion means "suffering with."
    --Tom Hiddleston Appreciation
  10. impeccable
    without error or flaw
    ".@EmWatson you are impeccable & extraordinary. I stand with you. I believe in gender equality. #heforshe"
    --Tom Hiddleston, via Twitter
  11. colossal
    so great in size or force or extent as to elicit awe
    "THE HUNT by Thomas Vinterberg is colossal. Shattering about the credulity & hysteria of human beings.... Mads Mikkelsen is monumental in it."
    --Tom Hiddleston, via Twitter
Created on Mon Oct 20 13:55:48 EDT 2014 (updated Mon Oct 20 23:00:51 EDT 2014)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.