Dictionary Definition
sesquipedalian adj
1 given to the overuse of long words;
"sesquipedalian orators"; "this sesquipedalian way of saying one
has no money"
2 (of words) long and ponderous; having many
syllables; "sesquipedalian technical terms" [syn: polysyllabic] n : a very
long word (a foot and a half long) [syn: sesquipedalia]
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Etymology
From sesqui-, from Latin sesqui, one and a half, + pedal, from Latin pes, pedis, foot, + adjective suffix -alis, + adjective suffix -ian: Lit. a foot and a half long. cf. F. sesquipédal, L. sesquipedalis.Pronunciation
- /ˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdeɪlɪən/
Noun
- The act or practice of using long words.
- A long word.
Adjective
- In the context of "of a word or words": long; polysyllabic.
- More people know the sesquipedalian word "antidisestablishmentarianism" than know what it means.
- Pertaining to or given to the use of overly long words.
- Our dinner guest was so sesquipedalian that no one could understand what he said.
Synonyms
- italbrac of long words: polysyllabic
- italbrac given to the use of long words: bombastic, long-winded, florid
Antonyms
- italbrac of long words: monosyllabic, brachysyllabic
- italbrac given to the use of long words: brief, terse, laconic
Translations
of long words
- Bulgarian: многосричен
given to the use of long words
Related terms
- hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
- sesquipedal
- sesquipedalianism — Literary style characterised by the use of long words.
- sesquipedalianist — A writer using sesquipedalianism
- sesquipedality
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Latinate, a mile long, awkward, bombastic, cramped, cumbrous, elephantine, extensive, far-flung,
far-reaching, fargoing,
forced, formal, grandiloquence, guinde, halting, hard word, heavy, inkhorn, interminable, jawbreaker, jawbreaking, labored, leaden, lengthy, lexiphanicism, long, long word, longish, longsome, lumbering, no end of, polysyllabic, polysyllable, pompous, ponderous, sesquipedal, stiff, stilted, tall, turgid, unwieldy, without
end