Word List of Tricky English Words
Tricky English words like pulveratricious, hegemony and floccinaucinihilipilification…
Captious is a synonym of hypercritical.
Noisome is a synonym of harmful.
Funambulist is the best definition of tightrope walker.
Impecunious is a synonym of penniless.
Profligate is a synonym of squandering.
Nonplus is a synonym of discomfit.
Chivy is a synonym of pester.
Redoubtable is a synonym of formidable.
Trenchant is a synonym of keen.
Turpitude is a synonym of depravity.
Bibulous is a synonym of absorbent.
Bibulous also means fond of alcoholic beverages.
Insouciance is a synonym of nonchalance.
temerity
te·me·ri·ty
noun
Excessive confidence or boldness; audacity.
“No one had the temerity to question his decisions.”
ambivalent
am·bi·va·lent
adjective
Caring but having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
“New psychology research indicates that ambivalent people make less biased judgments.”
cathartic
ca·thar·tic
adjective
Psychological/Stress relief through using or talking about strong emotions.
“It was a cathartic experience and that’s why it took so long.” Mariah Carey, The Daily Show, 2020
pellicle
pel·li·cle
noun
The hard part of meat that gets cut off when dry aging meat; a thin skin; cuticle; membrane; film
fiduciary
fi·du·cia·ry
adjective
Involving trust, for example, in the relationship of a trustee and beneficiary.
“The supreme court has reasoned that an individual must refrain from trading securities on the basis on non public information because of their fiduciary relationship with shareholders as a corporate insider.” LegalEagle, April 1, 2020. How to Illegally Profit From a Pandemic: Insider Trading! 3:02
Source: https://youtu.be/a45ujRTJyJ8?t=181
“Participants, mindful of our Court of Appeals’ direction and Rule 11, [have successfully] amended their complaint and plead charts, comparative studies and specific facts necessary to proceed into discovery,” the new ruling states. “We deny the fiduciaries’ motion to dismiss.”
moratorium
mo·ra·to·ri·um
noun
A temporary prohibition of an activity.
“State Legislators Call For a Moratorium on Liquor Licenses in Light of COVID-19″ Tanay Warerkar, April 3, 2020
“A group of New York legislators are calling for moratorium on new liquor licenses”
Source: https://ny.eater.com/2020/4/3/21206127/nyc-liquor-license-cap-harvey-epstein-coronavirus
recalcitrant
re·cal·ci·trant
adjective
Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline.
“I didn’t leave any draft angles on my buck so it’s being a little recalcitrant coming out of the plastic.” Adam Savage, May 23, 2019
“a room full of recalcitrant people”
shill
An accomplice of a confidence swindler or trickster who pretends to be a genuine customer enticing or encouraging others.
“Being a sellout and a shill is not on my agenda.” TechDeals
assuage
as·suage
To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example)
“When that is completed, address each item designed to assuage fear and ask, “What fear am I trying to assuage, and how?” Barbara Ann Brennan, 2011, Light Emerging: The Journey of Personal Healing – Page 174
egalitarian
e·ga·li·ta·ri·an
ɪˌɡalɪˈtɛːrɪən
adjective
Believing in or based on the principle that everyone is equal and deserves equal rights and opportunities.
“a fairer, more egalitarian society”
prevaricate
pre·va·ri·cate
prɪˈvarɪkeɪt
verb
Speak or act in an evasive way
“He seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions.”
“They prevaricate around the bush using this language.”
egregious
e·gre·gious
ɪˈɡriːdʒəs
Outstandingly bad; shocking; (archaic) remarkably good
“Sometimes a really bad speller will have made so many errors, or such egregious errors, that the reader has a problem reading what was written.”
ratify
ra·ti·fy
verb
Sign or give formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid
Both countries were due to ratify the treaty by the end of the year.
“They could ratify the Rome Statute that governs the ICC and invite the ICC to investigate war crimes on its territory.”
proclivity / proclivities
pro·cli·vi·ties
A tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition towards a particular thing
“They have a proclivityfor hard work.”
“In a way that you’d have to back in history and find when groups of people neither defined by their economic status or ethnic proclivities have been targeted.”
“Their sexual proclivities are none of your business.”
mensch
A person of integrity and honor.
“I’m glad your landlord is a mensch.”
“His proposal is the work of a mensch and, no doubt, an act of love.”
“Zionist BDS” is Not the Way to Save Israel
Noah Efron
March 21, 2012
boondoggle
boon·dog·gle
Work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value
“Should we call this a boondoggle?”
concretion
con·cre·tion
A rounded mass of mineral matter occurring in sandstone, clay, etc…
con·cre·tion
“They also think the concretions (spherical bumps distributed across rock face) were formed in the presence of water.”
austerity
aus·ter·i·ty
Sternness or severity of manner or attitude
Plural: austerities
“The Greek public cannot endure much more austerity and the German public cannot endure any more bailouts.”
hegemony
he·gem·o·ny
Leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others.
Plural: hegemonies
“The cultural hegemony of English in the world vs. simple linguistic diversity…”
“Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871.”
refectory
re·fec·to·ry
A room used for communal meals, esp. in an educational or religious institution.
“Students use their new card to purchase drinks at the Refectory”
supercavitating
su·per·cav·i·ta·tion
The use of cavitation effects to create a large bubble of gas inside a liquid, allowing an object to travel at great speed through the liquid by being wholly enveloped by the bubble.
It’s powered by high-performance jet engines and has “supercavitating technology,” which refers to the use of air bubbles to reduce hull friction to enable faster, more efficient cruising.
plebeian
ple·be·ian
The plebeians were the lower class. Nicknamed the plebs, plebeians included everyone in ancient Rome (except for the nobility, the patricians) from well-to-do tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.
“My plebeian concern is that I hate the grip on the right hand side of the camera and I hate that there is no built-in flash.”
“As a personal finance columnist for Vogue magazine in the early 1970s, I couldn’t write about plebeian things like buying your first home.” (Scott Burns, December 10th, 2016)
subterfuge
sub·ter·fuge
Deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal
“A resultant gap forms in the beam, which leaves a small window for subterfuge.”
convoluted
con·vo·lut·ed
Extremely complex and difficult to follow
“X10 EXR is a convoluted mess.”
- 複雑な
proponent
pro・po・nent
A person who advocates a theory, proposal, or project
“There are a lot of proponents of this theory.”
“Dairy legislation criticized, proponents push back”
- 提案者、提議者、主唱者、発議者、申立当事者
- 支持者、賛成者、弁護者、擁護者
advocate
ad·vo·cate
publicly recommend or support
- 擁護者、支持者、提唱者、賛同者、唱道者、ちょうちん持ち
・The children’s rights advocate says the labor pact will not stop illegal child labor. : その子どもの人権擁護団体は、その労働協定では子どもの不法労働を阻止できないだろうと言っている。 - 仲裁者、調停者
- 弁護士
erinaceous
Like a hedgehog
- ハリネズミの
lamprophony
Loudness and clarity of voice
- 声が大きくてよく響くこと、声の明瞭性
- 明瞭な声、通りのよい声、響きのよい声
depone
To testify under oath
- 宣誓の上証言する
finnimbrun
A trinket or knick-knack
floccinaucinihilipilification
Estimation that something is valueless. Proper pronunciation based on Latin roots: flockə-nowsə-nəkələ-pələ-fək-ation.
inaniloquent
Pertaining to idle talk
limerance
An attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love.
mesonoxian
Pertaining to midnight
mungo
A dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash
nihilarian
A person who deals with things lacking importance (pronounce the ‘h’ like a ‘k’).
nudiustertian
The day before yesterday
phenakism
Deception or trickery
pronk
A weak or foolish person
pulveratricious
Covered with dust
rastaquouere
A social climber
scopperloit
Rude or rough play
selcouth
Unfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, wonderful. For example: The List Universe is such a selcouth website!
tyrotoxism
To be poisoned by cheese
widdiful
Someone who deserves to be hanged
This word originated from the northern English and Scottish word widdy or widdie, local forms of the standard English withy. Meaning a flexible branch from a tree such as willow used to make baskets, and to tie or fasten things together.
zabernism
Zabernism is a noun meaning to abuse/misuse military power or authority. It was a form of bullying (from the German name for Saverne, a town in Alsace). It originated from an incident in 1912 involving a soldier who killed a cobbler for smiling at him.
Word List of Tricky English Words
Tricky English words like pulveratricious, hegemony and floccinaucinihilipilification…
recalcitrant
re·cal·ci·trant
adjective
Having an obstinately uncooperative attitude towards authority or discipline.
“It’s being a little recalcitrant coming out of the plastic as I don’t have any draft angles.”
“a room full of recalcitrant people”
shill
An accomplice of a confidence swindler or trickster who pretends to be a genuine customer enticing or encouraging others.
“Being a sellout and a shill is not on my agenda.” TechDeals
assuage
as·suage
To satisfy or appease (hunger or thirst, for example)
egalitarian
e·ga·li·ta·ri·an
ɪˌɡalɪˈtɛːrɪən
adjective
Believing in or based on the principle that everyone is equal and deserves equal rights and opportunities.
“a fairer, more egalitarian society”
prevaricate
pre·va·ri·cate
prɪˈvarɪkeɪt
verb
Speak or act in an evasive way
“He seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions.”
“They prevaricate around the bush using this language.”
egregious
e·gre·gious
ɪˈɡriːdʒəs
Outstandingly bad; shocking; (archaic) remarkably good
“Sometimes a really bad speller will have made so many errors, or such egregious errors, that the reader has a problem reading what was written.”
ratify
ra·ti·fy
verb
Sign or give formal consent to a treaty, contract, or agreement, making it officially valid
Both countries were due to ratify the treaty by the end of the year.
“They could ratify the Rome Statute that governs the ICC and invite the ICC to investigate war crimes on its territory.”
proclivity / proclivities
pro·cli·vi·ties
A tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition towards a particular thing
“They have a proclivity for hard work.”
“In a way that you’d have to back in history and find when groups of people neither defined by their economic status or ethnic proclivities have been targeted.”
“Their sexual proclivities are none of your business.”
mensch
A person of integrity and honor.
“I’m glad your landlord is a mensch.”
“His proposal is the work of a mensch and, no doubt, an act of love.”
“Zionist BDS” is Not the Way to Save Israel
Noah Efron
March 21, 2012
boondoggle
boon·dog·gle
Work or activity that is wasteful or pointless but gives the appearance of having value
“Should we call this a boondoggle?”
concretion
con·cre·tion
A rounded mass of mineral matter occurring in sandstone, clay, etc…
con·cre·tion
“They also think the concretions (spherical bumps distributed across rock face) were formed in the presence of water.”
austerity
aus·ter·i·ty
Sternness or severity of manner or attitude
Plural: austerities
“The Greek public cannot endure much more austerity and the German public cannot endure any more bailouts.”
hegemony
he·gem·o·ny
Leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others.
Plural: hegemonies
“The cultural hegemony of English in the world vs. simple linguistic diversity…”
“Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871.”
refectory
re·fec·to·ry
A room used for communal meals, esp. in an educational or religious institution.
“Students use their new card to purchase drinks at the Refectory“
supercavitating
su·per·cav·i·ta·tion
The use of cavitation effects to create a large bubble of gas inside a liquid, allowing an object to travel at great speed through the liquid by being wholly enveloped by the bubble.
It’s powered by high-performance jet engines and has “supercavitating technology,” which refers to the use of air bubbles to reduce hull friction to enable faster, more efficient cruising.
plebeian
ple·be·ian
The plebeians were the lower class. Nicknamed “plebs”, the plebeians included everyone in ancient Rome (except for the nobility, the patricians) from well-to-do tradesmen all the way down to the very poor.
“My plebeian concern is that I hate the grip on the right hand side of the camera and I hate that there is no built-in flash.”
“As a personal finance columnist for Vogue magazine in the early 1970s, I couldn’t write about plebeian things like buying your first home.” (Scott Burns, December 10th, 2016)
subterfuge
sub·ter·fuge
Deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal
“A resultant gap forms in the beam, which leaves a small window for subterfuge.”
convoluted
con·vo·lut·ed
Extremely complex and difficult to follow
“X10 EXR is a convoluted mess.”
- 複雑な
proponent
pro・po・nent
A person who advocates a theory, proposal, or project
“There are a lot of proponents of this theory.”
“Dairy legislation criticized, proponents push back”
- 提案者、提議者、主唱者、発議者、申立当事者
- 支持者、賛成者、弁護者、擁護者
advocate
ad·vo·cate
publicly recommend or support
- 擁護者、支持者、提唱者、賛同者、唱道者、ちょうちん持ち
・The children’s rights advocate says the labor pact will not stop illegal child labor. : その子どもの人権擁護団体は、その労働協定では子どもの不法労働を阻止できないだろうと言っている。 - 仲裁者、調停者
- 弁護士
erinaceous
Like a hedgehog
- ハリネズミの
lamprophony
Loudness and clarity of voice
- 声が大きくてよく響くこと、声の明瞭性
- 明瞭な声、通りのよい声、響きのよい声
depone
To testify under oath
- 宣誓の上証言する
finnimbrun
A trinket or knick-knack
floccinaucinihilipilification
Estimation that something is valueless. Proper pronunciation based on Latin roots: flockə-nowsə-nəkələ-pələ-fək-ation.
inaniloquent
Pertaining to idle talk
limerance
An attempt at a scientific study into the nature of romantic love.
mesonoxian
Pertaining to midnight
mungo
A dumpster diver – one who extracts valuable things from trash
nihilarian
A person who deals with things lacking importance (pronounce the ‘h’ like a ‘k’).
nudiustertian
The day before yesterday
phenakism
Deception or trickery
pronk
A weak or foolish person
pulveratricious
Covered with dust
rastaquouere
A social climber
scopperloit
Rude or rough play
selcouth
Unfamiliar, rare, strange, marvelous, wonderful. For example: The List Universe is such a selcouth website!
tyrotoxism
To be poisoned by cheese
widdiful
Someone who deserves to be hanged
This word originated from the northern English and Scottish word widdy or widdie, local forms of the standard English withy. Meaning a flexible branch from a tree such as willow used to make baskets, and to tie or fasten things together.
zabernism
Zabernism is a noun meaning to abuse/misuse military power or authority. It was a form of bullying (from the German name for Saverne, a town in Alsace). It originated from an incident in 1912 involving a soldier who killed a cobbler for smiling at him.
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