100 Funny Words You Probably Don’t Know
Updated: Dec. 09, 2022Do you think you have a good vocabulary? We can guarantee you've probably never heard these funny words before.
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Words are weird
Are you one of those people who still giggle when someone says “duty”? Wait until you read these far less common funny words that are completely real. Sometimes the new words added to the dictionary can be funny, but these 100 words are agelessly silly! Of course, the way people put words together can be pretty funny, too—just take the funniest quotes of all time. And brush up on your grammar knowledge with these acronym examples and funny malapropisms.
Taradiddle
Many weird words seem fake at first. Do you know what this one means? Here’s a hint: This word sounds like taradiddle! That’s because it means bogus, nonsense, or a lie. This will also give you a hint in our quiz about whether these 20 funny words are real or made up.
Friendlily
No, it’s not misspelled. It sounds wrong, but—trust us—it’s right! Yes, there’s an adverb form of “friendly,” meaning in a friendly way. For example: “He friendlily questioned my use of the word friendlily.” We know these funny words might sound made up, but they’re not—unlike these fake words that actually made it into the dictionary.
Macaronic
Looking to find this word on an Italian dinner menu topped with cheese? You won’t. Think you can guess what it means? It actually refers to when someone mixes two different languages together. Here are fancy words that will make you sound smarter.
Dongle
This sounds like it could be a brand that sells fancy new dog toys, but this is definitely not something you should put on the shopping list for your new puppy. Before you take a trip to PetSmart, find out what a dongle actually is. It’s a piece of hardware that connects a computer to another device. You may use a dongle on a regular basis to connect to a digital media player to stream shows or to use Bluetooth and WiFi. Like funny words, palindrome examples can also give you a linguistic laugh!
Pronk
Wham! Bam! Pronk? “Pronk” sounds like it fits with these onomatopoeia examples, but it doesn’t. A pronk is a weak or foolish individual. It is also used as a verb when referring to antelope and similar animals, which means to leap with an arched back and stiff legs as a form of display or a sign it is threatened.
Fubsy
Nope, it’s not a creepy Furby knockoff! “Fubsy” means squat or portly. Word nerds, can you spell these tricky (nay, impossible!) words that won the National Spelling Bee?
Absquatulate
“Absquatulate” doesn’t mean doing squats in an attempt to improve your abs! It means to flee or abruptly leave, or, more specifically (and old-fashioned-ly) to de-camp. These grammar jokes will make you laugh just like these funny words.
Abear
Not the grizzly, terrifying kind! This word has nothing to do with animals. Abear means to endure or put up with, which means you could feasibly say “I abeared this encounter with a bear!” Here are more words that don’t mean what you think they’d mean.
Cabotage
Let’s make one thing clear: Cabotage does not mean to sabotage a taxi driver. So what’s the real definition?
It means the transport of goods and passengers between two places in the same country, or the right to do so. Originally, it only referred to coastal travel between ports, but the definition has expanded to include travel by air, railway, and by road. Wordsmiths will surely relate to these grammar memes!
Batholith
“Batholith” might sound like a less intimidating relative of Harry Potter’s basilisk monster, but it’s actually a geological term. It describes a large quantity of igneous rock that’s crystallized below the earth’s surface. These are the 20 most confusing grammar rules in English.
Yemeles
This may be an old, all-but-extinct word, but it is real. In Old English, “to take yeme” meant to care, so someone who was “yemeles” was totally reckless or careless.
Firkin
Nope, “firkin” is not a dirty word, nor is it a catlike creature that can swallow things ten times its size, like Marvel Comics’ “flerken.” It’s a British word that refers to a small tub or vessel and definitely qualifies as one of the international words that sound rude in English.
Oxter
As much as we would love to tell you that “oxter” is a group of oxen and otters that became friends, that would be a lie. “Oxter” has nothing to do with oxen or otters or any kind of animal. Believe it or not, this funny word is an outdated term for “armpit.” Even when you think you know what a word means, misnomers will prove you wrong.
Agelast
Funny words mean funny things, and this word does not refer to the fountain of youth. It actually means someone who never laughs, and you definitely don’t want to be that person. Check out these 10 words that only exist in the English language.
Fartlek
A fartlek is a type of endurance training in which a runner switches between sprinting and jogging.
Everywhen
This funny word means “all the time” or “always,” but it reads like one of these funny typos.
Knurly
“Knurly” describes something with “small protuberances,” such as knobs or tumors. These words from early dictionaries no longer exist.
Teazel
A teazel is a prickly herb plant that looks a bit like a cattail. It has flower heads with sharp leaves and was once used in the textile industry to comb wool. Learn these hard-to-pronounce words in the English language.
Cleek
Yooper
This funny word is a nickname for a resident of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Learn about more funny pieces of regional slang.
Spim
This weird word means “spam sent over instant message.” Take the -am out of “spam” and replace it with “IM” for “Instant Message,” and you have “spim”—a wonderful example of a portmanteau word.
Biblioklept
This sounds like one of these funny, hard tongue twisters, and it would totally make a good tongue twister. But it refers to a person who steals books!
Octothorpe
Depending on your age and use of technology, you might call this symbol a pound sign or a hashtag—but its “official” name is an octothorpe! Check out this funny look at how confusing life would be without proper punctuation.
Spleenwort
“Spleenwort” is one of those weird words that doesn’t sound anything like the thing it describes. Though this word sounds like the name of an intestinal disease, it actually describes a kind of evergreen fern.
Hoecake
A hoecake is a southern-style cornbread. This is one of those funny words that sound like insults, but a hoecake describes a very basic small cake made of cornmeal. Here are 48 other words and phrases only southern people use.
Herky-jerky
Like “willy-nilly,” this funny word means “characterized by irregular or unpredictable movements or style.” Why do so many weird words sound like insults? These are the 14 everyday words everyone misspells.
Foolscap
A foolscap refers to a cap with a bell (the kind usually worn by jesters). You might want to start using these hilarious made-up words if you’re into these funny words.
Foggy Bottom
This term that refers to the U.S. Department of State is one of the weird words that U.S. officials use to refer to parts of the government. You may also hear government officials calling three-letter agencies like the FBI the “alphabet boys.”
Flummery
A “flummery” describes a soft jelly or porridge made with flour or meal, but more commonly it is used to describe an empty compliment. “I love how you’ll just wear anything!” or “You look so awake today!” are examples of flummery. Perhaps this word can come in handy to respond to backhanded compliments.
Draggle
To draggle something is to make something wet and dirty by dragging it. If you’ve ever worn too-long pants in the rain, you’ve draggled. These 10 words make you immediately sound old.
Cutesy-poo
This is one of those funny words that sounds like a dog name, but it actually means “embarrassingly or sickeningly cute.”
Loverly
Brannigan
This actual bit of 1920s slang refers to a bout of drinking. Engage in brannigans responsibly.
Billingsgate
Nope, this isn’t some political or financial scandal—though those likely entail lots of billingsgate because this word means harsh language.
Makeweight
A makeweight describes something that is thrown onto a scale to bring the weight on the scale to a certain value.
Penuche
Never heard this word before? It’s no surprise if you’re not a baker. A penuche is a sort of fudge that is made from brown sugar, buttercream, and nuts. These are the words that don’t mean what you think they do.
Somnambulism
This is a fancy catch-all word for the abnormal motor functions you might perform in your sleep, such as sleep-walking, sleep-showering, or sleep-blogging.
Sobersides
If you attend a memorial service, funeral, or wake, you’ll encounter a lot of sobersides, or people with a serious or sad appearance. Sobersides can also be found outside of such events, and are also commonly referred to as “deadpans.” Here are other uncommon words we no longer use, but should.
Slumgullion
A slumgullion is a cheap meat stew. It’s one of the English language’s weird words for food that don’t sound appetizing at all.
Wamble
This word means “to feel nausea,” and we think it’s perfect. This word seems like a combination of “rumble” and “waddle,” which is exactly what happens when we feel sick. This word is a far cry from some of the most beautiful words in the English language.
Wallah
This word originates from South Asian dialects and typically refers to a person who does a certain job.
Unperson
This word originates from George Orwell’s 1984, in which people are removed from history, photographs, and documents in order to erase any proof that they existed. An “unperson” is someone who has been “erased” because of their misbehavior. Or, as the users of Gen Z slang say, “canceled.”
Waesucks
Collywobbles
Like “wamble,” this word is used to describe nausea and bellyaches. Next time you want to show off your repertoire of weird words, tell your boss that you’ve got a case of the collywobbles and can’t come in tomorrow.
Stumblebum
Any idea what “stumblebum” means? It’s one of our favorite funny words! If you are a klutz, halfwit, or nincompoop, add another descriptor to your resume. A “stumblebum” is a clumsy or inept person.
Grommet
A grommet is a sort of fabric fastener that materials can be laced through. If you look at the top of your shower curtain, those little metal circles that your shower hooks lace through are called grommets. Here are more words for things you didn’t know had names.
Potvalor
“Potvalor” is another term for liquid courage—this word describes the confidence that results from an alcoholic drink.
Smicker
This word is like if “ogle” had an affectionate and innocent counterpart. To smicker at something means you are admiring a person, and it’s visible from your expression.
Callipygian
This word means “having shapely buttocks,” and it was first used in 1831. It was truly ahead of its time! Unfortunately, “Hey girl, you’re quite callipygian” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. Don’t miss these hilarious vintage slang words that’ll make you sound awesome.
Clapperclaw
This word means “to claw with the nails.” Now you have a word to describe all of the weird things your cat does!
Syzygy
It’s hard to figure out which of the letters in this word are silent letters. It’s pronounced “sih-zih-jee,” and it describes a celestial phenomenon in which three celestial bodies are lined up in an almost perfectly straight line. An example of this event would be a solar eclipse.
Rigamarole
“Ah, you know. The whole rigamarole.” You’ve probably heard this word before but have never considered what it actually means. A rigamarole is a confused or meaningless conversation or a complex procedure. Secret code words will make you second-guess the conversations you’ve been overhearing.
Inkle
An inkle is a colored linen tape or braid woven through a narrow loom. At first glance, you might think it describes an idea that’s smaller than an inkling.
Blunderbuss
A blunderbuss is a sort of firearm with a short barrel. This weapon was an early version of the shotgun.
Ragamuffin
A ragamuffin is a ragged and often disreputable person. A ragamuffin is also one of the cutest cat breeds.
Dottle
A dottle is the remaining tobacco in the bowl of a pipe after it’s been used for smoking.
Dragooned
If this makes you think of Game of Thrones, you’re not far off. “Dragooned” means “forced,” especially by violent measures.
Mercurial
While this word can also refer to the planet, nothing here is in retrograde. This means “subject to change.”
Lothario
No, this isn’t the name of a Shakespeare character you’ve forgotten from high school. Like a womanizer, a lothario is a man whose chief interest is seducing women.
Waggish
Your dog might be waggish, but not because Fido keeps wiggling his tail. Like “impish,” this word refers to a playful, humorous quality. Add this to your list of funny pet slang words.
Pettifogger
This one has a better-known, equally silly-sounding synonym: nitpicker. Pettifoggers are known to “quibble over trifles” and may make for shrewd lawyers.
Bailiwick
After making it through this list, vocabulary might just be your bailiwick: “the sphere in which one has superior knowledge or authority.”
Boondoggle
A boondoggle is a wasteful or impractical project. Now, learn the words and phrases you’re probably using wrong.
