Study guides › Level 10 · Wordsmith

Rare and beautiful words

Level 10 · Meaning · for questions like “What does ‘serendipity’ mean?”

💡 The idea

Rare words let you say exactly what you mean. Many can be cracked with roots or sounds you know, and others are simply worth collecting.

1. mellifluous: mel = honey, flu = flow. Words that flow like honey: sweet and smooth-sounding.

2. defenestrate: fenestra is Latin for window. To throw out of a window.

3. sesquipedalian: Latin for “a foot and a half long”. Used for very long words (and people who love them).

Word	Means
serendipity	a happy accident
petrichor	the smell of rain on dry ground
ineffable	too great for words
ebullient	bubbling with excitement
laconic	using very few words
garrulous	very talkative
halcyon	calm and happy, like the good old days
pernicious	harmful in a slow, hidden way

Sound-alike traps: ebullient is not bullying; insouciant is not insulting.
Opposites come in pairs: laconic (few words) and garrulous (many words).

Answers: 1) sad and gloomy 2) a soft whispering sound

This guide is also in the 10WordsQ app: tap “📖 Study guide” after a question.