Contrafibularities
//ˌkɒntɹəˌfɪbjʊˈlæɹɪtiz// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 False congratulations, sounding congratulatory while actually pulling someone's leg. humorous, plural, plural-only, rare
"I was a bit obscure with that one. Please accept my most sincere contrafibularities..."
Example
More examples"I was a bit obscure with that one. Please accept my most sincere contrafibularities..."
Etymology
From contra- + fibular + -ity + -s. From a 1987 episode of the British television comedy Blackadder, after Dr. Samuel Johnson boasts about his newly completed dictionary containing every word in the English language. Blackadder wishes Dr. Johnson his "most enthusiastic contrafibularities", upsetting Johnson, who quickly adds the alleged word to his manuscript.
Related phrases
More for "contrafibularities"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.