Using Weird Words Is a Wonderful Way to Improve Your Vocabulary

Weird words usually aren't weird at all, they're just underused. Most people don't know just how many strange, unique and unusual words there are in the English language. The reason a lot of people don't use them is that they don't run across them in conversations or when reading their newspapers or magazines. That's what this list of weird and wonderful words is all about. Check things out when you have time to take a look at the "word of the week" or learn more than one by perusing the choices on further down.

While some of the words you choose to learn below are more outlandish than others, all of them are marvelous ways to improve your vocabulary. Expanding the words you use in everyday chats will not only make you more easy to understand, but it will also make one on one discussions more entertaining (in most cases). Learning one new word every once in a while is all it takes, and eventually you'll start spotting opportunities to use them.

One more quick note. You may see certain words that make you think, "that word isn't weird or uncommon", but ask yourself... how often do you use it. Thanks for taking a look and I hope you find the article useful.

• Animosity: feeling of strong dislike or resentment
• Articulate: the ability to express oneself clearly through speech
• Blasphemous: an act that is unholy or disrespectful against sacred things or religions
• Botch: careless or bungled piece of work
• Buffoon: a person who is always clowning around
• Bumfuzzled: confused
• Cacophony: an often harsh, unappealing mixture of sounds
• Coddle: to treat someone in an overprotective way
• Conundrum: an especially difficult problem that needs solving
• Devil's Advocate: someone who takes up the opposite side of an argument (even if unpopular) to present another point of view
• Drunkard: person who gets drunk often
• Evanescent: tending to fade from sight quickly; fleeting
• Evildoer: one who does especially bad things
• Frenzy: wild excitement
• Frivolous: silly and of little value; can be said of a thing, action or person
• Gibberish: a very old term used to describe someone who is talking in a nonsensical or irrational manor
• Gnaw: to consume bit by bit
• Goad: to urge into doing something, especially something stupid
• Gobbledygook: unintelligible nonsense
• Guile: using intelligence in a sneaky or cunning way
• Hapless: unlucky or unfortunate
• Heathen: an uncivilized person; non-religious
• Homely: plain or unattractive
• Hullaballoo: the sounds and noises people are making when in a heated argument

• Illicit: unlawful or improper
• Inebriated: drunk
• Irony: an event that happens directly opposite of what is expected; often an element of humor or amusement involved
• Jovial: full of good humor
• Killjoy: one who lessens other people's enjoyment
• Kinship: very close relationship; often family
• Lucid: a moment when you are thinking very clearly
• Luddite: someone who is opposed, resists or does not use new technology
• Malcontent: a rebellious person; dissatisfied with how things are
• Masticate: to chew food
• Mock: not authentic, but without the aim of deceiving
• Nefarious: villainous or wicked
• Nougat: a confection of sugar paste and nuts
• Oaf: stupid, clumsy person
• Oddity: a thing, person or personality trait that is strange; not the norm
• Odious: offensive; disgusting
• Paltry: almost worthless
• Paper Tiger: someone or something that appears to be dangerous but isn't
• Poppycock: a word used to call out someone for not telling the truth or exaggerating an event
• Primal: fundamental or basic

• Quarrel: angry disagreement or a cause for disagreement

• Ragamuffin: a word used to describe someone who always wears dirty, well-used or worn out clothes
• Ramble: to wonder about or talk aimlessly
• Red Herring: something used to divert attention away from the main subject; a misleading clue
• Refrain: to hold back
• Rotund: plump or chubby
• Sarcasm: the use of irony to mock or make light of someone, something or a particular situation
• Scoundrel: a dishonest person that shows no moral principles
• Scruple: having second thoughts or doubt about a morally questionable action someone is about to take
• Slight: an insult caused by not showing the proper respect to someone
• Swoon: fainting from an extreme emotional state
• Sycophant: person who sucks up to someone to gain advantages; a bootlicker
• Thrash: to beat or toss about violently
• Torso: the trunk (chest, waist, etc.) of the human body
• Trivial: of little or no importance
• Ubiquitous: found everywhere; common
• Uncanny: weird or bizarre, especially in a mysterious way
• Unhinged: mentally unbalanced
• Vacuous: empty minded; stupid
• Valiant: brave and courageous
• Vexed: being aggravated or frustrated with something or someone
• Wallop: a sound beating
• Whim: a sudden idea or desire that passes quickly
• Wicked: someone who is evil
• Xenophobe: fear or dislike of strangers or foreigners
• Yum: delicious

• Zilch: nothing; zero

• Purposely misuse a word as a way of mocking or making fun of whomever you're talking to. One warning, though, they may see the act as an attack on their intelligence, so only do it with people you don't like.
• Putting an extra emphasis (in regards to your voice) on certain words will always change the way they are perceived by someone else. Sometimes by simply just whispering the word will produce interesting results.
• Mispronouncing words on purpose to see the reaction others make (or don't make). If you're really lucky someone will actually try to correct you. What fun!
• Giving someone a hand-written letter chock full of weird words is a perfect way to make an impression on that person. Use only a few to appear smart, use several to aggravate and use a lot to make them mad. It's even better if it's an important letter that they need to read. Dictionary required!
• When you use words that are not used that much by the public at large, be prepared for a range of responses. Some people may pretend to know what the word means so they don't appear to be unintelligent, while others will come right out and ask you what the word means.