Last updated: 23/02/2025
Below is a list of words that I and friends have collated of words that are just “good” to read or read aloud. Or are just “nice”. This list is completely subjective and additions will be made when a new entrant is found (and when I feel motivated to update).
I don’t “look up” lists of words as that’d be cheating.
Rules:
- No given names or place names
- No brand names
- English language words only, or words commonly used in English-speaking countries such as the UK
- UK spelling, so it’s aluminium, not aluminum, honour not honor, and civilised, not civilized.
- Hyphenated words are at my discretion
- Inclusion or non-inclusion of a word on the list is at my total discretion
| 1 | Abbreviation |
| 2 | Absconded |
| 3 | Accessory |
| 4 | Acerbic |
| 5 | Acolyte |
| 6 | Acrylic |
| 7 | Addled |
| 8 | Adequate |
| 9 | Adroitly |
| 10 | Aerofoil |
| 11 | Aggregate |
| 12 | Algorithm |
| 13 | Aloof |
| 14 | Aluminium |
| 15 | Ambrosia |
| 16 | Anachronistic |
| 17 | Anaphylaxis |
| 18 | Androgynous |
| 19 | Angst |
| 20 | Apoplectic |
| 21 | Apostle |
| 22 | Arduous |
| 23 | Armageddon |
| 24 | Aromatic |
| 25 | Asphyxiation |
| 26 | Athenian |
| 27 | Attenuate |
| 28 | Auditorium |
| 29 | Autumnal |
| 30 | Avarice |
| 31 | Avocado |
| 32 | Axiom |
| 33 | Bamboozled |
| 34 | Barbaric |
| 35 | Barren |
| 36 | Bellicose |
| 37 | Belligerent |
| 38 | Bequeathed |
| 39 | Besmirched |
| 40 | Bijou |
| 41 | Binge |
| 42 | Bungalow |
| 43 | Cadaver |
| 44 | Candelabra |
| 45 | Cannula |
| 46 | Cantankerous |
| 47 | Capacious |
| 48 | Capricious |
| 49 | Cartographer |
| 50 | Cashier |
| 51 | catatonic |
| 52 | Catharsis |
| 53 | Cavitation |
| 54 | Chamfer |
| 55 | Characterised |
| 56 | Chronological |
| 57 | Circumnavigate |
| 58 | Civilised |
| 59 | Clerestory |
| 60 | Cloistered |
| 61 | Coalescent |
| 62 | Commodore |
| 63 | Conducive |
| 64 | Congruent |
| 65 | Conjunctivitis |
| 66 | Conundrum |
| 67 | Conurbation |
| 68 | Corduroy |
| 69 | Cornea |
| 70 | Cornucopia |
| 71 | Corrugated |
| 72 | Credenza |
| 73 | Creosote |
| 74 | Criticality |
| 75 | Crouton |
| 76 | Crusty |
| 77 | Deleterious |
| 78 | Demure |
| 79 | Denouement |
| 80 | Depth |
| 81 | Derisory |
| 82 | Deviate |
| 83 | Dilettante |
| 84 | Discography |
| 85 | Discombobulated |
| 86 | Discotheque |
| 87 | Dodecahedron |
| 88 | Dominion |
| 89 | Dreamt |
| 90 | Dwindling |
| 91 | Eclectic |
| 92 | Ecological |
| 93 | Effervescent |
| 94 | Effluent |
| 95 | Egregious |
| 96 | Elevenses |
| 97 | Embankment |
| 98 | Embryonic |
| 99 | Emphatic |
| 100 | Enunciate |
| 101 | Ephemeral |
| 102 | Epiphany |
| 103 | Epitaph |
| 104 | Epitome |
| 105 | Erroneous |
| 106 | Erudite |
| 107 | Esoteric |
| 108 | Ethereal |
| 109 | Excel |
| 110 | Excoriate |
| 111 | Expeditiously |
| 112 | Extra-curricular |
| 113 | Extraneous |
| 114 | Extra-terrestrial |
| 115 | Extremity |
| 116 | Facetious |
| 117 | fallopian |
| 118 | Fandango |
| 119 | Fannying |
| 120 | Ferver |
| 121 | Filet |
| 122 | Filth |
| 123 | Finagle |
| 124 | Flibbertigibbet |
| 125 | Flippant |
| 126 | Flourescent |
| 127 | Fluxation |
| 128 | Foibles |
| 129 | Fractious |
| 130 | Frenetic |
| 131 | Galactic |
| 132 | Gallivanting |
| 133 | Ganache |
| 134 | Glacial |
| 135 | Gnarly |
| 136 | Gregarious |
| 137 | Gumption |
| 138 | Gyratory |
| 139 | Haberdashery |
| 140 | Halcyon |
| 141 | Harbinger |
| 142 | Harpsichord |
| 143 | Hedonistic |
| 144 | Heinous |
| 145 | Hiraeth |
| 146 | Hydrangea |
| 147 | Hydrodynamic |
| 148 | Hydrothermal |
| 149 | Hyperbolic |
| 150 | Hyphenated |
| 151 | Iconoclast |
| 152 | Idiosynchrasy |
| 153 | Illustrious |
| 154 | Impediment |
| 155 | Imperial |
| 156 | Impinge |
| 157 | Impugn |
| 158 | Inaugural |
| 159 | Incandescent |
| 160 | Incendiary |
| 161 | Incognito |
| 162 | indigenous |
| 163 | Infinitesimal |
| 164 | Insidious |
| 165 | Insipid |
| 166 | Interim |
| 167 | Invidious |
| 168 | Iridescent |
| 169 | Juxtaposition |
| 170 | Kerfuffle |
| 171 | Kleptomaniac |
| 172 | Laborious |
| 173 | Larceny |
| 174 | Lasciviously |
| 175 | Lathe |
| 176 | Lethality |
| 177 | Lexicon |
| 178 | Loquacious |
| 179 | Luminescent |
| 180 | Maisonette |
| 181 | Malaise |
| 182 | Malange |
| 183 | Malcontent |
| 184 | Malevolence |
| 185 | Meander |
| 186 | Megabyte |
| 187 | Megalomanical |
| 188 | Mercurial |
| 189 | Metamorphosis |
| 190 | Mildewed |
| 191 | Millennium |
| 192 | Milliner |
| 193 | Minutiae |
| 194 | Monochromatic |
| 195 | Monopoly |
| 196 | Mortgage |
| 197 | Nebulous |
| 198 | Necrosis |
| 199 | Nicety |
| 200 | Niche |
| 201 | Novelty |
| 202 | Nucleotide |
| 203 | Oblique |
| 204 | Obsequious |
| 205 | Obtuse |
| 206 | Oceanographic |
| 207 | Olympic |
| 208 | Onerous |
| 209 | Onomatopoea |
| 210 | Ooze |
| 211 | Opalescent |
| 212 | Ornery |
| 213 | Orwellian |
| 214 | Oscillate |
| 215 | Ostensibly |
| 216 | Ostentatious |
| 217 | Pamphlet |
| 218 | Pandemic |
| 219 | Panopticon |
| 220 | Parochial |
| 221 | Penultimate |
| 222 | Penumbra |
| 223 | Peripheral |
| 224 | Peroxide |
| 225 | Perpendicular |
| 226 | Pertinent |
| 227 | Phenomenal |
| 228 | Phosphorus |
| 229 | Photochromic |
| 230 | Pithy |
| 231 | Plagiarism |
| 232 | Plethora |
| 233 | Poinsettia |
| 234 | Polyphonic |
| 235 | Pontificate |
| 236 | Posit |
| 237 | Precis |
| 238 | Predicament |
| 239 | Preposterous |
| 240 | Primordeal |
| 241 | Prompt |
| 242 | Pronunciation |
| 243 | Protractor |
| 244 | Quantum |
| 245 | Quintessential |
| 246 | Quorum |
| 247 | Raconteur |
| 248 | Rambunctuous |
| 249 | Ramifications |
| 250 | Recalcitrant |
| 251 | Recidivist |
| 252 | Renaissance |
| 253 | Repertoire |
| 254 | Revisionist |
| 255 | Rivulet |
| 256 | Saccharine |
| 257 | Salivate |
| 258 | Saudade |
| 259 | Scamper |
| 260 | Schedule |
| 261 | Schism |
| 262 | Scrumptious |
| 263 | Singularity |
| 264 | Soliloquy |
| 265 | Sparse |
| 266 | Spartan |
| 267 | Specific |
| 268 | Stagnant |
| 269 | Stevedore |
| 270 | Stoicism |
| 271 | Stonking |
| 272 | Stratospheric |
| 273 | Subliminal |
| 274 | Subterranean |
| 275 | Sumptuous |
| 276 | Superflous |
| 277 | Supersonic |
| 278 | Synaesthesia |
| 279 | Synchronous |
| 280 | Syntax |
| 281 | Tantamount |
| 282 | Telemetry |
| 283 | Temerity |
| 284 | Tempestuous |
| 285 | Temporal |
| 286 | Tenacious |
| 287 | Tenuous |
| 288 | Tertiary |
| 289 | Thermonuclear |
| 290 | Thesauri |
| 291 | Titillating |
| 292 | Toenail |
| 293 | Torniquet |
| 294 | Tributary |
| 295 | Truant |
| 296 | Trundle |
| 297 | Tryst |
| 298 | Turgid |
| 299 | Twinge |
| 300 | Umbrage |
| 301 | Unconscious |
| 302 | Unctuous |
| 303 | Undulous |
| 304 | Unmitigated |
| 305 | Utilitarian |
| 306 | Vengeance |
| 307 | Verdant |
| 308 | Vernacular |
| 309 | Vexatious |
| 310 | Vicariously |
| 311 | Viscera |
| 312 | Voluptuous |
| 313 | Wallowing |
| 314 | Whimsy |
| 315 | Xylophone |
Richard Holliday - Author 