50 Rare Words That Are Useful to Know
Curated from: yourdictionary.com
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- Accismus (n): a useful term for pretending to be disinterested in something when you actually want it. Pull this word out when you see someone acting like he doesn’t want the last donut.
- Acumen (n): If you can easily make decisions or learn important things, you are displaying acumen. This positive word is a great term to use when paying someone a compliment.
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- Anachronistic (adj): When something doesn’t fit with its historical context, it’s anachronistic. This is a great word to use when writing history papers or talking about your favorite historical dramas. Pull it out when you point out the soda can in the background of a period movie.
- Anthropomorphize (v): When someone gives human characteristics to something inanimate, that person is anthropomorphizing that thing. From personification in literature to your brother making his stuffed animals talk, this is a useful and unusual word to know.
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- Apricate (v): A beautiful and uncommon word based on a Latin term, apricate means to bask in the sunshine. Pull this gem out when you’re commenting on your cat’s behavior or writing about your last trip to the beach.
- Bastion (n): A bastion is a place that is well-defended, but it can also be used to describe an institution or person who holds firm to principles. Use it when talking or writing about social institutions, politics, news organizations, and more.
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- Behoove (v): You can use behoove as a verb that means to be necessary or appropriate for something else. It comes in handy when telling someone why they should do something or when writing a persuasive essay.
- Burgeon (v): When you’re talking about something that is growing noticeably, you might say that it is burgeoning. You can use this term literally or figuratively.
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- Convivial (adj): Use this great adjective to describe someone or something that is great company. You can use convivial to pay a compliment to a group of people or use it to describe a gathering you enjoyed.
- Conundrum (n): If you run into a problem that doesn’t have a clear solution or an obvious correct answer, you can call it a conundrum. This is a good word to have on hand when you’re writing a research paper.
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11-12
- Credulity (n): Do you know someone who is gullible or willing to believe things without proof? Use the word credulity to describe this character trait. You’ll also find this useful in essays, especially about critical thinking.
- Crepuscular (adj): You know how some animals are nocturnal and some are diurnal, but what about animals like deer that are active during dawn and dusk? These animals are crepuscular.
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- Edify (v): Some things serve to build people up in a moral or intellectual sense. When you write or speak about something like this, use the verb edify.
- Egregious (adj): Use egregious to describe something that is really extraordinary but negative at the same time. It comes in handy for writing or talking about people breaking important laws or rules.
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15-16
- Effete (adj): Sometime, you meet someone or encounter something that is overly refined - even to the point of uselessness. That thing is effete.
- Eschew (v): If you’re trying to stay away from something on purpose, you are eschewing that thing. This is useful when talking about intentional choices in personal essays.
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17-18
- Fatuous (adj): Sometimes you need to describe someone or something that is foolish or silly. That’s a great time to use the word fatuous.
- Fractious (adj): If something is difficult to control and generally bad-tempered, you can describe it as fractious. This is useful when talking about cranky children or animals.
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19-20
- Galvanize (v): Another great essay word, galvanize means to stimulate someone to act. Certain life events or situations can inspire other actions and events, and they are perfect for this word.
- Imperious (adj): If you need to describe a person or thing that is bossy and domineering for no good reason, use the word imperious. It’s ideal for personal essays about siblings.
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21-22
- Impetus (n): Something that makes something else happen is an impetus. You can use this word in many types of writing - from speeches to persuasive essays.
- Insouciant (adj): Someone who is very calm and doesn’t seem bothered by the concerns of daily life can be described as insouciant. This is a great positive word to use in a variety of situations.
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23-24
- Interlocutor (n): When you’re describing the participants of a conversation, you’re talking about the interlocutors. It’s a handy word for talking about discussions.
- Lionize (v): This awesome positive L word is a verb you can use to talk about celebrities and important historical figures and the way people view them. Lionize means to treat someone as a hero.
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49-50
- Visceral (adj): Have you ever felt something so deeply that it affected you on an emotional level? You had a visceral reaction to that thing.
- Zeugma (n): A figure of speech in which one word has a double meaning within a sentence, zeugma is a useful term for language arts papers. An example of this would be, “He stole my heart and my car.”
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- Melange (n): Anything that is a mixture of seemingly unrelated things is a melange. You can use this in the abstract to talk about apparently unrelated qualities or ideas.
- Metanoia (n): When you’re talking about a fundamental shift in how someone sees something, you’re talking about metanoia. This is a great unusual word to use in essays.
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- Myriad (n): When you need to talk about a lot of something, especially diverse elements of a larger whole, use the uncommon word myriad. It’s surprisingly useful in daily conversations too.
- Noisome (adj): If you need to describe something that is harmful or really annoying to the point of near harm, use the word noisome. It’s also ideal for describing something that smells bad.
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29-30
- Obfuscate (v): Have you ever seen someone make something more confusing than it needs to be? That person is obfuscating a concept.
- Odious (adj): The word odious is ideal when you need to describe something that is horrible and unpleasant, even disgusting. Think of it as a more extreme and vivid version of “obnoxious.”
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31-32
- Ostensibly (adv): Sometimes, something appears to be true, but it may not be. That thing is ostensibly true.
- Paucity (n): When something is scarce, there is a paucity of it. This is a good and uncommon word that is extremely useful when talking about a lack of evidence for a claim.
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33-34
- Penultimate (adj): It’s easy to describe the first thing and the last thing, but what about the second to the last thing in a series? That thing is the penultimate.
- Pernicious (adj): Some habits or actions are especially destructive, even to the point of being deadly. These things are described as pernicious.
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35-36
- Perspicacious (adj): If you need to pay someone a compliment for their good judgement and clear thinking, you can describe that person as perspicacious. It’s a great word that is as rare as it is positive.
- Philistine (n): Calling someone a philistine is less of a compliment. It means a person who is closed-minded and doesn’t care about the culture and values around him or her.
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37-38
- Prevaricate (v): Ever need to describe someone who won’t give a straight answer to a question or who tends to dance around a topic without directly addressing it? That person is prevaricating.
- Rapscallion (n): Some people are just extremely playful and full of mischief. If you need to describe them in an essay or other work, call them rapscallions.
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39-40
- Sagacious (adj): Know someone who is wise and always uses great judgement? That person is sagacious.
- Sanguine (adj): Refers to a person who is cheerful and confident.
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41-42
- Serendipity (n): Have you ever experienced a happy accident, such as finding a lost $20 bill in your pocket right when you needed it? That’s serendipity.
- Solipsist (n): Do you know someone who is extremely self-absorbed and doesn’t think about the perspectives or needs of others? That person is a solipsist.
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43-44
- Synecdoche (n): A figure of speech that uses a part to represent a whole. You’ll find these are surprisingly common, making this a useful word to know. Some synecdoche examples include “head” to represent cattle, “wheels” to talk about a car, and “Kleenex” to represent tissues.
- Timorous (adj): Someone who is scared, fearful, or simply shy may be described as timorous. This is useful term when writing narratives and describing characters.
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- Ubiquitous (adj): Another really useful word that isn’t common is ubiquitous. It means something that is everywhere at the same time.
- Uhtceare (n): Do you wake up before dawn and feel anxious? That moment and experience is described by the Old English word uhtceare.
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47-48
- Ultracrepidarian (n): If a person offers opinions that extend beyond his or her knowledge, that person is an ultracrepidarian. This is a useful word for narratives and character descriptions.
- Verisimilitude (n): When something looks like the real thing, it has verisimilitude. A great example of this would be vinyl flooring that looks like stone.
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CURATOR'S NOTE
The key to using these rare words is understanding their meaning.
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