Wordbay words
English vocabulary words from A to Z
These are all 1,006 words in Wordbay, a free word-of-the-day app for adults who love language. Every word has its own page with a plain meaning, an easy respelling and IPA, two example sentences, similar words and opposites, and where the word comes from.
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- Emotions 67
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- Old & rare words 49
- Borrowed words 57
- Words you didn’t know 44
- Commonly confused 42
- Often misused 42
By level: Everyday (360, words you’ve seen but rarely use), Well-read (408, for confident readers), Advanced (238, rare, precise and delightful). Not sure where to start? How the Word of the day works, how to improve your vocabulary and words to use instead of “very”.
A (78)
- abeyance
- abridged
- abscond
- abstemious
- acnestis
- acquit
- acronym
- acumen
- acute
- ad hominem
- adverse
- aesthetic
- aestival
- affable
- affect
- affidavit
- affinity
- affluent
- aficionado
- aghast
- aglet
- agnostic
- aleatory
- allegory
- allude
- aloof
- amanuensis
- amatory
- ambidextrous
- ambivalent
- ambrosial
- amicable
- amity
- amorous
- amour propre
- anabasis
- anachronism
- anacoluthon
- anacrusis
- anaemic
- anagnorisis
- anhedonia
- anomaly
- anon
- antediluvian
- antelucan
- anthology
- antihero
- antinomian
- antipodean
- antiquated
- apophasis
- apophatic
- apophenia
- apoplectic
- aposiopesis
- apostate
- appraise
- apprehensive
- apprise
- apricity
- arboreal
- archipelago
- ardent
- argot
- arid
- armscye
- arraign
- arrears
- articulate
- ascetic
- asymptote
- ataraxia
- atrabilious
- atrophy
- autocracy
- avant-garde
- averse
B (38)
- bailiwick
- balmy
- banter
- barratry
- becalmed
- beg the question
- belated
- bemused
- besotted
- bête noire
- betrothed
- betwixt
- bezzle
- bibliomancy
- bibliophage
- bibliophile
- bibliotaph
- bibulous
- bildungsroman
- bivouac
- blackleg
- blandishment
- blustery
- bombast
- boondoggle
- borborygmus
- bowdlerise
- brabble
- brackish
- brash
- bravura
- brumal
- bucolic
- buffoon
- bumbershoot
- bumptious
- bureaucracy
- busman’s holiday
C (97)
- cachinnate
- cacophony
- cadence
- cajole
- calibrate
- callipygian
- callow
- camaraderie
- candid
- capricious
- captious
- caravanserai
- carouse
- carte blanche
- casuistry
- catalyst
- cattywampus
- cause célèbre
- cavil
- celibate
- censorship
- censure
- chagrin
- champerty
- cheese-paring
- chiaroscuro
- choleric
- chortle
- chrematistic
- chronic
- chronological
- churlish
- circadian
- circumlocution
- circumnavigate
- clemency
- cliffhanger
- coalition
- coda
- codicil
- coerce
- cogent
- cognitive
- cognoscenti
- cohort
- collateral
- collegial
- colloquial
- collusion
- collywobbles
- colophon
- comestible
- companionable
- compendious
- complacent
- complaisant
- complement
- compliment
- comprise
- compunction
- concede
- concurrent
- condiment
- confidant
- confound
- conjugal
- conscience
- conscientious
- constituency
- contemporary
- contend
- contentious
- continual
- continuous
- contraband
- contrapposto
- contrite
- contumacious
- convalesce
- convivial
- coquettish
- cordial
- corollary
- correlation
- cosmopolitan
- crapulence
- crapulent
- credulous
- crepuscular
- crescendo
- crestfallen
- cronyism
- culinary
- culpable
- curate
- curmudgeon
- cynical
D (53)
- dalliance
- deadpan
- debunk
- decimate
- deduce
- defenestrate
- defray
- defunct
- deipnosophist
- déjà vu
- delectable
- delegate
- deluge
- demagogue
- demonym
- denouement
- deprecate
- depreciate
- dereliction
- despondent
- desuetude
- determinism
- deus ex machina
- dexterity
- diffident
- digress
- dilemma
- dilly-dally
- disconsolate
- discreet
- discrete
- disenfranchise
- disinterested
- dismay
- disquietude
- dissipate
- dissonance
- dissuade
- diuturnal
- dividend
- dogma
- dogsbody
- dolce far niente
- dolorous
- doppelgänger
- dormant
- doting
- dottle
- dour
- droll
- drudgery
- dualism
- dudgeon
E (75)
- ebullient
- eccentric
- edacious
- effect
- effete
- egalitarian
- eidetic
- ekphrasis
- elated
- electorate
- electrocute
- eleemosynary
- elegy
- elicit
- eloquent
- elude
- emaciated
- embark
- embezzle
- emergent
- emeritus
- éminence grise
- eminent
- emolument
- empirical
- empiricism
- enamoured
- enervate
- enfant terrible
- enlightenment
- ennui
- enormity
- ensemble
- entropy
- enunciate
- environs
- ephemeral
- epicentre
- epicure
- epigraph
- epilogue
- epiphany
- epistemology
- epistolary
- epithalamium
- epoch
- equilibrium
- equivocate
- ere
- eristic
- ersatz
- erstwhile
- eructation
- eschatology
- escheat
- escutcheon
- esprit de l'escalier
- estranged
- estuary
- esurient
- ethics
- eudaimonia
- eupeptic
- euphemism
- euphoria
- evanescent
- exasperated
- exculpate
- excursion
- exhort
- existential
- exonym
- expatriate
- extradite
- extrapolate
F (40)
- facetious
- factotum
- fain
- fallacy
- fallow
- falsifiable
- famished
- fastidious
- faux pas
- featherbedding
- feckless
- fecund
- felicity
- fernweh
- ferrule
- fiasco
- fidelity
- filibuster
- fiscal
- flâneur
- flapdoodle
- flaunt
- flibbertigibbet
- florilegium
- flout
- fluvial
- foliage
- foreshadow
- forlorn
- formication
- forsooth
- fortuitous
- free will
- frisson
- frugal
- fugacious
- fulsome
- functionary
- fungible
- furcula
G (33)
- gainful
- gainsay
- gait
- gallimaufry
- gallivant
- garble
- garnish
- gastronomy
- gazetteer
- gelastic
- gemütlichkeit
- genius loci
- gentrification
- gerontocracy
- gerrymander
- Gesamtkunstwerk
- ghostwriter
- gibe
- glabella
- gloaming
- glossolalia
- glutton
- gongoozler
- gourmand
- gracile
- grandiloquent
- grassroots
- gregarious
- griffonage
- grisaille
- guffaw
- gumption
- gustatory
H (34)
- haggle
- hagiography
- halcyon
- hale
- harangue
- hebdomadal
- hebetude
- hedonism
- hegemony
- hereditary
- heresy
- heterogeneous
- heuristic
- hiatus
- hinterland
- hitherto
- hoarfrost
- hobbledehoy
- hoi polloi
- homage
- home in
- homeostasis
- honorarium
- hornswoggle
- horripilation
- hortatory
- hostelry
- hugger-mugger
- hullabaloo
- hustings
- hygge
- hypnagogic
- hypnopompic
- hypothesis
I (45)
- ideology
- idiom
- imbibe
- immemorial
- imminent
- impasto
- impecunious
- imperious
- impetuous
- imply
- impunity
- inamorata
- inchoate
- incipient
- inclement
- incunabula
- indemnity
- indigent
- indignant
- inertia
- infatuation
- infer
- inflection
- ingenious
- ingenuous
- injunction
- insinuate
- insipid
- insolvent
- insomnia
- insular
- interim
- interject
- intermittent
- interrobang
- intransigent
- inveigle
- ipse dixit
- irascible
- ironic
- irredentism
- irregardless
- isomorphic
- itinerant
- itinerary
J (17)
K (11)
L (38)
- lachrymose
- laconic
- lacustrine
- lampoon
- largesse
- lassitude
- latent
- layover
- leitmotif
- lemniscate
- lethargic
- lethologica
- lexiphanic
- liability
- liaise
- libation
- lickspittle
- limerence
- lipogram
- lissom
- literally
- litigious
- littoral
- loam
- locale
- logomachy
- logorrhoea
- lollygag
- loophole
- loquacious
- lovelorn
- lucrative
- lucre
- Lucullan
- Luddite
- lugubrious
- lunule
- lyrical
M (45)
- maelstrom
- magnanimous
- malapropism
- malfeasance
- malingerer
- malversation
- mandate
- manuscript
- marginalia
- masterful
- matutinal
- maudlin
- mayhap
- meander
- megrims
- melancholy
- melisma
- mellifluous
- memoir
- menial
- mensch
- mercurial
- meretricious
- meritocracy
- metabolism
- metaphysical
- meticulous
- militate
- misprision
- mitigate
- mollycoddle
- mondegreen
- moneyed
- montage
- moonlight
- moot
- mordant
- moribund
- morsel
- motif
- muggy
- mumpsimus
- munificent
- muntin
- muse
N (17)
O (22)
P (111)
- palatable
- palette
- palimpsest
- palliative
- pallid
- panacea
- pandiculation
- panjandrum
- panpsychism
- pantheism
- paradigm
- paralogism
- paramour
- pareidolia
- parody
- parsimonious
- parsimony
- partisan
- pasquinade
- pastiche
- patina
- patois
- peculation
- pecuniary
- pelf
- pentimento
- penultimate
- penury
- perambulate
- perchance
- peregrination
- perennial
- perfunctory
- peripatetic
- perjury
- perpetuity
- perquisite
- persiflage
- pertinacious
- peruse
- petrichor
- pettifogger
- philander
- philippic
- philtre
- philtrum
- phlegmatic
- phosphene
- physique
- picaresque
- picturesque
- pilcrow
- pillory
- pious
- piquant
- pique
- pithy
- pittance
- plagiarism
- platitude
- platonic
- plethora
- plutocracy
- polemic
- pompous
- pooh-bah
- popinjay
- populism
- posthumous
- postprandial
- pragmatic
- precedent
- precipitate
- precursor
- premise
- prescribe
- presenteeism
- presently
- prevaricate
- primordial
- principal
- principle
- pristine
- probate
- procatalepsis
- profligate
- prognosis
- prologue
- propaganda
- prophylactic
- propinquity
- proprioception
- prorogue
- proscribe
- proselytise
- protagonist
- protracted
- provenance
- provender
- providence
- psephology
- pseudonym
- psithurism
- psittacism
- puckish
- pun
- punctilious
- purlicue
- purple prose
- purview
- pusillanimous
Q (7)
R (36)
- raillery
- raison d'être
- rancour
- rapport
- rapture
- ratiocination
- rationale
- ravenous
- rebut
- recidivist
- reconcile
- recuperate
- recuse
- red herring
- referendum
- refute
- regime
- rejoinder
- relativism
- remit
- remonstrate
- remorse
- remuneration
- repast
- repertoire
- replicate
- restive
- reticent
- retrospect
- revanchism
- rhetoric
- riparian
- risible
- rococo
- roman à clef
- rueful
S (101)
- sabbatical
- sacrilege
- salubrious
- sangfroid
- sanguine
- sapid
- sarcasm
- sardonic
- satiate
- satire
- satisfice
- satrap
- saturnine
- saudade
- savour
- scaramouch
- sceptic
- schadenfreude
- schlimazel
- schmaltz
- sciolism
- scofflaw
- scree
- secluded
- secondment
- sectarian
- secular
- sedentary
- sedulous
- sempiternal
- senescence
- sequester
- sequestered
- sere
- sesquipedalian
- sfumato
- shibboleth
- shirk
- simplistic
- sinecure
- sinewy
- singultus
- sitzfleisch
- skedaddle
- skew
- slake
- slapstick
- smellfungus
- smitten
- snigger
- snollygoster
- sockdolager
- sojourn
- solace
- solecism
- solicitous
- solipsism
- somnolent
- sonorous
- sophistry
- soporific
- sortition
- sovereignty
- specious
- spendthrift
- splenetic
- splurge
- spondulicks
- spoof
- spoonerism
- sporadic
- sprezzatura
- squall
- squander
- staccato
- Stakhanovite
- stationary
- stationery
- sternutation
- stipend
- stochastic
- stoicism
- straw man
- suasion
- suborn
- subpoena
- succulent
- suffrage
- sultry
- sumptuary
- sumptuous
- superannuated
- supercilious
- susurrus
- swain
- sybaritic
- sylvan
- syncretism
- synopsis
- synthesis
- syzygy
T (43)
- tactile
- tatterdemalion
- taxonomy
- technocrat
- teetotal
- teleology
- tempestuous
- tenacious
- tendentious
- tenure
- theocracy
- theodicy
- therapeutic
- timbre
- tirade
- tittle
- tmesis
- tome
- tongue-in-cheek
- tontine
- toothsome
- topography
- toponym
- torrential
- tortuous
- torturous
- transcendent
- transhumance
- transpire
- traverse
- travesty
- trek
- tremulous
- trencherman
- trepidation
- triptych
- troth
- truculent
- tryst
- tsundoku
- tu quoque
- tundra
- tyro