Fun Cool Interesting Amazing Words

All writers love language. And we especially love fun, amazing 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!

  1. It’s a book! Click to pre-order! Coming January 2022 from Sourcebooks eXplore.

    abecedarian

  2. abracadabra
  3. accoutrements
  4. adagio
  5. aficionado
  6. agita
  7. agog
  8. akimbo
  9. alfresco
  10. aloof
  11. ambrosial
  12. amok
  13. ampersand
  14. anemone
  15. anthropomorphic
  16. antimacassar
  17. aplomb
  18. apogee
  19. apoplectic
  20. appaloosa
  21. apparatus
  22. archipelago
  23. atingle
  24. avuncular
  25. azure
  26. babushka
  27. bailiwick
  28. bafflegab
  29. balderdash
  30. ballistic
  31. bamboozle
  32. bandwagon
  33. barnstorming
  34. beanpole
  35. bedlam
  36. befuddled
  37. bellwether
  38. berserk
  39. bibliopole
  40. bigmouth
  41. bippy
  42. blabbermouth
  43. blatherskite
  44. blindside
  45. blob
  46. blockhead
  47. blowback
  48. blowhard
  49. blubbering
  50. bluestockings
  51. boing
  52. boffo (boffola)
  53. bombastic
  54. bonanza
  55. bonkers
  56. boondocks
  57. boondoggle
  58. borborygmus
  59. bozo
  60. braggadocio
  61. brainstorm
  62. brannigan
  63. breakneck
  64. brouhaha
  65. buckaroo
  66. bucolic
  67. buffoon
  68. bugaboo
  69. bugbear
  70. bulbous
  71. bumbledom
  72. bumfuzzle
  73. bumptious
  74. bumpkin
  75. bungalow
  76. bunkum
  77. bupkis
  78. burnsides
  79. busybody
  80. cacophony
  81. cahoots
  82. calamity
  83. calliope
  84. candelabra
  85. canoodle
  86. cantankerous
  87. catamaran
  88. catastrophe
  89. catawampus
  90. caterwaul
  91. chatterbox
  92. chichi
  93. chimerical
  94. chimichanga
  95. chitchat
  96. clandestine
  97. claptrap
  98. clishmaclaver
  99. clodhopper
  100. cockamamie
  101. cockatoo
  102. codswallop
  103. collywobbles
  104. colossus
  105. comeuppance
  106. concoction
  107. conniption
  108. contraband
  109. conundrum
  110. convivial
  111. copacetic
  112. corkscrew
  113. cornucopia
  114. cowabunga
  115. coxcomb
  116. crackerjack
  117. crescendo
  118. crestfallen
  119. cryptozoology
  120. cuckoo
  121. curlicue
  122. curmudgeon
  123. demitasse
  124. denouement
  125. derecho
  126. desperado
  127. diaphanous
  128. diddly-squat
  129. digeridoo
  130. dilemma
  131. dillydally
  132. dimwit
  133. diphthong
  134. dirigible
  135. discombobulated
  136. dodecahedron
  137. doldrums
  138. donkeyman
  139. donnybrook
  140. doodad
  141. doohickey (this is what I call a library due date card)
  142. doppelganger
  143. dumbfounded
  144. dumbwaiter
  145. dunderhead
  146. earwig
  147. eavesdrop
  148. ebullient
  149. effervescence
  150. egads
  151. eggcorn
  152. egghead
  153. elixir
  154. ephemeral
  155. epiphany
  156. ersatz
  157. eucatastrophe
  158. extraterrestrial
  159. finagle
  160. fandango
  161. festooned
  162. fez
  163. fiasco
  164. fiddle-footed
  165. fiddlesticks
  166. finicky
  167. firebrand
  168. fishwife
  169. fisticuffs
  170. flabbergasted
  171. flapdoodle
  172. flibbertigibbet
  173. flimflam
  174. flippant
  175. floccinaucinihilipilification
  176. flophouse
  177. flotsam
  178. flummery
  179. flummoxed
  180. flyaway
  181. flyspeck
  182. folderol
  183. foofaraw
  184. foolhardy
  185. foolscap
  186. footloose
  187. fopdoodle
  188. fortuitous
  189. fracas
  190. frangipani
  191. freewheeling
  192. fricassee
  193. frippery
  194. frogman
  195. froufrou
  196. fuddy-duddy
  197. fussbudget
  198. futz
  199. gadfly
  200. gadzooks
  201. gallimaufry
  202. gambit
  203. gangplank
  204. gangway
  205. gargoyle
  206. gasbag
  207. gazebo
  208. gazpacho
  209. gewgaw
  210. genteel
  211. ghostwriter
  212. gibberish
  213. gimcrack
  214. gizmo
  215. glabella
  216. glitch
  217. globetrotter
  218. gobbledygook
  219. gobsmacked
  220. goosebump
  221. gooseflesh
  222. gorgonzola
  223. gossamer
  224. grandiloquent
  225. greenhorn
  226. guffaw
  227. gumshoe
  228. guru
  229. gussied
  230. guttersnipe
  231. haberdashery
  232. haboob
  233. hairpin
  234. halcyon
  235. halfwit
  236. hangdog
  237. haphazard
  238. harebrained
  239. harumph
  240. harum-scarum
  241. headlong
  242. heartstrings
  243. heebie-jeebie
  244. heirloom
  245. helter-skelter
  246. hemidemisemiquaver
  247. heyday
  248. higgledy-piggledy
  249. highfalutin
  250. hijinks
  251. hillbilly
  252. hippocampus
  253. hippogriff
  254. hobbledehoy
  255. hobnobbed
  256. hocus-pocus
  257. hodgepodge
  258. hogwash
  259. hokum
  260. hoodoo
  261. hoodwink
  262. hooey
  263. hooligan
  264. hoopla
  265. hootenanny
  266. hornswoggle
  267. horsefeathers
  268. hotbed
  269. hotfoot
  270. hothead
  271. hubbub
  272. hullabaloo
  273. humbug
  274. humdinger
  275. humdrum
  276. hunky-dory
  277. hurly-burly
  278. hushpuppy
  279. huzzah
  280. hyperbole
  281. idiom
  282. idiosyncrasies
  283. igloo
  284. ignoramus
  285. impromptu
  286. incognito
  287. incorrigible
  288. incredulous
  289. indomitable
  290. indubitably
  291. infinitesimal
  292. interloper
  293. interrobang
  294. ironclad
  295. izzard
  296. jabberwocky
  297. jacuzzi
  298. jalopy
  299. jamboree
  300. jargogle
  301. jawbreaker
  302. jetsam
  303. jibber-jabber
  304. jink
  305. jitney
  306. jubilee
  307. juggernaut
  308. jujubes
  309. jumbo
  310. junket
  311. juxtaposition
  312. kaleidoscope
  313. kaput
  314. kerfuffle
  315. kerplunk
  316. kibosh
  317. killjoy
  318. kismet
  319. knickerbocker
  320. knickknack
  321. kowtow
  322. kumquat
  323. kvetch
  324. lackadaisical
  325. lagoon
  326. lambasted
  327. lampoon
  328. landlubber
  329. laughingstock
  330. lexicographer
  331. limburger
  332. lingo
  333. loco
  334. loggerhead
  335. logjam
  336. logophile
  337. logorrhea
  338. lollapalooza
  339. lollygag
  340. loofah
  341. loony
  342. loophole
  343. lugubrious
  344. lummox
  345. machinations
  346. madcap
  347. maelstrom
  348. magnificent
  349. majordomo
  350. malapropism
  351. malarkey
  352. manifesto
  353. mastermind
  354. mayhem
  355. mealymouthed
  356. mellifluous
  357. menagerie
  358. miasma
  359. miffed
  360. milquetoast
  361. misanthrope
  362. mishmash
  363. moocher
  364. mojo (also a character in THE MONSTORE)
  365. mollycoddle
  366. mondegreen
  367. moniker
  368. monkeyshines
  369. monsoon
  370. mnemonic
  371. moonstruck
  372. muckety-muck
  373. mudpuppy
  374. mudslinger
  375. muffuletta
  376. mufti
  377. mulligatawny
  378. mumbo-jumbo
  379. murmuration
  380. muumuu
  381. nabob
  382. namby-pamby
  383. nimrod
  384. nincompoop
  385. nitwit
  386. nomenclature
  387. nonplussed
  388. noodge
  389. nudnik
  390. numbskull
  391. onomatopoeia
  392. oomph
  393. orotund
  394. outfox
  395. outlandish
  396. oxymoron
  397. pachyderm
  398. pagoda
  399. palindrome
  400. palomino
  401. panache
  402. pandemonium
  403. pantaloons
  404. papyrus
  405. parabola
  406. parallelogram
  407. parapet
  408. paraphernalia
  409. peccadillo
  410. pedagogue
  411. peewee
  412. pell-mell
  413. persimmon
  414. persnickety
  415. pettifogger
  416. phalanx
  417. phantasmagorical
  418. phantonym
  419. phylactery
  420. piffle
  421. pizzazz
  422. plethora
  423. pogo
  424. pogonip
  425. pollex
  426. pollywog
  427. poltroon
  428. pomposity
  429. poppycock
  430. portmanteau
  431. potpourri
  432. pseudonym
  433. pugnacious
  434. pulchritudinous
  435. pusillanimous
  436. pussyfoot
  437. quibble
  438. quicksilver
  439. quicksticks
  440. quiddle
  441. quinzee
  442. quirky
  443. quixotic
  444. quizzity
  445. rabble-rouser
  446. raconteur
  447. rainmaker
  448. ragamuffin
  449. ragtag
  450. ramshackle
  451. ransack
  452. rapscallion
  453. razzle-dazzle
  454. razzmatazz
  455. rejigger
  456. rendezvous
  457. resplendent
  458. rickrack
  459. ricochet
  460. riffraff
  461. rigmarole
  462. riposte
  463. roundabout
  464. roustabout
  465. rubberneck
  466. ruckus
  467. ruffian
  468. rugrat
  469. rumpus
  470. sabayon
  471. sashay
  472. sassafras
  473. scalawag (also scallywag)
  474. scatterbrain
  475. schadenfreude
  476. schlep
  477. schluffy
  478. schmooze
  479. schmutz
  480. scintillating
  481. scrofulous
  482. scrumdiddlyumptious (Dahlism)
  483. scuttlebutt
  484. serendipity
  485. sesquipedalian
  486. shabang
  487. shenanigans
  488. skedaddle
  489. skirmish
  490. skullduggery
  491. slapdash
  492. slapstick
  493. slipshod
  494. smithereens
  495. smorgasbord
  496. snollygoster
  497. sobriquet
  498. sojourn
  499. spellbind
  500. splendiferous
  501. squeegee
  502. squooshy
  503. staccato
  504. stupefaction
  505. succotash
  506. supercilious
  507. superfluous
  508. surreptitious
  509. Svengali
  510. swashbuckler
  511. switcheroo
  512. swizzlestick
  513. synchronicity
  514. syzygy
  515. talisman
  516. taradiddle
  517. tchotchke
  518. teepee
  519. telekinesis
  520. thingamabob
  521. thingamajig
  522. thunderstruck
  523. tidbit
  524. tintinnabulation
  525. toadstool
  526. toady
  527. tomfoolery
  528. tommyrot
  529. toothsome
  530. topsy-turvy
  531. trapezoid
  532. tub-thumper
  533. tumultuous
  534. turducken
  535. typhoon
  536. ululation
  537. umlaut
  538. umpteen
  539. usurp
  540. uvula
  541. vagabond
  542. vamoose
  543. verboten
  544. verisimilitude
  545. vermicious (well, if I included one Dahlism, why not another?)
  546. vertigo
  547. verve
  548. virtuoso
  549. vivacious
  550. vuvuzela
  551. wackadoodle
  552. wallflower
  553. wanderlust
  554. whatchamacallit
  555. whatsis
  556. whimsical
  557. whippersnapper
  558. whirligig
  559. whirlybird
  560. whizbang
  561. whodunit
  562. whoop
  563. widget
  564. wigwam
  565. willy-nilly
  566. windbag
  567. wipeout
  568. wiseacre
  569. wisecrack
  570. wisenheimer
  571. wishy-washy
  572. woebegone
  573. wonky
  574. woozy
  575. wordplay
  576. wordsmith
  577. wunderkind
  578. wuthering
  579. xylophone
  580. yahoo
  581. yokel
  582. yo-yo
  583. zaftig
  584. zeitgeist
  585. zenzizenzizenzic (yes, this is a word!)
  586. zephyr
  587. zeppelin
  588. ziggurat
  589. zigzag
  590. zonked
  591. zoom
  592. zydeco