The 100 Most
Beautiful Words in English
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Ailurophile
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A cat-lover.
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Assemblage
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A gathering.
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Becoming
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Attractive.
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Beleaguer
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To exhaust with attacks.
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Brood
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To think alone.
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Bucolic
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In a lovely rural setting.
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Bungalow
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A small, cozy cottage.
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Chatoyant
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Like a cat's eye.
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Comely
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Attractive.
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Conflate
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To blend together.
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Cynosure
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A focal point of admiration.
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Dalliance
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A brief love affair.
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Demesne
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Dominion, territory.
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Demure
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Shy and reserved.
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Denouement
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The resolution of a mystery.
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Desuetude
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Disuse.
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Desultory
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Slow, sluggish.
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Diaphanous
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Filmy.
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Dissemble
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Deceive.
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Dulcet
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Sweet, sugary.
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Ebullience
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Bubbling enthusiasm.
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Effervescent
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Bubbly.
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Efflorescence
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Flowering, blooming.
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Elision
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Dropping a sound or syllable in a
word.
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Elixir
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A good potion.
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Eloquence
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Beauty and persuasion in speech.
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Embrocation
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Rubbing on a lotion.
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Emollient
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A softener.
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Ephemeral
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Short-lived.
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Epiphany
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A sudden revelation.
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Erstwhile
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At one time, for a time.
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Ethereal
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Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
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Evanescent
|
Vanishing quickly, lasting a very
short time.
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Evocative
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Suggestive.
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Fetching
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Pretty.
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Felicity
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Pleasantness.
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Forbearance
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Withholding response to
provocation.
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Fugacious
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Fleeting.
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Furtive
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Shifty, sneaky.
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Gambol
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To skip or leap about joyfully.
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Glamour
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Beauty.
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Gossamer
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The finest piece of thread, a
spider's silk
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Halcyon
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Happy, sunny, care-free.
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Harbinger
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Messenger with news of the future.
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Imbrication
|
Overlapping and forming a regular
pattern.
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Imbroglio
|
An altercation or complicated
situation.
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Imbue
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To infuse, instill.
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Incipient
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Beginning, in an early stage.
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Ineffable
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Unutterable, inexpressible.
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Ingénue
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A naïve young woman.
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Inglenook
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A cozy nook by the hearth.
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Insouciance
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Blithe nonchalance.
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Inure
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To become jaded.
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Labyrinthine
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Twisting and turning.
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Lagniappe
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A special kind of gift.
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Lagoon
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A small gulf or inlet.
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Languor
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Listlessness, inactivity.
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Lassitude
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Weariness, listlessness.
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Leisure
|
Free time.
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Lilt
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To move musically or lively.
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Lissome
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Slender and graceful.
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Lithe
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Slender and flexible.
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Love
|
Deep affection.
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Mellifluous
|
Sweet sounding.
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Moiety
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One of two equal parts.
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Mondegreen
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A slip of the ear.
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Murmurous
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Murmuring.
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Nemesis
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An unconquerable archenemy.
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Offing
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The sea between the horizon and
the offshore.
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Onomatopoeia
|
A word that sounds like its
meaning.
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Opulent
|
Lush, luxuriant.
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Palimpsest
|
A manuscript written over earlier
ones.
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Panacea
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A solution for all problems
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Panoply
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A complete set.
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Pastiche
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An art work combining materials
from various sources.
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Penumbra
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A half-shadow.
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Petrichor
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The smell of earth after rain.
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Plethora
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A large quantity.
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Propinquity
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An inclination.
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Pyrrhic
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Successful with heavy losses.
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Quintessential
|
Most essential.
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Ratatouille
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A spicy French stew.
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Ravel
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To knit or unknit.
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Redolent
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Fragrant.
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Riparian
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By the bank of a stream.
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Ripple
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A very small wave.
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Scintilla
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A spark or very small thing.
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Sempiternal
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Eternal.
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Seraglio
|
Rich, luxurious oriental palace or
harem.
|
Serendipity
|
Finding something nice while
looking for something else.
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Summery
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Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
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Sumptuous
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Lush, luxurious.
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Surreptitious
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Secretive, sneaky.
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Susquehanna
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A river in Pennsylvania.
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Susurrous
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Whispering, hissing.
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Talisman
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A good luck charm.
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Tintinnabulation
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Tinkling.
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Umbrella
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Protection from sun or rain.
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Untoward
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Unseemly, inappropriate.
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Vestigial
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In trace amounts.
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Wafture
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Waving.
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Wherewithal
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The means.
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Woebegone
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Sorrowful, downcast.
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Sunday, March 24, 2013
The 100 Most Beautiful Words in English
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