What Are the 10 Longest Words in the English Language?
Written by Henry Mcdowell, follow him on Twitter.
There are slightly less than 171,5 thousand words in English language according to the newest Oxford English dictionary. The length of words varies. All of us know short words, but not many know what are the 10 longest words in the English language. Perhaps you didn't even know about their existence, but after you read this article, you will be ready to impress people.
Our List of 10 Longest English Words
10. Incomprehensibilities
Perhaps you already know this term. As an aperitif to more complicated ones, this word is even pronounceable, so if you are interested, watch thematic Youtube videos or use Google voice services. This rather impressive 21-letter word is not hard to understand, as it means something impossible to comprehend. Ask your friends about their incomprehensibilities and have fun. If they find it hard to translate, guide them through the top translation companies that always get it right. A not long time ago, in the 90s, the incomprehensible word set the record as the longest one. However, it won only in the category of the longest words “in common usage.”
9. Dichlorodifluoromethane
The longest word in English language refers to sciences such as chemistry or medicine because these spheres of knowledge operate complicated nouns that are coined from several words to describe one phenomenon. Dichlorodifluoromethane, a 23-letter-long term, is one of such words, as it is a chemistry term which means a chlorofluoromethane CF2Cl2. This is a colorless gas that is widely known under the name Freon-12, which you may have heard before. This gas is a refrigerant and aerosol spray propellant that is used for medical purposes.
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8. Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Interestingly, this 27-letter word came to us from English literature. We owe Shakespeare not only world-known plays and sonnets but also this splendid word. This word is Latin and means the state when the person can achieve honors. It is mentioned in Scene I of Love’s Labour’s Lost by a character Costard. This word also set a record as one of the long English words which feature only alternating consonants and vowels. However, it may be that Shakespeare borrowed this word from medieval manuscripts because it was widely used by scholars and grammarians circa. 1055.
7. Antidisestablishmentarianism
This word is only one letter more than the previous one on the list. However, its meaning differs greatly and signifies a political movement of past centuries. It originated in 19th century Britain which wanted to separate state and church. At the time, the term meant a certain political movement that aimed to disestablish the Church of England as the official state church of Wales, Ireland, and England. So, people who belonged to this movement, thought that the Church is an integral part of the state which needs patronage and protection from the government. This is one of the longest English words of non-scientific origin, although it is absent from some dictionaries.
6. Floccinaucinihilipilification
With its impressive 29 letters, this word is the longest non-technical word in the English language. Although not all dictionaries recognize it, the word flourishes. It signifies the habit when the person describes or treats something as not important, worthless, or without value. Notably, it contains a bunch of Latin words that mean “nothing,” so perhaps, it is used mostly in humorous ways. The first usages are dated back to 1741, but it is also used nowadays. For example, it was used in Parliament on 21st February 2012 by a Conservative Jacob Rees-Mogg.
5. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Originally, this is the name of a song from the musical Mary Poppins released by Disney in 1964. By this word, Mary Poppins tried to describe her feelings after she won a horse race. If we decode this word and analyze its components, it will mean something like “atoning for educability through delicate beauty,” as one of the academics said. Or, in other words, it is about everything great, glorious, grand, superb, wonderful, and splendid. Later, people even used this term for other songs. If you are interested in the translation of this word to other languages, read our pick of French document translation to find out what are the 10 longest words in this language.
4. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
If you are reading this article, then perhaps, you don’t have hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. You will never guess, but this word means the fear of long words! The 36-letter word is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. However, it falls into a definition of social phobia. When the person sees long words, they feel fear and anxiety which sometimes leads to panic. A person with this phobia can experience sweating, dizziness, trembling, headache, trouble breathing, and even avoiding reading because of the fear.
3. Bababadalgharaghtakamminapronnkonnbronntonnepronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordeenenthurnuk
If this is only #3, then what is the longest word in the world?! This 101-letter term was coined by James Joyce, an author best known for his Ulysses. The Irish author used the term in the novel Finnegan’s Wake. In fact, the word aims to represent the sound of thunderclap which happened after Eve and Adam fell from Heaven. James Joyce is known for his many literary experiments such as the “stream of consciousness” a technique in which he directly “translated” subconscious thoughts of heroes into the text of the novel. It’s no wonder that he created such a breathtaking word which indeed sounds like a long sound which goes after a strike of a thunderbolt.
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2. Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon
This word is even longer than the previous, as it consists of 210 symbols. It is the second-longest word in English language. Many words on our list originate from literature, and this one is not an exception. It was firstly used by Aristophane to describe a fictional dish that consists of fowl, flesh, fish, all kinds of dainties, and sauces. If you want to know more about many kinds of translation, read about English to Chinese translation services for more interesting facts. As for Aristophanes's word, the creator carefully describes all dish components. Namely, it consisted of new wine boiled down, rooster, hare, wood pigeon, honey, crab or shrimp, giant fennel, fish slices, and even a small shark’s head. According to Guinness World Records, this is the longest word ever used in literature.
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This is the longest word in the English language with its impressive 189,819 symbols. Like many long words, this one comes from chemistry and signifies a protein structure. In fact, this is the largest known protein in nature! That is why its name consists of so many different chemical matters. This technical name is never pronounced and is rather used to give a full scientific name for a substance. This protein is commonly known as titin, or methionyl...isoleucin, but if you try to pronounce its full name, it may take you three and a half hours to spell it.
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Are You Surprised with Top Biggest English Words?
We believe that long words exist in the English language for a reason. Sometimes, they are made up words by ancient and modern authors who created new words just for fun. They often serve humorous or expressive purposes. Other terms have a medical origin, for example, the longest English word for phobia. Many of them came from chemistry, and the largest known word means a certain type of protein. TheWordPoint faces similar words quite often when we provide specialized industry documents, like medical, scientific, or technical translation service for specific needs. But mostly, the words have far fewer letters than the ones in this list.
