Top Definitions
Quiz
Examples
British

sesquipedalian

[ ses-kwi-pi-dey-lee-uhn, -deyl-yuhn ]

/ ˌsɛs kwɪ pɪˈdeɪ li ən, -ˈdeɪl yən /

Save This Word!

adjective Also ses·quip·e·dal

[ses-kwip-i-dl]. /sɛsˈkwɪp ɪ dl/.

given to using long words.

(of a word) containing many syllables.

noun

a sesquipedalian word.

VIDEO FOR SESQUIPEDALIAN

These Long Words Are Nearly Impossible To Pronounce

Dictionary.com presents another episode in our "Words That Are Really Hard to Pronounce!" series! It's time for the long words. Can you pronounce them correctly?

MORE VIDEOS FROM DICTIONARY.COM

QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Origin of sesquipedalian

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin sesquipedālis “measuring a foot and a half ”(see sesqui-, pedal) + -ian

OTHER WORDS FROM sesquipedalian

ses·qui·pe·dal·i·ty

[ses-kwi-pi-dal-i-tee], /ˌsɛs kwɪ pɪˈdæl ɪ ti/, ses·qui·pe·da·li·an·ism, ses·quip·e·dal·ism

[ses-kwip-i-dl-iz-uhm, ‐kwi-peed-l-iz-uhm], /sɛsˈkwɪp ɪ dlˌɪz əm, ‐kwɪˈpid lˌɪz əm/, nounun·ses·qui·pe·da·li·an, adjective

Words nearby sesquipedalian

sesquialtera, sesquicarbonate, sesquicentennial, sesquihydrate, sesquioxide, sesquipedalian, sesquiplane, sesquiterpene, Sesshu, sessile, sessile oak

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use sesquipedalian in a sentence

You know I am nothing if not "sesquipedalian" and scientific; and a word of five syllables will do for both qualities.
George Eliot's Life, Vol. III (of 3)|George Eliot
That colored orator and model letter-writer must look to his sesquipedalian fame.
The Knickerbocker, Vol. 57, No. 1, January 1861|Various
The story of any incident, to be realistic, will admit neither of sesquipedalian grandeur nor of grotesque images.
Thackeray|Anthony Trollope
I felt satisfied it was a friendly one; and was now more anxious than ever of overtaking its sesquipedalian owner.
The Wild Huntress|Mayne Reid

The description of the scene, in somewhat sesquipedalian Latin, is quoted by Spitta, i. 801.
Sebastian Bach|Reginald Lane Poole

British Dictionary definitions for sesquipedalian

sesquipedalian

less commonly sesquipedal (sɛsˈkwɪpədəl)

/ (ˌsɛskwɪpɪˈdeɪlɪən) /

adjective

tending to use very long words

(of words or expressions) long and ponderous; polysyllabic

noun

a polysyllabic word

Derived forms of sesquipedalian

sesquipedalianism, noun

Word Origin for sesquipedalian

C17: from Latin sēsquipedālis of a foot and a half (coined by Horace in Ars Poetica), from sesqui- + pedālis of the foot, from pēs foot

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012