sesquipedalian

/ˌsɛskwɪpəˈdeɪliən/

Reviewed on

Also a noun

  • Formal

Meaning

  1. Characterized by long, polysyllabic words or tending to use such words in speech or writing.

    • The professor delivered a sesquipedalian lecture that left most of the freshman students thoroughly confused.

How it's used

Often used with a slightly humorous or self-aware tone to poke fun at excessively dense, intellectual prose.

Collocations

  • sesquipedalian vocabulary
  • sesquipedalian prose
  • sesquipedalian words
  • sesquipedalian tendencies

Synonyms

  • polysyllabic
  • grandiloquent

Antonyms

  • concise
  • succinct
  • terse