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.
Contents
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 |
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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.
- Acumen
Our company needs a capable lawyer with strong business acumen.
- Agelast
There’s no point in bringing David to a comedy show; the guy is an agelast!
- Bastion
The general orders the palace soldiers to retreat to their bastion and regroup.
- Biblioklept
I’m sure she’s a biblioklept; we kept finding our missing books in her room.
- Cockaigne
She copes with the tragedy by visiting her Cockaigne.
- Conundrum
The increasing number of criminals presents a conundrum to the government.
- Credulity
Cedrick is the person who always believes everything online; I’m afraid that this credulity will get him into trouble.
- Gobbledygook
I will never understand her aerospace gobbledygook.
- Hirquiticke
Her mom is strict because she doesn’t want her daughter to be a hirquiticke.
- Impetus
The president’s support is the impetus we need to push the campaign against gender inequality forward.
- Interlocutors
The argument between the two interlocutors is getting more intense.
- Kakorrhaphiophobia
Her Kakorrhaphiophobia stops her from having fun during competitions.
- Magnate
Elon Musk is one of the top 10 business magnates today.
- Meldrop
It’s freezing today; take a handkerchief with you in case you get a meldrop.
- Myriad
The design you want is available in a myriad of sizes and colors.
- Nauseant
Do you have any anti-nauseant medication I can take?
- Nincompoop
You need to watch her closely because she’s a nincompoop.
- Obelus
Obelus is the division symbol we use in math.
- Octothorpe
Adding an octothorpe to your Twitter post lets it reach more people.
- Onism
I try to avoid the onism that visits me whenever I look up at the late night sky.
- Paradigm
He’s a paradigm of a successful business executive.
- Quire
He ordered a quire of bond paper for his class project.
- Rendezvous
Our rendezvous point is at the first U-turn sign.
- Scion
Daniel is the sole scion of his family.
- Serendipity
It’s serendipity that brought us here tonight.
- Sonder
He embraces the sonder and has the habit of watching people walk by the cafe window.
- Wittol
Her father loves his wife so much that he’s willing to be a wittol.
- 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.
- Auspicious
The family considers her sudden return an auspicious occasion.
- Ballistic
My father will go ballistic when he finds out I’m failing all my classes.
- Convivial
I expect the event to be one of the most convivial programs I will ever attend.
- Dainty
I prefer dainty jewelry that can easily match any clothing.
- Ephemeral
I refuse to follow the current fashion trend because it’s just an ephemeral phase.
- Fatuous
Some people use heavy filters that make them look more fatuous than ever.
- Fractious
Everyone will soon hate her if she doesn’t change her fractious behavior.
- Imperious
The revolutionaries plan to revolt against the imperious ruler who named himself King.
- Insouciant
He’s always been insouciant about everything.
- Noisome
Her noisome perfume makes me want to puke.
- Operose
Her parents have spoiled her so much since she was a child that she considers making her bed an operose task.
- Pauciloquent
It’s normal for him to be pauciloquent whenever he’s surrounded by strangers.
- Peristeronic
I dream of renovating our balcony and turning it into a peristeronic parapet.
- Profound
Romeo and Juliet is a classic and profound story that transcends through generations.
- Puissant
Social media influencers today believe they are a puissant group of people entitled to free accommodations.
- Quirky
Her quirky personality makes her unpredictable.
- Roundabout
My driver said we’ll take a roundabout route to avoid the traffic.
- Scintillating
They packed the play with scintillating dialogues and detailed stage props.
- Spellbound
The kids are all spellbound by the magician during his performance.
- Supercilious
Many of his associates avoid working with him on any project because of his supercilious behavior.
- Timorous
Adelaide is a timorous child; she always runs away and hides whenever someone talks to her.
- Ubiquitous
Coffee shops offering free Wi-Fi connections are ubiquitous around the college belt.
- Unctuous
Her unctuous tone makes people think she’s hard to befriend.
- Ulotrichous
I used to have an ulotrichous mane.
- 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.
- Absquatulate
She wants to absquatulate whenever her parents fight.
- Apricate
Since my grandmother told me sunlight is good for the body, I always apricate every morning.
- Bowdlerize
I’m unsure if I should bowdlerize my content as doing so lessens my stories’ impact on my followers.
- Bumfuzzle
The members of the group like to bumfuzzle people with their flowery words.
- Burgeon
My family expects my belly to burgeon quickly because I have triplets on the way.
- Carouse
Most people with many problems go to the bar to carouse and forget their troubles for at least one night.
- Defile
Pornographic movies defile the minds of the youth.
- Edify
They plan to edify themselves by attending the local monastery for the rest of the year.
- Eschew
A good kid must eschew any violence happening around him.
- Finagle
I’m torn between admiring or hating her skills to finagle her way out of a difficult situation.
- 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.
- Kindle
She’s a sought-after guru because her specialty lies in her ability to kindle others’ desire to improve themselves.
- Lionize
Supporters of the winning candidate are hoping to lionize him, but people from the losing side are obviously against the celebrations.
- Mooch
They are nothing but scums who mooch off on their relatives, friends, and any innocent people they can trick.
- Prevaricate
Do not prevaricate and tell us exactly why you lied about being with the suspect on the night of the murder.
- Rejigger
According to the news, the government will rejigger the tax assessment procedures to ensure that it is fair for its citizens.
- Schmooze
My mom is very social; she loves to attend parties and schmooze friends and strangers.
- Usurp
The late King’s bastard son plans to usurp the Crown Prince before the coronation.
- Vie
The two little boys constantly vie with their younger sister for their parent’s attention.
- Wreathes
Mely’s mom wreathes flowers into Christmas ornaments during the holiday season whenever she’s free.
- Xertz
Last summer was so hot that I needed to xertz a full glass of cold water every hour!
- 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.
- Accismus
Being too accismus, even if you like him, can make him give up and move on from you.
- Acnestis
My dog always rubs its back on the table’s legs because it can’t scratch its acnestis.
- Bibble
She tends to bibble loudly whenever her food contains liquid.
- Festoon
She asked us to festoon the whole place with her favorite things.
- Fortnight
Do you know how much it will cost me to book a staycation for a fortnight?
- Jetsam
To lighten the ship’s weight, the sailors move the jetsam to the sea.
- Lay (Lai)
Arin is on the seventh line of the lay he intends to gift his English professor.
- Melange
Her collection is a melange of music albums, DVDs, photographs, toys, and other collectors’ items.
- Metanoia
She wants to attend a retreat, hoping to experience metanoia and finally get the courage to restart her life.
- Nesh
She’s too nesh to go to the movies without a thick coat.
- Ostensibly
They are glued to the hips, ostensibly so in love that they refuse to part for even a second.
- Sister-son
My sister-son is the little boy currently dancing on the stage; his name is Andrew.
- Straightway
The palace maid calls the King straightway when the Queen faints.
- Waif
He’s willing to do anything for the family because they saved him from being a waif.
- 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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