# Favorite Words? **URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755 **Category:** In My Humble Opinion **Created:** [March 17, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755 "2002-03-17T18:49:16Z") **Posts on this page:** 20 **Page:** 2
### Author: ![Tabeitha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b3f665/32.png) [@Tabeitha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabeitha) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/21 "2002-03-18T04:02:35Z")
A few more from me and that’s it, bed time. I like the responses so far. How about smolder, passion, and destiny. Um… these all fit together. Still aversion and intrinsic are my favorites. ---
### Author: ![Urban\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Urban\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urban_Ranger) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/22 "2002-03-18T05:43:21Z")
_skulduggery_ ---
### Author: ![Jeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/23 "2002-03-18T06:58:02Z")
I’ve gotta back up Loopus and say that _kumquat_ is a fine, fine word. I once managed to make a coworker laugh uncontrollably for the better part of an half-hour just by repeating that word. Another personal favorite? _Pusillanimous_. ---
### Author: ![Cougarfang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c67d28/32.png) [@Cougarfang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cougarfang) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 11:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/24 "2002-03-18T11:53:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by blink178 \* > **I think “cougar” is cool sounding too** _Takes a bow_ 😃 In Chinese, there’s a… phrase? Saying? It’s a “Chung Yu”… sounds like “Dong dow tsi wai”, and it’s literally “East fall West bent”. It just sounds so funny… In English… Hm, “dagnabbit” _erupts into giggles_ _calms down a little_ I think any word starts looking funny after you look at it for a long time. ---
### Author: ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/25 "2002-03-18T12:30:36Z")
_Heinous_ is my favorite word. _Onomatopeia_ is also a pretty cool word. It was good song, too. My favorite swear word is _Dickweed_. ---
### Author: ![Tabithina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f04885/32.png) [@Tabithina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabithina) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/26 "2002-03-18T12:34:42Z")
Hi Tabeitha! I love **mellifluous** , though I have little occasion to use it in my household. We all kinda bray like donkeys. 😉 I sometimes tell my son that he’s **refulgent**.🙂 ---
### Author: ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/27 "2002-03-18T14:17:21Z")
Moribund, plinth, serendipity, badger, ginglyform ( “hinge-shaped”) & sesquipedalianism ( “a tendency to use long words”). ---
### Author: ![Efrem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@Efrem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Efrem) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/28 "2002-03-18T14:53:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Yo La Tengo \* > \*\*efrem, what’s it mean? My spellchecker says it’s not even a word… \*\* Sorry, I guess I should have been more clear. It’s not an English word, it is Tigrinya (East African language) it means “Hello”, and it also means “Peace” in Arabic. ---
### Author: ![Jervoise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d2c977/32.png) [@Jervoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jervoise) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/29 "2002-03-18T14:56:48Z")
Bosums. Say it with me: _bosums_! Teehee, I love that word. 😃 ---
### Author: ![auntie\_em](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5e9695/32.png) [@auntie\_em](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/auntie_em) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/30 "2002-03-18T15:06:45Z")
When I was in the 4th grade, I used to love the word _antidisestablishmentarianism._ Didn’t know what the hell it meant… I just felt like the Queen of Everything because I could spell it. Now I prefer to stick to as few syllables as possible, and wherever possible, I try to get my message across with grunts and flails. 😃 ---
### Author: ![FriendRob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecc23a/32.png) [@FriendRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriendRob) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/31 "2002-03-18T16:34:17Z")
I like words with bizarre or unusual meanings: defenestrate - to punish someone by throwing them out a window callipygean - having a beautiful bottom benthic - dwelling on the bottom of the ocean Alas, opportunities for use are few. One of my favorites that I do often use is “glom”, as in “I glom onto every sesquipedalian word that I read.” I’ve seen this more and more in published writing in recent years. ---
### Author: ![Kepi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kepi/32/7251_2.png) [@Kepi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kepi) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/32 "2002-03-18T17:05:05Z")
I have a few words that I like to say just because I like the way they sound:[ul] [li]attaché[/li][li]caterwaul[/li][li]isobar[/li][li]scamp[/li][/ul] Every once in a while, I come across a word that I want to add to my list of favorite words, so there are a few others not listed here. However, I can’t think of them right now. ---
### Author: ![tisiphone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tisiphone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tisiphone) #### Post date: [March 18, 2002, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/33 "2002-03-18T22:50:30Z")
Tergiversation - the act of looking back over one’s shoulder. I just like the way it rolls off the tongue, and the way people give you that hunh? look. ---
### Author: ![JessEnigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/cdc98d/32.png) [@JessEnigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JessEnigma) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/34 "2002-03-19T01:10:11Z")
Spiffy is my word. I don’t use it correctly (as pointed out by a friend), but I do toss it into my everyday conversation as much as possible. Euphemism and intrinsic are pretty good too. Totalitarian is nice for that sheer twisted-tongue feeling. jessica ---
### Author: ![electrokungfu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e57/32.png) [@electrokungfu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/electrokungfu) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/35 "2002-03-19T02:10:31Z")
deflower ---
### Author: ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/36 "2002-03-19T04:36:28Z")
My favourite words to say are plethora (rolls off the tongue nicely), buoy, and khaki (both of which are also fun to say and sound vaguely obscene). ---
### Author: ![CzechHistory411](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/94ad74/32.png) [@CzechHistory411](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CzechHistory411) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/37 "2002-03-19T05:00:44Z")
There are some beautiful place names… Schenectady… Bethesda… Ypsilanti… – CH ---
### Author: ![Cleophus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@Cleophus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cleophus) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/38 "2002-03-19T05:05:46Z")
It’s a toss-up between “superfluous” and "vacuous ". Superfluous is fun because I know someone in my computer science class that proudly descrives himself as superfluous. He hasn’t grasped the word’s negative connotation. ---
### Author: ![Sweet\_Willy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sweet\_Willy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sweet_Willy) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/39 "2002-03-19T05:15:36Z")
**Sesquipedalian** My favorite sesquipedalian is _Moolahoop_ , the little plastic seal around the top of a milk jug. ---
### Author: ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta) #### Post date: [March 19, 2002, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755/40 "2002-03-19T05:43:38Z")
I guess I like ‘philistine’ and I tend to use it a lot (especially in reference to my kids’ lack of appreciation for the finer things in life). I mean, what would YOU call some ingrate who, upon being presented with a delicious meal that you had prepared with the most expensive of ingredients and meticulous attention to detail, proceeded to drown the lot in tomato sauce? For years the buggers thought it was a term of endearment… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-words/98755.md?page=3)