Language may probably be the greatest invention in human history. We shifted from simple sounds to creating complex sentences to communicate with ease. But after so many years and shifts, it is not surprising that there are some difficult words that even the best spellers and speakers can’t quite articulate. As we communicate through writing and speaking, some difficult English words can be a thorn in the side when you're speaking at a business meeting or writing an important letter to someone. While modern technology, like autocorrect, has eliminated the need to double-check a word when writing, it is still a wonder just how difficult words in English can be!
With millions of words to choose from and use in different combinations, it can be seen as art, when a person can use even the hardest words with ease. Hard words can be the elements that separate a work of literature from the sea of mediocrity. An idea can only be fully realized by the words that are used to explain it. Of course, when it comes to speaking, there is a long list of hard words to pronounce, due to their complexity and rare usage. In the heat of the moment, a word can become the thing that ruins a great speech and puts the speaker in an awkward situation. And who wants to be in that position?
As the English dictionary keeps getting bigger with every word added, now should be a good time to check up on your English skills. In the list below, you can check out some of the most difficult words to spell that you might be using every day unknowingly. Upvote the ones that you use or hear being used commonly and comment below if you’ve ever used them in a letter or speech in the wrong way. No worries, no one is judging!
#1
Sanctimonious.
[sangk-tuh-moh-nee-uhs]
Meaning: making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.
Report
25points
#2
Gratuitous.
[gruh-too-i-tuhs]
Meaning: being without apparent reason, cause, or justification.
Report
24points
#3
Egregious.
[ih-gree-juhs]
Meaning: extraordinary in some bad way; glaring; flagrant.
Report
21points
#4
Mischievous.
[mis-chuh-vuhs]
Meaning: maliciously or playfully annoying.
Report
20points
#5
Eclectic.
[ih-klek-tik]
Meaning: selecting or choosing from various sources.
Report
19points
#6
Throughout.
[throo-out]
Meaning: in or to every part of; everywhere in.
Report
18points
#7
Inchoate.
[in-koh-eyt]
Meaning: not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
Report
17points
#8
Recalcitrant.
[ri-kal-si-truhnt]
Meaning: resisting authority or control; not obedient or compliant; refractory.
Report
17points
#9
Ubiquitous.
[yoo-bik-wi-tuhs]
Meaning: existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time; omnipresent.
Report
17points
#10
Antidisestablishmentarianism.
[an-tee-dis-uh-stab-lish-muhn-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm]
Meaning: opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, especially the Anglican Church in 19th-century England.
Report
17points
#11
Defibrillator.
[dee-fahy-bruh-ley-ter]
Meaning: an agent or device for arresting fibrillation of the atrial or ventricular muscles of the heart.
Report
16points
#12
Sphygmomanometer.
[sfig-moh-muh-nom-i-ter]
Meaning: an instrument, often attached to an inflatable air-bladder cuff and used with a stethoscope, for measuring blood pressure in an artery.
Report
16points
#13
Rural.
[roor-uh]
Meaning: in, relating to, or characteristic of the countryside rather than the town.
Report
15points
#14
Otorhinolaryngology.
[oh-toh-rahy-noh-lar-ing-gol-uh-jee]
Meaning: a medical specialty concerned especially with the ear, nose, and throat and related parts of the head and neck.
Report
15points
#15
Fünfhundertfünfundfünfzig.
[fünf-hun-dert-fünf-und-fünf-zig]
Meaning: five hundred fifty-five in German.
Report
15points
#16
Colloquialism.
[kuh-loh-kwee-uh-liz-uhm]
Meaning: characteristic of or appropriate to ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing; informal.
Report
15points
#17
Anachronistic.
[uh-nak-ruh-nis-tik]
Meaning: something or someone that is not in its correct historical or chronological time, especially a thing or person that belongs to an earlier time.
Report
15points
#18
Onomatopoeia.
[on-uh-mat-uh-pee-uh]
Meaning: the formation of a word, as cuckoo, meow, honk, or boom, by imitation of a sound made by or associated with its referent.
Report
15points
#19
Worcestershire.
[woos-ter-sheer]
Meaning: a former county in central England, now part of Hereford and Worcester.
Report
14points
#20
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
[llan-fair-pwll-gwyn-gyll-go-ger-ych-wyrn-drob-wll-llan-ty-silio-go-go-goch]
Meaning: the name of a village in Carmarthenshire, which means "a quiet, beautiful village; a historic place with rare kite under threat from wretched blades".
14points