If you’re looking to impress an English major, look no further than this list of obscure English words. Most of these words have been abandoned in favor of simplicity in speech and writing, but hey, why not give them a chance for a comeback?
Try a couple out and wait for the impressed faces of your friends!
1. Logomachy: (noun) an argument about words
The logomachy between the English teachers concerned the word “paraph.”
2. Hodiernal: (adjective) of today
The group of philosophers discussed both ancient and hodiernal issues.
3. Paraph: (noun) a flourish after a signature
The paraph originally guarded one’s signature from forgery.
4. Ensorcell: (verb) to enchant or fascinate someone
The puppy ensorcelled the group of stressed college students.
5. Luculent: (adjective) clear in thought or expression
His luculent writing earned him an A on his final paper.
6. Pother: (noun) a commotion or fuss
His date turned into a pother when the server dropped the lasagna into his date’s lap.
7. Bruxism: (noun) involuntary and habitual grinding of the teeth
My mother swears my father suffers from bruxism, and the noise drives her up a wall!
8. Emacity: (noun) a fondness for buying things
His chronic emacity only fueled his reputation for being shallow.
9. Constellate: (verb) to gather together in a cluster or group
The old friends unsafely constellated in the middle of the road.
10. Incunabula: (noun) books printed before 1501
The library houses an incunabulum for students to view.
11. Rubiginous: (adjective) rust-colored
Her hair was positively rubiginous after a drug store hair dye ruined her natural color.
12. Divagate: (verb) to stray or digress
Yesterday, my teacher divagated from color theory to last night’s episode of "Modern Family."
13. Eucatastrophe: (noun) a happy ending to a story
The novel’s sudden eucatastrophe pleased the reader, who had expected a tragic ending.
14. Umbriferous: (adjective) shady
The stumpy willow tree created an umbriferous space for the runner to rest.
15. Sternutator: (noun) something that causes sneezing
Pepper is a well-known sternutator for most people.
16. Oranique: (noun) a cross between an orange and a tangerine
She was intrigued by the oranique when she visited the obscure fruit section of the obscure food store.
17. Absquatulate: (verb) to leave somewhere abruptly
The awkward boy absquatulated the store after making too much eye contact with the pretty cashier.
18. Velleity: (noun) a wish or inclination which is not strong enough to lead one to take action
Though the girl had not showered in four days, her resolution to take a shower was a mere velleity as she opened her Netflix app.
19. Ogdoad: (noun) a group or set of eight
The brown bananas were in an ogdoad, and the man sighed at his inability to eat all the fruit he bought.
20. Doryphore: (noun) a pedantic and annoyingly persistent critic of others
The cynical woman’s reputation as a doryphore soon left her without any friends.
21. Operose: (adjective) involving or displaying a lot of effort
The operose article drained the writer of her will to create.
22. Piacular: (adjective) making or requiring atonement
Her strong conscience made every action seem piacular.
