sesquipedalian
Using long words
Sesquipedalian describes words that are notably long or the habit of using them.
The word itself—at six syllables—demonstrates its own meaning.
A sesquipedalian writer favors elaborate vocabulary over plain speech: His sesquipedalian prose exhausted readers before they reached the second paragraph.
The term carries mild mockery, suggesting pretension or unnecessary complexity.
Having many syllables
- multisyllabicHaving many syllables
- lexicographyCompiling word reference books
- etymologyWord origin study
- morphologyStudy of structural forms
terminology · neologism · coinage · derivation · latinate · nomenclature · philology · orthography
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- magniloquentUsing pompous, elevated rhetoric
- bombasticExcessively inflated language
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
- ostentatiousShowily excessive
highfalutin · orotund · affected · pedantic · supercilious · haughty · snobbish · self-important
Excessively wordy in speech
- long-windedExcessively wordy, tediously so
- circumlocutorySpeaking in circles
- periphrasticExpressed through excess words
- pleonasticUnnecessarily wordy in expression
wordy · rambling · discursive · diffuse · digressive · tautological · redundant · overwrought
Support for maintained state religion
- supercalifragilisticexpialidociousCoined term for extraordinary
- internationalizationDesigning for regional adaptability
- uncharacteristicallyUnlike one's typical self
- counterrevolutionaryOne opposing radical overthrow
interdisciplinary · psychopharmacological · electroencephalography · deinstitutionalization · incomprehensibility · disproportionately
Lover of vocabulary
- wordsmithSkilled prose artisan
- scholarLearned, studious person
- eruditeProfoundly knowledgeable
- philologistScholar of language history
linguist · intellectual · polymath · bibliophile · grammarian · etymologist · academician · literati
polysyllabic
Having many syllables
- multisyllabicHaving many syllables
- lexicographyCompiling word reference books
- etymologyWord origin study
morphology · terminology · neologism · coinage · derivation · latinate · nomenclature · philology · orthography · phonology
grandiloquent
Pretentiously elevated in speech
- magniloquentUsing pompous, elevated rhetoric
- bombasticExcessively inflated language
- pretentiousFalsely grand or important
ostentatious · highfalutin · orotund · affected · pedantic · supercilious · haughty · snobbish · self-important · arrogant
prolix
Excessively wordy in speech
- long-windedExcessively wordy, tediously so
- circumlocutorySpeaking in circles
- periphrasticExpressed through excess words
pleonastic · wordy · rambling · discursive · diffuse · digressive · tautological · redundant · overwrought · labored
antidisestablishmentarianism
Support for maintained state religion
- supercalifragilisticexpialidociousCoined term for extraordinary
- internationalizationDesigning for regional adaptability
- uncharacteristicallyUnlike one's typical self
counterrevolutionary · interdisciplinary · psychopharmacological · electroencephalography · deinstitutionalization · incomprehensibility · disproportionately
logophile
Lover of vocabulary
philologist · linguist · intellectual · polymath · bibliophile · grammarian · etymologist · academician · literati · savant
- long wordssupercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism, incomprehensibilities, counterrevolutionary, electroencephalograph
- tricky spellingsaccommodate, acknowledge, acquaintance, acquire, bureau
- bombastbombast, grandiloquence, magniloquence, pomposity, fustian
- fancy wordsgrandiloquent, magniloquent, pulchritudinous, tintinnabulation, tergiversation
- Overblown Wordspompous, bombastic, grandiose, inflated, overblown
- blatherbabble, balderdash, baloney, blarney, blather
sesquipedalianconcise
Briefly and clearly stated
terse · succinct · laconic · plain-spoken · unpretentious
sesquipedalianunpretentious
Lacking false superiority
plain-spoken · down-to-earth · homespun · folksy · unaffected