floccinaucinihilipilification

American  

[flok-suh-naw-suh-nahy-hil-uh-pil-uh-fi-key-shuhn] / ˌflɒk səˌnɔ səˌnaɪ hɪl əˌpɪl ə fɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Rare. the estimation of something as valueless (encountered mainly as an example of one of the longest words in the English language).

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Usage

What does floccinaucinihilipilification mean? Floccinaucinihilipilification is the act of considering something to be worthless, as in I was outraged by the pawn shop owner’s floccinaucinihilipilification of my prized toothpick collection. At 29 letters long, floccinaucinihilipilification is quite the mouthful and is a very rarely used word. If it is mentioned at all, it is almost always in the context of very long English words. In this sense, floccinaucinihilipilification is considered an oddity alongside other rarely used long words, such as antidisestablishmentarianism and supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (of Mary Poppins fame). For fans of sesquipedalianism (using long words), you can find more big words in our article “The Longest Words In The English Language.”Example: Don’t be surprised by people’s floccinaucinihilipilification of your ability to correctly use long words.

Etymology

Origin of floccinaucinihilipilification

1735–45; < Latin floccī + naucī + nihilī + pilī all meaning “of little or no value, trifling” + -fication