What's your favourite word and why?

lilliputian is a beautiful word.

My favorite word is “favorite”.

I’m not sure about my favorite, but tatterdemalion just rolls off the lips so smoothly. It’s like the nutella of the English language.

I’ve never sat down to think about exactly why my favorite words are my favorites, but someone actually asked me this question (minus the “why” part) just yesterday. This was the answer I came up with:
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I actually have lists here: http://www.wordnik.com/people/macbean but the ones that leap immediately to mind are:

- grok
– exsanguination
– evisceration
– sepulchral
– lachrymose
– melancholy
– bedlam
– skullduggery
– psychopomp
– sforzando
– murmur
– narcissistic
– shellack
– superfluous
– …cock!

Yeah, some of those might be cause for worry. So I like some pretty morbid words. Shh! (“Morbidity” is another favorite. XD)

cloud is a beautiful word
it sounds the way it looks

Cake. I love cake and I love saying cake! Cake makes my heart beat faster and also makes me feel good all over! ;) Cake is gooood! Can’t get enough of CAKE!

I like fuck, fuckin, and pinche cuz they can be used indiscriminately.

Opportunity, simply because this world is abundant with that. It is, in fact, the world’s greatest natural resource. All you have to do is seek it out and it’s there for the taking, free of charge.

I have always thought “defenestrate” was a beautiful word that doesn’t sound like it means.

I love the word “Nicaragua” just for the way it sounds. It almost (but not quite) makes me want to go there.

There’s a local dialect word from round were I live, “gobsmacked” meaning “surprised” and that’s my second favourite because it always makes me laugh.

Oscillate is my favorite word. Squeegee is another good one.

My favorite word is Inevitable. It rolls right off the tongue in such a charming manner =)

I love the word “moot” because it doesn’t even sound like it’s a real word, and I also love “guffaw” because it really sounds like what it is. “Schadenfreude” is also one of my faves as well. Before I saw Avenue Q I didn’t even know there was a word for that little feeling of deriving pleasure from someone else’s misfortune. Oh, and the word “cumbersome”, that’s a good one as well. Cumbersome things just look…well…cumbersome.

I love spelunking as well as cacophony.

pastel

glissando

aubergine

sparkle

reflection

glade

icicle

swirl

quasar

pistachio

shimmer

marsh

Nonchalant. It’s so… laid back. :)

Effervesce. It is just fun to say. It sounds so nice, I don’t know. I’ve always liked it.

Thank you. It always makes me feel good to say it or hear it.

“Yes”.

Either that or “lolwut?”

Utopia. Brings to mind Monets’ drawings of a field of flowers or gardens .

Giddy

because it’s the best feeling in the world

duh

Serendipity.

It’s odd that for someone who loves language, I have no favourite word.

Parasaurolophus

Peculiar. I just like the way it sounds and, as it isn’t used very much nowadays, when I hear someone say it, it sounds comical.

“Fuck.” It’s just so versatile!

@Uberwench – I was just about to post the same answer!

This is why (NSFW, folks! Indeed, it’s probably NSF anyone)

I’ve always been fond of the word “n-tuple”.
It’s the same thing as “double”, “triple”, “quadruple”, “quintuple”, etc., but the number is unspecified.
It’s a combination of scientific formula-speak and regular spoken language. I think it’s a bit funny that way.

@Fyrius That is a great word. A $3 word! Now I need to find a place in which I can use it. Can you put it into a sentence so that I can make sure I am using it correctly? Is that the actual scientific spelling?

Jabberwocky.

@Kardamom
A group of twelve can be sorted into five different n-tuples: singles, doubles, triples, quadruples and sextuples. For any other n-tuple, the distribution would be uneven.

An n-tuple is defined as an ordered set of n elements.

Strictly speaking, the proper scientific spelling would be n-tuple, with the n in italics.