The English language is a gift that just keeps on giving. It's estimated that a new English word is created every 98 minutes. That's approximately 14.7 new words per day! No wonder why learning a new language is such a long process. However, there's no need to know every single word to master the language.
However, discovering all the new, forgotten, or often overlooked beautiful words in the English language is very much a gratifying experience. Whether you are an aspiring writer, looking to impress your English teacher with your essay, or simply looking for aesthetic words to add to your vocabulary, English has plenty of often underutilized and rare words with beautiful meanings.
While some of the unique words require a rather specific context, such as the word chatoyant, which means the light reflecting in a gemstone, others are very much applicable in everyday scenarios. It's because these pretty words are often synonymous with other, more commonly used terms. Why call it visually pleasing when you can call it picturesque? Why hide your true feelings when you can dissemble them? P.S. don't.
Although many beautiful words with deep meanings are rather specific, it doesn't hurt to know that the English language has many interesting words to offer to add to one's literary glossary. Below you will find some beautiful English words that are euphonious to one's ears. After you are done reading through the list, let us know if there's a beautiful world that you will be adding to your dictionary!
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Wanderlust
Meaning: a strong desire to travel.
Wanderlust is a german word and translated analogously means the desire to go hiking Wander (Hike) Lust (Desire)
Hitoritabi
Meaning: traveling alone, solitary journey.
I LOVE to travel alone! I don't get it, why it is such a No for many people. Yes, you cannot share the stuff you do all day, but you can charge your batteries much better, when you don't have to care for someone else. My interests are quite a bit different from most of my friends so it is nice not to have to compromise about plans and whether it is fine or not to do things on your one for a couple of hours.
Eudaemonia
Meaning: means the state of being lucky or happy.
Sorcery
Meaning: the use of magic, especially black magic.
We use Obeah (o-be-yah) to describe black magic or what is more commonly known as voodoo in the Caribbean.
Angst
Meaning: having a sense of anxiety about how the day will go.
Plethora
Meaning: this word is most commonly associated with having an abundance of something.
Paradox
Meaning: a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Surreptitious
Meaning: this word means to act clandestinely or to do or acquire something by stealth.
Bungalow
Meaning: a cozy word for a specific type of house: usually one that's either a single story or two stories with a sloping roof.
Aurora
Meaning: describe the dawn, as well as the stunning luminous phenomenon that takes place in the upper atmosphere of a planet's magnetic polar regions.
Serendipity
Meaning: the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way.
Peace
Meaning: this word can refer to a state of mind, freedom from civil disturbances, or a time without war.
Luftmensch
Meaning: an impractical dreamer, literally an air person, someone with her head in the clouds.
Incendiary
Meaning: extremely hot or inflammatory, anything that causes a fire is incendiary.
Miraculous
Meaning: that which seemed impossible or at least incredibly unlikely without the influence of some supernatural force.
Gossamer
Meaning: a fine, filmy cobweb seen on grass or bushes or floating in the air in calm weather, especially in autumn.
Mellifluous
Meaning: this lyrical word refers to something that is sweet and enjoyable, especially when it comes to sound.
Elixir
Meaning: he word is used to identify a substance that's capable of changing base metals into gold.
No. An elixir is a potion or nostrum. Harry Potter is not a dictionary.
Quintessential
Meaning: representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.
Lullaby
Meaning: this word is used to describe a soothing melody to get your child to sleep.
Sanguine
Meaning: it's typically used as a synonym for optimism, but it can also describe a blood-red hue or something relating to blood.
No. Being sanguine is not being optimistic; it is being calm and unruffled in the face of adversity. The blood part is accurate.
Onomatopoeia
Meaning: something that uses the sounds it makes to form its name.
Sonder
Meaning: the realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own.
Efflorescence
Meaning: what occurs after a time of reflection, study, or development; flowering, blossoming.
Nadir
Meaning: it is an astronomical term which means the lowest point, as in the "nadir of her popularity." Its opposite term, zenith, has a similar appeal.
Solitude
Meaning: the act of being alone and away from society.
No. The *condition* of being alone and away from society. A noun, not a verb.
Nemesis
Meaning: it is associated with a rival or arch-enemy and can be used to describe inflicting an act of vengeance.
Eloquence
Meaning: a quality found in the most skillful politicians, this word refers to persuasive expressiveness.
Sequoia
Meaning: these larger than life trees can be found throughout California, particularly in their namesake national park in the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
Bodacious
Meaning: this word is often used to describe a body's curves, bodacious can also be used to describe something that is remarkable or admirable.
Silhouette
Meaning: the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background.
Ingenue
Meaning: naive and innocent female characters such as Sandy at the start of Grease and Ophelia from Hamlet are examples of ingenues.
Vestigial
Meaning: remnant of something or smaller version of something that was once full size.
Imbue
Meaning: to permeate, be dispersed throughout something.
Lithe
Meaning: one syllable and full of grace, the word lithe is used to characterize flexibility and a slim figure.
Renaissance
Meaning: he revival of European art and literature under the influence of classical models in the 14th–16th centuries.
Percussive
Meaning: resembling the sound of a drum being beaten.
No. It just means "to do with hitting something". Percussive maintenance is when you thump something to make it work.
Labyrinth
Meaning: any maze or place with "intricate passageways" can be described by this word.
No. Strictly speaking, a labyrinth is a complex, winding path. Unlike a true maze, a labyrinth does not contain dead ends.
Propinquity
Meaning: similar to the term proximity, this word is another way to talk about someone who lives near you.
