Real Words Without Definition
This one is a judgement call.
A scientific or medical word built out of Greek and Latin roots. This is the biggest group in the list, about a third of everything.
Medicine gives us anconitis, inflammation of the elbow, and adenalgy, pain in a gland. Chemistry gives us acetylsalicylic. Anatomy, botany and zoology all do the same thing.
Once you know the roots they are completely predictable, which is why no dictionary lists them all. You can keep making new ones forever.
18,355 words · sorted A to Z · each with a line on why it is here
Matches the word itself, not the note beside it. Case does not matter.
| Word, sorted Z to A | Field and meaning |
|---|---|
| vesiculocavernous | medicine, vesicular with a cavernous quality |
| vesiculotomy | surgery, incision of a seminal vesicle |
| vesiculotympanitic | medicine, vesicular with a tympanitic percussion note |
| vesicupapular | dermatology, at once vesicular and papular |
| vespacide | an agent for killing wasps, Vespa + -cide |
| vesuvite | petrology, a leucite-bearing rock from Vesuvius |
| viagram | engineering, the record traced by a viagraph |
| viagraph | engineering, instrument for measuring road resistance |
| viatometer | engineering, an instrument for measuring distance travelled |
| viburnic | chemistry, viburnic acid, from Viburnum |
| vicoite | petrology, a rock named from Lago di Vico, Italy |
| vignin | chemistry, a globulin from Vigna (cowpea) seeds |
| villarsite | mineralogy, an altered olivine of the serpentine group |
| villiplacental | zoology, having a villous placenta |
| vinaconic | chemistry, vinaconic acid |
| vinoacetous | chemistry, at once vinous and acetous |
| vinomethylic | chemistry, vinomethylic ether, ethyl methyl ether |
| vinosulphureous | chemistry, both vinous and sulphureous, of mineral waters |
| vinylate | chemistry, to introduce a vinyl group |
| vinylethylene | chemistry, vinylethylene, butadiene |
| violuric | chemistry, violuric acid |
| virgation | geology, the fanning out of mountain chains |
| virgularian | zoology, of the sea pens of the genus Virgularia |
| viridene | chemistry, a green-colored compound |
| visammin | pharmacology, khellin, from Ammi visnaga |
| visceripericardial | anatomy, of the viscera and the pericardium |
| visceroinhibitory | physiology, inhibiting visceral action |
| visceropleural | anatomy, of the viscera and the pleura |
| viscerotonia | psychology, Sheldon's visceral temperament type |
| viscerotrophic | physiology, affecting the nutrition of the viscera |
| viscolize | dairying, to homogenize with a viscolizer |
| viscoscope | an instrument for observing viscosity |
| visuometer | optics, an instrument for measuring the range of vision |
| vitellose | chemistry, a proteose derived from vitellin |
| viticulose | botany, having long slender trailing shoots |
| vitiligoid | dermatology, vitiligo-like, of xanthoma of the eyelid |
| vitochemic | chemistry, of vital chemistry |
| vitreodentinal | dentistry, of vitreodentine |
| vitreodentine | dentistry, a hard glassy form of dentine |
| vitreoelectric | physics, charged with vitreous (positive) electricity |
| vitrinoid | coal petrography, a glassy vitrinite-like maceral |
| vitriolation | chemistry, conversion into a vitriol or sulphate |
| vitrioline | chemistry, resembling or of the nature of vitriol |
| vitrobasalt | petrology, a glassy basalt |
| vitrotype | photography, a picture printed on glass |
| viverriform | zoology, shaped like a civet of the genus Viverra |
| vividialysis | medicine, dialysis carried out in the living animal |
| vividissection | physiology, dissection of a living animal, vivisection |
| viviperfuse | physiology, to perfuse the living body |
| volemite | chemistry, volemitol, a sugar alcohol from Lactarius volemus |
| volhynite | petrology, a diorite porphyrite named from Volhynia |
| voltivity | electricity, the power of producing voltaic current |
| volutiform | conchology, shaped like a Voluta shell |
| vomicin | chemistry, vomicine, an alkaloid of nux vomica |
| votograph | an apparatus for recording votes |
| votometer | an apparatus for counting votes |
| vulneral | medicine, pertaining to a wound |
| vulpic | chemistry, vulpic acid, from the lichen Letharia vulpina |
| vulpinic | chemistry, vulpinic acid |
| vulsinite | petrology, a trachyte named from Vulsini, Italy |
| weisbachite | mineralogy, mineral named for Weisbach |
| wennebergite | petrology, an igneous rock name in -ite |
| wheelabrate | engineering, to clean metal by Wheelabrator blasting |
| windsorite | petrology, an igneous rock named for Windsor, Vermont |
| wiresonde | meteorology, a sonde reporting its readings by wire |
| wolfachite | mineralogy, a nickel arsenide sulphide named for Wolfach |
| wolframine | mineralogy, an old name for tungstite |
| wolframinium | chemistry, obsolete name for the element tungsten |
| wurtzitic | mineralogy, of or like wurtzite |
| xalostockite | mineralogy, pink grossular from Xalostoc |
| xanthamic | chemistry, of xanthamic acid |
| xanthamid | chemistry, xanthamide |
| xanthocyanopsy | medical, seeing only yellow and blue |
| xanthocyanopy | medical, shorter form of xanthocyanopsy |
| xanthodermatous | medical, yellow-skinned |
| xanthogenamic | chemistry, of xanthogenamic acid |
| xanthophose | a yellow subjective visual sensation |
| xenian | botany, of xenia, pollen effect on the seed |
| xenically | biology, in the presence of other organisms |
| xenocyst | biology, a cyst of foreign origin |
| xenoderm | medical, skin from another species |
| xenomorphically | petrology, in anhedral form |
| xenophoran | zoology, of the carrier shells |
| xenopodid | zoology, of the Xenopodidae, clawed frogs |
| xenopodoid | zoology, resembling the clawed frogs |
| xenopteran | zoology, of the Xenopteri, a fish group |
| xenopterygian | zoology, of the Xenopterygii, clingfishes |
| xenosauroid | zoology, resembling the knob-scaled lizards |
| xerotocia | medical, dry labour |
| xiphisuran | zoology, a horseshoe crab |
| xiphuous | sword-shaped, xiphoid |
| xyletic | chemistry, of xyletic acid |
| xylinid | entomology, of the moth genus Xylina |
| xylonitrile | chemistry, a nitrile from xylene |
| xylopolist | Greek coinage, a dealer in wood |
| xylopyrographer | one who burns designs into wood |
| xylorcinol | chemistry, a resorcinol homologue from xylene |
| xylosid | chemistry, a xyloside |
| xylotomical | botany, of xylotomy, the anatomy of wood |
| yajein | chemistry, an alkaloid of yage |
The other lists filed alongside this one.
