Here is our top list of uncommon words you can add to your writing.

Most writers avoid using uncommon words to avoid confusing readers. However, unfamiliar words make pieces unique and interesting. Get acquainted with uncommon words and how you can incorporate them into sentences via this guide. It pairs nicely with our list of mood words for literature.

What Are Uncommon Words?

Uncommon English words are those rarely seen or used in written and verbal communication. Although uncommon words have their own meaning, many still prefer a term that is easier to spell, pronounce, and understand. 

Absquatulate	Gobbledygook	Profound
Accismus	Hirquiticke	Puissant
Acnestis	Imperious	Quire
Acumen	Impetus	Quirky
Agelast	Insouciant	Rejigger
Apricate	Interlocutors	Rendezvous
Auspicious	Jetsam	Roundabout
Ballistic	Kakorrhaphiophobia	Schmooze
Bastion	Kindle	Scintillating
Bibble	Lay	Scion
Biblioklept	Lionize	Serendipity
Bowdlerize	Magnate	Sister-son
Bumfuzzle	Melange	Sonder
Burgeon	Meldrop	Spellbound
Carouse	Metanoia	Straightway
Cockaigne	Mooch	Supercilious
Conundrum	Myriad	Timorous
Convivial	Nauseant	Ubiquitous
Credulity	Nesh	Ulotrichous
Dainty	Nincompoop	Unctuous
Defile	Noisome	Usurp
Edify	Obelus	Vie
Ephemeral	Octothorpe	Visceral
Eschew	Onism	Waif
Fatuous	Operose	Wittol
Festoon	Ostensibly	Wreathe
Finagle	Paradigm	Xertz
Fortnight	Pauciloquent	Yammer
Fractious	Peristeronic	Zeitgeist
Galvanize	Prevaricate	Zenith

Do you want to work with other writers? Check out our guide on the best collaborative writing apps.

Uncommon Words: Nouns

We usually employ uncommon nouns in formal speech or writing. These words are helpful when discussing politics, traditional ceremonies, and other formal presentations to depict the solemnity or seriousness of the subject.

1. Acumen

Our company needs a capable lawyer with strong business acumen. 

2. Agelast

There’s no point in bringing David to a comedy show; the guy is an agelast!

3. Bastion

The general orders the palace soldiers to retreat to their bastion and regroup.

4. Biblioklept

I’m sure she’s a biblioklept; we kept finding our missing books in her room. 

5. Cockaigne

She copes with the tragedy by visiting her Cockaigne.

6. Conundrum

The increasing number of criminals presents a conundrum to the government. 

7. Credulity

Cedrick is the person who always believes everything online; I’m afraid that this credulity will get him into trouble.

8. Gobbledygook

I will never understand her aerospace gobbledygook.

9. Hirquiticke

Her mom is strict because she doesn’t want her daughter to be a hirquiticke.

10. Impetus

The president’s support is the impetus we need to push the campaign against gender inequality forward.

11. Interlocutors

The argument between the two interlocutors is getting more intense.

12. Kakorrhaphiophobia

Her Kakorrhaphiophobia stops her from having fun during competitions.

13. Magnate

Elon Musk is one of the top 10 business magnates today.

14. Meldrop

It’s freezing today; take a handkerchief with you in case you get a meldrop.

15. Myriad

The design you want is available in a myriad of sizes and colors.

16. Nauseant

Do you have any anti-nauseant medication I can take?

17. Nincompoop

You need to watch her closely because she’s a nincompoop.

18. Obelus

Obelus is the division symbol we use in math.

19. Octothorpe

Adding an octothorpe to your Twitter post lets it reach more people.

20. Onism

I try to avoid the onism that visits me whenever I look up at the late night sky.

21. Paradigm

He’s a paradigm of a successful business executive.

22. Quire

He ordered a quire of bond paper for his class project.

23. Rendezvous

Our rendezvous point is at the first U-turn sign. 

24. Scion

Daniel is the sole scion of his family.

25. Serendipity

It’s serendipity that brought us here tonight.

26. Sonder

He embraces the sonder and has the habit of watching people walk by the cafe window.

27. Wittol

Her father loves his wife so much that he’s willing to be a wittol.

28. Zeitgeist

I crave the zeitgeist of the late 1800s.

Uncommon Words: Adjectives

Avoid repetitive descriptive words by showing off the breadth of your vocabulary with the following uncommon adjectives. Learn these words to express your ideas better and paint a clearer picture for your readers.

29. Auspicious

The family considers her sudden return an auspicious occasion.

30. Ballistic

My father will go ballistic when he finds out I’m failing all my classes.

31. Convivial

I expect the event to be one of the most convivial programs I will ever attend.

32. Dainty

I prefer dainty jewelry that can easily match any clothing.

33. Ephemeral

I refuse to follow the current fashion trend because it’s just an ephemeral phase.

34. Fatuous

Some people use heavy filters that make them look more fatuous than ever.

35. Fractious

Everyone will soon hate her if she doesn’t change her fractious behavior.

36. Imperious

The revolutionaries plan to revolt against the imperious ruler who named himself King.

37. Insouciant

He’s always been insouciant about everything.

38. Noisome

Her noisome perfume makes me want to puke.

39. Operose

Her parents have spoiled her so much since she was a child that she considers making her bed an operose task.

40. Pauciloquent

It’s normal for him to be pauciloquent whenever he’s surrounded by strangers.

41. Peristeronic

I dream of renovating our balcony and turning it into a peristeronic parapet.

42. Profound

Romeo and Juliet is a classic and profound story that transcends through generations.

43. Puissant

Social media influencers today believe they are a puissant group of people entitled to free accommodations.

44. Quirky

Her quirky personality makes her unpredictable.

45. Roundabout

My driver said we’ll take a roundabout route to avoid the traffic.

46. Scintillating

They packed the play with scintillating dialogues and detailed stage props.

47. Spellbound

The kids are all spellbound by the magician during his performance.

48. Supercilious

Many of his associates avoid working with him on any project because of his supercilious behavior.

49. Timorous

Adelaide is a timorous child; she always runs away and hides whenever someone talks to her.

50. Ubiquitous

Coffee shops offering free Wi-Fi connections are ubiquitous around the college belt.

51. Unctuous

Her unctuous tone makes people think she’s hard to befriend.

52. Ulotrichous

I used to have an ulotrichous mane.

53. Visceral

Andie’s visceral reaction to the movie we watched last time keeps us from choosing another scary film.

Uncommon Words: Verbs

The verb is the most important of the eight parts of speech. Without it, a sentence is incomplete. Like adjectives, broadening the list of verbs you know makes it easier to use them in your subsequent work. In creative writing, staying away from monotonous and redundant words that can bore your readers is critical.

54. Absquatulate

She wants to absquatulate whenever her parents fight.

55. Apricate

Since my grandmother told me sunlight is good for the body, I always apricate every morning.

56. Bowdlerize

I’m unsure if I should bowdlerize my content as doing so lessens my stories’ impact on my followers.

57. Bumfuzzle

The members of the group like to bumfuzzle people with their flowery words.

58. Burgeon

My family expects my belly to burgeon quickly because I have triplets on the way.

59. Carouse

Most people with many problems go to the bar to carouse and forget their troubles for at least one night.

60. Defile

Pornographic movies defile the minds of the youth.

61. Edify

They plan to edify themselves by attending the local monastery for the rest of the year.

62. Eschew

A good kid must eschew any violence happening around him.

63. Finagle

I’m torn between admiring or hating her skills to finagle her way out of a difficult situation.

64. Galvanize

As student leaders, we have to galvanize our fellow students into being responsible and taking part in the change we need to support the next generation.

65. Kindle

She’s a sought-after guru because her specialty lies in her ability to kindle others’ desire to improve themselves. 

66. Lionize

Supporters of the winning candidate are hoping to lionize him, but people from the losing side are obviously against the celebrations.

67. Mooch

They are nothing but scums who mooch off on their relatives, friends, and any innocent people they can trick. 

68. Prevaricate

Do not prevaricate and tell us exactly why you lied about being with the suspect on the night of the murder.

69. Rejigger

According to the news, the government will rejigger the tax assessment procedures to ensure that it is fair for its citizens.

70. Schmooze

My mom is very social; she loves to attend parties and schmooze friends and strangers.

71. Usurp

The late King’s bastard son plans to usurp the Crown Prince before the coronation.

72. Vie

The two little boys constantly vie with their younger sister for their parent’s attention.

73. Wreathes

Mely’s mom wreathes flowers into Christmas ornaments during the holiday season whenever she’s free.

74. Xertz

Last summer was so hot that I needed to xertz a full glass of cold water every hour!

75. Yammer

My neighbor likes to yammer about various things back in the day.

Other Uncommon Words in the English Language

If you’re looking for more uncommon words to practice and improve your skills, here are more unusual terms to know and have fun with alone or with friends. 

76. Accismus 

Being too accismus, even if you like him, can make him give up and move on from you.

77. Acnestis

My dog always rubs its back on the table’s legs because it can’t scratch its acnestis.

78. Bibble

She tends to bibble loudly whenever her food contains liquid.

79. Festoon

She asked us to festoon the whole place with her favorite things.

80. Fortnight

Do you know how much it will cost me to book a staycation for a fortnight?

81. Jetsam

To lighten the ship’s weight, the sailors move the jetsam to the sea.

82. Lay (Lai)

Arin is on the seventh line of the lay he intends to gift his English professor.

83. Melange

Her collection is a melange of music albums, DVDs, photographs, toys, and other collectors’ items.

84. Metanoia

She wants to attend a retreat, hoping to experience metanoia and finally get the courage to restart her life.

85. Nesh

She’s too nesh to go to the movies without a thick coat.

86. Ostensibly 

They are glued to the hips, ostensibly so in love that they refuse to part for even a second.

87. Sister-son

My sister-son is the little boy currently dancing on the stage; his name is Andrew.

88. Straightway 

The palace maid calls the King straightway when the Queen faints.

89. Waif

He’s willing to do anything for the family because they saved him from being a waif.

90. Zenith

Everyone is proud of Joon as his singing career is now at its zenith.

See our list of mood words to build emotion for your next literature piece.

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