/r/improvevocab

Photograph via snooOG

This is a subreddit where users can put in new words they have learned, or a word they think is really cool and would like to share. Words in other languages (other than English) are encouraged!

The Ideal post will contain: a link to the word itself from a dictionary source (urbandictionary sources will be acceptable), the definition, a pronunciation of the word, and a sample sentence.

If you can, try to fit a chosen word into your day at least 5 times. The best way to remember is to practice.

Have fun, and be expansive!

Start building your vocabulary

Vocab Assistant
Memrise

Also, please make sure to check out our sister subreddits.
/r/vocabulary
/r/whatstheword
/r/loxiconicporn
/r/foundwords
/r/logophilia
/r/eloquent
/r/greets
/r/words
/r/VocabAssistant

/r/improvevocab

2,396 Subscribers

3

Words you might not have heard of - ennui, hiraeth, jejune, vermiparous, perspicacious

Words you might not have heard of -

  • ennui: Feeling of dissatisfaction.
  • hiraeth: a homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was.
  • jejune: dull; lacking flavor.
  • vermiparous: producing wormlike young.
  • perspicacious: acutely insightful and wise.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

2 Comments
2022/11/25
12:30 UTC

7

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - erudition, anathema, katagelophobia, lucubration, omerta

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • erudition: Knowledge gained chiefly from books.
  • anathema: a detested person; the source of somebody's hate.
  • katagelophobia: fear of being ridiculed.
  • lucubration: laborious work, study, thought, etc., especially at night. [from Latin 'lucubratio' : "nocturnal study, night work,"].
  • omerta: secrecy sworn to by oath; code of silence.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

1 Comment
2022/11/18
12:30 UTC

4

Some interesting words - pauciloquent, quockerwodger, mollitious, vermiparous, eructation

Some interesting words -

  • pauciloquent: using few words in speech or conversation; laconic.
  • quockerwodger: a wooden toy figure which jerks its limbs about when pulled by a string, and also a politician whose strings are pulled by someone else.
  • mollitious: Luxurious.
  • vermiparous: producing wormlike young.
  • eructation: a Belch.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/11/11
12:30 UTC

5

Words you might not have heard of - octothorpe, isolato, blague, deliquesce, tosspot

Words you might not have heard of -

  • octothorpe: An alternate english name for the # sign.
  • isolato: A person who is spiritually isolated from or out of sympathy with his or her times or society.
  • blague: pretentious but empty talk; nonsense.
  • deliquesce: to melt away.
  • tosspot: a drunkard, a habitual drinker.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

1 Comment
2022/11/04
12:30 UTC

5

Words you might not have heard of - dolorific, psychopomps, syzygy, paralambdacism, lustrum

Words you might not have heard of -

  • dolorific: Causing pain or grief.
  • psychopomps: creatures, spirits, angels, or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afterlife.
  • syzygy: the nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies (as the sun, moon, and earth during a solar or lunar eclipse) in a gravitational system.
  • paralambdacism: Inability to pronounce the sound "L".
  • lustrum: A period of 5 years.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

4 Comments
2022/10/25
12:30 UTC

8

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - malaise, curglaff, chiral, apricity, claustrophile

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • malaise: a vague or unfocused feeling of mental uneasiness, lethargy, or discomfort.
  • curglaff: The shock felt in bathing, when one first plunges into the cold water.
  • chiral: Not superimposable on its mirror image.
  • apricity: the warmth of the sun in Winter.
  • claustrophile: A person who has the condition of claustrophilia, a love of closed-in spaces.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

1 Comment
2022/10/18
12:30 UTC

6

Some interesting words - tête-à-tête, quisling, adhocracy, velleity, carom

Some interesting words -

  • tête-à-tête: a two-person intimate conversation without the intrusion of a third party; an S-shaped sofa allowing two persons to face eachother.
  • quisling: a traitor.
  • adhocracy: An organizational system designed to be flexible and responsive rather than bureaucratic.
  • velleity: a wish or desire so slight that no effort is made to attain it.
  • carom: a shot in billiards in which the cue ball strikes each of two object balls.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/10/11
12:30 UTC

4

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - pilcrow, acnestis, inveigle, bloviate, griffinage

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • pilcrow: The paragraph symbol ( ¶ ).
  • acnestis: The part of an animal's skin that it cannot reach to scratch itself, usually the space between the shoulder blades.
  • inveigle: To entice, lure through artful talk or inducements.
  • bloviate: To speak or write in a pompous or overbearing way.
  • griffinage: the state of being a white person recently come to the East.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/10/04
12:30 UTC

7

Words you might not have heard of - aleatory, theonym, fremdschämen, gargalesthesia, tulpa

Words you might not have heard of -

  • aleatory: depending on a roll of the dice; related to chance.
  • theonym: The name of a god.
  • fremdschämen: Feeling embarrassed on behalf of someone else who is oblivious of the embarrassment they are causing themselves.
  • gargalesthesia: The sensation commonly associated with tickling.
  • tulpa: A magical creature that attains corporeal reality, having been originally merely imaginary; thought that has taken physical form.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/09/25
12:30 UTC

5

Some interesting words - arbitrage, temerity, dorodango, odalisque, alienist

Some interesting words -

  • arbitrage: the simultaneous purchase and sale of the same securities, commodities, or foreign exchange in different markets to profit from unequal prices.
  • temerity: fearless daring.
  • dorodango: A Japanese art form in which earth and water are moulded to create a delicate shiny sphere resembling a billiard ball.
  • odalisque: A woman slave in a harem.
  • alienist: (formerly) A doctor specializing in the treatment of mental illness.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/09/18
12:30 UTC

6

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - ultracrepidarian, tontine, chiaroscuro, vellicate, iconoclast

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • ultracrepidarian: One who gives opinions beyond one's area of expertise.
  • tontine: a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others.
  • chiaroscuro: The contrasting effect of light and dark shading in a work of art (or mood/character). [from Italian "chiaro" clear, light + "oscuro" obscure, dark].
  • vellicate: to touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements.
  • iconoclast: somebody who attacks cherished beliefs or institutions.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/09/11
12:30 UTC

5

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - flocculent, paralambdacism, feculent, apophenia, asterism

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • flocculent: having or resembling tufts of wool.
  • paralambdacism: Inability to pronounce the sound "L".
  • feculent: filthy, scummy, muddy, or foul; of the nature of or containing waste matter.
  • apophenia: The tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things (such as objects or ideas).
  • asterism: a pattern of stars in the night sky, including but not limited to constellations.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/09/04
12:30 UTC

3

Some interesting words - babbitt, resistentialism, sinistrodextral, psithurism, cephalophore

Some interesting words -

  • babbitt: A narrow-minded, self-satisfied person with an unthinking attachment to middle-class values and materialism.
  • resistentialism: The belief that inanimate objects have a natural antipathy toward human beings, and therefore it is not people who control things, but things which increasingly control people.
  • sinistrodextral: From left to right, like English writing. The opposite is dextrosinistral.
  • psithurism: The sound of rustling leaves.
  • cephalophore: a saint who is generally depicted carrying his or her own head.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/08/25
12:30 UTC

8

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - deontology, eucatastrophe, miasma, psychopomp, susurrous

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • deontology: the normative ethical position that judges the morality of an action based on the action's adherence to a rule or rules.
  • eucatastrophe: sudden turn of events at the end of a story which ensures that the protagonist does not meet some terrible, impending, and very plausible doom.
  • miasma: a dangerous, foreboding, or deathlike influence or atmosphere.
  • psychopomp: a deity or creature who guides souls to their underworld, e.g. Charon or Anubis.
  • susurrous: characterized by soft sounds; a murmurous brook; a soughing wind in the pines; a slow sad susurrous rustle like the wind fingering the pines.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/08/18
12:30 UTC

3

Some interesting words - barathrum, oblectation, vituperative, wiseling, satori

Some interesting words -

  • barathrum: a bottomless pit or abyss; hell.
  • oblectation: Pleasure, satisfaction, delight.
  • vituperative: Bitter and abusive; uttering or given to censure; containing or characterized by verbal abuse.
  • wiseling: One who pretends to be wise; a wiseacre; a witling.
  • satori: Sudden enlightenment (Buddhist).

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/08/11
12:30 UTC

7

Words you might not have heard of - mewl, antediluvian, milquetoast, interlard, monomania

Words you might not have heard of -

  • mewl: To cry weakly; whimper.
  • antediluvian: of or relating to the period before the flood described in the Bible.
  • milquetoast: a timid, meek, or unassertive person.
  • interlard: lit. to intersperse with alternate layers of lard (and/or other fats); to bloat or embellish by including (often minor and extraneous) details at regular intervals.
  • monomania: obsessive enthusiasm for or preoccupation with one thing (defined visually through the link).

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

1 Comment
2022/08/04
12:30 UTC

5

Words you might not have heard of - alienist, pauciloquent, kakistocracy, mensch, cataphracted

Words you might not have heard of -

  • alienist: (formerly) A doctor specializing in the treatment of mental illness.
  • pauciloquent: using few words in speech or conversation; laconic.
  • kakistocracy: Government by the least qualified or worst persons.
  • mensch: A person having admirable characteristics, such as fortitude and firmness of purpose.
  • cataphracted: covered with an armor of horny or bony plates or scales.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

2 Comments
2022/07/25
12:30 UTC

6

Some interesting words - gongoozler, nesh, stellenbosch, pleonasm, malapropism

Some interesting words -

  • gongoozler: a person who enjoys watching activity on the canals of the UK, or used more generally for people who are spectating without contributing.
  • nesh: someone who is always cold or susceptible to it.
  • stellenbosch: to relegate someone incompetent to a position of minimal responsibility.
  • pleonasm: The use of more words than are necessary to express an idea.
  • malapropism: the confusion of a word with another word that sounds similar.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/07/18
12:30 UTC

4

Some interesting words - bluestocking, lucubration, cenotaph, sonder, soteriological

Some interesting words -

  • bluestocking: A woman with considerable scholarly, literary, or intellectual ability or interest.
  • lucubration: laborious work, study, thought, etc., especially at night. [from Latin 'lucubratio' : "nocturnal study, night work,"].
  • cenotaph: a grave where the body is not present.
  • sonder: The realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own.
  • soteriological: related to the study of religious doctrines of salvation.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/07/11
12:30 UTC

8

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - ultracrepidate, ailurophile, valedictory, perspicacity, clishmaclaver

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • ultracrepidate: to go beyond one's scope or province, esp to criticize beyond your sphere of knowledge.
  • ailurophile: A person who loves cats.
  • valedictory: bidding good-bye; saying farewell.
  • perspicacity: acute discernment or understanding; insight - the human faculty or power to understand clearly.
  • clishmaclaver: Idle talk; gossip.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/07/04
12:30 UTC

3

Words you might not have heard of - hierophant, sullage, akrasia, ersatz, amphisbaena

Words you might not have heard of -

  • hierophant: A person, especially a priest, who interprets sacred mysteries or esoteric principles.
  • sullage: waste from household sinks, showers, and baths, but not toilets.
  • akrasia: The state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will.
  • ersatz: not real or genuine; phony.
  • amphisbaena: A serpent in classical mythology having a head at each end and capable of moving in either direction.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/06/25
12:30 UTC

5

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - perhorresce, anodyne, falcate, ecumenopolis, crenellation

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • perhorresce: To shudder.
  • anodyne: something that soothes or relieves pain.
  • falcate: Curved like a scythe or sickle; hooked; falciform.
  • ecumenopolis: a city made of the whole world.
  • crenellation: A pattern along the top of a parapet (fortified wall), most often in the form of multiple, regular, rectangular spaces in the top of the wall, through which arrows or other weaponry may be shot, especially as used in medieval European architecture.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

1 Comment
2022/06/18
12:30 UTC

6

Some interesting words - pilcrow, bluestocking, scelestic, overmorrow, pinchgut

Some interesting words -

  • pilcrow: The paragraph symbol ( ¶ ).
  • bluestocking: A woman with considerable scholarly, literary, or intellectual ability or interest.
  • scelestic: Evil; wicked; atrocious.
  • overmorrow: Day after tomorrow (Ereyesterday: Day before yesterday).
  • pinchgut: A miserly person.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

2 Comments
2022/06/11
12:30 UTC

3

Some interesting words - verbile, akrasia, cynosure, vorfreude, mottainai

Some interesting words -

  • verbile: a person who is best stimulated by words.
  • akrasia: The state of mind in which someone acts against their better judgment through weakness of will.
  • cynosure: something or someone that is the centre of attention.
  • vorfreude: the joyful, intense anticipation that comes from imagining future pleasures.
  • mottainai: the sensation of loss associated with needless waste or patterns of behaviour that lead to such waste. One may say "that feels Mottainai".

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/06/04
12:30 UTC

4

Some interesting words - katabasis, lugubrious, mewl, eudaimonia, idioglossia

Some interesting words -

  • katabasis: a descent or journey downward, such as traveling from the interior of a country to the coast or a trip to the underworld.
  • lugubrious: excessively mournful.
  • mewl: To cry weakly; whimper.
  • eudaimonia: happiness through virtue of character.
  • idioglossia: a private language, as invented by a child or between two children, esp twins.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/05/25
12:30 UTC

7

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - kalopsia, pogonotrophy, oxter, amphisbaena, cenotaph

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • kalopsia: The delusion of things being more beautiful than they are.
  • pogonotrophy: the cultivation of beards, beard-growing.
  • oxter: The armpit.
  • amphisbaena: A serpent in classical mythology having a head at each end and capable of moving in either direction.
  • cenotaph: a grave where the body is not present.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/05/18
12:30 UTC

3

Some interesting words - gapeseed, vicereine, penetralia, pecksniffian, blellum

Some interesting words -

  • gapeseed: A person who gapes or stares in wonder, especially a rustic or unworldly person who is easily awed.
  • vicereine: A woman who is the governor of a country, province, or colony, ruling as the representative of a sovereign.
  • penetralia: The innermost, secret or hidden parts.
  • pecksniffian: pretending to have high moral principles.
  • blellum: An idle, senseless, talking, or noisy fellow.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/05/11
12:30 UTC

2

Words that readers of this subreddit may like - tosspot, ferrule, knar, gargalesthesia, subnivean

Words that readers of this subreddit may like -

  • tosspot: a drunkard, a habitual drinker.
  • ferrule: the metal part that holds an eraser to a pencil.
  • knar: A knot on a tree or in wood.
  • gargalesthesia: The sensation commonly associated with tickling.
  • subnivean: Occurring beneath a layer of snow.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

0 Comments
2022/05/04
12:30 UTC

7

Some interesting words - idiolect, crapulous, dixi, magnetar, facetiae

Some interesting words -

  • idiolect: A person's individual speech pattern.
  • crapulous: characterized by excessive eating or drinking.
  • dixi: literally translated as "I have spoken". When used, it usually means: "I have said all that I had to say and thus the argument is settled".
  • magnetar: A type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field.
  • facetiae: Witty or humorous writings and sayings.

These interesting words are taken from Vocab Assistant which is a vocabulary building chatbot.

0 Comments
2022/04/25
12:30 UTC

3

Some interesting words - tulpa, sophism, circumbendibus, tintinnabulation, pareidolia

Some interesting words -

  • tulpa: A magical creature that attains corporeal reality, having been originally merely imaginary; thought that has taken physical form.
  • sophism: an argument apparently correct in form but actually invalid; especially: such an argument used to deceive.
  • circumbendibus: a roundabout way; a circumlocution.
  • tintinnabulation: A gentle, light tinkling noise.
  • pareidolia: The imagined perception of a pattern or meaning where it does not actually exist, as in considering the moon to have human features.

These words are taken from vocabulary app - Vocab Assistant

1 Comment
2022/04/18
12:30 UTC

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