Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Most Beautiful 100 Words in English

Ailurophile: A cat-lover.

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.

Chatoyant: Like a cat's eye.

Comely: Attractive.

Conflate: To blend together.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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: An inclination.

Pyrrhic: Successful with heavy losses.

Quintessential: Most essential.

Ratatouille: A spicy French stew.

Ravel: To knit or unknit.

Redolent: Fragrant.

Riparian: By the bank of a stream.

Ripple: A very small wave.

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.

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.

Vestigial: In trace amounts.

Wafture: Waving.

Wherewithal: The means.

Woebegone: Sorrowful, downcast.

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