Characterized by the use of polysyllabic vocabulary; also, pertaining to a word composed of many syllables.
When Mark read aloud, he always stumbled over sesquipedalian words. He would pause at anything with many syllables, trying to sound out each part. His friends could tell he was nervous whenever a really long word appeared, but he kept reading anyway, determined to get it right.
He stumbled over the impossibly long, sesquipedalian word in the book. His brow furrowed, a sigh escaping his lips. This was going to take forever to sound out.
Professor Jenkins loved using sesquipedalian words that made his students squint and lean forward, trying to untangle the meaning. His lectures were like verbal puzzles, each sentence a challenge that required careful listening and a good dictionary.
My cousin loves to use sesquipedalian words, which means he always chooses the longest, most polysyllabic words he can find. Last week, instead of saying "hungry," he said "gastronomically unsatisfied," leaving everyone at the dinner table both confused and—ironically—still hungry.
Barry's teacher loved long, fancy words. She'd often use a truly sesquipedalian word when she meant something simple, like calling a spilled juice box a "catastrophic effluvium." The kids just giggled, wondering if they needed a dictionary just to know what was for lunch.
I am sesquipedalian when I conference with my colleagues. I use long words to sound more intelligent. My colleagues sometimes have trouble understanding me. I should try to use simpler words more often.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that sesquipedalian is not a word that you would use in everyday conversation. I measure the length of words by the number of syllables, and by that measure, sesquipedalian is quite long. It's derived from Latin, and it's not the only long word out there.
I have a sesquipedalian vocabulary and I use it to my advantage. I choose words that others may not know and use them to sound smart. I like to read and learn new words, so my vocabulary is always expanding. This strategy has served me well in many situations.
Sesquipedalian can be used to describe someone who is prone to using unusual words. For example, you might say "That sesquipedalian over there just used the word 'floccinaucinihilipilification' - I have no idea what it means!" In general, sesquipedalianism is considered to be a negative trait, as it can make communication more difficult.
There once was a sesquipedalian leader who ruled with an iron fist. No one dared to cross her, for she was fierce and would not hesitate to crush anyone who dared to oppose her. Her subjects lived in fear, always worried that they would be the next to feel her wrath.
As the student stared at the essay prompt, she groaned at the professor’s request to avoid sesquipedalian words. She knew he meant she should skip polysyllabic, long words in favor of simpler ones. It would be hard for her since impressive vocabulary had always been her strength.
The professor's lecture became a slog. He favored such sesquipedalian words, long and difficult, that I found myself struggling to keep pace, my mind grasping for meaning amidst the elaborate vocabulary.
The professor's sesquipedalian lecture made Sarah's head spin, each sprawling sentence packed with complex terminology that seemed to stretch endlessly. She strained to follow along, wishing he would simply explain his point in plain, straightforward language that wouldn't require constant mental decoding.
During the spelling bee, Marvin’s mouth twisted in terror when he faced the sesquipedalian challenge of spelling “incomprehensibility”—a word so polysyllabic that even his tongue called in sick and his brain briefly considered an early retirement.
The professor, a man whose pronouncements often verged on the labyrinthine, launched into a truly sesquipedalian explanation of why socks vanish in the laundry. He detailed quantum entanglement and theoretical wormholes, leaving us utterly befuddled by his polysyllabic pronouncements.
My teacher’s penchant for sesquipedalian terms left some students bewildered, as their notebooks filled with polysyllabic words that crowded the margins and demanded extra effort to spell. The vocabulary list alone seemed to stretch longer than the lessons themselves, rendering the material more daunting for some.
Professor Albright, a pedantic luminary, often employed a particularly sesquipedalian lexicon, much to the chagrin of his undergraduates. His pronouncements, while erudite, were frequently opaque, forcing students to decipher his convoluted verbiage, a frustrating obstacle to grasping the subject.
The academic conference devolved into a tedious lecture, where the presenter's sesquipedalian language became so convoluted that even the most erudite scholars began to fidget and glance furtively at their watches, struggling to parse the labyrinthine sentences.
During the spelling bee, Timothy’s jaw nearly unhinged when he encountered an outrageously sesquipedalian word whose polysyllabic labyrinth threatened to turn his tongue into a pretzel; the audience applauded his valiant attempt, though no one could decipher whether he’d spelled it or summoned a slumbering eldritch entity.
The esteemed professor, renowned for his prodigious erudition, unfurled a truly sesquipedalian sentence that cascaded through the auditorium like a Gregorian chant. His pupils, accustomed to such verbosity, exchanged bewildered glances, their intellects strained by the sheer length of his polysyllabic pronouncements.
Challenging — Rare, high-register words for serious word lovers.