"In praise and defense of grandiose, flowery, sesquipedalian words"

Radio call-in show host Larry Mantle hosted a segment inspired by Atlantic writer Mark Bowden's piece "In Praise of Fancy Words," in which he invited listeners to contribute their favorite "big words." Here we present listeners' favorites in list form.
27 words 66 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. braggadocio
    vain and empty boasting
    This firmness is what keeps their outer braggadocio from being an act. Slate (Oct 3, 2013)
  2. excoriate
    express strong disapproval of
    The Chinese state news agency Xinhua excoriated the United States for putting international financial stability at risk with domestic "political brinkmanship".
  3. carcinogenic
    causing or tending to cause cancer
    “All forms of asbestos are carcinogenic to humans,” the group said.
  4. excruciating
    extremely painful
    Mr. Mbeki often found it excruciating to govern in Mr. Mandela’s shadow.
  5. vituperation
    abusive or venomous language to express blame or censure
    What troubles me most is that my wife and my young daughter also have to endure vituperation and personal attacks. Slate (Nov 24, 2012)
  6. termagant
    a scolding, nagging, bad-tempered woman
    "Then she'll keep it somewhere else, not here!" the termagant answered in a fury. Weyman, Stanley John
  7. bloviate
    speak verbosely and windily
    When we bloviate or scold, it also undercuts what little authority we have. Salon (Apr 15, 2013)
  8. ligature
    the act of tying or binding things together
    He was later found dead with a ligature round his neck.
  9. lugubrious
    excessively mournful
    My assessment here may seem a bit gloomy to you, but there is method in my lugubrious madness.
  10. logorrhea
    pathologically excessive and often incoherent talking
    It’s not remarkable if one considers that the police must be quietly delighted at McAfee’s logorrhea. Slate (Dec 7, 2012)
  11. consubstantial
    regarded as the same in substance or essence
    The Father is the essential principle, and yet He is consubstantial with the other two Persons. Scully, Vincent
  12. pulchritude
    physical beauty, especially of a woman
    They, too, were lined up so that everyone could see and photograph them in all their gleaming pulchritude.
  13. quotidian
    found in the ordinary course of events
    She published a handful of early stories, but eventually suspended her literary aspirations to face the quotidian demands of farm life and motherhood.
  14. trepidation
    a feeling of alarm or dread
    But any trepidation seemed overshadowed by unreserved enthusiasm.
  15. perspicacious
    mentally acute or penetratingly discerning
    They being less perspicacious than the judge, hesitated for a while, but finally complied. Various
  16. grandiloquent
    lofty in style
    Presidents and prime ministers in the West have made grandiloquent speeches about making poverty history for fifty years.
  17. proclivity
    a natural inclination
    Those with a proclivity to engage in cognitive complexity will tend to seek out intellectually demanding environments.
  18. pontificate
    administer a pontifical office
    Some would say listening to more than 130 world leaders pontificating on the global issues of the day is akin to pulling teeth.
  19. crepuscular
    like or relating to twilight; dim
    The dreamy, crepuscular atmosphere is most acutely felt in the surprise ending. Seattle Times (May 29, 2013)
  20. vituperative
    marked by harshly abusive criticism
    That drew so many vituperative remarks on YouTube that the commenting function was disabled.
  21. lucubration
    laborious cogitation
    And there isn’t a market for these creative writing graduates’ in most cases mediocre lucubrations. Salon (Aug 20, 2012)
  22. obsequious
    attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
    Maybe your obsequious staff laughing at your every quip makes you think you are hilarious.
  23. sycophant
    a person who tries to please someone to gain an advantage
    Even his usually unquestioning army of sycophants showed signs of discomfort at Obama's rush to war, cheek by jowl with Muslim extremists.
  24. escarpment
    a long steep slope at the edge of a plateau or ridge
    He’s a whole mountain range, with numerous crags, crests and escarpments for ambitious musicians to scale. Seattle Times (Feb 14, 2013)
  25. grandiose
    impressive because of unnecessary largeness or magnificence
    We all wish we could quit in such grandiose style.
  26. flowery
    marked by elaborate rhetoric and elaborated with details
    Grant had never heard her use this flowery expression before.
  27. sesquipedalian
    a very long word (a foot and a half long)
    This “ornate style” introduced sesquipedalian Latinisms, words of immense dimensions, that could not hide their vacuity of thought. Disraeli, Isaac
Created on Fri Dec 06 09:11:53 EST 2013 (updated Mon Jul 24 13:58:52 EDT 2023)

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