# Looking for a word

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [October 3, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327 "2003-10-03T13:31:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/1 "2003-10-03T13:31:22Z")

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What is the word that means something along the lines of “a tendency to use very long words”?

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**Author:** ![Celyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Celyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Celyn)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/2 "2003-10-03T13:37:17Z")

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Well, perhaps **polysyllabic** , in addition to describing the words used, _might_ be applied to the user too.

Hmm, even as I typed that, I began to think “No - there IS a proper word for this”. Oh well, I shall soon learn!

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**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/3 "2003-10-03T14:01:46Z")

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[Sesquipedalian](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=sesquipedalian)

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**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/4 "2003-10-03T14:10:10Z")

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Ahh… that’s it. Thanks!

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**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/5 "2003-10-03T15:05:56Z")

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Another useful word for that kind of talk is **grandiloquence.** The adjective form is **grandiloquent.**

**Loquacious** means very talkative, but it doesn’t carry the big-words angle. It does, however, carry the following wordplay.

“Mrs. Waggintongue talks so much, she doesn’t have time to **loquacious** going.”

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**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/6 "2003-10-03T21:02:32Z")

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**Verbose** also means tending to use a lot of words.

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**Author:** ![BarnOwl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@BarnOwl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BarnOwl)\
**Post date:** [October 3, 2003, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-a-word/205327/7 "2003-10-03T21:49:19Z")

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logorrhea - diarrhea of the mouth.