100 Beautiful and Ugly Words By Mark Nichol

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

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

What did I miss? Add to these lists in a comment below.

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