The Most Beautiful Words in the English Language
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Posted by Jennifer Copley Mar 12, 2009 |
Curious as to what others consider to be the most beautiful words in the English language, I did a search and found a number of lists. In addition to numerous personal lists posted on blogs, I discovered a Top 70 List that was generated via a survey of thousands of people in various countries and a Top 100 List compiled by language expert Dr. Robert Beard, in which two words relating to cats made the cut:
- Ailurophile - cat lover
- Chatoyant - like a cat's eye
Although I liked Dr. Beard's list and agreed with most of his selections, a lot of great words didn't make the cut despite appearing frequently as the favourites of various bloggers. I've listed beautiful words that don't appear on Dr. Beard's list below, along with synonyms or brief definitions. If you would like to add your own favourite beautiful words not on this list, please feel free to post them in the comments.
Beautiful Nouns
- Ambience – atmosphere, mood, “vibe”
- Ambrosia – food of the gods; something that smells and tastes wonderful
- Anathema – loathed
- Aphorism – saying, maxim, adage, cliché
- Avarice - greed
- Cacophony – discordant or jarring noise
- Cadence – lilt, intonation, accent, inflection, tone
- Cascade – flow, fall, gush, surge, tumble
- Cataclysm – catastrophe, disaster, calamity
- Catharsis – bringing to light and purging or purifying previously subconscious negative feelings
- Chasm – gulf, abyss, rift
- Cipher – code, symbol, secret message; nobody, nonentity
- Conflagration – fire, inferno
- Consonance – agreement, harmony; repetition of consonants; sympathetic vibration
- Cupidity – greed, avarice, covetousness, selfishness, miserliness
- Decrepitude – disrepair, decay, collapse, ruin, shabbiness
- Demagogue – one who has made false claims and promises and used of the prejudices of others to gain power
- Denouement – end, conclusion, finale
- Disquietude – anxiety, agitation
- Dissolution – closure, disbanding, termination, ending
- Dissonance – discord, disagreement, dissension
- Duplicity – deceit, dishonesty, disloyalty, treachery, unfaithfulness
- Enigma – mystery, puzzle, riddle
- Ennui – boredom, languor, tedium, world-weariness
- Epitome – essence, height, embodiment, archetype
- Hedonist – one who believes that pleasure is the primary purpose or good in life
- Litany – long recitation, often involving individual items (i.e., complaints)
- Maelstrom – violent whirlpool that sucks in everything in its midst; violent or turbulent situation
- Malaise- depression, dissatisfaction, melancholy
- Miasma – mist, haze, fog, murk, cloud
- Minutia – trivial detail
- Nadir – lowest point
- Nexus – connection, link, center
- Opulence – wealth, luxury, lavishness
- Oscillation – fluctuation, vacillation, alternation, undulation
- Pandemonium – mayhem, chaos, bedlam
- Paroxysm – convulsion, fit, spasm, outburst
- Quintessence – essence, epitome, embodiment, personification, perfect example, ideal
- Sepulchre – tomb, grave, crypt, mausoleum, resting place
- Svengali – a persuasive, manipulative individual with evil intent
- Synchronicity – being synchronized; meaningful coincidence
- Zenith – highest point; peak of success
Elegant Verbs
- Beguile – entice, lure, charm, captivate, mesmerize, fascinate, enthral
- Coalesce – unite, combine, come together
- Cohere – join together, gel, stick together
- Encompass – include
- Enrapture – captivate, enchant, beguile, enthral, fascinate
- Invoke – evoke, bring to mind, call upon, appeal to, remind of, make reference to
- Malinger – feign injury or illness to avoid duty or work
- Rhapsodize – speak or write in an extravagantly emotional manner
- Suffuse – flood, spread, permeate, imbue, steep, fill
Evocative Adjectives
- Amorphous – formless, shapeless, nebulous, unstructured, fluid
- Aquiline – curved, hooked
- Arcane – mysterious, esoteric, secret, deep, unfathomable, hidden, unknowable
- Bacchanalian – riotous, boisterous, drunken revelry or festivity
- Byzantine – complex, intricate, convoluted, complicated
- Capricious – unpredictable, impulsive, variable, changeable, fickle, unreliable, erratic
- Cerebral – intellectual, rational, brainy, analytical, logical
- Cloying – overly sweet or sentimental, syrupy, sugary
- Consanguineous – of the same origin or blood
- Contumacious - rebellious
- Craven – cowardly, spineless, weak
- Crestfallen – dejected, disappointed, deflated
- Dauntless – fearless
- Demotic – common, popular
- Desiccated – dry, shrivelled, dehydrated
- Desultory – aimless, random, haphazard, indiscriminate
- Diaphanous – almost transparent, see-through, sheer, filmy, gossamer
- Dilapidated – decrepit, rundown, decaying, ramshackle
- Disconsolate – unhappy, gloomy, dejected, miserable
- Disingenuous – insincere, untruthful, hypocritical, deceitful, devious
- Dispassionate – calm, composed, unruffled, unemotional
- Draconian – cruel, severe
- Ebullient – happy, cheerful, fun, jovial
- Extemporaneous – impromptu, makeshift, spur of the moment
- Idyllic – peaceful, tranquil, restful, calm, relaxing, pleasant
- Impassioned – emotional, fervent, ardent
- Impervious – impermeable, resistant, unreceptive, inflexible, unyielding, unwavering, rigid, unmovable
- Impetuous – rash, hasty, impulsive, reckless
- Incandescent – glowing, radiant, luminescent
- Incarnate – personified, in person, alive
- Incendiary – flammable, provocative, inflammatory, aggressive, rabble-rousing
- Incognito – disguised, undercover, anonymously
- Incorporeal – disembodied, ghostly, spiritual, ethereal
- Inexorable – unalterable, unstoppable, unchangeable, inescapable, inevitable, unavoidable, relentless
- Iridescent – shimmering, shining, glistening, glittering
- Languid – relaxed, leisurely, lazy, indolent, lethargic, sleepy, graceful, slow-moving
- Lascivious – lustful, lewd
- Luminous – glowing, brilliant, shining, radiant, bright, incandescent
- Machiavellian – scheming, deceitful, tricky, cunning, sly, underhanded, wily
- Malevolent – malicious, wicked, spiteful
- Mellifluous – quiet, low, gentle, melodious
- Mercurial – unpredictable, changeable
- Myriad – countless, numerous
- Nebulous – vague, hazy, ill-defined
- Nefarious – evil, wicked, despicable
- Querulous – argumentative, cantankerous, irritable, difficult, petulant, grouchy, confrontational
- Quiescent – quiet, dormant, inactive, inert
- Quixotic – idealistic, romantic, unrealistic, dreamy
- Salacious – scandalous, exciting, sensational
- Sanguinary – murderous, bloodthirsty
- Saturnine – sardonic, gloomy
- Somnolent – sleepy, drowsy
- Sonorous – resonant, echoing, loud, deep
- Soporific – sleep-inducing
- Stygian – forbidding, dark, gloomy
- Sublime – transcendent, uplifting, magnificent, inspiring
- Succulent – juicy, tender, moist, luscious
- Tempestuous – stormy, passionate, emotional, turbulent
- Tessellated – having a mosaic pattern or checkered appearance
- Visceral – intuitive, instinctive, gut (as in gut feeling)
- Vulpine- foxy, crafty
- Scurrilous – insulting, slanderous, defamatory, libellous
- Supercilious – arrogant, condescending, disdainful, haughty, pompous, patronizing