Language is a fascinating thing. It gives people the ability to communicate with others, to share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings with other people. There is so much power in language. As most people know, words can convey great meaning and effect people in tremendous ways. However, sometimes there are feelings or ideas that may be difficult to express without the right words. And sometimes, the descriptions of certain concepts are defined by words that many people do not realize exist. So, here is a list of some interesting words that you may want to start using (if nothing usage of these words may impress your friends).
- Alexithymia: an inability to describe emotion in a verbal manner
- Blatherskite: a person who talks at great length without actually making much sense
- Defenestration: the act of throwing someone out of a window (who knew it happened enough to earn its own term?)
- Disenthrall: to set someone free of enslavement
- Ethereal: extremely delicate, light, not of this world
- Ensorcell: to enchant or fascinate someone (remember that the next time you have a crush)
- Futz: to waste time (the one talent we all have!)
- Hiraeth: a homesickness for a home you cannot return to or that never existed
- Hwyl: a stirring feeling of emotional motivation and energy (Welsh term)
- Iridescent: generating a display of rainbow colors
- Meacock: a coward (and my new favorite insult)
- Nacarat: a bright orange-red color
- Nefarious: wicked, evil, villainous
- Neologism: a new word, usage, or expression (the paradoxical word for new words!)
- Noyade: an execution carried out by drowning
- Nyctophilia: the love of the darkness or nighttime
- Obnubilate: to darken, dim, or obscure something
- Panurgic: able or ready to do anything (not sure that’s a good thing, or a bad thing)
- Petrichor: the pleasant, earthy smell after rain (and I know you just imagined the smell while reading the definition)
- Pother: a commotion or fuss (Stop making a pother!)
- Prosopagnosia: an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people (now that’s terrifying)
- Rawky: foggy, damp, and cold
- Schadenfreude: the feeling of pleasure at another person’s pain or misfortune (points for Germany for describing this complex feeling so succinctly)
- Serendipity: the chance occurrence of events in a favorable way
- Sonder: the realization that every person has a life as complex and vibrant as your own
- Surreal: marked by the intense, irrational reality of a dream (Also, the word of the year in 2016! Bet you didn’t know that there even was a word of the year. I know I didn’t prior to writing this.)
- Spaghettification: the process by which an object falling into a black hole would be stretching and ripped apart by gravitational forces (who know pasta could be so theoretically frightening)
- Tellurian: of or inhabiting the earth
- Triskaidekaphobia: extreme superstition about the number 13
- Ulu: a short-handed knife with a broad, crescent-shaped blade (great tool for your kitchen!)
- Uroboros: a circular symbol of a snake (or dragon) swallowing its own tail. It is a symbol for infinity or wholeness.
- Velleity: a wish or inclination which is not strong enough to lead one to take action (what new year resolutions are commonly comprised of)
- Vellichor: the strange wistfulness of used book stores (so many stories and tales from the minds of other people, how truly wonderful)
- Wanderlust: a strong longing or impulse to travel
- Word Salad: a jumble of incoherent phrases or words, sometimes observed in schizophrenia
- Xenology: the scientific study of extraterrestrial phenomenon
- Zorro: south American fox
And many, many more! There are so many interesting words and phrases, and new ones are being created every day. Don’t limit your grammar to text phrases, and expand your vocabulary!
