Over the last few years, Words for Nerds has been a regular feature in my blogs. To qualify as a Word for Nerds, it must meet three criteria –
1. The word must be in current usage, not an archaic term.
2. The word must be usable in general conversation, not a narrow, technical term.
3. The word must be very uncommon, but not totally obscure. (This is the tricky one. The perfect Word for Nerds is one which you kind of recognize, but don’t quite exactly know the meaning of.)
Many of the words on the Words for Nerds list are ones I had to look up when reading.
They’re tough; over my head, anyway, for the most part. So here’s the complete list to-date. How many of these 57 head scratchers do you know? Give it a try, and at the end, check out the Word Sell Challenge.
The World’s Hardest Vocabulary Test
- Schadenfreude
- Defenestration
- Adumbrate
- Encomium
- Blandish
- Turpitude
- Fribble
- Solipsism
- Captious
- Protean
- Heuristic
- Quotidian
- Avuncular
- Somnolent
- Juggernaut
- Recondite
- Peripatetic
- Parsimonious
- Bricolage
- Punctilio
WHEW! That had to be tough. My hat’s off to anybody who knew more than ten. If you knew 20 or more, well, you have one of the best vocabularies IN THE WORLD!
Hi Pranay, Nice score, and good luck with your GRE!
Many of those are in the high school vocabulary test books.
I missed six of the words:fribble, Bathos, Bricolage,Grampus, Aril, and Frowzy.I too study words as a hobbie. I started about 6 years ago. I too have taken the
Schmies test several times over the last 3 years; moving up from 165 to 182 earlier this year.
A few of my favorite , most recently learned words: Propinquity, and delitescent.
thanks for the test !
David, Good going! Thanks for taking the test and congratulations on the steady improvement. I’ve got to look up delitescent right now.
It’s kind of sad but I know more words than most of you and I never look up any word unless I absolutely have
I’m thirteen and got them all. EASY.
Are you joking!
THESE words aren’t true. THIS is really weird!
Dad is a huge vocabulary fan but he says he never saw these words!
im therdy-ate and miss tham aull
pleze hilp how toe spille
It helps a lot if you know a Latin-rooted language. Knowing Spanish very well, about half these words are very-very close in spelling (and identical in meaning) to their Spanish counterparts. I’m assuming someone who knows French or Italian well might find the same is true for them.
The words might be true or fake but their so great words to learn not to be rude but anyone in college yet
this test was a peice of cake. the easiest test i ever saw! i swear.
I know 22 Of these and they are HARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1