by Lingoda Team
Updated on November 10, 2022
What’s your favorite word in English?
Opulent. Peach. Elbow.
What’s your favorite word in English? When you work at an online language school, these are the kinds of questions that get asked every day. Not just because it’s helpful for communication, (although that’s important of course), but because some words carry a personal meeting. Sometimes they sound poetic. And sometimes just plain weird. This morning we surveyed the Lingoda team, and here are some of their favorite words in English, and why.
Ay-up: “It reminds me of home (Yorkshire) and it can be used in a variety of situations. I checked and it’s in the Collins dictionary… though it hasn’t been confirmed as a real word yet!” (Laura, UK)
Tenacity: “Because it is a characteristic that can get you through the challenges and help you get to the ‘finish line’.” (Shari United States)
Whimsical: “Just because it’s my favorite quote from my favorite book*. ‘Life is full of whimsical happenings, Watson.’ *Casebook of Sherlock Holmes. (Caro, Germany)
Fluffy: “Because of the Little Girl with the unicorn from the movie Despicable Me, ‘It’s so fluffy I’m gonna dieeee’.” (Charlotte, Germany)
We: “I love the word ‘we’. It shows strength.” (Palvi, India)
Serendipity: “I just like how it sounds.” (Ari, Colombia)
Sarcasm: “Because life is pain.” (Akber, Pakistan)
Queue: “Because the last four letters in the word are not even needed but they exist.” (Lana, Russia)
Wanderlust: “It is what keeps us going. And I like that it is rooted in the German language.” (Fabio, Italy)
Strengths: “It’s more like a love/hate relationship. Obviously I like the meaning but there are just too many consonants and being a German native the th+s is just torture.” (Caro, Germany)
Underpants: “Only the English could come up with a word so unsexy when talking about underwear.” (Paul, UK)
Synergy: “I like the concept and it sounds and looks cool.” (Abel, United States)
Irregardless: “Because it doesn’t exist but people use it and it’s funny.” (Enrique, Venezuela)
Bewildered: “It sounds exactly like what it means (confused and distracted).” (Peter, UK)
Other words that also made the list: Becoming, Bungalow, Conflate, Dulcet, Elixir, Glamour, Panacea, Ripple, Summery, Umbrella.
That’s a pretty comprehensive list, at least from the Lingoda team. What’s your favorite word in English?
