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The 117 most beautiful words in the English language...


Stashed in: Emotion, Beauty, Things organized neatly., Imzy

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The blog at the link above is regularly down for me so I'm caching the list of words here:

Acquiesce Submit or comply silently or without protest.

Ailurophile A cat-lover.

Ameliorate To make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory

Assemblage A gathering.

Becoming Attractive.

Beleaguer To exhaust with attacks.

Brood To think alone.

Bucolic In a lovely rural setting.

Bungalow A small, cozy cottage.

Callipygous Having beautifully proportioned buttocks.

Cathartic Inducing catharsis; purgative.

Chatoyant Like a cat’s eye.

Comely Attractive.

Conflate To blend together.

Crestfallen Dejected; dispirited; discouraged

Cynosure A focal point of admiration.

Dalliance A brief love affair.

Demesne Dominion, territory.

Demure Shy and reserved.

Denouement The resolution of a mystery.

Desuetude Disuse.

Desultory Slow, sluggish.

Diaphanous Filmy.

Dissemble Deceive.

Dulcet Sweet, sugary.

Ebullience Bubbling enthusiasm.

Effervescent Bubbly.

Efflorescence Flowering, blooming.

Effluence The act or an instance of flowing out.

Elision Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.

Elixir A good potion.

Eloquence Beauty and persuasion in speech.

Embrocation Rubbing on a lotion.

Emollient A softener.

Ephemeral Short-lived.

Epiphany A sudden revelation.

Erstwhile At one time, for a time.

Ethereal Gaseous, invisible but detectable.

Evanescent Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.

Evocative Suggestive.

Fetching Pretty.

Felicity Pleasantness.

Forbearance Withholding response to provocation.

Fugacious Fleeting.

Frisson A moment of intense excitement.

Furtive Shifty, sneaky.

Gambol To skip or leap about joyfully.

Glamour Beauty.

Gossamer The finest piece of thread, a spider’s silk.

Halcyon Happy, sunny, care-free.

Harbinger Messenger with news of the future.

Imbrication Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.

Imbroglio An altercation or complicated situation.

Imbue To infuse, instill.

Incipient Beginning, in an early stage.

Ineffable Unutterable, inexpressible.

Ingénue A naïve young woman.

Inglenook A cozy nook by the hearth.

Insouciance Blithe nonchalance.

Inure To become jaded.

Labyrinthine Twisting and turning.

Lachrymose Given to tears or weeping.

Lagniappe A special kind of gift.

Lagoon A small gulf or inlet.

Languor Listlessness, inactivity.

Lassitude Weariness, listlessness.

Leisure Free time.

Lilt To move musically or lively.

Lissome Slender and graceful.

Lithe Slender and flexible.

Love Deep affection.

Loquacious Talking or tending to talk much or freely.

Mellifluous Sweet sounding.

Moiety One of two equal parts.

Mondegreen A slip of the ear.

Murmurous Murmuring.

Nemesis An unconquerable archenemy.

Offing The sea between the horizon and the offshore.

Onomatopoeia A word that sounds like its meaning.

Opulent Lush, luxuriant.

Palimpsest A manuscript written over earlier ones.

Panacea A solution for all problems.

Panoply A complete set.

Pastiche An art work combining materials from various sources.

Penumbra A half-shadow.

Petrichor The smell of earth after rain.

Plethora A large quantity.

Propinquity Proximity; Nearness

Pyrrhic Successful with heavy losses.

Quintessential Most essential.

Ratatouille A spicy French stew.

Ravel To knit or unknit.

Redolent Fragrant.

Resplendence Splendid or dazzling in appearance.

Riparian By the bank of a stream.

Ripple A very small wave.

Saccharine Overly or sickishly sweet.

Scintilla A spark or very small thing.

Sempiternal Eternal.

Seraglio Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.

Serendipity Finding something nice while looking for something else.

Soliloquy The act of talking to oneself

Summery Light, delicate or warm and sunny.

Sumptuous Lush, luxurious.

Surreptitious Secretive, sneaky.

Susquehanna A river in Pennsylvania.

Susurrous Whispering, hissing.

Talisman A good luck charm.

Tintinnabulation Tinkling.

Umbrella Protection from sun or rain.

Untoward Unseemly, inappropriate.

Vespertine Relating to, or occurring in the evening.

Vestigial In trace amounts.

Wafture The act of waving or a wavelike motion.

Wherewithal The means.

Woebegone Sorrowful, downcast.

Zephyr A gentle breeze.

Bonus WordsUpdated: 16/4/2016 With thanks to the comment section!

Abeyance Temporary inactivity, cessation, or suspension.

Acataphasia A loss of the ability to express oneself using organized syntax.

Azure A variation of blue that is often described as the color of the sky on a clear summer’s day

Benevolence Desire to do good to others

Callipygous Having shapely buttocks.

Desideratum Something wanted or needed.

Ensorcell To bewitch or enchant someone.

Juxtaposition The state of being close together or side by side.

Lullaby A song used to lull a child to sleep; cradlesong.

Malevolence Wishing evil or harm to another or others.

Quixotic Impulsive and often rashly unpredictable.

Sovereign Having supreme rank, power, or authority.

Superfluous Unnecessary or excessive.

Syllogism An extremely subtle, sophisticated, or deceptive argument.

Synecdoche Simultaneous understanding

Turpitude A vile or depraved act. 

Velvet A very pleasant, luxurious, desirable situation.

Verisimilitude A philosophical concept that distinguishes between the truth and the falsity of assertions and hypotheses.

Ooh I love this.  BTW I feel like "uncle" is one of the ugliest words in English.

Because of the phrase "say uncle"?

No not because of that.  Just say it outloud to yourself several times slowly, that its the only thing I can suggest.  When it stops sounding like a real word, listen to the noise you are actually making. 

Ah, yes. I hear it. Bad word!

Acataphasia A loss of the ability to express oneself using organized syntax.

Yeah that. What he said. 

The world really needed a word for that!

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