Friday 29 July 2011

the 100 most beautiful words in english

Ailurophile A cat-lover.
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.
Chatoyant
Like a cat’s eye.
Comely
Attractive.
Conflate
To blend together.
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.
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.
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.
Labyrinthine
Twisting and turning.
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.
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
An inclination.
Pyrrhic
Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential
Mose essential.
Ratatouille
A spicy French stew.
Ravel
To knit or unknit.
Redolent
Fragrant.
Riparian
By the bank of a stream.
Ripple
A very small wave.
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.
Summery
Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous
Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious
Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna
A river in Pennsylvania.
Sussurous
Whispering, hissing.
Talisman
A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation
Tinkling.
Umbrella
Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward
Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial
In trace amounts.
Wafture
Waving.
Wherewithal
The means.
Woebegone
Sorrowful, downcast.

via: iamyourlung