11 Most Useful Pompous Words

Hobbledehoy – A gawky adolescent boy; a callow youth. (As used in Trollope: “In truth, they are not as yet men, whatever the number may be of their years; and, as they are no longer boys, the world has found for them the ungraceful name of hobbledehoy.”)

Ergasiophobia - Fear of, or aversion to, work. (Not the same thing, mind you, as simple laziness.)

Afflatus – A sudden rush of divine or poetic inspiration. (Especially felicitous when such inspiration is accompanied by bloating or gas, as it so often is.)

Hebetate - To grow dull or stupid.

Colposinquanonia - Estimating a woman's beauty based on her chest. (Alas, a common folly, particularly in America.)

Cachinnation - Loud or hysterical laughter.

Napiform - Shaped like a turnip. (You would not believe how many things are shaped like turnips, just waiting to be identified with this word.)

Charientism – An artfully veiled insult. (Known in some communities best left unmentioned as a “neg.” )

Foofaraw – Excessive or flashy ornamentation; a fuss over a trifling matter. (As used in the immortal and never answered Kent Brockman question from the Simpsons: “Argle-bargle or foofaraw?”)

Melolagnia – Amorous feeling inspired my music. (I’m not sure if a word exists for odors – smellolagnia, perhaps – but it certainly should.)

Adoxography - Skilled writing about an unimportant subject. (Especially useful for the Internet age, as well as for all manner of squibs.)

Sources: Assorted, but these are both good.