Cool words
As a second-language learner of English, there are a lot of interesting words I've come across that have stood out to me. Here's a mini collection of them:
Abandon (n.) — complete lack of inhibition or restraint (e.g., she sings with total abandon)
Adultescent (n.) — a young adult or middle-aged person who has interests, traits, etc that are usually associated with teenagers
Bacchanalia — (n.) a wild gathering involving excessive drinking and promiscuity (named after an ancient Greek/Roman festival)
Bildungsroman (n.) — a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist
Brainchild (n.) — an idea or invention considered to be a particular person's invention (e.g., this statue is the brainchild of the local artist)
Bromide (n.) — a trite or unoriginal remark, typically to soothe or placate (e.g., "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade")
Conjecture — (n.) an opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information; guess; speculation; belief
Debauchery — (n.) extreme indulgence in sensual pleasures
Denouement (n.) — the resolution of a story/play/movie; finale; ending
Deterrence (n.) — the act of discouraging an action or event through instilling doubt or fear of the consequences
Diplomacy (n.) — the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and effective way; tact; sensitivity; discretion; subtlety
Equanimity (n.) — a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind
Esemplastic (adj.) — having the ability to shape diverse elements/concepts into a unified whole (e.g., the esemplastic power of a great mind to simplify the difficult)
Fester — (v.) (of a wound or sore) become septic; (of a negative feeling or problem) become worse or more intense, especially through long-term neglect or indifference
Festooned — (v.) decorated with festoons (garland of things suspended in a curve between two points)
Gaucherie (n.) — lack of social grace/sensitivity/acuteness; awkwardness; tactlessness
Hamartia — (n.) the flaw/error of a tragic hero that leads to his downfall
Hagiography — (n.) biography that idealizes its subject; the writing of the lives of saints
Hypocorism (n.) — a pet name; a nickname that shows affection or closeness; the use of forms of speech imitative of baby talk, especially by adults; "play the child" (Greek origin)
Inculcate (v.) — instill (an attitude, idea, or habit) by persistent instruction; instill in
Indelible (adj.) — not able to be forgotten or removed (e.g., the movie made an indelible impression on me)
Inexorable (adj.) — impossible to stop or prevent; relentless; unavoidable
Inveterate (adj.) — settle or confirmed in a habit, practice, feeling, etc. (e.g., an inveterate gambler)
Kinkeeping (n.) — the labor involved in maintaining and strengthening family ties (e.g., organizing social occasions, remembering birthdays, sending gifts)
Lilt (n.) — a characteristic rising and falling of the voice when speaking; a pleasant gentle accent; a pleasant, gently swinging rhythm in a song or tune
Nixie (n.) — a letter/parcel that is undeliverable because of a faulty or illegible address
Numinous (adj.) — having a strong religious or spiritual quality; indicating or suggesting the presence of a divinity
Ostensible (adj.) — outwardly appearing as such; pretended (e.g., an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness)
Paraph (n.) — a flourish made after a signature, as in a document, originally as a precaution against forgery
Pareidolia (n.) — the tendency for perception to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous / amorphous stimulus, such as perceiving recognizable shapes in clouds or rock formations
Pernicious (adj.) — having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way
Polymath (n.) — a person with wide-ranging knowledge or learning (e.g., the trivia team had a polymath who knew lots of random facts)
Sententious — (adj.) abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims (e.g., a sententious book)
Sobriquet — (n.) an affectionate or humorous nickname
Solipsism — (n.) being very self-centered or selfish; the philosophical idea that only the self (i.e., your own mind and experiences) exists
Temperance (n.) — abstinence from alcoholic drink; moderation or self restraint, especially in eating and drinking
Umbrage (n.) — offense or annoyance (e.g., she took umbrage at his remarks); (archaic) shade or shadow, especially cast by trees
Wordmonger (n.) — a writer/speaker who uses words pretentiously or with careless disregard for meaning