Fancy insults
Insults with better manners. Each one describes a real kind of annoying person, precisely enough that they may need a dictionary to take offense.
callow
KAL-oh, adjective
Inexperienced and immature.
“A callow reporter asked the question everyone else avoided.”
mendacious
men-DAY-shuhs, adjective
Habitually lying.
“The memoir was entertaining, mendacious, and a bestseller.”
obsequious
uhb-SEE-kwee-uhs, adjective
Excessively eager to please or obey.
“The obsequious waiter refilled glasses no one had touched.”
sycophant
SIK-uh-fuhnt, noun
A person who flatters the powerful to gain advantage.
“The director surrounded himself with sycophants who applauded every idea.”
truculent
TRUK-yuh-luhnt, adjective
Eager to argue or fight; aggressively defiant.
“The witness grew truculent under cross-examination.”
unctuous
UHNGK-choo-uhs, adjective
Excessively smooth and flattering; oily.
“The unctuous maître d’ upgraded them straight past sincerity.”
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agelast
AJ-uh-last, noun
A person who never laughs.
“Even the office agelast cracked at the typo in the CEO’s memo.”
epigone
EP-ih-gohn, noun
An inferior imitator of an admired original.
“Every great cafe spawns a block of epigones with the same fonts.”
fatuous
FACH-oo-uhs, adjective
Silly and pointless without knowing it.
“The panel’s most fatuous question got the longest answer.”
gongoozler
gon-GOOZ-ler, noun
An idle spectator, especially one who stares at length.
“Every construction fence gathers its faithful gongoozlers.”
meretricious
mair-ih-TRISH-uhs, adjective
Attractive in a flashy way but without real value.
“The lobby’s meretricious marble turned out to be vinyl.”
mumpsimus
MUMP-sih-muhs, noun
A person who clings to an error even after correction.
“The style-guide mumpsimus still writes ‘alot,’ defiantly.”
obstreperous
uhb-STREP-er-uhs, adjective
Noisy, unruly, and difficult to control.
“The obstreperous crowd drowned out the referee’s whistle.”
oleaginous
oh-lee-AJ-ih-nuhs, adjective
Oily; unctuously flattering.
“The salesman’s oleaginous welcome made everyone check their wallets.”
quidnunc
KWID-nungk, noun
A busybody eager for the latest gossip.
“The building’s quidnunc knows the elevator schedule of every tenant.”
rebarbative
rih-BAR-buh-tiv, adjective
Repellent; irritating and unattractive.
“The form’s rebarbative layout defeats most applicants by page two.”
sybarite
SIB-uh-ryt, noun
A person devoted to luxury and pleasure.
“The cat is a sybarite with a strict schedule of sunbeams.”
tatterdemalion
tat-er-dih-MAYL-yuhn, noun
A person in ragged, tattered clothing.
“The scarecrow stood like a cheerful tatterdemalion among the rows.”
ultracrepidarian
uhl-truh-krep-ih-DAIR-ee-uhn, noun
A person who opines confidently beyond their knowledge.
“Every comment section has its resident ultracrepidarian.”
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