An Inventory of Lexical Loves

I love words and the English language ¹ happens to have lots of them. My favourites tend to be overly specific, fun to say, or just a tad zany. Many words in this list are homonyms or polysemous, but I am only including my favourite definitions unless there is reason not to.

The extremely savvy reader could perhaps surmise what media I have been consuming, particularly what books I’ve been reading, based on the order of certain words outlined here or the mere occurrence of some of the more obscure inclusions.

Phantasmagorical

Dreamlike and ethereal, often lacking coherent lucidity.

Ebullient

Originally referring to the bubbling seen in a boiling liquid, but now used to describe bubbly enthusiasm or excitement.

Radicool

Portmanteau of ‘radical’ and ‘cool’ which really accentuates just how wicked something is.

Defenestration

To throw someone or something out a window. The Wikipedia article is a good read for the origin.

Delirium

A state of incoherent thought prone to hallucinations and delusions.

Quixotic

Caught up in grandiose ideas or goals that are beyond realistics or practicality.

Vellichor

That feeling of being in a used bookstore.

Abscond

To flee swiftly and secretly. Absconding is commonly done with biscuits or other sweet treats one isn’t supposed to have.

Elope

To flee with a lover, often with the intent of marriage.

Zany

Ludicrous or outlandish.

Mellifluous

Smooth and nicely flowing like a liquid. This applies well to describing good writing.

Bloviate

To discourse pompously at length. It kinda sounds like bovine, which is usually a good descriptor of your average bloviator.

Orate

To speak formally, and/or with passion.

Pellucid

Transparent or translucent, but most definitely not opaque.

Vestigial

The retention of characteristics that were once beneficial to an organism, but have since lost function/purpose due to evolution.

Cacophony

An assortment (usually of sounds) that somehow all manage to fight each other. Auralize the sound of being in a room full of beginner recorder players all trying their best.

Garrulous & Loquacious

Both are almost perfect synonyms of one another, so I’ve grouped them. They refer to when someone is overly chatty, often with equal over expression.

Fungi

Chlorophyll lacking eukaryotic organisms. Incredibly fun to say.

Rambunctious

To be boisterous, destructive, and disruptive. Think of how an out of control group of youths act.

Flummoxed

To be completely and absolutely perplexed.

Contronym

A word describing words with two conflicting meanings.

Resplendent

To be dazzling and visually appealing.

Gonzo

Extreme, exaggerated, unconventional and quite possibly bizarre. Especially applicable in the context of certain form of journalism. See: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and Gonzo.

Onomatopoeia

A word that is a vocal imitation of a sound when said aloud.

Shenanigans

A mischievous, nonsensical, or underhanded act or remark.

Demented

Of unsound mental facilities.

Quibble

A minor and usually largely insignificant criticism.

Splendid

Very good. Best said with cup of tea in hand. Monocle optional but recommended.

Blasphemy

To insult or disrespect something deemed sacred. Great fun to shout at people.

Spleen

Organ that helps filter blood. Mainly here because it is fun to say.

Schlock

Something that is low-quality, junky, or tacky. See: any Neil Breen film.

Scuffed

Something that is scraped, roughened, or otherwise completely out-there. Though not the ‘proper’ spelling, it is much better said substituting the ‘c’ for a ‘k’ – skuffed.

Skewiff

Not properly straightened or levelled.

Halycon

Calm, peaceful, and tranquil.

Vouchsafe

To condescendingly permit or bestow something.

Footnotes

1. I’m obviously speaking of the proper English language – the one where colour is spelt with a ‘u’ – not the simplified version. ↩