All writers love language. And we especially love fun words, don’t we? Some have funky spellings, tongue-twisting turns, a satisfying “ooh”…and some sound too hilarious to be true! So I’ve put together a list of favorite fun words that I’ll add to periodically. Have fun, lexicon lovers!
- abecedarian
- abracadabra
- accoutrements
- adagio
- aficionado
- agita
- agog
- akimbo
- alfresco
- aloof
- ambrosial
- amok
- ampersand
- anemone
- anthropomorphic
- antimacassar
- aplomb
- apogee
- apoplectic
- appaloosa
- apparatus
- archipelago
- atingle
- avuncular
- azure
- babushka
- bailiwick
- bafflegab
- balderdash
- ballistic
- bamboozle
- bandwagon
- barnstorming
- beanpole
- bedlam
- befuddled
- bellwether
- berserk
- bibliopole
- bigmouth
- bippy
- blabbermouth
- blatherskite
- blindside
- blob
- blockhead
- blowback
- blowhard
- blubbering
- bluestockings
- boing
- boffo (boffola)
- bombastic
- bonanza
- bonkers
- boondocks
- boondoggle
- borborygmus
- bozo
- braggadocio
- brainstorm
- brannigan
- breakneck
- brouhaha
- buckaroo
- bucolic
- buffoon
- bugaboo
- bugbear
- bulbous
- bumbledom
- bumfuzzle
- bumpkin
- bungalow
- bunkum
- bupkis
- burnsides
- busybody
- cacophony
- cahoots
- calamity
- calliope
- candelabra
- canoodle
- cantankerous
- catamaran
- catastrophe
- catawampus
- caterwaul
- chatterbox
- chichi
- chimerical
- chimichanga
- chitchat
- claptrap
- clishmaclaver
- clodhopper
- cockamamie
- cockatoo
- codswallop
- collywobbles
- colossus
- comeuppance
- concoction
- conniption
- contraband
- conundrum
- convivial
- copacetic
- corkscrew
- cornucopia
- cowabunga
- coxcomb
- crackerjack
- crescendo
- crestfallen
- cryptozoology
- cuckoo
- curlicue
- curmudgeon
- demitasse
- denouement
- desperado
- diaphanous
- diddly-squat
- digeridoo
- dilemma
- dillydally
- dimwit
- diphthong
- dirigible
- discombobulated
- dodecahedron
- doldrums
- donkeyman
- donnybrook
- doodad
- doohickey (this is what I call a library due date card)
- doppelganger
- dumbfounded
- dumbwaiter
- dunderhead
- earwig
- eavesdrop
- ebullient
- effervescence
- egads
- eggcorn
- egghead
- elixir
- ephemeral
- epiphany
- eucatastrophe
- extraterrestrial
- finagle
- fandango
- festooned
- fez
- fiasco
- fiddle-footed
- fiddlesticks
- finicky
- firebrand
- fishwife
- fisticuffs
- flabbergasted
- flapdoodle
- flibbertigibbet
- flimflam
- flippant
- floccinaucinihilipilification
- flophouse
- flotsam
- flummery
- flummoxed
- flyaway
- flyspeck
- folderol
- foofaraw
- foolhardy
- foolscap
- footloose
- fopdoodle
- fortuitous
- fracas
- frangipani
- freewheeling
- fricassee
- frippery
- frogman
- froufrou
- fuddy-duddy
- fussbudget
- futz
- gadfly
- gadzooks
- gallimaufry
- gangplank
- gangway
- gargoyle
- gasbag
- gazebo
- gazpacho
- gewgaw
- genteel
- ghostwriter
- gibberish
- gimcrack
- gizmo
- glabella
- glitch
- globetrotter
- gobbledygook
- gobsmacked
- goosebump
- gooseflesh
- gorgonzola
- gossamer
- grandiloquent
- greenhorn
- guffaw
- gumshoe
- guru
- gussied
- guttersnipe
- haberdashery
- haboob
- hairpin
- halcyon
- halfwit
- hangdog
- haphazard
- harebrained
- harumph
- harum-scarum
- headlong
- heartstrings
- heebie-jeebie
- heirloom
- helter-skelter
- hemidemisemiquaver
- heyday
- higgledy-piggledy
- highfalutin
- hijinks
- hillbilly
- hippocampus
- hippogriff
- hobbledehoy
- hobnobbed
- hocus-pocus
- hodgepodge
- hogwash
- hokum
- hoodoo
- hoodwink
- hooey
- hooligan
- hoopla
- hootenanny
- hornswoggle
- horsefeathers
- hotbed
- hotfoot
- hothead
- hubbub
- hullabaloo
- humbug
- humdinger
- humdrum
- hunky-dory
- hurly-burly
- hushpuppy
- huzzah
- hyperbole
- idiom
- idiosyncrasies
- igloo
- ignoramus
- impromptu
- incognito
- incredulous
- indomitable
- indubitably
- infinitesimal
- interloper
- interrobang
- ironclad
- izzard
- jabberwocky
- jacuzzi
- jalopy
- jamboree
- jargogle
- jawbreaker
- jetsam
- jibber-jabber
- jitney
- jubilee
- juggernaut
- jujubes
- jumbo
- junket
- juxtaposition
- kaleidoscope
- kaput
- kerfuffle
- kerplunk
- kibosh
- killjoy
- kismet
- knickerbocker
- knickknack
- kowtow
- kumquat
- kvetch
- lackadaisical
- lagoon
- lambasted
- lampoon
- landlubber
- laughingstock
- lexicographer
- limburger
- lingo
- loco
- loggerhead
- logjam
- logophile
- logorrhea
- lollapalooza
- lollygag
- loofah
- loony
- loophole
- lugubrious
- lummox
- machinations
- madcap
- maelstrom
- magnificent
- majordomo
- malapropism
- malarkey
- manifesto
- mastermind
- mayhem
- mealymouthed
- mellifluous
- menagerie
- miasma
- miffed
- milquetoast
- misanthrope
- mishmash
- moocher
- mojo (also a character in THE MONSTORE)
- mollycoddle
- mondegreen
- moniker
- monkeyshines
- monsoon
- mnemonic
- moonstruck
- muckety-muck
- mudpuppy
- mudslinger
- muffuletta
- mufti
- mulligatawny
- mumbo-jumbo
- murmuration
- muumuu
- nabob
- namby-pamby
- nimrod
- nincompoop
- nitwit
- nomenclature
- nonplussed
- noodge
- nudnik
- numbskull
- onomatopoeia
- oomph
- orotund
- outfox
- outlandish
- oxymoron
- pachyderm
- pagoda
- palindrome
- palomino
- panache
- pandemonium
- pantaloons
- papyrus
- parabola
- parallelogram
- parapet
- paraphernalia
- pedagogue
- peewee
- pell-mell
- persimmon
- persnickety
- pettifogger
- phalanx
- phantasmagorical
- phantonym
- phylactery
- piffle
- pizzazz
- plethora
- pogo
- pogonip
- pollex
- pollywog
- poltroon
- pomposity
- poppycock
- portmanteau
- potpourri
- pseudonym
- pugnacious
- pulchritudinous
- pusillanimous
- pussyfoot
- quibble
- quicksilver
- quicksticks
- quiddle
- quinzee
- quirky
- quixotic
- quizzity
- rabble-rouser
- raconteur
- rainmaker
- ragamuffin
- ragtag
- ransack
- rapscallion
- razzle-dazzle
- razzmatazz
- rejigger
- rendezvous
- resplendent
- rickrack
- ricochet
- riffraff
- rigmarole
- riposte
- roundabout
- roustabout
- rubberneck
- ruckus
- ruffian
- rugrat
- rumpus
- sabayon
- sashay
- sassafras
- scalawag (also scallywag)
- scatterbrain
- schadenfreude
- schlep
- schluffy
- schmooze
- schmutz
- scintillating
- scrofulous
- scrumdiddlyumptious (Dahlism)
- scuttlebutt
- serendipity
- sesquipedalian
- shabang
- shenanigans
- skedaddle
- skullduggery
- slapdash
- slapstick
- slipshod
- smithereens
- smorgasbord
- snollygoster
- sobriquet
- sojourn
- spellbind
- splendiferous
- squeegee
- squooshy
- staccato
- stupefaction
- succotash
- supercilious
- superfluous
- Svengali
- swashbuckler
- switcheroo
- swizzlestick
- synchronicity
- syzygy
- talisman
- taradiddle
- tchotchke
- teepee
- telekinesis
- thingamabob
- thingamajig
- thunderstruck
- tidbit
- tintinnabulation
- toadstool
- toady
- tomfoolery
- tommyrot
- toothsome
- topsy-turvy
- trapezoid
- tub-thumper
- tumultuous
- typhoon
- ululation
- umlaut
- umpteen
- usurp
- uvula
- vamoose
- verisimilitude
- vermicious (well, if I included one Dahlism, why not another?)
- vertigo
- verve
- virtuoso
- vivacious
- vuvuzela
- wackadoodle
- wallflower
- wanderlust
- whatchamacallit
- whatsis
- whimsical
- whippersnapper
- whirligig
- whirlybird
- whizbang
- whodunit
- whoop
- widget
- wigwam
- willy-nilly
- windbag
- wipeout
- wiseacre
- wisecrack
- wisenheimer
- wishy-washy
- woebegone
- wonky
- woozy
- wordplay
- wordsmith
- wunderkind
- wuthering
- xylophone
- yahoo
- yellow-belly
- yokel
- yo-yo
- zaftig
- zeitgeist
- zenzizenzizenzic (yes, this is a word! look it up!)
- zephyr
- zeppelin
- ziggurat
- zigzag
- zonked
- zoom
- zydeco
Brand new picture books!
As a children's book author and mother of two, I'm pushing a stroller along the path to publication. I collect shiny doodads on the journey and share them here. You've found a kidlit treasure box.
56 comments
Comments feed for this article
June 9, 2014 at 7:39 am
Prairie Garden Girl
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Time for vocabulary development as I grabbed my dictionary to learn a few new words. I love lists. Thank you, Tara. ~Suzy Leopold
June 9, 2014 at 9:03 am
Tara Lazar
Great word! I *almost* used it. I tried to stick to real words (with the exception of two Dahlisms, because I adore Dahl) and words that did not require a hyphen (because I felt the hyphen was cheating, in a way) LOL.
September 21, 2015 at 9:02 pm
Tara Lazar
I have since abandoned with “no hyphen” rule! LOL
June 9, 2014 at 8:39 am
RJ Clarken
Tara – this is great! If you’re looking for a place for more fun, weird words, Worthless Word for the Day is a terrific source. http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd/
June 9, 2014 at 9:09 am
Beverly Snedecor
Tara this list is a humdinger and is a big ballyhoo in my house today. I’m a fussbudget about words, but this list made me rejigger my own list and say cowabunga! It gave me the heebie-jeebies, too.
June 9, 2014 at 9:25 am
Tara Lazar
Whoo! Adding some words….thanks!
June 9, 2014 at 10:18 am
Beverly Snedecor
Sorry about the hyphen…. I love that word, and I’m a musician and someone wrote a fun piece called the Heebie Jeebies.
June 9, 2014 at 9:24 am
Nancy Tandon
What a list! I’m going to challenge my kids to define all of them by the end of the summer, with a trip to the book store as a reward. Shhh…I think they’ll be having too much fun to realize they are learning, too! : )
June 9, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Tara Lazar
Great idea, Nancy!
June 9, 2014 at 9:31 am
Deb Lund
LOVE these! I have a “word purse” I use with students, and these would be great ones to have in there (I’d have to check for duplicates first). And now I have an idea I need to get started on, thanks to you! (You do have a way of doing that…) xoxox
June 9, 2014 at 4:56 pm
Tara Lazar
I think we all need to carry a word purse!
June 9, 2014 at 9:56 am
SA Larsen (@SA_Larsen)
I think I have a fetish over your #181. I’ve always loved that word! LOL Great list…
June 9, 2014 at 4:54 pm
Tara Lazar
Oh no, which word was 181 when you looked at the list? I’ve added!
June 9, 2014 at 10:52 am
Lauri Meyers
So fun to say this list out loud! I hope your family members gave you more than 200 strange looks while you were sitting at the dinner table saying “this splendiferous smorgasbord is scrumdiddlyumptious” and giggling.
June 9, 2014 at 10:57 am
Lori Alexander
Awesome list, Tara! I now have a new favorite word: clishmaclaver. Thanks! 🙂
June 9, 2014 at 11:13 am
Joanne Sher
So, SO fun – but you are missing my favorite word – cacophony. Gotta look several of these up – and use them when my kids are in a bad mood. You’re awesome, by the way 🙂
June 9, 2014 at 4:53 pm
Tara Lazar
OK, your favorite word now included! Thanks, Joanne!
June 9, 2014 at 11:21 am
Alayne Kay Christian
Thanks for sharing your collection, Tara. Love it!
June 9, 2014 at 12:04 pm
Patricia Tilton
A great list. Love befuddled. Haven’t heard some of these words used since I was a child. Need to remember this post as I saw some words I’s like to use.
June 9, 2014 at 2:04 pm
elainekielykearns
I LOVE this list, Tara! Thank you! I bookmarked it so I can go back again and again! 😀
June 9, 2014 at 4:41 pm
Rosi Hollinbeck
Great list. Thanks! I think there might be some prompts in here.
June 10, 2014 at 11:49 am
jessica shaw
Love it, Tara! Saved it on my bookmarks bar for reference! Thanks!
June 10, 2014 at 12:21 pm
Marcia
What an amazing and tremendously fun list of words! I can’t wait to see what zenzizenzizenzic means!
Thanks for creating this list and then sharing it!
June 10, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Sheri
This is a great list but in a picture book I wonder if I will lose the reader with too many of these. I am keeping the list for later.
June 11, 2014 at 9:44 am
Tara Lazar
You can use some…but not all, LOL. Take a look at Ammi-Joan Paquette’s PETEY AND PRU AND THE HULLABALOO! Great example of using complex but fun words in a picture book.
June 10, 2014 at 9:15 pm
writersideup
Is there such a thing as a listophile?! If not, there should be ’cause I’m definitely a lover of lists! 🙂 thanks, Tara!
June 12, 2014 at 12:43 pm
darlenebeckjacobson
Just saying some of these words out loud brings joy to my heart…thanks for putting fun words in one place. Wouldn’t it be fun to sprinkle one or two in each book, like a word scavenger hunt.
June 19, 2014 at 9:27 am
writeknit
Just a quick note to tell you I’ve nominated you for the Very Inspiring Blog Award – ck out this post for the details.
http://writeknit.wordpress.com/2014/06/10/very-inspiring-blogger-award-nomination/
Thanks for your blog – I really enjoy it!
Laura (writeknit.wordpress.com)
September 23, 2014 at 10:05 pm
Tara Lazar
Thank you, Laura!
June 20, 2014 at 6:24 am
electricbluegaloo
Reblogged this on electricbluegaloo and commented:
I love this list. It’s such as lovely way to wallow
June 24, 2014 at 12:05 am
Fun – Cool – Interesting Words | Writing and Illustrating
[…] https://taralazar.com/2014/06/09/list-of-200-fun-cool-and-interesting-words/ […]
August 23, 2014 at 7:58 am
Sharon K Mayhew
Great list! Thanks for sharing….
September 16, 2014 at 9:09 am
Welcome, BACKHOE JOE! Long-Time Reader, First-Time Author Lori Alexander (plus a prize pack!) | Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] one last question. I have a list of fun words I posted recently, which has become quite popular. What’s your favorite […]
September 19, 2014 at 5:18 pm
Top 10 Toys (and Candy) at the Turn of the (Last) Century: Wheels of Change (plus a giveaway!) | Writing for Kids (While Raising Them)
[…] This blog features t a list of 500+ Things that Kids Like, Things They DON’T Like, and a list of over 200 fun, cool and interesting words. List-o-mania! List-o-rama! The lister! (Pretend I’m talking in Rob Schneider’s SNL […]
October 19, 2014 at 1:23 pm
List of 200+ Fun, Cool and Interesting Words | My great WordPress blog
[…] All writers love language. And we especially love fun words, don’t we? Some have funky spellings, tongue-twisting turns, a satisfying “ooh”…and some sound too hilarious to be true! So I’ve put together a list of favorite fun words that I’ll add to periodically. Have fun, lexicon lovers! Click here for the list! […]
October 24, 2014 at 3:45 pm
Rosa Mercado
Dear Tara,
Recently, I register for a Writing Children’s Books class. My instructor of this course introduced to us your website. I am so excited about writing a book. Your story inspires me to make my wish a reality. I am bilingual Spanish is my first language. So, I am interested in book translation. What would be your advise to get stararted?
Thanks in advance.
RMERCADO
October 24, 2014 at 3:51 pm
Tara Lazar
Hi Rosa, thanks for your nice comments. I’m afraid I am not familiar enough with bilingual books to make a good recommendation to you. I would seek out other sources, for this is not my are of expertise. Good luck!
November 17, 2014 at 7:04 am
artistadonna
wow! thank you!
November 18, 2014 at 10:50 am
Mary McClellan
Love, love, love words. I see a couple I actually use. I’m sure that says something, but I don’t know what. I’m not going to futz with it, though.
November 18, 2014 at 11:15 am
Rita Allmon
Yes this is a fun, cool, and interesting list of words! Thanks for sharing it!
November 18, 2014 at 3:00 pm
Sandie Sing
Wow! Now that’s a whopping list of words. Thanks for the great share. Totally flabbergasted with the list. Thanks!
November 25, 2014 at 11:47 am
Naana Kyereboah
Awesome list! Thanks for sharing, Tara
November 26, 2014 at 2:24 pm
Mark A. Bentz
Thank you so much for sharing that. It’s so good to know, can give your story a little sparkle.
January 11, 2015 at 4:38 pm
Al The Author
Reblogged this on Al The Author's blog and commented:
You had me at “akimbo” ! Great list – shared for fellow word hoarders
January 13, 2015 at 10:45 am
bookseedstudio
Thanks for each & every one, Tara!
Gifting one back, to you – bippy.
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/english/bippy
September 21, 2015 at 9:06 pm
Tara Lazar
You bet your sweet bippy!
October 26, 2015 at 12:00 pm
Kassy Keppol
Where is my dictionary?
November 4, 2015 at 2:28 am
carolofparis
this is totally fun.
September 11, 2016 at 3:19 pm
Marry Reeves
Great list Tara, but you forgot Mambe-Pambe! LOL
January 22, 2017 at 12:38 pm
Sandie Sing
Bravo! What a marvelous list of fun words. Love it and thank you for the great share.
August 14, 2017 at 4:32 pm
Kaitelynn
currently writing all of these out!
August 14, 2017 at 4:34 pm
Kaitelynn
im on number 26 i have a lot to go but its taking my mind off things!
October 29, 2017 at 9:59 am
Shutta
Fun!
January 27, 2018 at 1:16 pm
Diane Roberts
I have tried to copy this list, it is fabulous but it keeps telling me my address is wrong. I don’t know what that means because I have have written is my address.
January 30, 2018 at 3:55 pm
Debbie Zapata
This is my favorite blog! what fun.
February 3, 2018 at 1:11 am
Preeya ratnalikar
The wods are nice but u have to give meaning and usage