ELEVATE YOUR VOCABULARY

10 Unusual English Words You Can Add To Your Vocabulary

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The English language is considered one of the easiest to learn. That doesn’t mean it is not rich or hasn’t enough words to describe the complexities of the modern world in depth. However, people don’t often make the most of the vast vocabulary our language has to offer. It’s time to start using words like "frabjous," or "abstruse!" That is why we have put together a list of 10 words that are not so commonly used but will surely help elevate your speech! Are you ready? Let’s go!

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Have you ever experienced something that is both fabulous and joyous at the same time? You probably feel that the words you have to describe such situations are never enough. You need a more powerful word, like "frabjous."

Many words have been created in literary works. Frabjous, an adjective, is one of them. Lewis Carrol first coined it in Through the Looking Glass to describe something wonderful and superb in an informal way. Frabjous, isn't it?

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Being a friend or being friendly are not the same thing, those two letters at the end are charged with meaning. In the case of the latter, there’s a verb you can use.

The word "hobnob" comes from Middle English and its meaning has changed and evolved. Today, "hobnob" means to associate with people in a very friendly way, for example: "She always hobnobs with celebrities."

Curious enough, it also has an archaic meaning: drinking together. It makes sense, isn’t that how most friendly relationships begin?

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The early bird catches the worm, that’s how the saying goes. Well, maybe you don’t get a worm, but you could get some elevenses.

This word was first recorded in the 1840s, and it has always been used in its plural form to refer to a midmorning refreshment.

Now, can you imagine how it was formed? That’s right, it is a pluralized form of "eleven," meaning the time when these refreshments are usually taken, at eleven o’clock.

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The modern world is getting more and more complex and the reasons to laugh and smile are harder to find- at least for the agelasts. Are you one of them?

An agelast, you might get from context, is a person who never laughs. The term comes from the Greek word agélastos which means grave or gloomy. This makes sense since being around people who never laugh can feel like it lasts an age, don’t you think?

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Time is our most precious possession and it is, at the same time, so easily wasted! Thankfully, we have many words to describe procrastination, and "lollygag" is one of them.

This word is a slang word from the 19th century and it has an alternative spelling which is "lallygag." The verb describes the action of wasting time.

As is often the case with many words, it used to have a second meaning related to affection display, but that fell out of use and now only the original meaning remains.

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This word may sound like "poetic," hence from the heart or romantic. But it is actually quite the opposite. Noetic derives from a Greek adjective that means "intellectual." In this sense, this adjective today describes things related to, or based on the intellect.

You might be familiar with it because in California there is the Institute of Noetic Sciences which is devoted to the study of, you guessed it, the mind!

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Have you ever been in a position in which you had to choose between two options, going back and forth from one option to another, analyzing the pros and cons, and feeling the decision was impossible to make? You were oscillating between the options then.

This word comes from the Latin oscillatus which means to swing, like a pendulum, or to come and go between two points, usually opposites. It is quite unfair how unusual this word is considering how common that scenario is, don’t you think?

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Trying to elevate one’s language takes great effort, after all, some words are too difficult to understand or comprehend, they are simply too abstruse. Here’s the explanation: the word "abstruse" describes things that are difficult to understand.

It derives from the Latin verb trudere which means "to push away." This Latin verb gave rise to many English words that include this meaning, but the "thrust" meaning in "abstruse" has fallen out of use and only one remains. See? It means hard to comprehend, but it isn’t so!

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If you know a person who is always criticizing and judging, someone who has an opinion on everything, you’ve met an ultracrepidarian, a word coming from Latin, and first recorded in the early 1800s.

This word describes a person who judges and gives advice or opinions outside the area of expertise. Specific as it is in meaning, it is quite versatile since it can be both an adjective, like in "an ultracrepidarian boss," and a noun, for example: "I know many ultracrepidarians."

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After great pain, there is always something that helps us overcome it, and that something has a name: dolorifuge. This term refers to an activity or thing that helps you boost your spirits.

Dolorifuges take all kinds of shapes and it depends, of course, on what you like or what brings happiness to your life.

Similar to the first word on this list, it was coined by a writer. In this case, the word was created by the English novelist Thomas Hardy, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles. Have you heard this word before?

LANGUAGE CHALLENGES

Can You Speak One Of The 10 Most Difficult Languages to Learn?

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Remember those Spanish classes back in school? Or maybe you tried with French? Whether you've studied aforeign language or not, one thing's for sure: learning how to speak, read, and write in new languages is no easy task. But some of them are simply a true challenge! Do you know which language is written from right to left? Have you heard that in Europe, there's a language whose origins are still a mystery?

If you want to discover the 10 most challenging languages for native English speakers and understand why they are so tough, this article is for you!

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You can find Finnish-speaking communities in Sweden, Estonia, Norway, Canada, and even the United States. However, most Finnish speakers live in the beautiful country of Finland. If you love cold winters, you'll probably find life in this small country quite enjoyable. But what might give you a real headache is trying to learn the language!

Finnish, spoken by approximately 5 million people, has several characteristics that make it a challenge for many of us. Among them are its complex grammatical structure, which uses suffixes instead of prepositions, and its vowel harmony, where pronunciation can completely change the meaning of words. Additionally, Finnish lacks a separate future tense, having to add auxiliaries to past and present verb forms or relying on contextual clues to express future actions!

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At some point in your life, someone probably has said, "Don't talk to me in that tone!" While this is a common scene for many of us, it takes on a different meaning for Mandarin Chinese speakers.

This is because Mandarin is a tonal language, which means that the definition and intention of words can change depending on the tone used when pronouncing them. Each sound in its phonetic system can have multiple different meanings! For example, the word gong can mean "palace," "work," "together," or "achievement." Fascinating, right?

Being one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, it is also among the most complex to learn. But don't let this discourage you! Mandarin is a beautiful language that is worth trying.

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Around 300 million people speak Arabic as their first language. That's a lot of people! With so many different regions and people using it, the language has developed many dialects and regional peculiarities, making it pretty complex. But it's not just the diversity of dialects that makes Arabic hard to learn.

In addition to its distinct characters, Arabic also has a special feature that sets it apart from many other languages: it is written and read from right to left, unlike the left-to-right direction of Western writing systems.

And there's more! There is an interesting exception to its right-to-left rule. When it comes to currency signs accompanying numbers, the order is reversed, with the symbol on the left and the number on the right, just as we do.

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While Navajo is a familiar name to many, mastering this complex language is no small feat. It can be a unique challenge for English speakers, thanks to a couple of distinctive characteristics.

Besides being a tonal language, Navajo has a complex grammar that structures sentences quite differently from English. It's also agglutinative, which means it forms new words by adding prefixes and suffixes, much like Turkish or Finnish.

Navajo also features a unique verb conjugation system. And as if all that wasn't enough, it also includes sounds not found in English, making pronunciation particularly tough.

Yet, despite its fascinating complexity, Navajo stands out as the most widely spoken Native American language in the United States today, especially in the southern regions of the country.

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Japanese, like Mandarin and other languages of the East, is acclaimed for its beauty and complexity.

Firstly, Japanese presents a unique challenge with its three scripts: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji,each one with its characters and specific uses. In addition, Japanese is an agglutinative language, meaning it forms complex words by adding suffixes and combining terms.

Like Navajo, Japanese includes sounds that are not native to English speakers. But it doesn't end there! Japanese also stands out for having only two verb tenses: past and non-past, with the latter serving for present and future expressions.

However, despite its challenges, many brave people make the rewarding decision to learn this ancient and rich oriental language. You can do it, too!

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Basque, also known as Euskera, is a European language spoken primarily in the Basque Country, in northern Spain.

This language has a particularity that sets it apart - literally - from the rest: its origins are debated to this day. Why? Well, because it shares no significant characteristics with any other European language, not even with Spanish or Portuguese! For this reason, it's known as an isolated language. It is precisely that quality that makes it so complex to learn, as you can't rely on comparisons with languages you already know.

But despite its rarity and complex grammar, learning this language also means becoming familiar with Basque culture, a fun and interesting experience if you enjoy a good challenge!

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Korean isn't just known for its unique writing system; it's also recognized as one of the most challenging languages to learn, and for good reasons.

The grammatical structure of Korean follows a subject-object-verb order, which is different from English's subject-verb-object structure. This means that constructing sentences in Korean, even if you get the writing system or the meanings of words, can be a considerable challenge.

In addition, the Korean language has different levels of formality for cultural reasons. This includes the use of honorifics, which can change verb endings based on the level of respect you wish to show.

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Many English words are derived from Greek. For that and other cultural reasons, Greek may not be the hardest language for English speakers. But one thing is for sure: it is not the easiest either.

To start, Greek has its own alphabet, different from the Latin alphabet we use in English and other Western languages. Its grammar isn't very friendly either, with noun declensions, grammatical genders, and various verb endings. For example, Greek often places the verb toward the end of the sentence. While it has a flexible word order, it can still be challenging when chatting, as you have to understand the context or wait until the end of the sentence to get the verb.

However, learning the language of philosophy and poetry is definitely worth it!

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Hungarian is spoken in Hungary and other parts of the world by over 13 million people. Considering its tough structure, that's a lot of people employing this unique language!

Hungarian has very complex grammar, and you must understand it well to communicate effectively. It has a noun case system, where a little change in a word can completely alter its meaning. Additionally, Hungarian lacks grammatical genders, and itdiffers from English in that it possesses a huge amount of 14 vowels! That's a lot of sounds!

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As a North Germanic language, Icelandic is full of peculiarities that make it hard for English speakers to pick up.

Like many of the languages we have already mentioned, Icelandic has a rather complex grammatical structure, replete with rules and a fair dose of exceptions. Similar to Greek, Icelandic tends to position the verb at the sentence's end.

But one of Icelandic's most unique features is its three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. Nouns and articles must all align with these genders. Are you up for a few lessons?