Published By: Riya Banerjee

Weird English words you probably did not know existed!

Want to broaden your vocabulary? Here you go…

Every language made by man has its secrets, fanciness and hidden meanings that many of us do not know about. Interestingly while we may have ten thousand words in our vocabulary, we may not even have any knowledge about thousand other words that are there in the Oxford Dictionary. In fact there are some really weird words in English language that we bet you did not know about. So if you think you have a pretty good grasp on the dictionary, read on to see whether you know these weird words or not…

Hullaballoo ­– This words basically means exactly what it sounds as. Hullaballoo means is the loud noises and shouting that people make when they’re angry. And surprisingly this word has been around since the 18th century!

Balter – For all you dance lovers out there, Balter basically means to dance clumsily without any particular grace or skill but usually with enjoyment. Remebering Chandler’s moves, are we?

Griffonage – You will probably never guess that Griffonage actually means Careless or illegible handwriting. So next time you want to complain about someone’s handwriting, you know which word to use!

Discombobulate – Ever felt extremely confused to a point where it absolutely fuzzes up your brain? Well, then you know what this word means. Discombobulate basically means to confuse.

Lackadaisical – If you want to call someone lazy but also sound fancy then use Lackadaisical in a sentence and see how surprised they get. This word has even been around since the 1700’s! Interesting right?

Paresthesia – Surely many of us have experienced this. Paresthesia basically means the prickly feeling when your limb 'falls asleep' – also known as pins and needles!

Phosphene – Another extremely fancy word which you would not know the meaning of but you certainly do know the phenomenon. Phosphene means the stars or dots you see when you rub your eyes.

Dysania – We can surely bet that 70% of the people reading this article suffer from this. Dysania means the state of finding it hard to get out of bed in the morning. Next time just use this fancy word when your teacher asks why you are late!

Snollygoster – Funny right? The word means an unscrupulous, untrustworthy person.

Whippersnapper – This word is for all the parents out there. The word means a young and inexperienced person considered to be overconfident.