The 11 Longest Words In The English

Long words can be fun to say for your own amusement or just to annoy your friends. After all, who
hasn't reveled in the syllabic rhythm of "antidisestablishmentarianism"?
Though not often, we occasionally come across words like "deinstitutionalization" and
"counterrevolutionaries." Upon seeing so many letters jammed together, there's a bit of
enjoyment in sounding out the word and letting it roll off the tongue.
More challenging are words such as
'Bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntooh
oohoordenenthurnuk,'' a 101-letter word from Joyce's "Finnegans Wake" which supposedly
represents the symbolic thunderclap following Adam and Eve's fall.
So we set out to find the longest words in the English language, while trying to skirt some of the
linguistic train wrecks that are out there (see Pepsi's 1973 advertising buzzword:
"Lipsmackinthirstquenchinacetastinmotivatingoodbuzzincooltalkinhighwalkinfastlivinevergivincool
fizzin"). Many of them are medical--is it a wonder we don't always understand doctors?
Know a word we missed, or even just a really impressive-sounding one? Let us know!
1. methionylthreonylthreonylglutaminylarginyl...isoleucine
n. chemical name of titin, the largest known protein. 189,819 letters
2. aequeosalinocalcalinosetaceoaluminosocupreovitriolic
adj. used to describe the spa waters at Bath, England. 52 letters
3. asseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary
adj. used to describe the structure of the entire human body. 51 letters
4. pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis
n. an obscure term ostensibly referring to a lung disease caused by silica dust. 45 letters
5. hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomies
n. pl. a surgical process in which a channel is made to create communication between the gall
bladder and the hepatic duct or intestines. 37 letters
6. pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism
n. an incomplete form of pseudohypoparathyroidism marked by the same constitutional features
but by normal levels of calcium and phosphorus in the blood serum. 30 letters
7. hippopotomonstrosesquipedalian
adj. of or pertaining to extremely long words. 30 letters
8. floccinaucinihilipilification
n. the estimation of something as valueless. 29 letters
9. honorificabilitudinitatibus
n. the state of being able to achieve honors. The longest word Shakespeare ever used and the
longest word in the English language with alternating consonants and vowels. 27 letters
10. antitransubstantiationalist
n. one who disagrees with the concept of or belief in the transubstantiation doctrine of the
Catholic church. 27 letters
11. antidisestablishmentarianism
n.opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, esp.
the Anglican Church in 19th-century England. 28 letters