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Learn about the different definitions, lengths and origins of the longest words in English, from technical terms to coinages to fictional dishes. Find out which words are in major dictionaries and which are disputed or contrived.
- Kim Bussing
- Antidisestablishmentarianism. Part of Speech: noun. Definition: opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England. Origins: While the word originated in 19th century Britain, it is now used to refer to any opposition to a government withdrawing support from a religious organization.
- Floccinaucinihilipilification. Part of Speech: noun. Definition: the act of defining or estimating something as worthless. Origins: This word stems from the combination of four Latin words, all of which signify that something has little value: flocci, nauci, nihili, pilifi.
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. Part of Speech: noun. Definition: an invented word said to mean a lung disease caused by inhaling a fine dust.
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. Part of Speech: noun. Definition: an inherited disorder similar to pseudohypoparathyroidism. Origins: This genetic disorder causes “short stature, round face and short hand bones,” according to the National Institutes of Health.
- 2 Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
- 3 Floccinaucinihilipilification
- 4 Antidisestablishmentarianism
- 5 Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
- 7 Strengths
- 8 Euouae
- 9 Unimaginatively
- 10 Honorificabilitudinitatibus
- 11 Tsktsk
- 12 and 13Uncopyrightable and Subdermatoglyphic
A mild form of inherited pseudohypoparathyroidismthat simulates the symptoms of the disorder but isn’t associated with abnormal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
The estimation of something as valueless. Ironically, floccinaucinihilipilificationis a pretty valueless word itself; it’s almost never used except as an example of a long word.
Originally described opposition to the disestablishment of the Church of England, but now it may refer to any opposition to withdrawing government support of a particular church or religion.
Mary Poppins described it as the word to use “when you have nothing to say.” It appears in some (but not all) dictionaries.
Strengthshas only nine letters, but all except one of them are consonants! This earns the word a Guinness World Record. It is also one of the longest monosyllabic words of the English language.
Euouaeis six letters long, but all of the letters are vowels. It holds two Guinness World Records. It’s the longest English word composed exclusively of vowels, and it has the most consecutive vowels of any word. If you are wondering about its meaning, it’s a musical term from medieval times.
Unimaginatively has lots of vowels—eight in total, if you count the final y. What’s neat about this word is that its vowels and consonants alternate. It’s not the longest word with alternating consonants and vowels, though.
That position is held by honorificabilitudinitatibus, a twenty-seven-letter way of saying “with honorableness.”
If you tsktsk someone, you indicate your disapproval by the tsktsk sound or by some other means. Tsktsksis the longest word that doesn’t contain a vowel.
Isograms are words that do not repeat letters. The longest examples are uncopyrightable and subdermatoglyphic. An uncopyrightable song, for example, would not be eligible for copyright. This word has fifteen letters, but one other word without repeated letters is longer—subdermatoglyphic. It’s seventeen letters, but you’ll not have much opportunity...
Apr 11, 2023 · At over 180,000 letters long, the chemical name of the protein titin is often said to technically be the longest English word. If spoken out loud, this word takes over three hours to say!
2 days ago · Learn about the longest words in English, from scientific terms to place names, and how they are formed and used. Find out the meaning of pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, the longest word in most dictionaries, and other long words with 20 or more letters.
- Serenity Carr
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103rd semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker.
Oct 3, 2020 · The longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary is 45 letters long: Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. According to the OED , this synonym for silicosis was coined in the 1930s...
