100 Beautiful & 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
(SOURCE) 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
Rachel Ward, Numbers
Maya Angelou (via dollykadulha)
If there’s one thing you remember from tonight, remember what I’m about to say. You need to look into the mirror in the morning and not tell yourself that you’re not special or you’re not good enough, or you’re not pretty, or you’re not awesome. I’m gonna tell you right now the things that you actually are not.
a.g. (via billylewisjrrps)
“Lipstick is an armour to the world. My mum had a thing when we were growing up – if she’d had a shit day or if something had gone wrong, she’d put her red lipstick on. I still abide by that.”
“Nowadays being a woman is hard, because we have to be the best wife, best mother, best worker, best everything but I truly believe we are more empowered, stronger, sophisticated and can achieve what we want. That’s what I would like my daughter to know.“- Gal Gadot
“Listen to me, I’ll tell you what’s going to come of you. You are going to grow up and be a strong, smart young woman. Go to school, meet a fine young man, have beautiful children of your own and you’re going to build wonderful things, and that is what’s going to happen to you” — Joy (2016)
(282/365) by (DS)
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