100 Beautiful and Ugly Words

100 Beautiful and Ugly Words 100 Beautiful and Ugly Words 100 Beautiful and Ugly Words By Mark Nichol One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature look no further than the heading for this post. Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses. (Note the proportion of beautiful words to ugly ones in the compilation below; it’s easier to conjure the former than the latter, though I omitted words associated with bodily functions, as well as onomatopoeic terms.) Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us? Beautiful Words Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless Beguile: deceive Caprice: impulse Cascade: steep waterfall Cashmere: fine, delicate wool Chrysalis: protective covering Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color Coalesce: unite, or fuse Crepuscular: dim, or twilit Crystalline: clear, or sparkling Desultory: half-hearted, meandering Diaphanous: gauzy Dulcet: sweet Ebullient: enthusiastic Effervescent: bubbly Elision: omission Enchanted: charmed Encompass: surround Enrapture: delighted Ephemeral: fleeting Epiphany: revelation Epitome: embodiment of the ideal Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial Etiquette: proper conduct Evanescent: fleeting Evocative: suggestive Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize Felicity: happiness, pleasantness Filament: thread, strand Halcyon: care-free Idyllic: contentedly pleasing Incorporeal: without form Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable Inexorable: relentless Insouciance: nonchalance Iridescent: luster Languid: slow, listless Lassitude: fatigue Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement Lithe: flexible, graceful Lullaby: soothing song Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light Mellifluous: smooth, sweet Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle Murmur: soothing sound Myriad: great number Nebulous: indistinct Opulent: ostentatious Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe Plethora: abundance Quiescent: peaceful Quintessential: most purely representative or typical Radiant: glowing Redolent: aromatic, evocative Resonant: echoing, evocative Resplendent: shining Rhapsodic: intensely emotional Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple Scintilla: trace Serendipitous: chance Serene: peaceful Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing Spherical: ball-like, globular Sublime: exalted, transcendent Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich Suffuse: flushed, full Susurration: whispering Symphony: harmonious assemblage Talisman: charm, magical device Tessellated: checkered in pattern Tranquility: peacefulness Vestige: trace Zenith: highest point Ugly Words Cacophony: confused noise Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval Chafe: irritate, abrade Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh Cynical: distrustful, self-interested Decrepit: worn-out, run-down Disgust: aversion, distaste Grimace: expression of disgust or pain Grotesque: distorted, bizarre Harangue: rant Hirsute: hairy Hoarse: harsh, grating Leech: parasite, Maladroit: clumsy Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality Obstreperous: noisy, unruly Rancid: offensive, smelly Repugnant: distasteful Repulsive: disgusting Shriek: sharp, screeching sound Shrill: high-pitched sound Shun: avoid, ostracize Slaughter: butcher, carnage Unctuous: smug, ingratiating Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic What did I miss? Add to these lists in a comment below. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Masters Degree or Master's Degree?Best Websites to Learn EnglishInspiring vs. Inspirational