Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is the longest word in the English language, but how often does a forty-five letter lung disease caused by the inhalation of silica or quartz dust come up in conversation? For all those who’d like to dabble in sesquipedalianism (yes, we’ll tell you what that means,) here are a few long words to get you started.
Citation Machine makes citing your sources a snap! If you need to cite in APA, MLA, Chicago citation style (or just about any style you can think of), we’ve got the tools you need to succeed. Are you a visual learner? Check out our example of an annotated bibliography and parenthetical citations, too!
Sesquipedalianism
Letters: 17
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: Prone or fond of using long words.
Example:
When Darren found himself in unfamiliar crowds his sesquipedalianism came to life as if he were trying to hide his humble beginnings.
Jackasseries
Letters: 12
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: The actions of a jackass.
Example:
After a night of drunken jackasseries, the fraternity decided to make amends by hosting a community service project.
Consanguineous
Letters: 14
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: Descended from the same ancestor.
Example:
It was difficult to believe that the cousins were consanguineous because they looked nothing alike.
Trichotillomania
Letters: 15
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: A mental disorder that compels sufferers to pull the hair from their eyebrows, eyelashes and other parts of their body despite the desire to stop.
Example:
Karen realized the trichotillomania she hadn’t experienced since college had reemerged when she found herself frantically tweezing her eyebrows with her fingers after a stressful work meeting.
Antidisestablishmentarianism
Letters: 28
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: Opposition to the withdrawal of government support of a particular religion.
Example:
In a heroic display of antidisestablishmentarianism members of several religious organizations protested outside of the parliament after an announcement that the practice of Islam was no longer legal.
Incomprehensibilities
Letters: 21
Part of Speech: Plural noun
Definition: Items or things incapable of being understood.
Example:
Max’s paper was so full of incomprehensibilities, that his professor refused to read beyond the second page before revision.
Myrmecophilous
Letters: 14
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: Associated with, benefited by or liked by ants.
Example:
There must be myrmecophilous items all over my apartment because the place is swarming with ants.
Xenotransplantation
Letters:19
Part of Speech: Noun
Definition: The transplantation of tissue, organs or cells between two different species.
Example:
The child’s unique ability to glow originated with a xenotransplantation of skin cells from an iridescent jellyfish.
Polyphiloprogenitive
Letters: 20
Part of Speech: Adjective
Definition: Very prolific; apt to produce a lot of offspring, or defined by love of offspring.
Example:
“Octomom” was the nickname given to a polyphiloprogenitive mother of five who gave birth to octuplets resulting in a total of fourteen children.
Connecticutian
Letters:14
Part of Speech: Proper noun
Definition: Person from the U.S. state of Connecticut.
Example:
Connecticutian doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the way Texan does.
So there you have it, long words can live outside the world of trivia. With a little effort and creativity, these multi-lettered terms can muscle their way into everyday conversation.
For more fun with words, visit the Citation Machine grammar guides where you can peruse examples of interjections, learn when to use a coordinating conjunction, and check out examples of collective and abstract nouns, too!
Works Cited
“14 Of the Longest Words in English.” 14 Of the Longest Words in English | Grammarly Blog, 8 May 2019, www.grammarly.com/blog/14-of-the-longest-words-in-english/.
“What Is the Longest English Word? | Lexico Dictionaries.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/explore/what-is-the-longest-english-word/.
Under Writing