110 words worth knowing.

The words you have met in books and never quite caught. Each one explained six ways, with its origin and a sentence, the way Gloss explains every word in the app. One of them is the word of the day.

By theme

1. Untranslatable words, explained six ways9 words
2. Words for feelings you can’t name30 words
3. Beautiful words, and what they mean23 words
4. Words to describe a person32 words
5. Words for what you see, hear and smell17 words
6. Words for time, change and the in-between14 words
7. Words for ideas, arguments and tricks26 words
8. Words with a story behind them20 words

Often confused

Saudade vs nostalgia · Hiraeth vs saudade · Ephemeral vs evanescent · Ethereal vs ephemeral · Serene vs placid · Taciturn vs reticent · Laconic vs taciturn · Capricious vs mercurial · Pernicious vs insidious · Clandestine vs surreptitious · Somnolent vs soporific · Zenith vs nadir · Enigma vs conundrum · Melancholy vs wistful · Benevolent vs magnanimous · Lethargic vs languid

More ways in

Slang, explained · Another word for… · Guides

All 110, A to Z

1. ambivalent adjectiveHaving mixed feelings about something, pulled both ways.
2. anachronism nounSomething that belongs to a different time than the one it is in.
3. apathy nounNot caring about something, with no interest or feeling.
4. apricity nounThe warmth of the sun on a cold winter day.
5. aurora nounThe dawn; also the curtains of colored light in the night sky near the poles.
6. benevolent adjectiveKind and wanting good things for others.
7. cacophony nounA harsh mix of noises that do not go together.
8. candor nounHonest, open speech, even when it is uncomfortable.
9. capricious adjectiveChanging suddenly and for no clear reason.
10. catharsis nounA release of strong feelings that leaves you lighter.
11. circumspect adjectiveCareful about what you do or say, thinking of the risks.
12. clandestine adjectiveKept secret, usually because it is not allowed.
13. conundrum nounA confusing problem with no easy answer.
14. defenestration nounThrowing someone out of a window. Also, jokingly, throwing someone out of a job.
15. diaphanous adjectiveSo light and thin you can almost see through it.
16. didactic adjectiveMeant to teach a lesson, often in a preachy way.
17. disparate adjectiveVery different from each other, with little in common.
18. ebullient adjectiveBubbling over with energy and cheer.
19. eloquent adjectiveSpeaking or writing clearly and beautifully, so that people are moved.
20. enigma nounA person or thing that is hard to understand or explain.
21. ephemeral adjectiveLasting a very short time.
22. epiphany nounA sudden moment when you finally understand something.
23. equanimity nounStaying calm and even whatever happens.
24. esoteric adjectiveUnderstood by only a small circle of people with special knowledge.
25. ethereal adjectiveSo light and delicate it seems not quite of this world.
26. euphoria nounA feeling of intense happiness and excitement.
27. evanescent adjectiveFading quickly, gone almost as soon as it appears.
28. fastidious adjectiveVery particular about details and cleanliness.
29. gregarious adjectiveFond of company; happiest in a group.
30. halcyon adjectiveCalm, happy, and remembered as golden; usually said of a time in the past.
31. hiraeth nounA deep longing for a home you cannot go back to, or that never quite existed.
32. hygge nounA feeling of cozy contentment: warmth, good company, nothing to do.
33. idyllic adjectivePeaceful and perfect, like a picture of the countryside.
34. incandescent adjectiveGlowing with heat; also, brilliant, or burning with anger.
35. ineffable adjectiveToo great or too strange to be put into words.
36. insidious adjectiveSpreading harm slowly and quietly, so you do not notice.
37. juxtaposition nounPutting two things side by side so you see how they differ.
38. kismet nounFate; what was always going to happen.
39. komorebi nounSunlight filtering through leaves, and the pattern it makes.
40. laconic adjectiveUsing very few words, so that what is said carries weight.
41. languid adjectiveSlow and relaxed, without much energy.
42. lethargic adjectiveSluggish and tired, with no energy to do anything.
43. limerence nounThe obsessive, early stage of being in love, when you cannot stop thinking about someone.
44. liminal adjectiveThe in-between stage. Not where you were, not yet where you’re going.
45. loquacious adjectiveTalking a lot; very talkative.
46. lucid adjectiveClear and easy to understand; also, thinking clearly.
47. lugubrious adjectiveSad and gloomy in an exaggerated way.
48. luminous adjectiveGiving off light, or bright as if lit from inside.
49. magnanimous adjectiveGenerous and forgiving, especially toward a rival.
50. melancholy nounA deep, quiet sadness that stays for a while and has no single cause.
51. mellifluous adjectiveA voice or sound that is smooth and sweet to hear.
52. mercurial adjectiveChanging mood quickly and unpredictably.
53. mondegreen nounA misheard lyric or phrase that makes its own sense.
54. nadir nounThe lowest point.
55. nebulous adjectiveVague and unclear, with no firm shape.
56. nonchalant adjectiveCalm and unbothered, as if nothing matters much.
57. nostalgia nounA warm, slightly sad longing for the past.
58. obfuscate verbTo make something harder to understand, usually on purpose.
59. oblivion nounThe state of being completely forgotten, or of noticing nothing.
60. ostentatious adjectiveShowy in a way meant to impress people.
61. panacea nounA cure for everything; usually said of something that is not.
62. paradigm nounA model or pattern that shows how something is done or understood.
63. paradox nounA statement that seems to contradict itself but may be true.
64. penumbra nounThe soft edge of a shadow, where light and dark mix.
65. pernicious adjectiveDoing harm slowly and quietly, so you notice it late.
66. petrichor nounThe earthy smell that rises when rain falls on dry ground.
67. petulant adjectiveChildishly sulky or bad-tempered over small things.
68. placid adjectiveCalm and peaceful, not easily upset.
69. plethora nounFar more than enough of something.
70. poignant adjectiveCausing a sharp, bittersweet sadness.
71. pragmatic adjectiveDealing with things in a practical way, based on what works.
72. precocious adjectiveDeveloping skills or maturity earlier than usual.
73. prolific adjectiveProducing a great deal of work, fruit, or offspring.
74. pulchritude nounPhysical beauty, usually a person’s.
75. querulous adjectiveComplaining in a whining, fretful way.
76. quintessential adjectiveThe most perfect example of a type.
77. quixotic adjectiveChasing an ideal that is noble but hopelessly unrealistic.
78. redolent adjectiveSmelling strongly of something, or strongly suggesting it.
79. resplendent adjectiveShining and splendid; dressed or lit to impress.
80. reticent adjectiveHolding back from saying what you think or feel.
81. reverie nounA state of being pleasantly lost in your thoughts.
82. sagacious adjectiveWise and sharp in judgment.
83. sanguine adjectiveCheerfully hopeful, even when things look bad.
84. saudade nounA deep, tender longing for something or someone that is gone and may not come back.
85. schadenfreude nounPleasure at someone else’s misfortune.
86. sempiternal adjectiveLasting forever, without end.
87. serendipity nounFinding something good by chance, when you were not looking for it.
88. serene adjectiveCalm, peaceful, and untroubled.
89. somnolent adjectiveSleepy, or making you feel sleepy.
90. sonder nounThe realization that every stranger has a life as full and complicated as your own.
91. sonorous adjectiveDeep, full, and rich in sound.
92. soporific adjectiveMaking you sleepy.
93. sprezzatura nounMaking something difficult look effortless.
94. sublime adjectiveSo great or beautiful that it fills you with awe.
95. surreptitious adjectiveDone secretly, so no one notices.
96. susurrus nounA soft, whispering sound, like leaves in a breeze or a crowd talking quietly.
97. taciturn adjectiveSaying very little, by habit.
98. tenacious adjectiveHolding on tight and not giving up.
99. trepidation nounA nervous fear about something that is about to happen.
100. tsundoku nounBuying books and letting them pile up unread.
101. ubiquitous adjectiveFound everywhere, all the time.
102. verdant adjectiveGreen with growing plants.
103. vestige nounA small trace of something that has mostly gone.
104. vicarious adjectiveFelt through someone else’s experience rather than your own.
105. voracious adjectiveWanting huge amounts of food, or of anything, like books.
106. wanderlust nounA strong urge to travel and see new places.
107. whimsical adjectivePlayfully odd, in a charming way.
108. wistful adjectiveQuietly sad and longing for something that is gone or out of reach.
109. zenith nounThe highest point; the top of someone’s success or of the sun’s path.
110. zephyr nounA soft, gentle breeze.

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