There are hundreds of thousands of words in the English language. In this post, we will consider Longest Words in the English Language and their Meanings. Many of these longest words are words that one may not readily use in everyday expressions.
Some of them are technical or scientific in nature and you may not find them in the conventional dictionaries. Some are even exotic and tongue-twisting. It is good to be aware of some of these longest Words in the English Language and their Meanings, nonetheless.
How adaptable and convenient various words in English can be joined makes it easier for linguists to coin words that confuse the tongue and body. Most of these words are hardly used except on rare occasions. In addition, the way these Longest Words in the English Language and their Meanings are structured makes them awkward for use on a daily basis. So, let’s get to see these words…
Table of Contents
Longest Words in the English Language and their Meanings
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Meaning: Its meaning stems from Pneumoconiosis which is a lung disease caused by inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.
This massive word was first coined in 1935 by the president of the National Puzzlers’ League, Everett M Smith.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 45
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia
Meaning: As one of the longest words in the English language, this word, paradoxically and humorously, is the name for the fear of long words!
As an extension of the word ‘sesquipedalophobia’, which is used preferably in formal contexts, hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is mostly used in hilarious contexts.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 36
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Meaning: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is a word to use when you have nothing to say.
This word was made popular by the movie Mary Poppins.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 34
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
Meaning: It is a disorder which is characterized by normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood. It engenders short hard bones, stature and round face.
This word refers to a relatively mild form of pseudohypoparathyroidism, though not exactly the same with it.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 30
Floccinaucinihilipilification
Meaning: This nontechnical word, which is humorously used, describes the act or habit of depicting something as unimportant or irrelevant; it portends a sense of lack of value or worthlessness.
Incidentally, it is a pretty valueless word itself and it originates from the combination of four Latin words, which all denote that something has little value. The words are: ‘flocci’, ‘nauci’, ‘nihili’ and ‘pilifi’.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 29
Antidisestablishmentarianism
Meaning: This is a term referring to a political movement in 19th century Britain that sought to separate church and state. In this case, political movement wanted to disestablish the Church of England as the official state church of England, Ireland and Wales.
Currently, this word has expanded to mean any opposition to withdrawing government support of a particular church or religion and it was also featured in the Duke Ellington song, ‘You’re Just an Old Antidisestablishmentarianist’.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 28
Honorificabilitudinitatibus
Meaning: Honorificabilitudinitatibus features alternating consonants and vowels. It is a way of saying “with honourableness.” It is the longest English word consisting strictly of alternating consonants and vowels.
This word makes this list because it is the longest word in the works of Shakespeare.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 27
Thyroparathyroidectomized
Meaning: This is a medical term that defines the excision of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
Word Class: Verb
Number of letters: 25
Dichlorodifluoromethane
Meaning: This is a chlorofluoromethane CF2Cl2.
Word Class: Verb
Number of letters: 23
Incomprehensibilities
Meaning: This word means what is impossible to comprehend. In the past, this word was seen as the longest word that is commonly used.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 21
Strengths
Meaning: This refers to the attribute of being strong physically or mentally.
You may wonder why this word is on the list of longest words in the English language and their meanings. Strengths is a word whose letters except one are consonants! This earns the word a Guinness World Record. It is also one of the longest monosyllabic words in the English language.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 9
Euouae
Meaning: What do you think this word mean? It is simply a musical term, a type of cadence, from medieval times.
Euouae is a unique word in the sense that all of the letters are vowels. Interestingly, because of its unique form, it holds two Guinness World Records. First, it is the longest English word comprising entirely of vowels and, secondly, it has the most consecutive vowels of any word.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 6
Unimaginatively
Meaning: A word which means ‘without imagination’ has lots of vowels.
One strikingly unique thing about this word is that its vowels and consonants alternate; though it is not the longest word with alternating consonants and vowels.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 15
Tsktsk
Meaning: This is a sound expressing disappointment. It is used in writing to represent a sucking or clicking sound made to express disappointment, disgust, or sympathy.
So, if you tsktsk someone, you indicate your disapproval by the tsktsk sound or by some other means. Tsktsks is the longest word that doesn’t contain a vowel.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 6
Uncopyrightable
Meaning: This word means not able or allowed to be protected by copyright; that is the subject matter is not good enough or eligible to be copyrighted. For example, an uncopyrightable song would not be qualified for copyright.
This word is an example of isograms. Isograms are words that do not repeat letters and the two longest examples are uncopyrightable and subdermatoglyphic.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 15
Subdermatoglyphic
Meaning: This word, also, is without repeated letters. Those outside the field of dermatology may not have much need to use this word. A related word to this explained in this post is Dermatoglyphic.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 17
Sesquipedalianism
Meaning: The word refers to the tendency to use long words.
People with this propensity enjoy using long words at the slightest opportunity.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 17
Dermatoglyphics
Meaning: This word denotes the scientific study of fingerprints, lines, mounts, shapes and toe prints.
It is usually used in criminology as a way to identify both perpetrators and victims of crimes
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 15
Methionylthreonylthreonyglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine
Meaning: This word is the chemical name for ‘titin’, the largest protein discovered.
This outrageous word takes about three and a half hours to pronounce and the reason for the length is that it comprises chemical names and jargons, which themselves contain a large number of letters.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 189,819
Longest Word with All Vowels in Order
The word below is the longest word with all the vowels in their order. The order of vowels is A, E. I, O, U. Words with such a sequence are nor so common.
Pancreaticoduodenostomy
Meaning: This word means the artificial opening of the pancreas into the duodenum.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 23
Longest Word in Which All Letters Appear Twice
Every letter in the word below appears twice; that is uncommon.
Esophagographers
Meaning: This word refers to medical personnel who conduct visual representation of the oesophagus.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 16
Other Exotic Long Words in English
Automysophobia
Meaning: This is one of the phobias in English and it means fear of getting dirty.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 14
Boustrophedon
Meaning: This word means the practice of writing one line from left to right and the other from right to left. This concept of writing was popular among the ancient Greeks who used it to code their letters.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 13
Cholangiocholecystocholedochectomy
Meaning: This is a medical term that refers to the process where the hepatic duct and gallbladder are surgically removed.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 34
Keraunophobia
Meaning: This is another phobia that describes the fear of thunder and lightning. Sometimes, it is also pronounced as Ceraunophobia.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 13
Quinquagenarian
Meaning: This word refers to people who are between the ages of 50 and 59. You can find out how people within other age brackets are described.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 15
Transmogrification
Meaning: Made popular by Harry Potter books made this word more popular. It has come to represent transformation into bizarre figures.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 18
Xeroradiography
Meaning: This word refers to a type of an x-ray that prints the image on a paper instead of printing it on a film.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 15
Other Longest Words in the English Language
Psychoneuroendocrinological
Meaning: This word is related to the branch of science which is concerned with the relationships between psychology, the nervous system and the endocrine system. It was first seen in the 1970s in Journal of Neurological Science.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 27
Psychophysicotherapeutics
Meaning: This is a reference to a therapeutic approach that integrates both the mind and body. It is noteworthy that although the Oxford Dictionary gives no official definition of this word, it features in their list of the longest words in the English language.
Word Class: Noun
Number of letters: 25
Otorhinolaryngological
Meaning: The meaning of this word relates to the medical specialisation involving the ear, nose, and throat which is more usually recognised by its abbreviation, ENT.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 22
Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
Meaning: This word is the name of a lake in Massachusetts. It is also called Webster Lake.
Word Class: Adjective
Number of letters: 49
Closing words
I am sure you have, at least, learn one word or the other in this list of Longest Words in the English Language and their Meanings. You can share with other and send in your comments and observations. See you around.
