What Is the Longest Word in the English Alphabet
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
No, that is not a typo.
That is actually the longest word in the English language.
I know, trying to understand that word (let alone pronounce it or spell it) sounds terrifying.
And what the heck does it even mean?!
It may be time for a breakdown.
Do not worry, I am not talking about a mental breakdown! I am suggesting that you break down this word (or any long English word) into its basic parts.
By recognizing the essential elements of these words, you will not only be able to remember them, but you will also be able to learn tons of other English words more easily.
We have gathered a list of 10 of the longest English words (including that crazy one we just mentioned). Together, we will learn how to break down these words so you can feel confident adding long words to your English vocabulary.
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Why Learn the Longest Words in English?
- Communicate more effectively.Learning long words will help expand your English vocabulary. Although some of these words are very rare, others are actually fairly useful (as you will see in our list below). Knowing long, specific words will allow you to express more complex and precise ideas.
- Easily understand more words.As you break down long English words, you will start to recognize the common elements found in many different English words. This will help you understand more English words without doing any extra vocabulary studies.
- Learn more about word origins.Many English words actually originated from Greek, Latin, Arabic, French and other languages. Many of the longest words in English developed from these languages. Understanding this can make English seem less strange or foreign. It can also help you learn more about the history behind language development.
- Gain practice with written and spoken English.Any time you study the English language, you are improving your fluency. As you practice breaking down long words, you will gain additional experience with the written and spoken English language.
How to Learn the Longest Words in English
Break Each Word Down into Manageable Parts
Long English words can seem complex and overwhelming. But remember, breaking down the word into its parts will make learning these long words more manageable.
For each of the words we discuss in this article, we will show you the important elements including prefixes, suffixes and roots.
So, before we go any further, we should define these terms to make sure we are all on the same page:
- Root word: the base form of a word
- Prefix: an element attached to the beginning of a root word that alters its meaning
- Suffix: an element attached to the end of a root word that alters its meaning
We will show you many examples for the words in this article.
Use These Vocabulary Memory Tricks
- Put the words and word parts onto flashcards.It may seem old-school, but flashcards are a perfect way to study and memorize long words and their parts. Consider downloading an English flashcard app so you can bring your flashcards with you anywhere you go.
Flip through the cards while you are standing in line at the grocery store or waiting for the bus.
- Build your vocabulary naturally with the authentic English videos on FluentU. Honestly, this is a great tool for learning any kind of English vocabulary, not just long words.
FluentU takes real-world videos—like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks—and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.
Each video comes with interactive subtitles. You can click any word in the subtitles and the video will automatically pause to show you a definition. There are also flashcards, fun quizzes and vocabulary lists built into every video. It is an awesome way to build your vocabulary without even feeling like you are studying.
- Keep a running list.Track word components in a physical or online notebook. Any time you encounter a new prefix, suffix or root word, write it down in your list. This will help you keep track of the word parts you learn. You can refer to this list as you try to learn other long and complex words.
If you are having trouble fully understanding the meaning of a long English word, the Oxford Learner's Dictionary is a great resource.
- Do not get overwhelmed.Yes, the longest English words can seem overwhelming. But try to be patient with yourself. Learning long words takes time and you will not master them overnight. Be calm and tackle these words slowly.
- Have fun. Most importantly, try to have fun with these words. Practice saying these long words and laugh when you mess up the pronunciations (even fluent English speakers struggle with these complex words).
Break It Down! How to Learn the Longest Words in English by Finding Their Essential Parts
So, what are some of the longest English words?
Now that you know how and why to learn long English words, we are going to look at some of the longest words in the English language.
We will show you the essential parts of these long words that can help you learn the word itself and other English words. We will specifically note common English prefixes and suffixes to pay attention to.
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
Definition (noun): lung disease caused breathing in dust or volcanic ash
The patient is experiencing signs of p neumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosisafter hiking near the site of a volcanic eruption.
This is the longest word that exists in the English language. As with other long words, you should be patient and break it down into its individual components.
As you can see below, knowing the parts of this word will be especially helpful for anyone studying English in an academic, scientific or medical environment.
Essential word parts:
- pneumo-(lung)
- microscopic- (small)
- coni- (particles)
- Common suffix: -osis(often indicates a disease)
Floccinaucinihilipilification
Definition (noun): deciding that something has no value
Since my wallet was becoming so huge, I took a few minutes for somefloccinaucinihilipilification of all the old cards I was keeping in there.
This is one of those complex words that seems made up. It was formed from various Latin words and can still be confusing to understand after breaking it down.
Whenever you are unsure of a word (or its word parts), do not be afraid to spend time researching the word's origin. Online Etymology Dictionary is a helpful resource to do this.
Essential word parts:
- nihili- (nothing)
Incomprehensibility
Definition (noun): The state of being impossible to understand
The incomprehensibility of the word made people question its meaning.
This word has common prefixes and suffixes that you will see in many other English words. Plus, you may already be familiar with more basic forms of this word, such asincomprehensible (adjective — impossible to understand)
Essential word parts:
- Common prefix: in- (not)
- Common root word: prehend (from the Latin for "grasp")
- Common suffix: –ity (suffix used to form a noun out of an adjective)
Surreptitious
Definition (adjective): Secret, stealthy
The robbers were surreptitious as they stole the jewels.
This word is used fairly regularly among native English speakers. It is one of the less complex long English words.
Essential word parts:
- Common prefix: sur- (under, below)
Uncharacteristically
Definition (adverb): In a way that is not typical/unusual for a person or thing to behave
The star basketball player uncharacteristically missed the game-winning shot.
Here is another fairly standard word that helps you practice both a common prefix and suffix.
Essential word parts:
- Common prefix: un- (not)
- Common suffix: -ly (used to form an adjective)
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Definition (adjective): Especially wonderful
The sun is shining and all is right in the world. It is a supercalifragilisticexpialidocious day.
This is a made-up word that native English speakers recognize from the classic 1964 "Mary Poppins"movie (although a version of this word was invented even earlier).
Essential word parts:
- cali- (beauty)
Subdermatoglyphic
Definition (adjective): involving the patterns under the skin that determine what our fingerprints look like
Thesubdermatoglyphic state of everyone's fingerprints are different.
This word is extremely rare, and may be more interesting to linguists than to medical professionals. That is because it is a very long isogram, or a word that does not repeat any letters.
Though this word is rare, it is made up of some common word parts. Try to memorize these parts and look for them in other English words.
Essential word parts:
- Common prefix: sub- (under, below — similar to "sur-")
- derma- (skin)
- Common suffix: -ic (used to form an adjective)
Abstentious
Definition (adjective): Self-restraining
You never have trouble sticking to your diet. You are soabstentious!
You will more commonly hearabstain, the verb form of this word. Abstain means to avoid or restrain yourself from something, like alcohol, online-shopping, food, etc.
Essential word parts:
- Common suffix: -ious (used to form an adjective)
Uncopyrightable
Definition (adjective): Not able to copyright a piece of artwork. If something is uncopyrightable, one person cannot prevent others from copying or distributing the art.
The idea was not original, so it was unfortunately uncopyrightable.
Un- and -able are common word parts. Try to memorize these and look for them in other English words.
Essential word parts:
- Common prefix: un- (not)
- Common suffix: -able (ability)
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Definition (noun): fear of long words
As she read this article, she realized that she had a severe case of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia.
This may be how you are feeling right now.
Essential word parts:
- Common suffix:-phobia (fear)
So hopefully you are not facing a severe case of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia. Just remember, be patient and break down long words. In no time you will be able to understand the longest words in English, and many other words, too.
Stephanie Brown is a New York City-based freelance writer. You can find her at The Adventuring Millennial.
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
And One More Thing...
If you like learning English through movies and online media, you should also check out FluentU. FluentU lets you learn English from popular talk shows, catchy music videos and funny commercials, as you can see here:
If you want to watch it, the FluentU app has probably got it.
The FluentU app and website makes it really easy to watch English videos. There are captions that are interactive. That means you can tap on any word to see an image, definition, and useful examples.
FluentU lets you learn engaging content with world famous celebrities.
For example, when you tap on the word "searching," you see this:
FluentU lets you tap to look up any word.
Learn all the vocabulary in any video with quizzes. Swipe left or right to see more examples for the word you're learning.
FluentU helps you learn fast with useful questions and multiple examples. Learn more.
The best part? FluentU remembers the vocabulary that you're learning. It gives you extra practice with difficult words—and reminds you when it's time to review what you've learned. You have a truly personalized experience.
Start using FluentU on the website with your computer or tablet or, better yet, download the FluentU app from the iTunes or from the Google Play store.
If you liked this post, something tells me that you'll love FluentU, the best way to learn English with real-world videos.
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What Is the Longest Word in the English Alphabet
Source: https://www.fluentu.com/blog/english/longest-word-in-english/