Excellent Words

Long words, excellent words

I can hear them now

~ Peter Gabriel - This is the Picture

Being a non-native English speaker, I'm always striving to expand my foreign vocabulary by collecting various interesting words/phrases from books and other reading/listening materials. I usually write them down in a personal notebook and gradually move them to this page.

Some of the definitions are still in polish. I'm working on them.

C

Carceral: relating to a prison. You probably know a similar word: ,,incarceration''.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Circumvolution: A winding movement, especially of one thing round another.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Cloister: Klasztor.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Collective Effervescence: Spontaneus participation in the same action.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Confinement: Imprisonment, restraint, restriction.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation


D

De Jure: Practices, which are legally recognized.

Learned from: Starość Aksolotla

Defenestration: The act of throwing someone or something out of a window.

Learned from: JJay

Defunct: Zmarły, zlikwidowany (?).

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Deterrence: Odstraszenie.

Learned from: Oppenheimer (2023)


F

Fulcrum: The point on which a lever turns or is supported. The most important part of an activity or a situation.

Learned from: The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories


G

Gestalt: From German: shape, figure, form.

Learned from: Valis


H

Hapax Legomenon: a word with a special meaning used for a special occasion/a word or an expression that occurs only once within a context.


I

Incessant: Continual, unceasing, permanent, perpetual.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation


L

Liminality: todo: write.

Learned from: The Backrooms Wiki

Locus: The place where something happens or the central area of interest in something.

Learned from: The Psychological Significance of the Biblical Stories

Languid: Lacking force or quickness of movement.

Learned from: Kadhja Bonet - Honeycomb


M

Merveilles: French word for wonders/miracles.

Learned from: merveilles.town

Modus vivendi: Way of life - coexistance of conflicting parties.

Learned from: Dark (2017)


N

Noblesse oblige: Szlachectwo zobowiązuje.

Learned from: Some book by Jacek Dukaj

Non sequitur: Błąd formalny.

Learned from: Some book by Jacek Dukaj


P

Persona non grata: person not welcome (in some place, institution).

Learned from: Can't remember

Petrichor: Specific ,,earthy'' scent produced when rain falls on dry soil.

Learned from: Preset name on Minilougue xd

Putrefaction: Rot, decay.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Pyrrhic victory: victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat.

Learned from: Valis

Portmanteau: Blend word, a word formed by combining sounds and meanings of two or more words.

Learned from: Kokorobot.ca


R

Raison d'être: Purpose for existence.

Learned from: Ergo Proxy

Rejuvenate: To make younger.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Rhizome: A nonlinear network that ,,connects any point to any other point'', used to describe concepts such as structures of language and knowledge, social relationships, etc. Used in opposition to hierarchical models.

Learned from: Explaining Deleuze with drum machines

Reverie: A state of thinking about pleasant things, almost as though you are dreaming. Daydreaming..

Learned from: Son Lux - Prophecy


S

Semantic Satiation: Psychological phenomenon in which repetition causes a word or phrase to temporarily lose meaning for the listener, who then perceives the speech as repeated meaningless sounds.

Learned from: Don't remember

Subterfuge: Fraud, deception, swindle.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Subversive: Rebelling against authority/governement/tradition/etc.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation

Sybarite: A person who is self-indulgent in their fondness for sensuous luxury.

Learned from: The Futurological Congress

Synesthesia: Perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory.

Learned from: Can't remember, started experiencing it at childhood while listening to Yazoo and Bryan Ferry

Schlaraffenland: A land of plenty in medieval myth, an imaginary place of extreme luxury.

Learned from: Summa Technologiae

Salient: Something that projects outward or upward from its surroundings.

Learned from: How to speak

Sonification: Sonification is the use of non-speech audio to convey information or perceptualize data.

Schadenfreude: Delight in another person's misfortune.


T

Tantrum: Intense emotional outburst. Commonly used wording: temper tantrum.

Learned from: Can't remember


V

Veritable: Real, true, authentic, very.

Learned from: Simulacra and Simulation


Y

Yakamoz: Turkish word, meaning 'the reflection of moonlight on water'.

Learned from: Found randomly on the internet


Similar lists lists: