Hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian

//ˌhɪpəˌpɒtəˌmɒnstɹəˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdeɪlɪən// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or pertaining to extremely long words.

    "To indulge in hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian tergiversation is not to show your erudition: rather, it is to be superficial."

Example

More examples

"To indulge in hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian tergiversation is not to show your erudition: rather, it is to be superficial."

Etymology

An extension of sesquipedalian using a modified form of hippopotamus and Latin monstrum, with the extensions almost certainly chosen with the intention of making the new construct autological.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.