A (highfalutin) word for a highfalutin word?

Question

To illustrate the question, badroit used the word "meretricious" meretriciously.

Is there an English word that describes highfalutin words like "meretricious" that are (gratuitously) used in place of better-understood words like "garish"?

The word may or may not be self-describing.

If meretricious is used to mean garish the technical term is error. — StoneyB on hiatus, Mar 19 '13 at 22:35
Sequipedalian is very good. It's not so much about the length of the word though as its obscurity, but it seems sequipedalian probably fits both connotations. — badroit, Mar 19 '13 at 22:40
@StoneyB, I wasn't suggesting that meretricious and garish are equivalent, but that they could be used in this context equivalently. Why error? — badroit, Mar 19 '13 at 22:42
Because they don't mean the same thing. The art of Bouguereau is not at all garish, but it is highly meretricious. — StoneyB on hiatus, Mar 19 '13 at 22:48
@tchrist: Do you mean sesquipedalian? (with an S before the Q) — rhetorician, Mar 20 '13 at 12:32
@rhetorician Certainly, as in sesquipedalia verba from Horace. — tchrist, Mar 20 '13 at 12:36
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian also seems worthy of mention, even though its status as a word is questionable. — badroit, Mar 24 '13 at 23:27
Not sure this is a duplicate of the linked question. This question seeks a word for a word. The other question seeks a word for a person. — badroit, May 22 '13 at 22:46

score 11 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 19 '13 at 22:40

11

Sesquipedalian literally means 'a foot and a half long', and was originally applied to unnecessarily long words (in Latin); it has expanded in English to include people who use such words.

answered Mar 19 '13 at 22:40

Tim Lymington

35,168

2

Here’s a nice link. – tchrist Mar 20 '13 at 12:38

score 8 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 20 '13 at 01:55

8

In addition to TimLymington's excellent sesquipedalian, you might consider also grandiloquent. Its meaning tends more towards bombastic, so use just a dash if it fits your recipe. :-)

answered Mar 20 '13 at 01:55

jbeldock

1,083

score 3 · Answer 3 · edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

3

I assume you seek adjectives.

Ostentatious fits the bill:

ostentatious

adjective

(dicty) intended to attract notice and impress others
Synonyms: pretentious, dicty [slang, United States]. Similar to: flamboyant, flaunty

(tasteless) of a display, tawdry or vulgar
Synonyms: pretentious. Similar to: tasteless

Depending on the nature of the situation, you might consider flamboyant ("elaborate or excessively ornamented") or pretentious ("making claim to or creating an appearance of (often undeserved) importance or distinction").

edited Jun 15 '20 at 07:40

Community

1

answered Mar 19 '13 at 22:33

Anko

233

Thanks, but I'm actually looking for a word to describe the word itself or its use. For example, sequipedalian suggested by @tchrist is quite good since it describes the character of the word itself. – badroit Mar 19 '13 at 22:39
@badroit True. Ostentatious describes less the nature of the word and more the nature of its use. – Anko Mar 19 '13 at 22:48

score 2 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 21 '13 at 02:54

2

Bombast / bombastic will suit your requirements.

Bombast: pretentious inflated speech or writing

edited Mar 21 '13 at 02:54

coleopterist

31,031

answered Mar 20 '13 at 06:42

moonstar

2,400

A (highfalutin) word for a highfalutin word?

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