The Vocabulary Thread
 

I have been preoccupied with expanding my vocabulary recently and thought it might be useful to create a thread in which we share intriguing words. The most authoritative, elegant dictionary I have come across is the Oxford English Dictionary, which is searchable online at this address:

http://www.oed.com/

To begin, I've compiled a list of terms I searched for today. Feel free to add any words you come across or find interesting!

Vocabulary September 19th

Adduced – brought forward, esp. in support of a case of an argument

Ardent – burning, fiery

Assiduously – with close or constant application, sedulously

Benign – of a kind disposition

Bilious – wrathful, ill-tempered

Cantankerous – showing an ill-natured disposition, quarrelsome

Clement – mild and humane in the exercise of power or authority

Coltish – wild, frisky, untrained

Composite – made up of various parts or elements, not simple in structure

Compunction – remorse, contrition

Conglomeration – a collection of things joined in a compact body, coherent mass

Deluge – to flow or pour over, inundate

Duma – Russian elective legislative assembly established in 1905 and lasting until the Revolution of 1917

Effulgent – shining forth brilliantly, resplendent

Enteric – of pertaining to the intestines, typhoid fever

Exalté- excited, elated

Expostulate – to ask for, demand, claim

Foible – a weak point, a failing or weakness of character

Garish – a sudden and transient fit of passion (n.), obtrusively or vulgarly bright in color, showy (adj.)

Gauche – awkward, clumsy

Gorse – a prickly shrub, furze

Hoyden – a rude, ignorant, or awkward fellow

Impecunious - penniless

Impetus – the force with which a body moves or maintains its velocity and overcomes resistance

Incipient – beginning, commencing, coming into an early stage

Intimation – making known, formal notification or announcement

Inviolate –unhurt, unmarred

Limpet – a gasteropod mollusc

Malvern – an alkaline mineral water

Manifold – varied or diverse in appearance, form, or character

Maudlin – given to tears, lachrymose

Moiré – giving the appearance like that of watered silk

Pianoforte – a musical embellishment consisting of alternation between soft and loud music

Placard (v.) – to make known, advertise, or publicize with notices

Plage – a region, district, or part of a larger area

Portentous – ominous, threatening

Priggish – excessively precise in matters of learning or conduct, self-righteously correct, moralistic

Propitiate –to make well-disposed or favorably inclined

Punctilious – insistent on fine points or procedure, etiquette, or conduct

Purgation – ceremonial or ritual cleansing from defilement or uncleanness

Roister – to celebrate or enjoy oneself noisily or boisterously

Rubicon – a boundary, a limit

Saccharine - sugary

Spasmodic – marked by jerkiness or suddenness of muscular movement

Strident – loud and harsh, shrill

Surreptitiously – in an underhand way; secretly and without authority

Swarthy – black, dark, malignant, dismal

Vociferous – uttering loud cries or shouts; clamorous, noisy

I need to start using cantankerous.

That's the one that stuck out to me as well. Creepy.

You guys haven't been using cantankerous? You should hang out with more aged people. "Cantankerous old bitty" just rolls off the tongue after a few weeks of hanging with old peeps.

I need to use Hoyden more

One of the (many) former jobs I've had in the company I work for was as an editor for our newspaper pages. It was pretty simple but a lot of the people I worked with were huge grammar geeks. To this day, whenever any of us use fancy words in appropriate context, we like to make facebook posts letting the others know.

I think my best word use ever was "disheveled." I went to a friend's house in college and, even though he was expecting me, he seemed very...well, "disheveled" when I came in the door. I asked him if he was ok and told him he looked disheveled.

I also got to use "doppelganger" once in a perfectly appropriate context. That was fun.

Out of that list, I would really love to use "swarthy" at some point. I just need that right moment...

tintinnabulation

Defenestrate

Yup, me too. I am using that tonight at least twice.

Watagatapitusberry

Indubitably: Synonymous with undoubtedly, of course, unquestionably, etc...

That's one I like to drop on people.

Now that I know it exists, I shall be using it frequently. "Deluge" was just in my FB status yesterday (we had damn near a monsson).

The best way to use these words is to actually practice them when you write and speak. I find it hilarious when people talk like morons and they drop one of these words.. even if it's used properly, you look like a jackass. It's like putting 24 inch rims on a beat up '87 grand marquis. The rims are nice, but you're still a douche. You can't have third grade sentence structure with one, single college level word.

You have no idea how many times I've told someone (most cases its just with my friends) something, and then finished it with, "but you're still a douche". This fits perfect.

People probably won't like my opinion and I'm not even sure if I like it but if someone used any of those words to me I'd immediately think pretentious douchebag. There are just so many ways to say things in a way that the average person would understand without a dictionary I just don't see the point. I just can't stand the look that people give you after using a word like this, like they're waiting for you to be impressed or something.

Obviously literature is a totally different story.

You shouldn't be so cantankerous.

You're right, please accept my sincere feelings of compunction.

I honestly thought that "cantankerous" was one of those words that everybody knew.

So I take it hood words don't count?

Like hyna, leva, plebe, or ruka

You should use all those words as often as possible. People definitely won't think you are an asshole.

I like tossing vociferous around on occasion. I used superfluous casually in conversation one day and got some looks.

I use words like that all the time with some of my friends with no problem, and i wouldn't think twice about using superfluous ever. Vociferous is debatable depending on the company.

There are words that you can use in the flow of conversation without anyone batting an eye, but there are some that are just completely unnecessary and are extremely obvious and make you look like a dick.

That's a quite priggish thing to say

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