What is the best word you've ever seen/heard?

antidisestablishmentarianism :-/

I like serendipity too… I love so many words- here are a few:
Idiosyncrasy
Vivify
Vantage
Contemplate
Create (drawing out the ‘ea,’ like a Shakespearean actor would say it)

I’m going to have to go with anaxiphilia, from Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary. even though I’m skeptical of its authenticity.

Mrs. Byrne’s definition, as I recall it (from long ago), is “the act of falling in love with a shtoonk by a person who ought to know better.”

This quarter says we can’t get to ten responses without seeing “defenestrate” again.

I personally enjoy vehemence and superfluously !

Aw @Jeruba! That’s Cruel!

Retribution and scorned.

Here’s another one… exuberance.

With meanings please!! :D

Vehemence
Superfluously

Oculolinctus/Oculophilia
Also antecubital fossa

The majority of my favorite words are medical or anatomical terms.

Idiosyncrasy: a tendency, type of behaviour, mannerism, etc., of a specific person; quirk
Vivify: to bring to life, to animate, to make more vivid or striking
Vantage (point): a place, usually high up, where something can be viewed
Contemplate: to look at attentively and thoughtfully, to consider carefully and at length; meditate on or ponder:
Exuberance: an overflowing amount; an outburst; an abundance, often of emotion
Create—I’m assuming everyone knows ‘create,’ but what I like the most about this word is that its etymology can be traced to the same root as “believe” so to create is to believe :D

Simple, it’s “Beauty, Beautiful, and Eternity” All related to my life and aspiration, except the last word which I have to discover first.

I like spangle which means glitter. Spangles was also a kind of sweetie we had as children.

tintinabulation, as in the Edgar Allen Poe poem, The Bells.

“The tintinabulation of the bells, bells, bells.”

Onomatapoeia.

The first is a perfect example of the second.

And the entire poem is a gorgeous euphony of delicious words and sounds.

The other side of the guy known primarily for some of the best horror portrayed in literature :)

Some of mine have already been listed, so I’ll go with cacophony and bauble.

Fornicate…sexual coupling resulting in lots of smiley faces.

I like the word svelte a lot. Sounds good, and for me is more descriptive than just saying someone is thin.

Love. It’s the opposite of hate. Ha Jeruba, 18 and counting.

Coruscating : emitting flashes of light, sparkling. Especially sunlight reflecting from the surface of water ! mmm… delicious.

@dabbler I agree. Haven’t heard it before, but I love it now.

defenestration – ha!

No – actually, luminous and chiaroscuro

Many of mine are already spoken for, so I’ll add a few:
delicious
exquisite
cascade
sililoquy
prestige

This.

Discombobulate

Cleave (because it has two opposite meanings)
Giggle
Insouciant

Ballyhoo

susurrus – soft wispering / rustling. My favorite use of the word is to describe the sound of a crowded audience right before a show is about to start. It’s almost onomatopoeic hearing all the quiet conversations that you can’t hear individually, but together sound like a collective “susurrus… susurrus… susurrus..”

Also a fan of the word tabernacle

There are so many great words in this thread. GQ.

Actually the main reason why I asked was because I’m trying to find a band name :D

I have to mention “fishify.” It is exactly what it sounds like.

Exquisite Cacophony would be fun for a band. If you want it to sound more complicated than it is.

Psychobabble
Rumpelstiltskin

Riparian

Relating to, living, or located on the bank of a natural watercourse (as a river), or sometimes of a lake, or a tidewater. <riparian trees>

Let’s not forget kerfuffle.

I really like the word saudade: a feeling of longing, melancholy, or nostalgia.

@QueenOfNowhere If you’re looking for a band name how about “Riparian Mistress”?

I love the word ephemeral, just the way it sounds is somewhat soothing to me.

ephemeral: lasts for a very short time

@Adirondackwannabe, hurray—it worked. I’m happy to pay up, a small price for being spared.

I actually used the word once in a legitimate sentence in an article. But its main function seems to be to turn up in isolation on lists like this. Maybe that’s why I find it so irritating: it gets trotted out as a showcase word (thanks, @janbb) but hardly ever serves a useful purpose on its own merits. It’s a lot like buying a “gift” in a “gift shop”—the very idea announces that there’s no intention of purchasing something a person can really integrate into his or her life; it stands apart, fulfilling only the function of being a gift.

Have I told you lately that I love you @Jeruba? (sigh)

>> smooch <<

@Jeruba @janbb get a thread you two.

Cascade

Aubergine

Shimmering

Transluscent

Hyacinth

Rain

Christmas

Glissando

Shoogle

@King_Pariah Another one with similar meaning as your word—evanescence

@linguaphile great word and great band. Thus a great answer

@Kardamom Aubergine and Glissando are in my top ten easily.

Band that doesn’t exist? xD

Or I can go with surströmming ^^

@Jeruba Still waiting for my quarter.

Just remembered another word I love dearly. Tmesis. It’s fan-fucking-tastic. ;)

Gerrymandering.

@Adirondackwannabe, here’s a quarter for you. Not that I saw you take my bet before we got to ten.

@Jeruba That’s mean. :) That looks really good and I’m already hungry.

Just fulfilling the foodward destiny of the typical fluther thread.

Stravaiging Travelling with no clear purpose other than the joy of travelling, wandering.