splendiferous
/splɛnˈdɪfəɹəs/
splendiferous means beautiful, splendid. It carries an Arena rating of 1564, earned across 4 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, splendiferous ranks #36 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #500 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words, #3,129 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #5,039 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books.
splendiferous is pronounced /splɛnˈdɪfəɹəs/.
Why “splendiferous” is a great word
Beautiful, splendid, or magnificent in a deliberately ornate fashion. From the Latin splendor ("brilliance") and -fer ("bearing"), via Medieval Latin splendiferus; reintroduced humorously into English around 1837. Unlike "splendid" (which denotes impressive, grounded excellence) or "magnificent" (which suggests sober, imposing grandeur), splendiferous carries a playful, ostentatious connotation, a conscious performance of beauty. It is the cake frosted with improbable whirls, the peacock preening in a sunbeam, the lie so extravagantly told that its excess becomes charming—a deliberate, delightful embellishment that winks at its own extravagance, luminous and unashamed, as if all the world were dressed for a party no one else was invited to.
Etymology
From Middle English splendiferous, from Medieval Latin splendiferus + -ous, from Late Latin splendōrifer, from Latin splendor + -fer (“bearing”). Reintroduced humorously into English c. 1837.
adj
- Beautiful, splendid.e.g.“Oh ! you splendiferous creatur’! you anngeliferous anngel! here am I, Ralph Stackpole the Screamer[…]” — 1837, Robert Montgomery Bird with William Harrison Ainsworth, Nick of the Woods: A Story of Kentucky, pages 118–119:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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