Uncommon Words in English

Uncommon Words

English is a vast language, rich with expressions, idioms, and vocabulary. While most of us are familiar with everyday words, there’s an entire world of uncommon words waiting to be discovered. These words add depth, color, and sophistication to your speech and writing. Whether you’re a writer, student, or language lover, mastering these lesser-known terms can help you communicate with greater precision and style.

What Are Uncommon Words?

Uncommon words are vocabulary terms that are rarely used in everyday conversation.

• Archaic or poetic
• Specialized in academic or professional fields
• Sophisticated synonyms of common words
• Words borrowed from other languages with unique meanings

Uncommon Words with Meanings and Examples

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Abditory	A hiding place	He stored the diary in a secret abditory beneath the floorboards.
Aberrant	Deviating from the usual or natural type	His aberrant behavior raised concerns among the neighbors.
Abjure	Formally renounce a belief or claim	She had to abjure her former allegiance to join the new regime.
Abrogate	Repeal or do away with	The treaty was abrogated by mutual agreement.
Abstemious	Self-disciplined, especially with food or drink	He is known for his abstemious lifestyle.
Acumen	Sharpness in decision-making	Her business acumen impressed the board.
Agog	Highly excited or eager	The kids were agog with anticipation before the show.
Amenable	Open to suggestions; agreeable	He was amenable to discussing new proposals.
Apricity	The warmth of the sun in winter	I sat outside to enjoy the apricity on a chilly morning.
Auspicious	Promising success; favorable	It was an auspicious beginning to the year.
Austere	Strict or plain in style or manner	The room had an austere elegance.
Bibliopole	A seller of rare books	The bibliopole had a priceless collection of first editions.
Bibulous	Fond of alcoholic drinks	His bibulous habits eventually took a toll on his health.
Bowdlerize	To censor by removing parts	The novel was bowdlerized for school reading.
Brobdingnagian	Huge; gigantic	They built a Brobdingnagian statue at the entrance.
Cabal	A secret faction or clique	A political cabal conspired to seize power.
Cacophony	A harsh, discordant sound	The street was filled with a cacophony of horns and sirens.
Cetacean	A member of the whale family	Whales and dolphins are examples of cetaceans.
Chatoyant	Changing in color like a cat’s eye	The ring had a stunning chatoyant gem.
Chicanery	Deception by trickery	He used political chicanery to win the election.
Churlish	Rude in a mean-spirited way	His churlish behavior ruined the dinner.
Circumlocution	Using more words than necessary	Her explanation was full of circumlocution.
Contretemps	An unexpected and unfortunate occurrence	A minor contretemps disrupted the meeting.
Coruscate	Sparkle or flash	Her eyes coruscated with excitement.
Deciduous	Shedding annually, especially leaves	Deciduous trees are bare in winter.
Defenestration	Throwing someone out of a window	The play included a dramatic defenestration scene.
Detente	The easing of hostility or strained relations	The summit helped bring about a détente between the two countries.
Diffident	Lacking confidence	He was too diffident to ask the question.
Diminutive	Extremely small	She had a diminutive voice that barely carried.
Docket	A list of things to be done or considered	The judge reviewed the day’s docket.
Dysania	Difficulty getting out of bed	My dysania gets worse during cold winters.
Eleemosynary	Relating to charity or giving	The eleemosynary institution feeds thousands every year.
Empyrean	Heavenly or celestial	They stared at the empyrean beauty of the night sky.
Ephemeral	Lasting for a very short time	Beauty is often described as ephemeral.
Esoteric	Understood by a select few	The philosopher’s ideas were too esoteric for the general public.
Euphony	Pleasant sound	The poem was admired for its euphony.
Expurgate	To remove offensive parts	The editor expurgated all controversial statements.
Extrinsic	Not part of the essential nature	His motivation was extrinsic, driven by rewards.
Farrago	A confused mixture	The novel was a farrago of genres.
Fatuous	Silly and pointless	He made a fatuous comment that nobody laughed at.
Fiduciary	Involving trust, especially in finance	He had a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of his client.
Flagitious	Shockingly wicked	The villain committed flagitious crimes.
Fractious	Irritable and quarrelsome	The fractious crowd became difficult to manage.
Fulsome	Excessively flattering or insincere	His fulsome praise was hard to believe.
Garrulous	Excessively talkative	The garrulous taxi driver chatted the whole ride.
Gauche	Lacking grace or social polish	His gauche manners embarrassed his friends.
Gerrymander	To manipulate electoral boundaries	The district was gerrymandered for political advantage.
Halcyon	Calm and peaceful	I long for the halcyon days of childhood.
Hirsute	Hairy	The hirsute beast roamed the forest freely.
Idempotent	Producing the same result even if executed multiple times	The function is idempotent in computer programming.
Importunate	Persistent to the point of annoyance	The importunate beggar followed him down the street.
Ineffable	Too great to be expressed in words	The ineffable beauty of the mountains took his breath away.
Ingratiating	Intended to gain approval	His ingratiating smile seemed insincere.
Insipid	Lacking flavor or interest	The soup was bland and insipid.
Insouciant	Showing a casual lack of concern	She strolled through the chaos in an insouciant manner.
Jejune	Naive, simplistic, and superficial	His jejune arguments lacked depth.
Jibe	Agree or be in accord	His story didn’t jibe with the witness accounts.
Juxtapose	To place side by side for contrast	The exhibition juxtaposed modern art with classical works.
Limerence	The state of being infatuated	Her limerence for him was obvious to everyone.
Limn	To depict or describe in painting or words	The artist limned a peaceful village scene.
Limpid	Clear and transparent	Her limpid eyes reflected the lake’s calm.
Loquacious	Very talkative	The loquacious host kept the audience entertained.
Lugubrious	Mournful, gloomy	His lugubrious tone made the story even sadder.
Macerate	To soften by soaking	Let the fruit macerate in sugar overnight.
Magnate	A wealthy and influential person	He was a steel magnate in the 19th century.
Mellifluous	Pleasant to hear	Her mellifluous voice captivated the crowd.
Meretricious	Apparently attractive but lacking value	The hotel’s décor was meretricious and tacky.
Moiety	A portion or part	A moiety of the profits went to charity.
Noctivagant	Wandering at night	The noctivagant figure disappeared into the darkness.
Obfuscate	To make unclear or obscure	Politicians often obfuscate the truth.
Onus	A burden or responsibility	The onus is on you to complete the task.
Orison	A prayer	He offered an orison before sleeping.
Osculate	To kiss	The statue depicts two lovers about to osculate.
Paradigm	A typical example or model	This new design is a paradigm of efficiency.
Parsimony	Extreme unwillingness to spend money	His parsimony was famous among his peers.
Pasquinade	A satirical written piece	The cartoon was a pasquinade aimed at the government.
Pecuniary	Relating to money	He suffered pecuniary losses after the scam.
Peregrinate	To travel or wander from place to place	They peregrinated across Europe during the summer.
Pithy	Concise and forcefully expressive	Her speech was short but pithy.
Potentate	A powerful ruler	The potentate ruled with an iron fist.
Pragmatic	Dealing with things sensibly	She took a pragmatic approach to the problem.
Protean	Able to change easily or frequently	He’s a protean actor who can play any role.
Prurient	Having or showing excessive interest in sexual matters	The movie was criticized for its prurient content.
Quixotic	Unrealistically idealistic	His quixotic mission was noble but impractical.
Quotidian	Occurring every day; ordinary	He found poetry in the quotidian details of life.
Rarefied	Understood by a small, elite group	The book was full of rarefied academic references.
Recapitulate	To summarize	Let me recapitulate the main points.
Recreant	Cowardly or unfaithful	He was labeled a recreant for fleeing battle.
Recumbent	Lying down or resting	She lay in a recumbent position on the couch.
Reify	To make something abstract more real or concrete	The novel reified complex emotions into relatable stories.
Remunerative	Financially rewarding	Writing freelance articles proved highly remunerative for her.
Scion	A descendant of a wealthy or influential family	The young scion inherited a vast fortune.
Sobriquet	A nickname	“The Iron Lady” is a well-known sobriquet for Margaret Thatcher.
Stochastic	Randomly determined	Weather is often influenced by stochastic factors.
Supercilious	Arrogant and disdainful	His supercilious attitude offended many.
Supernumerary	Exceeding the usual number	They hired supernumerary staff for the event.
Susurration	Whispering or rustling sound	The susurration of the leaves was calming.
Susurrus	A soft murmur or whisper	We heard the susurrus of waves from our cottage.
Sycophantic	Excessively flattering	His sycophantic manner didn’t impress the boss.
Tautology	Needless repetition	“Free gift” is a common tautology.
Teleological	Related to purpose or design	His arguments were based on teleological reasoning.
Timorous	Showing or suffering from nervousness	She gave a timorous smile during her first performance.
Tintinnabulation	The ringing or tinkling of bells	The tintinnabulation of church bells echoed in the valley.
Umbra	The darkest part of a shadow	The moon entered Earth’s umbra during the eclipse.
Unctuous	Excessively flattering, often insincerely	He gave an unctuous speech to win approval.
Vorfreude	Joyful anticipation	The child’s vorfreude before Christmas was contagious.
Wamble	Stomach rumbling or rolling sensation	After eating too much, he felt a wamble in his belly.
Xanthic	Yellowish	The artist used xanthic tones to depict the sunset.
Yen	A deep desire or craving	She had a yen for travel and adventure.
Zephyr	A soft, gentle breeze	A spring zephyr brushed across the meadow.

Uncommon words are not just linguistic curiosities they are powerful tools for expression. By learning and using them, you refine your command of English and discover new ways to share your thoughts with elegance and precision. Start by adding a few to your vocabulary every week, and you’ll be amazed at how much more colorful your communication becomes.

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