What's your favorite uncommonly used word?

[Big/Sky/Fly]

Tohuvabohu

 

[chevss454]

gunt butter two words, but used often.

Concupiscence fits here quite well, I think . Sexual longing; lust.

 

[Hawg73]

My favorite is sesquipedalian.

That can be defined several ways, but I like it as used to describe somebody that uses unnecessarily big words, sometimes for effect or to impress and often with limited understanding of what those words mean.

I like the fact that it is itself a whopper of a word. Six syllables.

I had a friend growing up that did it all the time and we called him "Webster" referring to the dictionary and I'm not sure if he ever really understood that nickname was not a compliment.

 

[Number Cruncher]

Put me down for one of my favorite words....

Esoteric...

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest.

 

[patswin]

gunt butter two words, but used often.

I expected no less

 

[gomezcat]

Some great suggestions here. Another one (well, two) I would add to the list is de facto.

Something we haven't spoken about is that some words sounds better in different accents. Y'all, for example, sounds best in its original Southern US accent, IMO.

 

[HSanders]

Ostensibly, momentarily ONLY when someone USES IT CORRECTLY, truculent, I am sure I will think of more. Great topic UT!

 

[mikiemo83]

My favorite is sesquipedalian.

That can be defined several ways, but I like it as used to describe somebody that uses unnecessarily big words, sometimes for effect or to impress and often with limited understanding of what those words mean.

I like the fact that it is itself a whopper of a word. Six syllables.

I had a friend growing up that did it all the time and we called him "Webster" referring to the dictionary and I'm not sure if he ever really understood that nickname was not a compliment.

I know a guy like that. I called him douchebag.

Bombastic is a word I enjoy saying

It means high-sounding but with little meaning; inflated.
"bombastic rhetoric"

But I used it differently, I did a few minutes ago when Brady went bombastic on the Bills to Hogan.

 

[foley11]

always been fond of 'unilateral'

 

[Beaglebay]

Imbroglio.
Mellifluous.
Cantankerous.
Moribund.

 

[mooseontheloose]

I tend to use the words 'apt' and 'ostensibly' far more than others I speak with.

 

[TipRoast]

Imbroglio.
Mellifluous.
Cantankerous.
Moribund.

What's all this brouhaha?

 

[PumpDee]

Hoomanawanui

 

[BostonTim]

I tend to use the words 'apt' and 'ostensibly' far more than others I speak with.

So what you're saying, ostensibly, is that you're apt to use those words any moment now?


Cheers, BostonTim

 

[O.Z.O.]

egregious - outstandingly bad. shocking, appalling, terrible, awful, horrendous, frightful, atrocious, abominable, abhorrent, outrageous.

Synonyms: Roger Goodell, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton.

No, really. It's in the dictionary.

fyp

 

[TipRoast]

I think I have a new favorite:

zenzizenzizenzic

I have never heard it pronounced, but the way I say it in my head is:

zenzi - zenzi - zenzic

It means "the 8^th power of a number."

 

[Oswlek]

I find myself using "obliged" and "heretofore" much more than I see it anywhere else.

 

[BostonTim]

I think I have a new favorite:

zenzizenzizenzic

I have never heard it pronounced, but the way I say it in my head is:

zenzi - zenzi - zenzic

It means "the 8^th power of a number."

That is awesome. You've outdone yourself.
Future trivia q. name a word (quite likely the only word) with 6 Zs in it.

 

[Mark_Henderson]

Maybe my favorite: Antepenultimate: don't know if I've used it here but I squeeze it in whenever possible

Ultimate = Last
penultimate = next to last
antepenultimate = next to next to last.

Cheers

I've always liked penultimate since it was a 9th grade vocab word, but I'd feel too pedantic using antepenultimate (the spell check in here even makes the word red). Pedantic is a good word.

Shambolic is a good one that I've seen used more recently. Schadenfreude is a classic for something everyone experiences and there aren't many other words that say the same thing. Have always liked ubiquitous (though might say omnipresent if trying to look like less of an egghead). Dystopian - another good one.

 

[Jaric]

Fiddlesticks.