Do you know cool words in the English language? English is an odd language. It borrows so much from other languages that learning it can be a major challenge, even if English is the only language you know. However, it also has a lot of really cool words that are great to know! These cool words can help you sound smarter, feel smarter and more confident, or maybe just help you hate English a little less. Each word in the list below comes with a definition put into normal terms. Some of these cool words are on this list because they sound awesome, some are on the list because the definitions are cool, and some are on the list because the definitions are surprising.
Table of Contents
Cool Words
Below are 100 cool words in the English language:
1. Abbreviate
To shorten a word or phrase, usually to just a couple of letters
2. Accidentology
The study of the prevention of accidents
3. Alliteration
Using two or more words close together that start with the same sound
4. Arithmetician
An expert in basic math functions
5. Bafflegab
Confusing or impossible to understand wording, such as legalese
6. Bibliotherapy
The use of reading as part of a therapy practice
7. Bluster
To be loud like the wind during a storm OR to make a lot of noise without anything to back it up
8. Bounden
Being bound to someone or something in an obligatory way
9. Calcariferous
A thing that has spurred on it
10. Cannetille
Gold or silver thread in a spiral twist
11. Centesimal
Hundredth
12. Charismatic
Description of someone who has charm and magnetism
13. Dastardly
Cowardly and sneaky or underhanded
14. Depigmentation
The loss of coloring (pigment)
15. Disambiguation
Clarifying different possible meanings
16. Doublespeak
Intentionally saying one thing that might mean something else
17. Eavesdrop
To listen in on others’ conversations
18. Eidetic
A description of visual input that’s reproducible with detail and accuracy
19. Empathetic
Being able to relate to someone else’s experience as if it’s your own
20. Etymology
The history and development of a word
21. Facetious
Not serious; like sarcasm, but not always with an obvious tonal difference
22. Finicky
Being hard to please; changing one’s mind a lot
23. Floriferous
A plant that grows flowers
24. Frippery
Something that looks nice but doesn’t always make things better
25. Gallivant
To go around looking for entertainment or pleasure
26. Gaunt
Thin, overly skinny
27. Glimmer
A faint light OR a tiny bit, as in a glimmer of an idea or thought
28. Gregarious
Someone who likes being around people
29. Hallucinate
To see something that isn’t there
30. Heliosphere
The area around the sun where solar winds happen
31. Histamine
The stuff that makes you itchy
32. Horripilation
Goosebumps
33. Ideation
The stage of creating ideas
34. Imperative
Important to the point of being required
35. Infatuation
Being really intensely caught up in a person or thing
36. Iterative
Something repetitive OR a rule that can be applied repeatedly
37. Jargon
The language that’s specific to a particular niche
38. Jovial
A happy manner
39. Julienne
A way to cut food into short strips
40. Juxtaposition
Two things put together for (or resulting in) a contrast
41. Kaleidoscope
A tube with colors and mirrors that moves to make varied patterns
42. Keen
Sharp, either literally or talking about somebody’s intelligence or observations
43. Kickstart
Like jumpstart, it means to give something a push to get it going
44. Knight-errant
A knight who goes out looking for adventure
45. Lair
A hidden, safe place
46. Letterboxing
The process of changing something widescreen to something standard ratio, without messing up the images
47. Linear
In a straight line or in order, including by time of occurrence
48. Lugubrious
Looking or sounding sad
49. Magnanimous
Generous, forgiving, especially if you’re the person in power
50. Matriculate
To be enrolled in a university
Cool Words in the English Language
51. Mundane
Normal, usual
52. Monotony
When things are the same, such as a voice in the same tone, usually in a boring way
53. Narcissist
A person who sees the world as revolving around themselves
54. Nexus
A connection linking two or more things, like a web
55. Nidicolous
An animal raised in a nest
56. Nonsensical
Something that doesn’t make sense, usually in a silly way
57. Obfuscate
To hide or shadow something, sometimes literally, but often figuratively
58. Olfactory
From the nose, or a scent
59. Omnipotent
To be all-knowing and have all potential
60. Onomatopoeia
Writing out of a sound (buzz, plop, etc)
61. Pacifist
Someone who doesn’t fight
62. Pedagogue
A teacher, usually a boring one
63. Pictography
A story told with pictures
64. Polylingual
Ability to speak more than one language
65. Quadrennial
Something that happens every four years
66. Quandary
The state of being stuck on a decision
67. Quibble
To argue over little details instead of the point
68. Racketeer
Someone who gets money illegally, usually through intimidation
69. Recant
To take back what’s been said
70. Rodomont
Someone who brags a lot (outdated but fun)
71. Rusticate
To go live in the countryside
72. Saccharine
Overly sweet, either literally or in behavior
73. Scrawl
Messy handwriting
74. Shod
Wearing shoes
75. Synthesize
To bring things together to make one product
76. Tactile
Something you can touch, or the act or feeling of touching
77. Tensile
Relating to tension, how tight something is
78. Throng
A big group of people
79. Typographic
Relating to typing or font; a typographic error is a typo
80. Ubiquitous
Something that’s used a lot, everywhere, or gratuitous
Cool Words with Definitions
81. Umbra
The shadowy or dark part of a light source, to include sun and (reflection of) moon
82. Unbridled
Without restraint, with no holding back
83. Vagabond
Someone who wanders, without a set home
84. Velocity
How fact something goes
85. Vicissitude
Something being changeable
86. Voiceprint
Like a fingerprint, it’s the individual characteristics, but of a person’s voice
87. Waggle
To move side to side
88. Wieldy
Something easy to hold and use
89. Writhe
To twist and distort
90. Wyvern
A mythological creature like a dragon
91. Xenophile
Someone who likes people, styles, things that are different
92. Xylotomy
The art of preparing pieces of wood for study
93. Yearning
Wanting someone or something
94. Yestereve
Last night (outdated)
95. Yonder
Far away, but often in sight
96. Yurt
A circular or dome tent. Asian in origin
97. Zeal
Eagerness and excitement for something
98. Zenith
The high point in an arc, often sun or moon
99. Zoniferous
Having to do with a zone or zones
100. Zoogenic
Something caused by or associated with animals
Use any of these words as often as you’d like!
Top 100 Coolest Words | Images
100 Coolest Words in English
