Uncommon English words and why you should use them.
The English dictionary comprises over 250,000 words, roughly 50,000 of which are obsolete, uncommon, or forgotten. For this first post, I will share five of these words.
Heteroclite
/ˈhedərəˌklīt/
Originated in the late 15th. A more common synonym is eccentric.
Noun
- An abnormal thing or person.
- An irregularly declined word, especially a Greek or Latin noun.
Adjective
- Abnormal or irregular
Example. “I once witnessed my heteroclite neighbor sweep the driveway while a tornado warning was in effect.”
Juggernaut
/ˈjəɡərˌnôt,ˈjəɡərˌnät/
Originating in the mid-19th century, Sanskrit (a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages.)
Noun
- A huge, powerful, and overwhelming force or institution with the ability to crush anything in its path.
Example. “The poor shrimp boat could not survive the constant onslaught created by the juggernaut waves.”
Sehnsucht
/ˈzānˌzo͝oKHt/
Of German origin, mid-19th century.
Noun
- Yearning; wistful longing.
Example. “Kids often felt a Sehnsucht to grow up and be adults. Not realizing that many adults wish they were kids again. “
Kakorrhaphiophobia
/kak·or·rhaph·io·pho·bia ˌkak-ə-ˌraf-ē-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə/
Of Greek origin. Very rare word.
Noun
- An abnormal fear of failure or defeat.
“No matter how much therapy, support, and guidance, Patrick could not beat his Kakorrhaphiophobia, and he hated himself for it.”
Verisimilitude
/ˌverəsəˈmiləˌto͞od/
Noun
- The appearance of being true or real.
“Authors should use plenty of details to have verisimilitude if looking to create a novel grounded in reality.”
There you have it. What do you think?
Have you heard these before? Do any of them stick out? Do you actively use them in your vocabulary?
These are all pretty neat words that should be kept in circulation.
Feel free to share or comment below. I’ll be back with five more words next month.
In the meantime feel free to check out the blog, or my novel, Fresh Meat.
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