Obscure Words

We strive to bring you the rarest words possible

Beautiful and Useless Words

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3>
Are they lovely, are they pointless, or are they both?
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Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 2>
They're wonderful. They're obscure. They're often quite pointless.
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Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 1>
Some may be more useful than others.
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Obscure Word Lists

9 Irregular and Unpredictable Words>
Trick your word game opponents
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Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'>
7 old-fashioned and obscure ways to say "stupid"
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"Pettifogger," "Stumblebum," and Others Who Don't Pull Their Weight>
We don't doubt they're trying their very best.
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9 Words for Impostors>
Fakes, fraudsters, charlatans and more
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8 Obscure Words for Sleepy Times>
Just because you're tired doesn't mean you have to use boring vocabulary
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Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 4>
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19 Words for the Cranky and Disagreeable>
We're not mad. You're mad.
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8 Words for Witchcraft and Black Magic>
Featuring witchcraft, dark magic, evil spirits, and more
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10 Polite Words for Impolite People>
'Flibbertigibbet', 'cupboard-lover', & other words for people who get on your nerves
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Words for Things You Didn't Know Have Names>
What to call that groove above your lip
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13 Bizarre Things That Somehow Have Words>
Featuring sword dances, frog-tossing, and the letter 'M'
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'Dunderhead' and Other ‘Nicer’ Ways to Say Stupid>
As illustrated by some very smart, very good pups
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13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)>
Once you learn these rare words, we challenge you to use them in conversation.
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13 Unusually Long English Words>
Pulchritudinous, polyphiloprogenitive, and more
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'In Vino Veritas' and Other Latin Phrases to Live By>
Top 10 Latin Phrases—plus a few more
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11 Obscure Words for Thieves>
Featuring yeggs, jackrollers, footpads, and more
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7 Underused Adverbs Beginning with A>
Toss aside 'actually' and 'already': there are other 'A' words out there
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6 Obscure Words for Messes>
We'll tidy them up and make them presentable.
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Forgotten Games: Or, What We Did Before The Internet>
Anyone up for a game of 'hot cockles'?
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Less Than Funny Bodily Humor Words>
From the sanguine to the downright choleric
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Pruritic, Urticant, and other Words for Itchy>
Scratching your itch for obscure words
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Obscure Words for Everyday Feelings>
Words for specific and obscure feelings
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'Hypnagogic' and Obscure Words You Never Use>
So useful, so underused.
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Songs You May Not Have Heard Of (But Definitely Heard)>
'Aubade,' 'threnody,' and other songs for the right mood
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Quiz Time

(Obscure) Word Matters Podcast

Obscure Word Histories