In normal everyday speech we use a large number of words.

I’m not talking about words that are specifically chosen for their length, such as Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism and Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

I’m talking about words used in normal everyday speech that we don’t normally think of as long. There are plenty with 11 letters. Longer words include:
12 letters – examinations
13 letters – radioactivity
14 letters – communications
15 letters – accomplishments

Is 15 letters about as long as words get in everyday speech?

—-

On another topic, the closest spelling I can find for two words that are pronounced completely differently in the English language:

HIDEOUS vs HIDEOUTS

You’re retired now aren’t you.

Hideouts is a compound word so it’s cheating, IMHO.

sibeen said:

Hideouts is a compound word so it’s cheating, IMHO.

I 100% agree with you.

I mean it depends on your field. I’ve used the term electronegativity in conversation.

Electroencephalogram and electrocardiogram are a couple of other ones that are not uncommon.

Incomprehensibility and semiautobiographical are longish, fairly common words not associated with a particular field.

mollwollfumble said:

closest spelling I can find for two words that are pronounced completely differently in the English language:

or vary that criterion and consider words with ough

mollwollfumble said:

In normal everyday speech we use a large number of words.

I’m not talking about words that are specifically chosen for their length, such as Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism and Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

I’m talking about words used in normal everyday speech that we don’t normally think of as long. There are plenty with 11 letters. Longer words include:
12 letters – examinations
13 letters – radioactivity
14 letters – communications
15 letters – accomplishments

Is 15 letters about as long as words get in everyday speech?

—-

On another topic, the closest spelling I can find for two words that are pronounced completely differently in the English language:

HIDEOUS vs HIDEOUTS

I frequently use words like floccinaucinihilipilification and electroencephalography (one of my textbooks has that for a title) in everyday speech. Do they count?

How about words like converse and attribute, whose meanings depend on their pronunciation (CON-verse: opposite; con-VERSE: engage in verbal discussion; AT-trib-ute: characteristic; at-TRIB-ute: ascribe to a given cause.) Do they count for your second topic?

How about words that are their own opposites, like dust and cleave?

> You’re retired now aren’t you.

You’ve noticed :-)

btm said:

mollwollfumble said:

In normal everyday speech we use a large number of words.

I’m not talking about words that are specifically chosen for their length, such as Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism and Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

I’m talking about words used in normal everyday speech that we don’t normally think of as long. There are plenty with 11 letters. Longer words include:
12 letters – examinations
13 letters – radioactivity
14 letters – communications
15 letters – accomplishments

Is 15 letters about as long as words get in everyday speech?

—-

On another topic, the closest spelling I can find for two words that are pronounced completely differently in the English language:

HIDEOUS vs HIDEOUTS

I frequently use words like floccinaucinihilipilification and electroencephalography (one of my textbooks has that for a title) in everyday speech. Do they count?

How about words like converse and attribute, whose meanings depend on their pronunciation (CON-verse: opposite; con-VERSE: engage in verbal discussion; AT-trib-ute: characteristic; at-TRIB-ute: ascribe to a given cause.) Do they count for your second topic?

How about words that are their own opposites, like dust and cleave?

Yes. And yes !

Lovely, particularly ‘electroencephalography’. 22 letters.

The “crossword solver” website stops at 15 letters.

For 15 letters it has useful words like aerodynamically, beautifications, benzodiazepines, centralizations, cephalochordata, cerebrovascular and ceremoniousness. I was wondering how much further we go without losing general usefulness.

mollwollfumble said:

> You’re retired now aren’t you.

You’ve noticed :-)

btm said:

mollwollfumble said:

In normal everyday speech we use a large number of words.

I’m not talking about words that are specifically chosen for their length, such as Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, antidisestablishmentarianism and Llanfair­pwllgwyngyll­gogery­chwyrn­drobwll­llan­tysilio­gogo­goch.

I’m talking about words used in normal everyday speech that we don’t normally think of as long. There are plenty with 11 letters. Longer words include:
12 letters – examinations
13 letters – radioactivity
14 letters – communications
15 letters – accomplishments

Is 15 letters about as long as words get in everyday speech?

—-

On another topic, the closest spelling I can find for two words that are pronounced completely differently in the English language:

HIDEOUS vs HIDEOUTS

I frequently use words like floccinaucinihilipilification and electroencephalography (one of my textbooks has that for a title) in everyday speech. Do they count?

How about words like converse and attribute, whose meanings depend on their pronunciation (CON-verse: opposite; con-VERSE: engage in verbal discussion; AT-trib-ute: characteristic; at-TRIB-ute: ascribe to a given cause.) Do they count for your second topic?

How about words that are their own opposites, like dust and cleave?

Yes. And yes !

Lovely, particularly ‘electroencephalography’. 22 letters.

The “crossword solver” website stops at 15 letters.

For 15 letters it has useful words like aerodynamically, beautifications, benzodiazepines, centralizations, cephalochordata, cerebrovascular and ceremoniousness. I was wondering how much further we go without losing general usefulness.

Antidisestablishmentarianism has 26

Tamb said:

mollwollfumble said:

> You’re retired now aren’t you.

You’ve noticed :-)

btm said:

I frequently use words like floccinaucinihilipilification and electroencephalography (one of my textbooks has that for a title) in everyday speech. Do they count?

How about words like converse and attribute, whose meanings depend on their pronunciation (CON-verse: opposite; con-VERSE: engage in verbal discussion; AT-trib-ute: characteristic; at-TRIB-ute: ascribe to a given cause.) Do they count for your second topic?

How about words that are their own opposites, like dust and cleave?

Yes. And yes !

Lovely, particularly ‘electroencephalography’. 22 letters.

The “crossword solver” website stops at 15 letters.

For 15 letters it has useful words like aerodynamically, beautifications, benzodiazepines, centralizations, cephalochordata, cerebrovascular and ceremoniousness. I was wondering how much further we go without losing general usefulness.

Antidisestablishmentarianism has 26

Did you read the first post? :)

The Rev Dodgson said:

Tamb said:

mollwollfumble said:

> You’re retired now aren’t you.

You’ve noticed :-)

Yes. And yes !

Lovely, particularly ‘electroencephalography’. 22 letters.

The “crossword solver” website stops at 15 letters.

For 15 letters it has useful words like aerodynamically, beautifications, benzodiazepines, centralizations, cephalochordata, cerebrovascular and ceremoniousness. I was wondering how much further we go without losing general usefulness.

Antidisestablishmentarianism has 26

Did you read the first post? :)

Yes but I couldn’t help myself.

smiles, it has a mile between the esses.

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Tamb said:

Antidisestablishmentarianism has 26

Did you read the first post? :)

Yes but I couldn’t help myself.

How about nonantifuniculararianism, which has 24.

I disapprove of such an approach, so I’m an anti-nonantifuniculararianismist.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Did you read the first post? :)

Yes but I couldn’t help myself.

How about nonantifuniculararianism, which has 24.

I disapprove of such an approach, so I’m an anti-nonantifuniculararianismist.

Do hyphenated words count?

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

Tamb said:

Yes but I couldn’t help myself.

How about nonantifuniculararianism, which has 24.

I disapprove of such an approach, so I’m an anti-nonantifuniculararianismist.

Do hyphenated words count?

Just leave out the hyphen if not.

The Rev Dodgson said:

Tamb said:

The Rev Dodgson said:

How about nonantifuniculararianism, which has 24.

I disapprove of such an approach, so I’m an anti-nonantifuniculararianismist.

Do hyphenated words count?

Just leave out the hyphen if not.

That was my intention but we here are surrounded by pedants.