Unusual Words
A
by no means exhaustive list of rare, obscure, strange and sometimes
funny words and their meanings that only seem to crop up in crosswords
and dictionaries. Words that are used so seldom, you wonder who invented
them and why.
| abacinate | To blind by putting a hot copper basin near someone's eyes |
| abderian | Given to incessant or idiotic laughter |
| abecedarian | A person who is learning the alphabet |
| abligurition | Excessive spending on food and drink |
| accubation | The practice of eating or drinking while lying down |
| adelphepothia | An incestuous desire for one's sister |
| adelphirexia | An incestuous desire for one's nephew |
| adelphithymia | An incestuous desire for one's niece |
| adoxography | Skilled writing on an unimportant subject |
| aeolist | A pompous windy bore who pretends to have inspiration |
| agelast | A person who never laughs |
| agerasia | The state of looking younger than one actually is |
| agraffe | The wire that holds the cork in a champagne bottle |
| algerining | Prowling around with the intent to commit burglary |
| alphamegamia | The marriage between a young woman and an older man |
| anopisthography | The practice of writing on one side of the paper |
| apodyopsis | The act of mentally undressing someone |
| autohagiographer | One who speaks or writes in a smug fashion about their own life and accomplishments |
| autolatry | The worship of one's self |
| autotonsorialist | One who cuts their own hair |
| basorexia | An overwhelming desire to neck or kiss |
| bathykolpian | Deep-bosomed |
| batrachophagous | One who eats frogs |
| blandiloquent | Speaking in a flattering or ingratiating manner |
| bletcherous | Pertaining to something poorly or disgustingly designed |
| bombilate | To loudly hum or buzz continuously |
| borborygmus | The rumbling sound of gas passing through the intestine |
| brevirostrate | Having a short nose |
| bromidrosis | Strongly smelling perspiration |
| brontide | The low rumbling of distant thunder |
| cachinnation | Loud or hysterical laughter |
| cacoethes | A bad habit or insatiable urge |
| cagamosis | An unhappy marriage |
| callipygean | Having well-shaped buttocks |
| cancatervate | To heap up into a pile |
| capernoited | Slightly intoxicated or tipsy |
| cataglottism | Kissing using the tongue, French kissing |
| causeuse | A sofa built for two people |
| charientism | An artfully veiled insult |
| cheiloproclitic | Being attracted to a person's lips |
| chirotonsor | An alternate title for a barber |
| cleptobiosis | The act of plundering food |
| clithridiate | Key-hole-shaped |
| colposinquanonia | Estimating a woman's beauty based on her chest |
| concilliabule | A secret meeting of people who are hatching a plot |
| cruciverbalist | One who loves doing crossword puzzles |
| dactylion | The tip of the middle finger |
| dactylonomy | Counting using one's fingers |
| decubitis | The act or attitude of lying down |
| defenestrate | To throw out of a window |
| dehisce | To burst open, as the pod of a plant |
| dentiloquent | Pertaining to one who talks through their teeth |
| dephlogisticate | To make something fireproof |
| digamy | A second marriage after the death or divorce of a previous spouse |
| dippoldism | The act of beating or whipping school children |
| dompteuse | A woman who trains animals |
| eccedentesiast | One who fakes a smile, as on television |
| emunction | The act of removing obstructions from or cleaning bodily passages |
| estrapade | A horses's attempt to remove its rider |
| exsibilation | The collective hisses of a disapproving audience |
| farctate | The state of being stuffed with food (overeating) |
| filipendulous | Suspended by a single thread |
| floccinaucinihilipilification | The categorising of something that is useless or trivial |
| fuscoferuginous | Having a dark rusty colour |
| gambrinous | Being full of beer |
| gargalesis | Heavy tickling |
| gargalesthesia | The sensation caused by tickling |
| ginglyform | Hinge-shaped |
| gongoozler | An idle spectator |
| gossypiboma | A surgical sponge accidently left inside a patient's body |
| gowpen | A double handful |
| grapholagnia | The urge to stare at obscene pictures |
| gymnophoria | The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you |
| hadeharia | The practice of constantly using the word "Hell" in speaking |
| hamartithia | Being likely to make a mistake |
| hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian | Pertaining to extremely long words |
| honorificabilitudinitatibus | With honour |
| inaniloquent | Speaking foolishly or saying silly things |
| interfenestration | The space between two windows |
| jentacular | Pertaining to breakfast |
| jumentous | Smelling like horse urine |
| knismesis | Light tickling |
| krukolibidinous | The act of staring at someone's crotch |
| kyphorrhinos | Having a nose with a bump in it |
| lalochezia | The use of foul or abusive language to relieve stress or ease pain |
| lethologica | The inability to recall a precise word for something |
| liripip | The long tail of a hood in medieval or academic costume |
| lygerastia | The condition of one who is only amorous when the lights are out |
| maledicent | One who is addicted to abusive speech |
| mallemaroking | The carousing of seamen on board Greenland whaling ships |
| mammothrept | A child who is raised and spoiled by their grandmother |
| maritodespotism | Tyrranical rulership of a woman by her husband |
| matronolagnia | An attraction to older women, especially ones who have children |
| misocapnist | One who hates the smell of tobacco smoke |
| misodoctakleidist | Someone who hates practicing the piano |
| mulligrubs | A state of depression or low spirits |
| mumpsimus | One who sticks obstinately and wrongly to their old ways |
| mytacism | The incorrect or excessive use of the letter M |
| nelipot | Someone who walks without shoes |
| nepheligenous | Producing clouds of tobacco smoke |
| nidorosity | Belching with the taste of undigested meat |
| nudiustertian | Pertaining to the day before yesterday |
| oculoplania | Letting one's eyes wander while assessing someone's charms |
| onychophagy | The habit of biting one's fingernails |
| pandiculation | Stretching and yawning before going to bed or after waking up |
| petrichor | The smell of rain on dry ground |
| philosophunculist | One who pretends to know more than they do to impress others |
| pogonotomy | The act of cutting a beard |
| polyphloisboian | Making a lot of noise or loud racket |
| preantepenultimate | Fourth from last |
| prosopography | The description of a person's appearance |
| psithurism | The sound of wind in trees or rustling leaves |
| pyknic | Short and fat |
| qualtagh | The first person you see after leaving your house |
| quidnunc | One who always wants to know what is going on |
| quomodocunquize | To make money by any means possible |
| recumbentibus | A knockout blow, either verbal or physical |
| runcation | The act of weeding |
| sabrage | The act of opening a bottle with a sabre |
| saprostomous | Having bad breath |
| scacchic | Pertaining to the game of chess, or to chess pieces |
| sciapodous | Having huge feet |
| scolecophagous | One who eats worms |
| sgiomlaireached | The habit of dropping in at mealtimes |
| skoptsy | The act of self castration |
| slubberdegullion | A filthy, slobbering person |
| sphallolalia | Flirtatious talk that leads nowhere |
| steatopygic | Having a fat behind |
| strikhedonia | The pleasure of being able to say to hell with it |
| tachyphagia | Fast eating |
| tarantism | An urge to overcome melancholy by dancing |
| tetrapyloctomy | The act of splitting a hair four ways |
| thelemic | Permitting people to do as they like |
| tibialoconcupiscent | Having a lascivious interest in watching a woman put on stockings |
| ulotrichous | Having very wooly hair |
| ultracrepidarian | Of one who speaks or offers opinions on matters beyond their knowledge |
| usufructuary | A person who has use or enjoyment of something, especially property |
| ventripotent | Big-bellied, gluttonous |
| vesthibitionism | The flirtatious display of undergarments by a woman |
| vigesimation | The act of killing every twentieth person |
| viraginity | Masculine qualities in a woman |
| wanweird | An unhappy fate |
| witzelsucht | A feeble attempt at humour |
| xenobombulate | To malinger |
| xerophagy | A diet of bread and water |
| ximelolagnia | The urge to stare at women who are sitting with crossed legs |
| xylopolist | One who sells wood products |
| yclept | By the name of; called |
| zenzizenzizenzic | A number raised to the eighth power |
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