Expand Your Vocabulary

[xoxoxoBruce]

21 Interesting Words From David Foster Wallace's Vocabulary List

1. aerobe—organism requiring oxygen to live

2. afterclap—unexpected, often unpleasant sequel to a matter that had been considered closed

3. anaclisis—psychological dependence on others; “anaclitic”

4.apophasis—allusion to something by denying that it will be mentioned

5. bistre—yellowish-brown color

6. catadromous—living in freshwater but migrating to sea to breed

7. ecotone—transitional zone between communities containing the characteristic species of each

8. euphuism—ornate, allusive, overpoetic prose style

9. gloze—minimize or underplay… “gloze” the embarrassing part

10. muntin—strip of wood or metal that separates & holds various panes in a window, like a window w/ four individual panes
arranged in a big rectangle, etc.

11. nidifugous—leaving the nest shortly after hatching

12. ocherous—moderate orange yellow

13. ordurous—dungish or shitty

14. patelliphobia—fear of bowls, cups, basins, and tubs

15. peritrichous—having a band of cilia around the mouth as certain protozoans

16. privity—secret, special knowledge between two or more people; (adj.) privitive

17. serrate—having or forming a row of sharp little teethy things

18. tarantism—disorder where you have uncontrollable need to dance

19. tardive (adj.)—having symptoms that develop slowly or appear long after inception

20. tenesmus—urgent but ineffectual attempt to pee or shit

21. valetudinarian—sickly, weak, morbidly health-conscious person