Those who had a New Year’s resolution to expand their vocabulary are in luck, as the top 10 underused words for 2025 have been released.
Wayne State’s Word Warriors program works to resurrect long-lost words and try to return them to the common folk’s vocabulary. Every week, Michigan residents can submit their favorite rare words to Word Warriors and the program adds it to the list.
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On Monday, Wayne State’s Word Warriors released its top 10 list of underused words for 2025.
Here’s the list:
Ensorcelled
Enchanted or bewitched.
He was ensorcelled by her delicious twice-baked potatoes.
Honeyfuggle
To ingratiate or seek to ingratiate oneself to cheat or deceive.
He honeyfuggled the judges, lavishing compliments until he walked away with the competition.
Hurkle-durkle
To lounge in bed long after it’s time to get up.
Even though he set four alarms, John still hurkle-durkled until his carpool driver knocked on his door.
Inure
Accustom (someone) to something, especially something unpleasant.
He used to blush at the most PG-rated obscenity, but a decade of cable TV had inured him to profanity.
Scaramouch
A cowardly buffoon.
He talked a big game on social media, but the scaramouch was no help when it came time to put plans into action.
Shackbaggerly
In a loose, disorderly manner.
He woke up too late to shower or shave and appeared shackbaggerly at the morning meeting.
Sonsy
Having an attractive and healthy appearance.
He returned from vacation vibrant and sonsy; the time outdoors had done him well.
Syzygy
The nearly straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system.
He stared at the lunar eclipse, a perfect syzygy of the sun, Earth and the moon.
Tiffin
A light meal, often lunch.
He worked all day, breaking only to eat a meager tiffin at his computer before jumping back in.
Vesper
Evening.
He sat on the porch, took a deep breath and sat in the vesper light.
