Jan
17
Phenolphthalein
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A compound that changes color in the presence of acids or bases and is thus used as an indicator in titrations. It’s got a “phth” plus it breaks the “i before e” rule which makes it totally rebellious. The ee sounds at either end of the word really carry you through the weird middle in order to bring the word together. It’s unfortunate that it doesn’t come up more in conversation!
Holland
NY
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Jan
13
Plethora
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I’ve always had a love of plethora. I’m not really sure why. Maybe I think it makes me sound smart to use it in situations where other people would just say “a bunch of.”
Mike Vacca
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Jan
8
A mountain in Mexico - I think it’s a volcano - a friend and I discovered this name in year 10 geography at high school and instantly fell in love with it! The way it sounds with the ‘p’s and ‘t’s gets me every time - and of course it sounds exotic. My US friends say I pronounce it wrong, but I don’t care - say it several times in a row and sound like a locomotive - it’s fun! (Po-PO-ca-ta-pet-l is the emphasis I use.)
Sarah
Australia
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Jan
8
Perspicacity
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Because it’s just such a fantastic sounding word rolling off your tongue - especially if said in a mock-southern US accent, stretching out the first syllable. The ‘r’ and the ‘p’s are fantastic, it virtually crackles as you say it! It’s also a cool meaning - ‘having insight’ but mostly its just the way it sounds. I love alliteration and this sounds like alliteration all in one word!
Sarah
Australia
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Jan
4
Plummet
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It’s such a great sound for the action it describes, it deserves to be listed among the best words.
Alex Clark
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Jan
4
Plinth
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One of my favorite words is plinth. That word makes me and my twin sister positively roll on the floor with tears streaming from our eyes! We have no idea where it came from, I just said it one day, maybe it was an old crossword puzzle word stuck in my brain. It’s the pluh sound followed by the inth sound that makes us weep. The meaning has no bearing on anything.
Plinth: A usually square block serving as a base; broadly : any of various bases or lower parts or a course of stones forming a continuous foundation or base course.
Karen
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Jan
4
Parched
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parched (adj.): extremely thirsty
Parched is one of those words you can feel when you say it. Whether wandering through the desert or waking up after some ridiculous party, parched says it all. God damn, I need some water..
Margaret
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Jan
2
Plethora
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I fell in love with plethora during my first year working at the student newspaper in college. Plethora seemed to be such an elegant, intellectual word. Instead of saying many, a lot, or several, there is the beautiful plethora. How could you not love it?
Melanie
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Jan
2
Plangent
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Once upon a time, Elvis Costello’s music publishing company was named “Plangent Visions Music.” I saw this on a record once, and had to look up plangent – “Having an expressive or plaintive quality.” A gorgeous word.
Paul D.
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Jan
2
Phosphene is technical name for the bursts of light and color that you think you see when you rub your eyes through your eyelids. I love that there is a word for such an obscure biological sensation. And to me, at least, it sounds exactly like what it is.
Kimdog
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(3 votes, average: 3.67 out of 5) Loading ...
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