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It’s not clear how many words there are in the English language. Some sources report a rough number of 470,000 words, while others estimate our vocabulary includes about 1 million words. But some linguists have shared that they wouldn’t be surprised if the number was off the mark by a quarter-million.

Words are the building blocks of a language, and with so many terms, it’s no surprise that some of them can get a little… creative, if not utterly weird. When it comes to strange words, our dear English language is a whole treasure chest of oddities.

If weirdness is your cup of tea, we’ve compiled a list of some of the most unusual, creative, and downright funniest words in English, each with its own meaning explained. Whether you’re looking for some lesser-known words to spice up a conversation or just want to be able to say, “Wait, I know what that means”, these are the words for you!

#1

Collywobbles

Meaning: icky feeling due to illness or anxiety.

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#2

Gobbledygook

Meaning: a language that is incomprehensible or is made unintelligible by excessive use of technical terms.

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#4

Brouhaha

Meaning: a noisy and overexcited reaction or response to something.

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#6

Flibbertigibbet

Meaning: a silly person who talks too much.

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James016
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I work with a few people who will use 1000 words when 20 will be fine

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#9

Lackadaisical

Meaning: a person who is lacking enthusiasm and determination; carelessly lazy.

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over it already
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pretty sure lackadaisical is an adjective, not a noun. Remove the 'a person who is' from the definition and it's fine.

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#10

Whippersnapper

Meaning: a young and inexperienced person considered to be presumptuous or overconfident.

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Onion Cutting Ninja
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

ATLA, The king of Omashu, Aang says, "Get over here you young whippersnappers!" also in Tintin and the Crab with the Golden Claws I think it could be a different one when tintin and haddock are on the boat and haddock starts a fire he calls tintin a whippersnapper.

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#11

Dragooned

Meaning: coerce (someone) into doing something.

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Robert Trebor
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dragoons - mounted soldiers at times used for law enforcement before police forces were formed. Horses can be quite effective at crowd control.

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#12

Lollygag

Meaning: This word describes a person that is messing around and doing something that isn’t useful.

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Duesvolent90
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So...I guess we're all lollygagging...But bored panda is useful tho

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#13

Shenanigans

Meaning: high-spirited or mischievous activity.

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#15

Bamboozle

Meaning: to confuse, frustrate, or throw off thoroughly or completely.

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#19

Wassail

Meaning: spiced ale or warmed wine drunk during celebrations for Twelfth Night and Christmas Eve.

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#20

Quomodocunquizing

Meaning: making money in any way you can.

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Kallen Kneeland
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is a new one for me, so I had to learn how to say it and figured I'd share: quomodocunquize (kwo-MOH-doh-KUN-kwaiz). Phew.

tHeBoRdEsTpAnDa
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

quomodocunquize(kwo-MOH-doh-KUN-kwaiz)/quomodocunquizing (kwo-MOH-doh-KUN-kwaiz-ing)

Your Local Ravenclaw
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do you pronounce that? (genuine question, please don’t downvote me)

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#21

Bloviate

Meaning: talk at length, especially in an inflated or empty way.

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Rod McCabe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bovine are beautiful. Bloviating is generally done by blowhard morons.

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#23

Lickety-split

Meaning: at great speed.

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Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As in, "let's get going lickety-split" to hurry people up, rather than, "well he's going lickety-split" which I've never heard used. Just my experience

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#26

Woebegone

Meaning: sad or miserable in appearance.

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#27

Spondulicks

Meaning: money, cash.

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Huddo's sister
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There was an episode of Daria where Jane and Daria kept making bets, with the 'currency' differing each time, spondulicks being one of them. Think they included Simoleans.

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#28

Hullaballoo

Meaning: a commotion or uproar that's on the unpleasant side.

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Let’s All Just Try And Be Decent
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not always unpleasant, if used in a jokey way or for example, referring to a noisy fun party that got a bit mental but not dangerous

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#29

Doozy

Meaning: an extraordinary one of its kind.

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#30

Nudiustertian

Meaning: relating to the day before yesterday or very recent.

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#33

Hoosegow

Meaning: Jail or prison.

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Wingo Lamo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Low brow but I rock a little know-how No time for the piggies or the hoosegow Get smart, get down with the pow wow Never been a better time than right now!"

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#34

Yooper

Meaning: a native or resident of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

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#36

Skulduggery

Meaning: a devious device or trick.

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#38

Penuche

Meaning: sort of fudge that is made from brown sugar, buttercream, and nuts.

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#39

Indubitably

Meaning: Too evident to be doubted.

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#42

Batholith

Meaning: a very large igneous intrusion extending to an unknown depth in the earth's crust.

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#43

Spleenwort

Meaning: type of fern, often growing on rocks or walls.

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#44

Herky-jerky

Meaning: moving in irregular or unpredictable movements.

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#45

Diddly-squat

Meaning: the least amount.

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#46

Fartlek

Meaning: endurance training in which a runner alternates periods of sprinting with periods of jogging.

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#47

Widdendream

Meaning: state of mental agitation or confusion.

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#48

Vomitory

Meaning: an entrance piercing the banks of seats of a theater, amphitheater, or stadium.

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Hugh Cookson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually from the Latin ' Vomitorium', meaning the entrance to and from an Amphitheatre or Gladiotorum.

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#49

Mollycoddle

Meaning: treat someone in an indulgent or overprotective way.

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#50

Bumfuzzle

Meaning: a state of bewilderment, confusion.

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#51

Blatherskite

Meaning: a person who talks at great length without making much sense.

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#52

Buttress

Meaning: a structure of stone or brick built against a wall to strengthen or support it.

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#53

Granny-dumping

Meaning: the abandonment of an elderly person, especially a relative, at a hospital.

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#54

Gazump

Meaning: to demand a higher price from (the buyer of a house) than that agreed on.

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Vix Spiderthrust
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

No. It means to cut someone out of a deal by offering a higher price than them.

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#55

Gardyloo

Meaning: used in Edinburgh as a warning cry when it was customary to throw slops from the windows into the streets.

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#56

Widdershins

Meaning: in a direction contrary to the sun's course, counterclockwise.

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#57

Salopettes

Meaning: trousers with a high waist and shoulder straps, typically made of a padded fabric and worn for skiing.

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#58

Palaver

Meaning: unproductive conversation or long dispute between people from different worldviews or cultures.

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#60

Airy-fairy

Meaning: impractical and foolishly idealistic.

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#61

Taradiddle

Meaning: pretentious nonsense.

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#62

Borborygmus

Meaning: a rumbling or gurgling noise made by the movement of fluid and gas in the intestines.

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#63

Funambulism

Meaning: tightrope walking.

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#64

Cleek

Meaning: a large hook.

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Robert T
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We have lots of large hooks. Meat hooks, boat hooks, tenterhooks. Which kind?

#65

Flummery

Meaning: meaningless or insincere flattery.

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#66

Syzygy

Meaning: celestial phenomenon in which three celestial bodies are lined up in an almost perfectly straight line.

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#67

Crapulence

Meaning: a lack of self-restraint, especially when drinking.

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#68

Boondoggle

Meaning: an unnecessary, wasteful, or fraudulent project.

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#69

Jackalope

Meaning: a mythical animal depicted as a hare or rabbit with horns.

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#70

Mugwump

Meaning: a person who is independent (as in politics) or who remains undecided or neutral.

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#71

Winklepicker

Meaning: a shoe or boot that features a sharp-pointed toe, popular in the 1950s.

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kitten levels tokyo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Go up to a well-dressed woman wearing pointy-toed high heels and say loudly “NICE WINKLEPICKERS!” to see if she knows this word.👍 (Nice conversation starter.)

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#72

Tittynope

Meaning: a small quantity of anything left over.

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#73

Wabbit

Meaning: weary or exhausted.

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#74

Gubbins

Meaning: miscellaneous bits and pieces or gadgets.

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#75

Finifugal

Meaning: the resistance to an end of something.

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#77

Hoecake

Meaning: a small cake made of cornmeal.

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#78

Cutesy-poo

Meaning: embarrassingly or sickeningly cute.

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kitten levels tokyo
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe we should use “-y poo” as a suffix on any word to mean “too much.” IE “Enough with the talky-poo already!”

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#81

Frippery

Meaning: showy or unnecessary ornament in architecture, dress, or language.

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#82

Pettifogger

Meaning: an inferior legal practitioner, especially one who deals with petty cases or employs dubious practices.

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#83

Rigmarole

Meaning: a lengthy and complicated procedure or a lot of rambling.

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#84

Fanty-sheeny

Meaning: anything showy or impressive, fanciful, absurdly over the top.

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#85

Teazel

Meaning: a tall prickly Eurasian plant with spiny purple flower heads.

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Lauren S
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When you have an antivax mom and think you get the measles but it turns out you’re just allergic to her stupidity.

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#86

Foggy Bottom

Meaning: term that refers to the U.S. Department of State.

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#87

Callipygian

Meaning: having well-shaped buttocks.

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#88

Ragamuffin

Meaning: a ragged often disreputable person.

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#89

Impignorate

Meaning: to pawn off or mortgage something in your possession.

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#90

Snickersnee

Meaning: a knife, especially one used as a weapon.

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#91

Diphthong

Meaning: combination of two vowel sounds together in one word.

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#92

Cabotage

Meaning: the right to operate sea, air, or other transport services within a particular territory.

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#93

Godwottery

Meaning: an affected quality of archaism, excessive fussiness, and sentimentality.

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Kathryn Schakel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It seems to me that the majority of this list can be described as godwottery!

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#95

Slumgullion

Meaning: cheap or insubstantial stew.

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Mary Daniel
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Soup you make at the end of the week, emptying all your leftovers in a big pot.

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#96

Waesucks

Meaning: used to express grief or pity.

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#97

Ballyrag

Meaning: to intimidate by bullying

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Olivia Dean
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We use this term more to describe statements or actions used to incite or provoke strong reactions in others

#98

Dottle

Meaning: a remnant of tobacco left in a pipe after smoking.

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#99

Confabulate

Meaning: engage in conversation; talk.

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Debby Keir
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In medical terms it means to fill in the gaps (due to memory loss) with imaginary things.

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#101

Inkle

Meaning: a colored linen tape or braid woven on a very narrow loom and used for trimming.

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#102

Cattywampus

Meaning: refers to “an imaginary fierce wild animal,” or may mean “savage, destructive.”

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#103

Maltipoo

Meaning: a dog that is a cross between a Maltese and a poodle.

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IamMe
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All these poos and doodles. They used to just call them mixed breed dogs or mutts and give them away for free. Now, they give them silly names and charge as much as a used car.

#104

Wamble

Meaning: to feel nausea.

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#105

Taliped

Meaning: twisted or distorted out of shape or position.

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#106

Blunderbuss

Meaning: a short large-bored gun firing balls or slugs.

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#107

Bailiwick

Meaning: the sphere in which one has superior knowledge or authority.

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#108

Knickerbocker

Meaning: a descendant of the early Dutch settlers of New York.

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#109

Knurly

Meaning: Gnarled or knotty; hard and misshapen.

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#110

Panjandrum

Meaning: a powerful personage or pretentious official.

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