23 of My Favorite Underrated Words

Signs I am low on content ideas: I write a list of words and their definitions, incorporating each *fun* word into a *sentence* a la 5th grade English class. It’s either funny or not, and you’re either my people, or not.

Abecedarian: Arranged in alphabetical sequence.

“I’ve arranged my books, condiments, personal documents, and soup cans in abecedarian sequence to gain a small sense of control in the midst of a worldwide, bat eatin’ pandemic.” (This list is also abecedarian.)

Bereft: Deprived; lacking something needed, wanted, or expected.

“The woman was left feeling bereft after her husband forgot their anniversary, as husbands are wont to do, so she baked a diuretic into their anniversary cake and ate none.”

Caterwaul: To make a shrill howling or wailing noise like that of a cat.

“The neighbors young children produced much caterwaul when they came to understand that a worldwide pandemic is akin to an extended period of being grounded, but with TV.”

Discomfiting: To feel uneasy or embarrassed.

“She did not enjoy the discomfiting feeling of being virtually stalked by strange men, so she inhabited an online persona of a hairy plumber with a beer belly and missing incisors.”