Last Updated: Dec 30, 2019
How many words exactly are in the English language? The second edition of the current 20-volume Oxford English Dictionary contains 171,476 words in current use. That’s a lot! Which gets the mind thinking the next question, what’s the longest word in current use today?
Many of the longest words in thedictionaryrefer to medicineor chemistry. You’ll find a few defined in here along with other long words that you may or may not already use. Here’s how Merriam-Webster defines the ten longest words in the English language.
1. Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters)
Pneumoconiosis caused by inhalation of very fine silicate or quartz dust.
2. Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters)
Ironically, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia is one of the longest work in the dictionary and is the name for a fear of long words! Who would have thought, right?
3. Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters)
Perhaps the best word of all! Made popular by the film Mary Poppins, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is something to say when you have nothing to say.
4. Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters)
Arelatively mild form of pseudohypoparathyroidism that is characterized by normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood.
5. Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)
The longest unchallenged nontechnical word that not all directories recognize, that including Merriam-Webster. According to alternative sources, floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless. Often times, it is used in a humorous way.
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6. Antidisestablishmentarianism (28 letters)
A term referring to a political movement in 19th century Britain that sought to separate church and state. In this case, political movement wanted to disestablish the Church of England as the official state church of England, Ireland and Wales.
7. Honorificabilitudinitatibus (27 letters)
The longest word in Shakespeare’s works.Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest word in the English language featuring alternating consonants and vowels.
8. Thyroparathyroidectomized (25 letters)
A medical term that defines the excision of both the thyroid and parathyroid glands.
9. Dichlorodifluoromethane (23 letters)
A chlorofluoromethane CF2Cl2.
10. Incomprehensibilities (21 letters)
Impossible to comprehend. In the 1990’s, incomprehensibilities set the record as the longest word “in common usage.”
LONGEST ENGLISH WORD:Methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl…isoleucine (189,819 letters)
If we’re talking chemistry, the longest chemical name is 189,819 letters long. It is the chemical name for titin, a giant filamentous protein essential to the structure, development, and elasticity of muscle. As to whether or not this is an actual word is disputed by many. It is not in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, so you shouldn’t ever have to worry about spelling it. ?
FAQs
10 longest words in English that will test your memory
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. ...
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. ...
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. ...
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism. ...
- Floccinaucinihilipilification. ...
- Antidisestablishmentarianism. ...
- Honorificabilitudinitatibus. ...
- Thyroparathyroidectomized.
Let's explore 15 of the longest words or most unique words!
- Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic. ...
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis. ...
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia. ...
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. ...
- Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian. ...
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism.
1. methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl…isoleucine. You'll notice there's an ellipsis here, and that's because this word, in total, is 189,819 letters long, and it's the chemical name for the largest known protein, titin.
What is the 52 letter word? ›
Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic. This is the longest word in English which is composed of seven words. This 52-letter word was coined by Dr. Edward Strother to describe the spa waters in Bath, England.
What is the 1st longest English word? ›
The longest English word is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, which is forty-five letters long and refers to a type of lung disease.
What is the 100 letter word? ›
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis meaning
The funny thing about pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis is that it's not even a real word! It's an invented term that was coined by Everett M.
What is the top 5 longest word? ›
10 Longest Words in the English Language
- Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis (45 letters) ...
- Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (36 letters) ...
- Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (34 letters) ...
- Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (30 letters) ...
- Floccinaucinihilipilification (29 letters)
[EDD] The associated 17-letter SQUAITCHED-MOUTHED (lying, deceitful) is the longest known 2-syllable dictionary term. There are no doubt other 10-letter monosyllables that can be added to this list.
How much is 1000000000000000 in word form? ›
A thousand trillions is a quadrillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000. A thousand quadrillions is a quintillion: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000.
What word takes 3 hours to pronounce? ›
isoleucine is the chemical name for the protein of “titin” also known as “connectin.” The largest known protein that consists of 26, 926 amino acids is made up of 189, 819 letters and can take about three hours to pronounce.
Answer and Explanation: The three shortest words in the English language are I, a, and o although the word o is only usually used in poetry and song lyrics as a contraction or other words. Other than single-letter words there are numerous 2-letter words in English such as on, if and many others.
What is the rarest letter word? ›
In dictionaries, j, q, and z are found the least, but some of the words are rarely used. And if you value the opinion of cryptologists (people who study secret codes and communication), x, q, and z make the fewest appearances in the writing scene.
Which word is longer than pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? ›
Longest word in English
| Word | Letters |
|---|
| methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylalanyl...isoleucine | 189,819 |
| methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamyl...serine | 1,909 |
| lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsano...pterygon | 183 |
| pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis | 45 |
4 more rowsIs “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” a real word? In that it has some meaning and exists in lyrics, a play, scripts and dictionaries, yes, it is real. Like floccinaucinihilipilification, it is a compound word with more use as a conversation piece than in actual conversation.
What is the longest word has 189819 letters and takes three hours to pronounce? ›
isoleucine is the chemical name for the protein of “titin” also known as “connectin.” The largest known protein that consists of 26, 926 amino acids is made up of 189, 819 letters and can take about three hours to pronounce.
What does aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic mean? ›
5. Aequeosalinocalcalinoceraceoaluminosocupreovitriolic. This term is specialized in British English and refers to spa waters in Bath, England. The word is made up of combining seven elements, with a total of 52 characters.
What is the 200,000 letter word? ›
As we saw at the start of our hunt, according to a lot of sources the longest word is the technical name for the protein titin. It is the same across all languages and has nearly 200,000 letters. Here's a snippet of the first 1,000 characters!
