We have two news and one warning for you today.
- There are people in the world who have a phobia of long words.
- This state is called Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia – one of the longest words in the English language.
- We don’t recommend this article if Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is no news to you. Better study some safer topics – read about plagiarised songs, ethical aspects of learning, or Chat GPT checker in our blog!
For those who are ready to meet the longest words in English, we introduce the first one, which length can make a book, as it contains 189,819 letters! The attempts to pronounce this word (methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine) take 2-3,5 hours. Luckily, hardly anyone ever had a need to say it, as the term is strictly technical. It means the chemical composition of titin, the largest known protein, and the word is not even included in the dictionaries.
Another technical term consisting of 1,909 letters became luckier than the one mentioned above. While experts still argue if that composition of titin is even a word, methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl…serine (yes, another chemical term!) has become the longest English word ever published – not in the dictionary, but still.
One more nominee, lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsano…pterygon, containing 183 letters, was also rejected by the dictionaries but made it to the Guinness World Record book instead! The name of the fictional dish originating from Aristophanes’ comedy, transliterated from Ancient Greek, has become the longest word ever appearing in literature.
On to the top-10 dictionary-recognized longest words, then!
1. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis – 45 letters
This word is a medical term meaning “a lung disease caused by inhaling very fine ash and sand dust” and can be a contextual synonym for silicosis. Though listed as the longest word in a major dictionary, Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis was invented in 1935 by the then-president of the National Puzzlers’ League, Everett M. Smith, and is not used in communication (not surprising, is it?)
2. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious – 34 letters
The nonsense word meaning “extremely good” became popular due to the 1964 Disney musical film “Mary Poppins.” Used in a song, it inspired numerous parodies and covers – supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and not that awesome.
3. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism – 30 letters
It is no secret that scientists love long words, so this one is again a technical term, meaning a hereditary medical disorder. What is remarkable about this particular word is that it is the longest non-contrived (finally!) word in a major dictionary – still somewhat hard to pronounce, though.
4. Antidisestablishmentarianism – 28 letters
Antidisestablishmentarianism opens the list of non-contrived and nontechnical words mentioned in the dictionaries. Not all of them, however – the world tends to long for simplicity, and some glossaries do not include this word due to the scarcity of usage. The notion is defined as advocating governmental support of the state church – first, in the context of the Church of England, but nowadays referring to any opposition to the church disestablishment.
5. HonorificabilitudinitatibusHonorificabilitudinitatibus – 27 letters
Meaning “the state of being able to achieve honors,” the word appeared in the works by medieval and Renaissance authors, has become the longest word in Shakespeare’s writing, and was later used in fiction and TV shows – primarily for illustrative purposes.
6. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu – 85 letters
Some hills and mountains boast a remarkable height, whereas others become famous for a long name. Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu, a name of a 305-meters hill in New Zealand, has a Maori origin and is listed as a place with the longest name in the world. Just imagine this location roadsign! Eighty-five letters, however, is not the limit – the name of the hill has other versions, and some of them are even longer.
7. Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg – 45 letters
Another remarkable record belongs to the lake in Massachusetts – Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg is renowned as the longest geographical name in the USA. As proud of its fame, the lake mercifully lets its friends call it simply the Webster Lake – otherwise, no one would dare to suggest going fishing there, we suppose.
8. Floccinaucinihilipilification – 29 letters
The word means the estimation of something as not important at all or useless. Though the word itself is hardly ever used due to its length, we can’t subject it to floccinaucinihilipilification, as it is often mentioned as a vivid example of the longest word in the English language.
9. Incomprehensibilities – 21 letters
Unlike most listed words, this one is quite understandable and even pronounceable. Ironically enough, defined as “things one is unable to comprehend.”, incomprehensibilities is one of the words usable in everyday speech.
10. Euouae
Let’s finish with something lighter (however, maybe still not in terms of pronunciation!) A medieval musical term, euouae is the longest English word consisting only of vowels. Six letters, but still impressive, right?
Well, it is time to draw a line with this parade of sesquipedalianism (17 letters, the practice of using long words)! Mentioning extremely long words may be a good way to impress someone or craft a unique piece, as not many risk using these words. However, do not forget that appropriateness (15 letters) should be the priority.
Use any words you want, and leave the originality concerns to us. PlagiarismCheck.org will scan your writing to check plagiarism and highlight the parts that need improvement to ensure you submit your text in all its glory!
