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I recently asked a group of family and friends for their favourite words. Some chose less common words:  discombobulate, cacophony, antidisestablishmentarianism (not surprisingly one of the longest in the English dictionary) and serendipity. Others mentioned words which sound amusing such as hippopotamus, kerfuffle, higgledy-piggledy and hullabaloo.

I like onomatopoeic (there’s another) words – ones which sound like their definition such as whisper or crash – although I don’t often use them in my business writing. Whistle, tremble, rustle, flutter, flounce, huddle, clatter, swoop… There are so many. In fact, there are more English words than most other languages so it can take a lifetime to fully appreciate the nuances within the language.

Just think how many words we have to describe the weather.  Foggy, misty, dank, smoggy, gloomy, dreary, murky, hazy, stifling, sweltering, scorching, sultry, muggy, humid – no wonder it’s our most popular topic of conversation. Or perhaps it’s because Britain has such varied weather that we need so many words to describe it?

If you also have a fascination with words, take a look at these articles on The Guardian and BBC websites for more favourites.