There aren’t many things more delightful to word nerds than the effervescence of a fun word rolling off the tongue. Furthermore, word lovers often have a few favorite words that are particularly affecting. For this year’s spelling bee, Scripps asked all those spelling geniuses which words they delighted in most. Here are the six most beloved words for super-spellers. How many do you know?
1. Flibbertigibbet
This one might be familiar to those Sound of Music fans out there — at least you may remember it from “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?” but have no idea what it means.
noun (\ˌfli-bər-tē-ˈji-bət\)
A silly, flighty person.
“My blind date was a flibbertigibbet; we could hardly keep a conversation without jumping to a new topic.”
2. Onomatopoeia
This fairly well-known word is often taught to us early on because what it ends up being just plain fun!
noun (\ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-ˈpē-ə\)
The creation of words that imitate natural sounds.
My favorite onomatopoeia is buzz because it reminds me of the bees flying in spring.”
3. Schadenfreude
German has a large number of specific words that describe or refer to experiences that are not given specific words in other languages. English has borrowed many.
noun (\ˈshä-dən-ˌfrȯi-də\)
A feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people.
”The giggle that escaped my mouth when his pants ripped was out of pure schadenfreude.”
4. Syzygy
Are you a stargazer? Then you might know this astronomical term.
noun (\ˈsi-zə-jē\)
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.
“When the syzygy is complete, we’ll see a total eclipse of the sun!”
We love the literary application of this word, as in “our meeting was like syzygy. Everything lined up and fit.”
5. Tchotchke
Why shouldn’t you have another word to refer to all those little baubles and doodads all over your Grandma’s house?
noun (\ˈchäch-kə, ˈtsäts-\)
A knickknack; trinket
”After a lifetime of globetrotting, John and Susan had a tchotchke for every travel—a trinket for every trip.”
6.Triskaidekaphobia
There is a name for superstitiously avoiding the number thirteen.
noun (\ˌtris-ˌkī-ˌde-kə-ˈfō-bē-ə\)
Fear of the number thirteen.
”Not putting a 13th floor in the apartment building takes triskaidekaphobia to an extreme.”
What are your favorite words? Share with us in the comments!
Are you looking to learn some new words? Check out our newest vocabulary quiz!
(All the definitions and pronunciation guides were found at Merriam-Webster.)
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