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Fancy Words for Simple Things / Or Words that I Just Like

Word List with 79 words
By Matt

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Words in This List

vestige

a mark, trace, or visible evidence of something that is no longer present or in existence

grok

to understand thoroughly and intuitively.

kibitzer

a giver of uninvited or unwanted advice.

ersatz

serving as a substitute; synthetic; artificial

malinger

to pretend illness, especially in order to shirk one's duty, avoid work, etc.

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malarkey

speech or writing designed to obscure, mislead, or impress; bunkum

castigate

to criticize or reprimand severely.

oeuvre

the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole.

porcine

of or pertaining to swine.

proclivity

natural or habitual inclination or tendency; propensity; predisposition

osculate

to kiss.

ossify

to convert into or cause to harden like bone.

otiose

being at leisure; idle; indolent.

vituperate

vw,vo

to use or address with harsh or abusive language; revile.

obviate

to anticipate and prevent or eliminate (difficulties, disadvantages, etc.) by effective measures; render unnecessary

Zeitgeist

the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time.

excogitate

to think out; devise; invent.

expectorate

to eject or expel matter, as phlegm, from the throat or lungs by coughing or hawking and spitting; spit.

expunge

to strike or blot out; erase; obliterate.

loquacious

talking or tending to talk much or freely; talkative; chattering; babbling; garrulous

objurgation

to reproach or denounce vehemently; upbraid harshly; berate sharply.

obloquy

censure, blame, or abusive language aimed at a person or thing, especially by numerous persons or by the general public.

obfuscate

to confuse, bewilder, or stupefy.

confabulation

the replacement of a gap in a person's memory by a falsification that he or she believes to be true. Also, the act of confabulating conversation; discussion.

stentorian

very loud or powerful in sound

chutzpah

unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall.

comestible

edible; eatable.

contumacious

stubbornly perverse or rebellious; willfully and obstinately disobedient.

subterfuge

an artifice or expedient used to evade a rule, escape a consequence, hide something, etc.

irascible

easily provoked to anger; very irritable

fulminate

to explode with a loud noise; detonate.

gravid

pregnant.

scuttlebutt

rumor or gossip.

estivate

to spend the summer, as at a specific place or in a certain activity. Especially in a restful or inactive state.

scruple

a moral or ethical consideration or standard that acts as a restraining force or inhibits certain actions.

extrapolate

to infer (an unknown) from something that is known; conjecture.

supercilious

haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.

chagrin

a feeling of vexation, marked by disappointment or humiliation.

demagogue

a person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people.

glossolalia

incomprehensible speech in an imaginary language, sometimes occurring in a trance state, an episode of religious ecstasy, or schizophrenia.

tog

to dress (often followed by or ).

bedizen

to dress or adorn in a showy, gaudy, or tasteless manner.

prevaricate

to speak falsely or misleadingly; deliberately misstate or create an incorrect impression; lie.

lachrymal

of or pertaining to tears.

jollification

jolly merrymaking; jolly festivity.

enervate

to deprive of force or strength; destroy the vigor of; weaken.

apologia

an apology, as in defense or justification of a belief, idea, etc.

sagacious

having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd

debonair

courteous, gracious, and having a sophisticated charm

pedant

a person who makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.

perambulate

to walk through, about, or over; travel through; traverse.

perspicacious

having keen mental perception and understanding; discerning

piscatorial

of or pertaining to fishermen or fishing

ineffable

incapable of being expressed or described in words; inexpressible. Also, not to be spoken because of its sacredness; unutterable

insalubrious

unfavorable to health; unwholesome.

catechumen

a person under instruction in the rudiments of Christianity, as in the early church; a neophyte.

debauch

to corrupt by sensuality, intemperance, etc.; seduce.

dishabille

the state of being dressed in a careless, disheveled, or disorderly style or manner; undress.

raconteur

a person who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.

clandestine

characterized by, done in, or executed with secrecy or concealment, especially for purposes of subversion or deception; private or surreptitious

kleptomania

an irresistible impulse to steal, stemming from emotional disturbance rather than economic need.

aphorism

a short, concise saying of general truth, or astute observation,

peregrinate

to travel or journey, especially to walk on foot.

peripatetic

walking or traveling about; itinerant.

ichor

an ethereal fluid flowing in the veins of the gods.

sycophant

a self-seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite.

catch 22

a problematic situation where the only solution is denied by inherent circumstances.

misanthrope

a hater of humankind.

magnanimous

generous in forgiving an insult or injury; free from petty resentfulness or vindictiveness

impecunious

having little or no money; penniless; poor.

ethnocentrism

the belief in the inherent superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture.

inculcate

to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually followed by or )

latitudinarian

allowing or characterized by latitude in opinion or conduct, especially in religious views.

masticate

vo,vw

to chew.

suppurate

to produce or discharge pus, as a wound; maturate.

demimonde

(especially during the last half of the 19th century) a class of women who have lost their standing in respectable society because of indiscreet behavior or sexual promiscuity.

dolichocephalic

having a relatively long head.

expedite

to speed up the progress of; hasten

ephemeral

lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory