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Wordnik is billions of words, over a billion example sentences, 7,683,797 unique words, 245,586 comments, 191,981 tags, 121,651 pronunciations, 125,375 favorites and 1,490,990 words in 39,177 lists created by 110,619 Wordniks.

Latest Comments

  • www.celebritydentist.com

    Jun 19, 2013

  • "For any series not aimed solely at females, odds are high that only one female will be in the regular cast." http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheSmurfettePrinciple

    Jun 19, 2013

  • This is from the same person who made 'Fight scene words' - thanks for adding all those words, they're awesome! Loved the critique and I'll definitely keep them lowercase from now on. You have some really cool lists, thanks for the words!

    Jun 19, 2013

  • erm...is this enough?

    Jun 19, 2013

  • c'est vrai.

    Jun 19, 2013

  • seems not unlike rapprochement(?)

    Jun 19, 2013

  • an exhibit with more than enough (gallery)!

    Jun 19, 2013

  • the results of a good conversation (rapport)!

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Lovely

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Go blook yourself.

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Isn't it a tray table?

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Good point, though the effect is enhanced by the addition of spurious final -r. WonkyRockr! HotZingr! MashupZipr! PwnCloudr! etc.

    Jun 19, 2013

  • In Australia it refers to electric vehicle humility, i.e. the rare quality of being able to drive a Prius and not act like a tisane-chugging uber-fop with his head up his clacker.

    Jun 19, 2013

  • Canadian reference to 'Canadian Tire'.

    Jun 18, 2013

  • Be(e) placed?

    Jun 18, 2013

  • to be replaced... yet.. again

    Jun 18, 2013

  • a beautiful word, a wonderful book (Lillian Hellman), and a beautiful idea -- something to ponder

    Jun 18, 2013

  • cool list!

    Jun 18, 2013

  • cool list!

    Jun 18, 2013

  • Loves ears; doesn't need to hear.

    Jun 18, 2013

  • See also these lists:
    Violence
    Words that hurt

    Jun 18, 2013

  • Wonderful, thank you deinonychus!

    Jun 18, 2013

  • assalamu alaikum

    Jun 18, 2013

  • cool

    Jun 18, 2013

  • allons-y! - Doctor Who.
    food fight! - Animal House
    on my mark ; fire ; launch photon torpedoes; - Star Trek

    Jun 18, 2013

  • possibly a variation on lethologica?

    Jun 17, 2013

  • we're talking about words!

    Jun 17, 2013

  • see psithurism

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Kite
    Runner
    religion
    pahtan
    sunni
    shia
    shariah

    Jun 17, 2013

  • fundamentalist
    reluctant
    culture
    nostalgia
    patriotism

    Jun 17, 2013

  • wilbur, this is the best citation ever.

    Jun 17, 2013

  • I've done a bit quite a few. I have to politely say it would be good of you to put comments on the actual word page (for instance, see the comment I've added on boomeranging) instead of in the entries of your lists. That way, anyone who later looks up the word will see your comment (instead of it being all but hidden, here on your list).

    Also, if you're not finding expected definitions for words on your lists, you should be aware that wordnik is case-sensitive & the default entries for most words are lowercase. In fact, my OCD tells me you should take the time to fix up this list so all its entries are lowercase...but that's entirely up to you of course.

    Basically the idea is that if someone clicks on a word on someone else's list, your list will show up on the word page, and vice versa. If the words on your lists are capitalized or otherwise differ from the default entries, that doesn't happen.

    This is a great list. I wouldn't have made such a long-winded comment otherwise :)

    Jun 17, 2013


  • calypso27 sez:
    Boomeranging - yes, this IS a word. (Ex. 'The multiple shards came at me, boomeranging in heavy arches')

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Obviously, I tend toward feeling sorry for myself. - Ophelia 1215

    Jun 17, 2013

  • I love this word (or two words) just because it's awesome... The definition is defined in different ways, but it was first invented in Kurt Vonnegut's "The Sirens of Titan." It's totally Doctor Who-ish - the definition is this:

    Noun; A point in space where, upon a person entering it, that person's existence in space-time ceases to be linear, becoming discrete. This means that a person that has entered a chronosynclastic infundibulum exists at multiple points and lines in space-time. For example, such a person could exist at all points in time in one place and also appear at another point for five minutes. A prime example of a victim was William Niles Rumfoord, (From 'Sirens of Titan') who would appear on Earth every 59 days for one hour. He also would appear on Mars, Mercury, Beatlegeuse, and Titan. He was able to see what was happening in different places at all times, but was not able to know everything. The sensation has been described as "being everywhere at once".

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Hey - Calypso here, creator of this list. Please add words to it if you see this - I can never get enough fight scene vocabulary!

    Jun 17, 2013

  • from Hull Zero Three by Greg Bear:

    "Don't look now, but we're brachiating."
    "In public?"

    Jun 17, 2013

  • this list would be extremely useful for creating random internet startup names (be sure to use camelcase!): CitePile! GigaTrak! AutoClient! CopyGraph! MegaMiniPlus! StokeBaboon!

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Favoriten der deutschen Sprache
    Floskel
    Kakao
    Kauz
    Keks
    Käse
    Xenon
    Kaulquappe
    Antiquiert
    Nostalgie
    Schwelgen
    Achterbahn
    Kokosnuss
    Ananas
    Doch
    Warum
    Polizei
    Lila
    Molkerei
    Schabernack
    Firlefanz
    Kassette
    Ahornsirup
    Vanillepudding
    Mango
    Tiger
    Feiertag
    Sonnenuntergang
    Neumond
    Sonnenbrille
    Ausschlafen
    Lachanfall
    Überraschungsbesuch
    Schmetterlinge
    Wasserfälle
    Wanderwege
    Nachtigall
    Pausenbrot
    Limonade
    Milchkaffee
    Mandarine
    Lau

    Jun 17, 2013

  • 'The state of being tired to the point that one can no longer pronounce the word "tired."'
    (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=ti-ti)

    my coconspirator says this. I think she picked it up from some friends who are on the younger side/

    Jun 17, 2013

  • wow this is a cool word. And not listed yet: quite the find.

    Jun 17, 2013

  • In Charles Stross' The Jennifer Morgue he writes an afterword in which James Bond is dissected and discussed as a classic Mary Sue, at least as regards the creator, Ian Fleming's, relationship with the character. Very interesting.

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Unfortunately an arm(s)rest is hardly ever at arms' length.

    Jun 17, 2013

  • Planxty occurs twice in Finnegans Wake: first, as in example 1, in its actual meaning; second, as in example 4, as a typically Joycean play on words, meaning "plenty". I suggest an alternative to a line in the famous song of the book: "Planxty of fun at Finnegans wake."

    Jun 17, 2013

  • We all love Mary Sue.

    Jun 16, 2013

  • swift guanxi
    Despite the reputation of online marketplaces being distant and impersonal, through social technologies such as instant messaging, they can create the sense of personal and social relationships between buyers and sellers, termed "swift guanxi" in China, to facilitate loyalty, interactivity and repeat transactions, according to new research by Temple University Fox School of Business Professor Paul A. Pavlou.
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130614165137.htm

    Jun 16, 2013

  • talk with

    Jun 16, 2013

  • Odd a very odd word, I don't think I could EVER ACTUALLY USE REAL sentence. But still pretty cool to know

    Jun 16, 2013

  • Recinct means to surround or enclose (OED).

    Jun 16, 2013

  • oh, air travel.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • The Texas native stood 6-foot-6 and weighed 250 pounds, and claimed to have killed a Mexican officer during the Texas Revolution with a bowie knife to the heart. The claim is dubious - Terry was 13 years old when Texas fought its war for independence - but his later career was filled with more than enough bloodshed to make up for that stretcher.
    – San Francisco Chronicle 6/15/13

    Jun 15, 2013

  • The McBarge was the floating McDonalds restaurant at Expo 86 in Vancouver. It's been forgotten since.
    News story on the McBarge http://globalnews.ca/video/638112/remember-mcbarge/

    Jun 15, 2013

  • great list

    Jun 15, 2013

  • on an airplane, it's a battle zone of the elbows to see who gets the armrest.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • in air travel, it's an overnight flight.
    An example is a flight that leaves Vancouver at 11PM, flies for 5 hours to Toronto to arrive at 7 AM.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • the small flip down tray which drops down from the back of the seat in front of you which you are expected to eat an in-flight meal on.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • on an airplane, the worst seat in cattle class is sometimes the back middle unreclinable seat at the back of the plane, near the smelly toilets.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • at the bar, the wingman provides support by telling ladies what an awesome guy you are, and intercepting the lady's friends who interfere with a pick-up attempt.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • a button for a passenger or patient to call a stewardess or health car provider.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • the deplorable and cramped conditions in the 'coach class' section of an airplane.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • A bag designed to fit into the small storage spaces of an airplane. A carry-on bag is carried onto the plane by a passenger and not checked in.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • a 3 or 4 letter sequence specific to a particular airport.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • A cart that you put your suitcases and bags on, typically at an airport.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • a chemical used to remove ice from an airplane or a car locks - typically propylene glycol for airplanes, and alcohol based chemicals for cars.


    Jun 15, 2013

  • An airline term for 'non revenue'. Airline staff fly for free, so their trips are non-revenue.
    Travellers are called 'non-revs'


    Jun 15, 2013

  • A Cockney (or pseudo-Cockney) form of ‘individual’. Used by Dickens and by W. S. Gilbert.

    Jun 15, 2013

  • www.chexsystemsremovals.com

    Jun 14, 2013

  • some etymology on the word 'owl' : http://www.owlpages.com/articles.php?section=Other+Owl+Stuff&title=Owl+Words

    Jun 14, 2013

  • diglossia \dahy-GLOS-ee-uh, -GLAW-see-uh\, noun:

    1. the widespread existence within a society of sharply divergent formal and informal varieties of a language each used in different social contexts or for performing different functions, as the existence of Katharevusa and Demotic in modern Greece.
    2. Pathology. the presence of two tongues or of a single tongue divided into two parts by a cleft.

    Arabic took over many of the functions of Aramaic as the language of scholarship, and, as one vernacular replaced another, the original state of diglossia was restored.
    -- David Biale, Cultures of the the Jews: A New History, 2002
    Sociolinguistic studies indicate that diglossia and code-switching are very pertinent characteristics of the linguistic repertoires of a large portion of the population…
    -- Christa Van der Walt, Living Through Languages: An African Tribute to René Dirven, 2006
    Diglossia comes from the Greek term meaning "bilingual" and entered English in the 1950s.
    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/diglossia

    Jun 14, 2013

  • snailpaper
    n. A newspaper delivered physically and so more slowly compared to online news; the print edition of a newspaper. Also: snail-paper.
    It's 2013. The screens are winning adherents left and right. Print newspapers are turning into "snailpapers" that arrive at our doorsteps with news that is 12 hours late.
    —Dan Bloom, "Scissors, Paper, Screen: The Future of Reading," TeleRead, June 8, 2013

    Jun 14, 2013


  • According to an online nutrition site, "...the amount of protein in a Whiskey is approximately 0 g."
    There's no protein in poteen.

    (http://www.mydietmealplanner.com/calorie-counter/beverages/alcohol/protein-in-whiskey.html)

    Jun 14, 2013

  • untoward behavior is inappropriate.

    Jun 14, 2013

  • people are inured to condone the traffic woes.

    Jun 14, 2013

  • to live at very cold place, one should be inured to the severity of the weather.

    Jun 14, 2013

  • the lower case version of this word is listed.

    From the usage, it seems to refer to Hasidic people.
    I think it's the more popular version of spelling Hassidim
    Googlefight and Google Ngram trends seem to agree on this.

    http://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=hasidim%2Chassidim&year_start=1800&year_end=2008&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=

    http://googlefight.com/index.php?lang=en_GB&word1=hasidim&word2=hassidim

    early citations of this word go back to 1656 - according to a Google book search, and was used in the French and Latin texts as well.

    1672 Citation : The Court of the Gentiles http://books.google.ca/books?id=nnBJCHZjzXMC p. 155

    Jun 14, 2013

  • Fire Department of New York

    Jun 14, 2013

  • This word seen on The Colbert Report referring to New York City and how you can't get a large pop. June 12 2013.

    From nanny state and metropolis.

    Jun 14, 2013

  • "Engaging in seemingly impossible activities and achieving success in a manner that renders all onlookers completely awestruck."

    Jun 14, 2013

  • Save the skeomorph! http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22840833

    Jun 13, 2013

  • The word is defined as "exposing oneself to a blind man on a public highway" in one of H. Allen Smith's books. I forget which book it was, but it's an older source than the ones I've seen cited here and elsewhere online.

    Jun 13, 2013

  • State within a state (also Latin: imperium in imperio or status in statu) is a political situation in a country when an internal organ, generally from the armed forces, intelligence agencies, or police, does not respond to the civilian leadership.
    – wikipedia

    a government, power, or sovereignty within a government, power, or sovereignty
    – Merriam-Webster

    See imperium

    “Though he was not entirely opposed to military interference in politics, Mustafa Kemal wanted the armed forces to become an 'imperium in imperio', with a position similar to that of the German military between 1871 and 1914.”
    – Atatürk: An Intellectual Biography, M. Sükrü Hanioglu

    Jun 13, 2013

  • chase paper
    verb to seek "paper" (i.e. money.)

    http://onlineslangdictionary.com/meaning-definition-of/chase-paper

    Jun 13, 2013

  • I believe this is a secondary synonym to omphaloskepsis: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omphaloskepsis

    Jun 13, 2013

  • Contemplation of one's navel to aid in meditation and facilitate enlightenment.

    Origins: Greek omphalos + skepsis

    Similar words: omphaloskeptic, omphaloskeptical

    See: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/omphaloskepsis

    Jun 13, 2013

  • Also see see.

    Jun 13, 2013

  • "The seat of a bishop, whether an ordinary bishop, or a bishop of higher rank (metropolitan, etc., patriarch, pope); the local center of a diocese and of diocesan authority, or of a diocese and other subordinate dioceses; the city or locality from which ecclesiastical jurisdiction is exercised; hence, episcopal rank, authority, and jurisdiction as exercised from a permanent local center. The word see, from meaning any seat of dignity, came to apply specifically to the cathedra, or episcopal throne, situated in a cathedral, thence to the city which contained the cathedral and was the chief city of a bishop's diocese, and so in modern usage to the diocese itself. It differs from diocese, however, in that diocese represents the territorial province for the care of which the bishop is responsible (that is, where his duties lie), whereas see is the local seat of his authority, dignity, and episcopal privileges. Both words differ from bishopric, in that bishopric represents the bishop's office, whether actual or nominal. See throne."

    --Century Dictionary

    I especially like the "See throne" bit. Does throne tell us to "See see?"

    Jun 13, 2013

  • Since you have "nuzzle" on your list, perhaps you would enjoy "canoodle," which means to cuddle.

    Jun 13, 2013

  • The word EVILITY... the definition of the word is ..The ability to be evil but not necessarily evil. The word is from the blend of evil and the word ability.it has been used since 1999 in Florida I have it on my automobile license plate. and this is the registered definition given to the state of Florida. feel free to use it and spread it around, the more the merrier lets make it the most popular word of the decade

    Jun 13, 2013

  • wowza or wowsa.. I think the first is more common.

    Jun 12, 2013

  • banjoing
    The government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is being accused of "banjoing" (in Liberian English, 'to sell something very cheap for quick money') the country's natural resources to foreign investors and swindlers at the detriment of the Liberian people.
    http://allafrica.com/stories/201306121634.html?aa_source=nwsltr-latest-en

    Jun 12, 2013

  • Hipster Cable
    The act of sharing passwords for sites such as Netflix, Hulu, HBOGO, etc, in order to receive similar passwords.
    Larry: I just gave Dave my Netflix password and in exchange he gave me his Amazon prime password.
    Tim: That's a serious hipster cable network your building.

    Jun 12, 2013

  • drag (one's) ass
    verb
    to move or to go. Implies exhaustion.
    to move slowly, due to tiredness.
    I didn't sleep well last night, so I've been dragging my ass all day.

    Jun 12, 2013

  • a good single-word replacement for tempest in a teapot or much ado about nothing

    Jun 12, 2013

  • Given the etymology of 'cabriolet' I am surprised there is no modern reference to 'roe-bucks' or other prancing, capering, mountain climbing, capricornian or goatey type animals. What about in France?

    Jun 12, 2013

  • plasticarian
    The hippie douchbag who is trying not to use plastic in his/her daily life.
    Adam - "What's wrong with your teeth?"
    Joe - "I can't brush them because I can't find any tooth brushes or tooth paste suitable for me :("
    Adam - "Why not?"
    Joe - "I'm a raging plasticarian"
    http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Plasticarian&defid=7081749

    Jun 12, 2013

  • cablinasian
    A portmanteau word combining Caucasian, Black, Native American (american Indian), and Asian heritages.
    Used by Tiger Woods on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1997.

    Jun 12, 2013