Cool words you know or found - Expand your vocabulary & share yours with others

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Nepenthe. In its most literal definition, it's a likely fictional drug that Homer described in the Odyssey that banishes grief or trouble from a person's mind. Used metaphorically, it's anything that can distract you from or make you forget your troubles. It just sounds really cool.
 
Execrable, adj. - Thoroughly bad or unpleasant.

Grandiloquent, adj. - Refers to a pompous way of speaking.

Plumicorn, n. - The feathery tufts on the heads of some species of owl. Heard this one on a birdwatching podcast and found it delightful.
 
Consign
kən-sīn′

-To give over to the care or custody of another.
-To put in or assign to an unfavorable place, position, or condition:
-To set apart, as for a special use or purpose; assign.
 
Squinancy (with variants such as squinacy, squinance, squinsy, and quinsy): "Inflammation of the throat or parts of the throat; suppuration of the tonsils; tonsillitis." Ultimately derived from a popular form of the medieval Latin word quinancia (which was itself derived from the Greek κῠνᾰ́γχη, or cynanche (lit. 'dog's quinsy')). The word survives in its shortest variant quinsy, though it's also referred to as a peritonsillar abscess.

I originally came across this word while reading a biblical commentary by John Gill, where he discussed the suicide of Judas Iscariot in the context of the verse in Matthew 27:5, with special reference to Acts 1:18. There, he discussed explanations meant to reconcile the account in Matthew with Peter's statement regarding Judas' death, with the usual explanation being that he (Judas) fell from a height after hanging himself, and thus his body burst upon the rocks below. Yet, Gill also mentioned Judas' dying:
". . .by a disease called the squinancy, or quinsy, a suffocation brought upon him by excessive grief, deep melancholy, and utter despair; when being choked by it, he fell flat upon his face, and the rim of his belly burst, and his entrails came out. This disease the Jews call "Iscara"; and if it was what he was subject to from his infancy, his parents might call him Iscariot from hence; and might be designed in providence to be what should bring him to his wretched end: and what is said of this suffocating disorder, seems to agree very well with the death of Judas."
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skul·dug·ger·y
/ˌskəlˈdəɡ(ə)rē/

noun

  1. underhanded or unscrupulous behavior; trickery.
    "a firm that investigates commercial skulduggery"
 
Noun
antanaclasis

(rhetoric) The repeated use of the same word or phrase, but with a different meaning each time; a kind of paronomasia.

Example
I'm not a businessman, I'm a business, man— Lyrics by Jay-Z
 
my favorite word glossolalia. I love the way it rolls off the tongue.
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This word just came into my mind: Perqueer - By heart

I've always found death metal lyrics useful when looking for new words. The grunts are usually unintelligible but they tend to try to compensate for this with a wide use of vocabulary.
 
Sesquipedalian - Long word
Peradventure - Perchance, perhaps
Circumlocution - The use of unnecessarily wordy language, especially in being vague or evasive.

I like those words, I never have any opportunity to use them. Peradventure, the sesquipedalian "circumlocution" can accurately describe the language of congressional bills.
 
semantic satiation
noun: a psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds. Extended inspection or analysis (staring at the word or phrase for a long time) in place of repetition also produces the same effect.

Mnutu said:
The 3 M’s:
Micturate - to urinate
Masticate - to chew
Masturbate
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there's also the three p's, which are the most common symptoms of diabetes
polydipsia: excessive thirst
polyphagia: excessive appetite
polyuria: excessive urination
 
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