Most
beautiful words in the English language
Acquiesce Submit or
comply silently or without protest.
Ailurophile A
cat-lover.
Ameliorate To make or
become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory
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.
Callipygous Having
beautifully proportioned buttocks.
Cathartic Inducing
catharsis; purgative.
Chatoyant Like a
cat’s eye.
Comely Attractive.
Conflate To blend
together.
Crestfallen Dejected;
dispirited; discouraged
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.
Effluence The act or
an instance of flowing out.
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.
Frisson A moment of
intense excitement.
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.
Juxtaposition The state
of being close together or side by side.
Labyrinthine Twisting
and turning.
Lachrymose Given to
tears or weeping.
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.
Loquacious Talking or
tending to talk much or freely.
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 Proximity;
Nearness
Pyrrhic Successful
with heavy losses.
Quintessential Most
essential.
Ratatouille A spicy
French stew.
Ravel To knit or
unknit.
Redolent Fragrant.
Resplendence Splendid or
dazzling in appearance.
Riparian By the bank
of a stream.
Ripple A very
small wave.
Saccharine Overly or
sickishly sweet.
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.
Soliloquy The act of
talking to oneself
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.
Velvet A very
pleasant, luxurious, desirable situation.
Vespertine Relating to,
or occurring in the evening.
Vestigial In trace
amounts.
Wafture The act of
waving or a wavelike motion.
Wherewithal The means.
Woebegone Sorrowful,
downcast.
Zephyr A gentle
breeze.
