Quiz yourself on these words spoken by the man at the center of the "Laurel" / "Yanny" craze!

Jay Aubrey Jones pronounced more than 36,000 words for Vocabulary.com (including laurel). Here are some of the most esoteric. See if you can spell them while listening to the dulcet tones of Jay's voice!

Activities for this list:

definitions & notes only words
  1. ataraxia
    peace of mind
  2. esurient
    extremely hungry
  3. mugwump
    a neutral or uncommitted person, especially in politics
  4. meretricious
    tastelessly showy
  5. cusp
    point formed by two intersecting arcs
  6. absquatulate
    run away, taking something or somebody along
  7. eristic
    given to disputation for its own sake
  8. demotic
    of or for the common people
  9. oubliette
    a dungeon with a trap door in the ceiling
  10. theodolite
    a surveying instrument for measuring angles
  11. flagitious
    extremely wicked, deeply criminal
  12. peculate
    appropriate fraudulently for one's own use
  13. expatiate
    add details, as to an account or idea
  14. cant
    a slope in the turn of a road or track
  15. numinous
    of or relating to or characteristic of a spirit
  16. encomiastic
    formally expressing praise
  17. appurtenant
    furnishing added support
  18. minatory
    threatening or foreshadowing evil or tragic developments
  19. teleological
    explaining phenomena by their ends or purposes
  20. objurgation
    rebuking a person harshly
  21. factotum
    a servant employed to do a variety of jobs
  22. assignation
    a secret rendezvous (especially between lovers)
  23. redound
    have an effect for good or ill
  24. lineament
    the characteristic parts of a person's face
  25. descry
    catch sight of
  26. autochthonous
    originating where it is found
  27. modality
    how something is done or how it happens
  28. tranche
    a portion of something (especially money)
  29. putative
  30. scotch
    hinder or prevent, as an effort, plan, or desire
  31. suzerain
    a state exercising dominion over a dependent state
  32. orison
    reverent petition to a deity
  33. suppuration
    the discharge or formation of pus
  34. traduce
    speak unfavorably about
  35. invidious
    containing or implying a slight or showing prejudice
  36. redoubtable
    inspiring fear
  37. emolument
    compensation received by virtue of holding an office
  38. peripeteia
    a sudden and unexpected reversal of fortune
  39. lagniappe
    a small gift given by a merchant to a customer
  40. tendentious
    having a strong bias, especially a controversial one
  41. homunculus
    a person who is tiny or diminutive
  42. rusticate
    live in the country and lead a pastoral life
  43. protean
    taking on different forms
  44. contretemps
    an awkward clash
  45. bedizen
    decorate tastelessly
  46. peripatetic
    traveling especially on foot
  47. cachet
    an indication of approved or superior status
  48. exegesis
    an explanation or critical interpretation
  49. reave
    steal goods; take as spoils
  50. noisome
    causing or able to cause nausea
  51. refractory
    stubbornly resistant to authority or control
  52. bespoke
  53. limpid
    clear and bright
  54. tableau
    any dramatic scene
  55. dissemble
    behave unnaturally or affectedly
  56. potentate
    a ruler who is unconstrained by law
  57. swain
    a man who is the lover of a girl or young woman
  58. reckoning
    problem solving that involves numbers or quantities
  59. pablum
    worthless or oversimplified ideas
  60. ambit
    an area in which something operates or has power or control
  61. Sisyphean
    both extremely effortful and futile
  62. rheum
    a watery discharge from the mucous membranes
  63. cloying
    overly sweet
  64. sidereal
    of or relating to the stars or constellations
  65. coruscate
    reflect brightly
  66. Stygian
    dark and dismal as of the river in Hades
  67. bedraggle
    make wet and dirty, as from rain
  68. locution
    a word or phrase that people use in particular situations
  69. nostrum
    patent medicine whose efficacy is questionable
  70. perspicuous
    transparently clear; easily understandable
  71. arabesque
    position in which the dancer has one leg raised behind
  72. asperity
    harshness of manner
  73. rapine
    the act of despoiling a country in warfare
  74. cordon
    a series of sentinels or posts enclosing some place or thing
  75. raillery
    light teasing
  76. granger
    a person who operates a farm
  77. reactionary
    extremely conservative
  78. sanguinary
    accompanied by bloodshed
  79. transept
    structure forming the transverse part of a cruciform church
  80. propitiate
    make peace with
  81. garret
    floor consisting of open space at the top of a house
  82. staid
    characterized by dignity and propriety
  83. providence
    prudence and care exercised in the management of resources
  84. abecedarian
    alphabetically arranged, as for beginning readers
  85. nebbish
    (Yiddish) a timid unfortunate simpleton
  86. exiguous
    extremely scanty
  87. grippe
    an acute, febrile, highly contagious viral disease
  88. pastiche
    a work of art that imitates the style of some previous work
  89. comity
    a state or atmosphere of harmony or mutual civility
  90. proscenium
    the part of a stage between the curtain and the orchestra
  91. macerate
    soften and cause to disintegrate as a result
  92. animadversion
    harsh criticism or disapproval
  93. disabuse
    free somebody from an erroneous belief
  94. peroration
    the concluding section of a rhetorical address
  95. esplanade
    a stretch of pavement or grass for walking by the seashore
  96. calumniate
    charge falsely or with malicious intent
  97. jaundice
    yellowing of the skin from an accumulation of bile pigment
  98. breech
    opening in the barrel of a gun where bullets can be loaded
  99. inexorably
    in a manner impervious to change or persuasion
  100. laurel
    a small aromatic tree with shiny dark green leaves

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