37 Intriguing Lexemes | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

37 Intriguing Lexemes

A miscellany of words!

39
37 Intriguing Lexemes
https://offphoto.wordpress.com

Language is a fascinating thing. It gives people the ability to communicate with others, to share their thoughts, ideas, and feelings with other people. There is so much power in language. As most people know, words can convey great meaning and effect people in tremendous ways. However, sometimes there are feelings or ideas that may be difficult to express without the right words. And sometimes, the descriptions of certain concepts are defined by words that many people do not realize exist. So, here is a list of some interesting words that you may want to start using (if nothing usage of these words may impress your friends).

  • Alexithymia: an inability to describe emotion in a verbal manner
  • Blatherskite: a person who talks at great length without actually making much sense
  • Defenestration: the act of throwing someone out of a window (who knew it happened enough to earn its own term?)
  • Disenthrall: to set someone free of enslavement
  • Ethereal: extremely delicate, light, not of this world
  • Ensorcell: to enchant or fascinate someone (remember that the next time you have a crush)
  • Futz: to waste time (the one talent we all have!)
  • Hiraeth: a homesickness for a home you cannot return to or that never existed
  • Hwyl: a stirring feeling of emotional motivation and energy (Welsh term)
  • Iridescent: generating a display of rainbow colors
  • Meacock: a coward (and my new favorite insult)
  • Nacarat: a bright orange-red color
  • Nefarious: wicked, evil, villainous
  • Neologism: a new word, usage, or expression (the paradoxical word for new words!)
  • Noyade: an execution carried out by drowning
  • Nyctophilia: the love of the darkness or nighttime
  • Obnubilate: to darken, dim, or obscure something
  • Panurgic: able or ready to do anything (not sure that’s a good thing, or a bad thing)
  • Petrichor: the pleasant, earthy smell after rain (and I know you just imagined the smell while reading the definition)
  • Pother: a commotion or fuss (Stop making a pother!)
  • Prosopagnosia: an inability to recognize the faces of familiar people (now that’s terrifying)
  • Rawky: foggy, damp, and cold
  • Schadenfreude: the feeling of pleasure at another person’s pain or misfortune (points for Germany for describing this complex feeling so succinctly)
  • Serendipity: the chance occurrence of events in a favorable way
  • Sonder: the realization that every person has a life as complex and vibrant as your own
  • Surreal: marked by the intense, irrational reality of a dream (Also, the word of the year in 2016! Bet you didn’t know that there even was a word of the year. I know I didn’t prior to writing this.)
  • Spaghettification: the process by which an object falling into a black hole would be stretching and ripped apart by gravitational forces (who know pasta could be so theoretically frightening)
  • Tellurian: of or inhabiting the earth
  • Triskaidekaphobia: extreme superstition about the number 13
  • Ulu: a short-handed knife with a broad, crescent-shaped blade (great tool for your kitchen!)
  • Uroboros: a circular symbol of a snake (or dragon) swallowing its own tail. It is a symbol for infinity or wholeness.
  • Velleity: a wish or inclination which is not strong enough to lead one to take action (what new year resolutions are commonly comprised of)
  • Vellichor: the strange wistfulness of used book stores (so many stories and tales from the minds of other people, how truly wonderful)
  • Wanderlust: a strong longing or impulse to travel
  • Word Salad: a jumble of incoherent phrases or words, sometimes observed in schizophrenia
  • Xenology: the scientific study of extraterrestrial phenomenon
  • Zorro: south American fox

And many, many more! There are so many interesting words and phrases, and new ones are being created every day. Don’t limit your grammar to text phrases, and expand your vocabulary!

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Student Life

How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition

10 ways to prepare for finals week—beginning with getting to the library.

470
How To Prepare For The Library: Finals Edition
Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again when college students live at the library all week, cramming for tests that they should have started studying for last month. Preparing to spend all day at the library takes much consideration and planning. Use these tips to help get you through the week while spending an excessive amount of time in a building that no one wants to be in.

Keep Reading...Show less
girl roommates
StableDiffusion

Where do we begin when we start talking about our roommates? You practically spend every moment with them, they become your second family and they deal with you at your best and at your absolute worst. They are there to make you laugh just a little harder, cry a little less and make each day a little better. We often forget to thank them for the little things that they do to make college even a tiny bit easier and more fun. This list of 26 things are what you should thank your roommates for right this minute and every day that you live with them.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

20 Thoughts While Studying For Finals

I may or may not be stressing right now.

1632
Thoughts While Studying For Finals
StableDiffusion


That time of the semester has arrived once again, finals. The worst week ever. Who thought it was a good idea for all your classes to have exams all in the same week? Definitely not me. Here's 20 thoughts you may have studying for finals.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

Disney magic for New Year!

The "Happiest Place on Earth" has a lot of characters with some pretty great advice.

6588
Disney magic kingdom castle on new years
StableDiffusion

Disney movies are well known and very popular in today's world. Although many people appreciate the plot and the storyline, not many people appreciate the wisdom these characters possess. Every Disney movie has unique advice that can be applied to everyday life. Here are 11 Disney quotes to help start your New Year off right:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Gift Ideas for the Indecisive

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

120744
Christmas gifts around a tree
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2024, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments