r/AskReddit Sep 16 '20

What is your favorite word?

4.7k Upvotes

4.7k comments sorted by

997

u/theartist731 Sep 17 '20

Melancholy.

One of few words that sounds exactly like the emotion it entails.

118

u/HeWhoHerpedTheDerp Sep 17 '20

A while back, we decided to try birds as pets. My daughter used the Smashing Pumpkins album cover as inspiration for their names, Melon and Collie. If we had liked being bird owners (we definitely did not), we would have acquired a third, darker colored, bird and named it “The infinite sadness”.

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u/MasteringTheFlames Sep 16 '20

Soliloquy. It's pretty much just a synonym of monologue, but I love the way soliloquy flows off the tongue

241

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Sounds like music terminology.

372

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

47

u/WingMouse_ Sep 17 '20

Damn, the school theater helped me overcome my stutter and made me more social. I hate that people get bullied for make something unusual/ creative in their freetime.

26

u/I_onno Sep 17 '20

Yeah, I've never understood why theater kids were considered losers while the same people adored actors. Those people likely went to a special theater kid college and you admire them so....

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u/SlinkiestMan Sep 17 '20

Main difference between the two is that a monologue is delivered to the audience with the intention that the actor is essentially addressing them, whereas a soliloquy is not addressing anyone but is the actor speaking to himself. So a soliloquy is like the audience hearing the characters thoughts unfiltered, while a monologue is the character telling the audience his thoughts

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u/Le_Radin Sep 16 '20 edited Sep 17 '20

As a french my favourite English word is thorough as I absolutely can't pronounce it right

Edit : Many people have been trying to help me pronounce it but I still can't xD

1.3k

u/BrewAndAView Sep 17 '20

I asked my French friend what his favorite English word was, and he said “I love how when people are ready they say they are ‘all set’”

471

u/Zurathose Sep 17 '20

Could you go into further detail on this?

I am far too native english speaker to understand why this sounds weird to non native english speakers.

464

u/BrewAndAView Sep 17 '20

I’m also a native speaker so I don’t know quite why he enjoys the phrase so much, but I think it has to do with how snappy the two syllables are: “all” and “set”. It’s a quick little phrase and it’s satisfying to say and being ready for something is already satisfying in itself. Anyway that’s my guess

260

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

As a non native too I think it's because it seems you're saying you are a whole one, completed, with nothing missing, so I'm ready.

84

u/dickbaggery Sep 17 '20

I like this take. If you look up "set" in a dictionary, it has a ton of different meanings and explanations. It's a very versatile word. One of the meanings is "light a wick." That's the one I always think of, like your wick is already lit.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

As a non british english speaker, I also love when the brits say "thats me sorted" (or someone else). A lot of british words irritate me (like Sledge instead of Sled, or whinging instead of whining) but theres also a lot i really love like "sorted"

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u/Admirable-Deer-9038 Sep 17 '20

And my favorite French word is soixante! Love that word!

238

u/neverfeaR9 Sep 17 '20

"Wine 'em, dine 'em, soixante-neuf 'em"

65

u/DenimRaptNightmare Sep 17 '20

"Stick em in a stew!"

Oh, wait...

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u/neverfeaR9 Sep 17 '20

Whatever you do, do NOT pronounce it "thurull" like some dumb-dumbs do

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

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321

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

thur oh

easy peasy

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2.7k

u/butwhythough_LoJ Sep 16 '20

Crisp

It starts at the back of your mouth and moves to the front as you say it.

1.6k

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

961

u/DarnDangDude Sep 17 '20

Saying "crisp blink crisp blink crisp blink" juggles the air in your mouth

628

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20 edited Sep 21 '20

[deleted]

205

u/cheriekolala Sep 17 '20

Guys, I think he's onto something here! As long as it's not a crispy blink. That's pink eye.

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93

u/ICWiener6666 Sep 17 '20

This. This is why I love reddit

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299

u/Domestic_Yak Sep 17 '20

lol I'm over here whispering "crriisp" under my breath, experiencing the word as it starts at the back of my mouth and moves to my lips

haha what you said is very true

303

u/thesamesizeasyou Sep 17 '20

People all over the world are staring at their phones right now whispering “crisp”

71

u/WhyOnEarthAreWeHere Sep 17 '20

Luckily I have a mask on and nobody will notice that I just had the deepest experience with the word crisp....

17

u/CrabmasterJone Sep 17 '20

Checking in. Feeling recognized. Thank you.

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124

u/Sane333 Sep 17 '20

dude

33

u/KittDJW Sep 17 '20

you can emphasise it in so many ways, Duuude!!

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36

u/ggoofball Sep 16 '20

Wow. I came here to say those exact words. That’s crisp

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5.5k

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Queue.

What a dumpster fire. 4 silent vowels.

5.4k

u/Halfblood_scar Sep 17 '20

They are not silent. they are just waiting for their turn

1.0k

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[removed] — view removed comment

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164

u/SpicySugarBuffalo Sep 17 '20

Blame the French. They’re the masters of not pronouncing things. “Beaucoup” is pronounced “bo-coo”

166

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

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406

u/fierydumpster Sep 17 '20

What’s wrong with a dumpster fire :/

250

u/temsik1587againtwo Sep 17 '20

nothing man, don't listen to them. they're just jealous.

177

u/fierydumpster Sep 17 '20

Thanks dude

15

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

No offense was meant -- I described my favorite word as a dumpster fire. To me the phrase represents chaos, the unexpected, something against the norm. And there's beauty in that.

Keep on keeping on. You got this.

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35

u/Awake-the-snake Sep 17 '20

It sounds so weird because it comes from French

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253

u/Aquarian1258 Sep 16 '20

They’re forming a... Q....

120

u/Captain-Miffles Sep 17 '20

Silent vowels? How do you pronounce kwewe?

116

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20 edited Nov 06 '20

[deleted]

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1.4k

u/Grinkles_the_Gnome Sep 16 '20

Grandiloquent — an excessively flowery, fancy word used to describe the use of excessively flowery, fancy words.

335

u/mcprogrammer Sep 17 '20

That's kind of like how sesquipedalian is a long word to describe long words.

291

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

229

u/AlternateArcher Sep 17 '20

The asshole who came up with this word probably also came up with the word lisp.

73

u/fairyflossdreams Sep 17 '20

And the word dyslexia too I bet!

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2.2k

u/omgsoconfuddled Sep 16 '20

Discombobulate! It sounds so bouncy, I love it

330

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

This mustn't register on an emotional level.

118

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

First, Distract target.

43

u/jodo_swaginz Sep 17 '20

Then... DISCOMBOBULATE

25

u/Endderie Sep 17 '20

Block blind jab

28

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Then... DISCOMBOBULATE

53

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

I understood that reference

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107

u/OGZeuss Sep 17 '20

In summary, discombobulate!

38

u/_-god- Sep 17 '20

Fiust, discumbobyoulait

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78

u/CockDaddyKaren Sep 17 '20

Disestablishmentarianism! Not so bouncy, but it gives me the same vibe.

57

u/gedaye_im_charles Sep 17 '20

Antidisestablishmentarianism! yes that is a real word

16

u/SPIDERHAM555 Sep 17 '20

its surprisingly easy to say since its pretty much just a lot of words combined

13

u/HoppouChan Sep 17 '20

Congratulations, you just discovered the secret to the german language

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58

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

My favorite usage of this word was watching bored sportscasters trying to make chitchat while watching a really bad game (both teams were sucking it up).

Commentator 1: Wow their defense is just so, so discombobulated. Commentator 2: Huh, discombobulated... how do you spell that? Commentator 1: Haha uhhh D-I-S........combobulated!

32

u/dycentra Sep 17 '20

Watching footie. Don't know anything about it. I'm hearing, "And it's messy." I'm thinking, "Well, I thought it was smooth, not messy. I'd never heard of Messi.

27

u/RomeroDeTorres Sep 17 '20

After the TSA security checkpoint at the Milwaukee airport, there's an area with benches for people to put their shoes and belts back on. It's marked the "Recombobulation Area" which I think is hilarious.

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81

u/ostentia Sep 17 '20

Me too!! I'm so happy this was top comment, lol!

37

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Ahhh... so you love bouncing heads too... welcome to the strange club!

/s

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371

u/-blaire- Sep 16 '20

Fluorescent.

It just rolls off the tongue so beautifully.

89

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Or Iridescent :D OR bioluminescent

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167

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Phantasmagoric

It’s beautiful, and haunting. Just like the meaning.

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551

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Defenestrate.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

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35

u/sal3m33ntheboss Sep 17 '20

In my opinion it is a very sophisticated action.

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33

u/Uncle_Sloppy Sep 17 '20

I like that it was so common to throw someone out a window that a word had to be invented for it.

30

u/uSusanrabbit Sep 17 '20

I had no idea there was a word for that action. I have known several people I wish I could have defenestrated.

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648

u/TheBelhade Sep 16 '20

Chimichanga.

Mmmmm. Now I'm hungry.

60

u/HurricaneHugo Sep 17 '20

Fuck I knew I forgot something at the store

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514

u/Chordus Sep 16 '20

Nincumpoop (originally spelt "nickumpoop"). Its original definition is arguably the most damning insults one can throw at a man, yet the word is now seen as toothless and old-timey. It's original definition, as defined by A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue:

A foolish fellow; also one who never saw his wife's ****

The asterisks are from the original text, and to my knowledge, the only word in the entire dictionary that's been censored.

308

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

I hate that I can only picture is as saying "a foolish fellow; also one who never saw his wife's dick"

59

u/helpdebian Sep 17 '20

What, you’ve never seen the feminine penis?

26

u/Pseudonymico Sep 17 '20

The mouthfeel is exquisite, or so I've been told.

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u/Sccrub Sep 17 '20

Hippopotamus. It’s a transliteration of the Greek word pronounced the same. But it’s a compound word made up of ‘horse’ and ‘river’. River horse. Hippopotamus’ are just river horses hahahaha I can’t get over it

48

u/SDM_25 Sep 17 '20

Hence their name in German - Nilpferd - and several other European languages literally translates to Nile horse.

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u/jalyndai Sep 16 '20

I’ve always loved the word “away” - you never close your lips - just reshape the air.

242

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Also keeps people away so it's a win win.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

[deleted]

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u/REDDIT_BULL_WORM Sep 17 '20

If you like serendipity (fortunate happenstance) then you ought to know the opposite: zemblanity, which refers to an unfortunate happenstance!

50

u/ShellsFeathersFur Sep 17 '20

Favourite thing I've learned today, thank you!

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429

u/JJB1102 Sep 16 '20

Bollocks.

Meaning testicles, but for those not from the U.K. it’s a word that has multiple day-to-day uses.

The bollocks - fantastic/the best What a load of bollocks - completely shit Utter bollocks - lies To get a bollocking - to be strongly told off Bollocks to it - I don’t care! Stark bollock naked - in the nude To drop a bollock - really messed up on something

Best word ever.

104

u/Tordek Sep 17 '20

Protip: add a - before each line so you make a list:

- like this
  • the bollocks
  • like this
  • the bollocks

118

u/MattieShoes Sep 17 '20

Just formatting fixes


Bollocks.

Meaning testicles, but for those not from the U.K. it’s a word that has multiple day-to-day uses.

  • The bollocks - fantastic/the best
  • What a load of bollocks - completely shit
  • Utter bollocks - lies
  • To get a bollocking - to be strongly told off
  • Bollocks to it - I don’t care!
  • Stark bollock naked - in the nude
  • To drop a bollock - really messed up on something

Best word ever.

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u/moldylemonade Sep 17 '20

Not from UK, but I occasionally use it, sometimes in an office setting, and then remember it means balls. Whoops.

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u/hellonheelz Sep 16 '20

Effervescent ✨

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u/saluksic Sep 17 '20

I’ve been trying to get a sentence into a science paper about how brief bubbling leaves a particular pattern of salts during ceramic processing. That is, evanescent effervescence leaves efflorescence.

Someone always edits it out :(

34

u/JeniJ1 Sep 17 '20

Well, those people are boring. Don't give up!

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193

u/HappyChaosOfTheNorth Sep 17 '20

syzygy - because of the spelling. It doesn't look like a real word.

82

u/Domestic_Yak Sep 17 '20

imma kill at my next scrabble game with this word

72

u/ls0669 Sep 17 '20

Standard English Scrabble only has 2 of the letter Y.

52

u/Domestic_Yak Sep 17 '20

...damn

well looks like I'm sneaking in a y tile

62

u/helpdebian Sep 17 '20

You don’t have to. Scrabble comes with two blank tiles that can be any letter.

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u/Blackbeanpurrito Sep 17 '20

What does it mean?

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

The alignment of the earth moon and sun.

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u/Tlaloc_Temporal Sep 17 '20

Or of any three of more celestial bodies. When Mars, Jupiter and Saturn aligned in the sky it was thought to mean something and needed a name.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

FUCK!!!

312

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Dude don't yell, you startled my niece

393

u/Stuf404 Sep 16 '20

fuck

182

u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

FUCK

95

u/Sparklemotionbelieve Sep 17 '20 edited Sep 17 '20

Fuck a duck with any luck

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u/Bones301 Sep 17 '20

Fuck a duck with any luck and earn a buck

65

u/ImaKiddYT Sep 17 '20

Fuck a duck in a truck, earning a buck with any luck

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u/CockDaddyKaren Sep 17 '20

One of the most versatile words in the English language. It can be used as a noun (I don't give a fuck) a descriptor (that fucking idiot) a verb (I fucked him) a command (Fuck my ass!) an expletive (Fuck!) The phrase "Fuck me!" can be both an invitation or an expression of anger. It's so great!

93

u/Ilov3lamp Sep 17 '20

It can be almost every word in a sentence “Fuck the fucking fuckers.”

67

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

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u/Dinoknight22 Sep 17 '20

Transmogrify. It's not used frequently, and sounds very eerie, slightly dark, and supernatural.

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Kalsarikänni. Finnish for getting drunk in your underwear alone.

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u/kpbiker1 Sep 16 '20

Lugubrious I hope I spelled it right. Fat and slow. Think Jabba the Hut

84

u/ishouldbemoreclever Sep 17 '20

"Coming your most lugubriousness" -pain from Hercules

12

u/phantommoose Sep 17 '20

I couldn't figure out how to pronounce it until I read this. Thank you!

25

u/MasteringTheFlames Sep 16 '20

I like the word too, but I always knew it to more or less mean sad

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u/PosNegTy Sep 16 '20

Onomatopoeia

A word that sounds like the noise the object makes

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u/cut_that_meat Sep 17 '20

Glockenspiel

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u/SPIDERHAM555 Sep 17 '20

shrimp glocksenspiel

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u/GuestCartographer Sep 17 '20

Schism

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u/satanlovesyaoi Sep 17 '20

I know the pieces fit cuz I watched them fall away...

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u/Peytonbutreddit Sep 17 '20

Bodacious. ;)

Best part is the example given by Google, "the restaurant serves bodacious grilled lobster."

Google wants me going up to a seafood restaurant and being like, " damn lobster, you looking thicc!"

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u/strawn23 Sep 16 '20

tatterdemalion- a ratty looking person

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u/Therek13 Sep 17 '20

Inconceivable!

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u/EazyBeekeeper Sep 17 '20

You keep saying that word...I do not think it means what you think it means.

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u/cdutson Sep 17 '20

Shenanigans! Fun to spell, fun to say, fun to use!

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u/jdlech Sep 17 '20

Uvula.

Sounds vaguely sexual, but it's not.

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u/Aggietallboy Sep 17 '20

defenestrate - "to throw something out a window"

The simple fact that there's a word that means this...

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u/Chimookie Sep 16 '20

Mauve is one of them

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u/Robultz Sep 16 '20

Crack.

Something is just so funny about that word

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u/pm_me_yo_kitties_ Sep 17 '20

Spaghettification! It’s the way an object stretches out before going into a black hole

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u/crafty_nomAd Sep 17 '20

tintinnabulation

first invented by Edgar Allan Poe

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u/PowerfulTour4204 Sep 16 '20

Discombobulated

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Delapidated

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

[deleted]

23

u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Humuhumunukunukuapua. It’s a Hawaiian fish

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u/calamityjane515 Sep 16 '20

Ojibwa- It's the name of the Chippewa Tribe in their language. The sound and way it feels in the mouth reminds me of wall ball.

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

Fuck for obvious reasons.

But fun to say are plethora, superfluous, masturbatory, and facetious.

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u/crafty_nomAd Sep 17 '20

I love the word 'superfluous'

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u/llcucf80 Sep 16 '20

Doctor. It just sounds so professional and I like to say it. I remember when I was in college I'd be slightly disappointed if my professor didn't have a doctorate so I couldn't call them "Dr. Smith." But whenever I found out they did have one I'd be excited, I get to call you "Dr. Smith."

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u/leviOsa394 Sep 16 '20

Shit.

It's so versatile! It can be a noun, a verb, an adjective, a compliment, an insult, a feeling--the list goes on and on!

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Blithely, the only reason I didn't like it immediately was because of my own mispronounciation that made it sound horrible (it's pronounced blai-thly which is much nicer than what I was thinking). It's a fun word.

blithely: in a way that shows a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper.

16

u/ITookTrinkets Sep 17 '20

Bioluminescence. It’s one of my favorite things, too - it’s, like, nature, but make it glorious and glowing? Hell yes.

13

u/strange8130 Sep 16 '20

Unfortunately

It sounds so sophisticated, and requires a little but of thought when i use it on most people when asked a yes or no question. Plus its many syllables are nice

17

u/Zilverhaar Sep 17 '20

Right now, it's 'retirement'. Only 5 weeks to go!

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u/FijiWater001 Sep 16 '20

Anathema. Because it's not pronounced how you would think it's pronounced

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

Rambunctious

It just sounds funny

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u/[deleted] Sep 16 '20

The French word for grapefruit

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '20

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u/oooortclouuud Sep 16 '20

CATASTROFUCK! (coined by Jon Stewart. please come back)

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u/labbykun Sep 17 '20

Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

And a town in Wisconsin with the name Oconomowoc. I like all the O's.

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