Shashi Tharoor’s vocabulary has sent millions of Indians running to the dictionary. Words he has used or popularised include farrago, floccinaucinihilipilification, hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, kakistocracy, rodomontade, lalochezia and doomscrolling. Here are the 10 best known, with simple meanings and how to use them.
Tharoor, a former UN Under-Secretary-General, is a four-time Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram, most recently re-elected in 2024. He is also an award-winning author, and his posts on X (formerly Twitter) regularly trend because of a single unusual word.
How the Tharoor word craze began
The trend took off in 2017, when Tharoor described a news channel’s reporting as an “exasperating farrago of distortions” in a post. “Farrago”, meaning a confused mixture, became a meme overnight. Since then, every new word in his posts gets screenshotted, explained and joked about.
Tharoor has said he rarely needs a dictionary and credits his vocabulary to reading widely from childhood. In 2020 he turned the craze into a book, Tharoorosaurus, published by Penguin Random House India. In late 2025 he discussed another book on language, A Wonderland of Words, at the Bangalore Literature Festival, as reported by Deccan Herald.
1. Floccinaucinihilipilification
Noun. The act or habit of judging something as worthless.
Tharoor used this 29-letter word in 2018 while promoting his book The Paradoxical Prime Minister, and joked that the book was more than an exercise in it. It is one of the longest non-technical words in English.
Example: His floccinaucinihilipilification of every new idea annoyed the whole team.
2. Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia
Noun. The fear of long words.
The joke is in the word itself, which is one of the longest in the dictionary. It is usually used playfully rather than as a medical term.
Example: Reading Tharoor’s posts could cure anyone of hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, or make it worse.
3. Kakistocracy
Noun. Government by the least suitable or least competent people.
It comes from the Greek “kakistos”, meaning worst. The word is a favourite in political commentary across the world.
Example: The opposition accused the council of running a kakistocracy.
4. Rodomontade
Noun. Boastful or inflated talk or behaviour.
The word comes from Rodomonte, a boastful king in Italian Renaissance poetry. The original version of this article listed it as an adjective, but it is a noun.
Example: The press conference was full of rodomontade and short on facts.
5. Lalochezia
Noun. Emotional relief gained by using vulgar or indecent language.
Most of us have experienced lalochezia after stubbing a toe. It is a useful word because there is no simpler English equivalent.
Example: Stuck in Mumbai traffic for two hours, he found some lalochezia in a few choice words.
6. Gonzo
Adjective. Describing journalism written in an exaggerated, subjective and personal style.
The term is linked to American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Today it is also used loosely for anything wild or over the top. You will often see it in film and music reviews.
Example: The anchor’s gonzo coverage was more about him than the story.
7. Muliebrity
Noun. Womanly qualities; womanliness.
It is the female counterpart of “virility” and comes from the Latin “mulier”, meaning woman. It is rarely used outside formal writing.
Example: Old novels often praised a heroine’s muliebrity in flowery terms.
8. Scripturient
Adjective. Having a strong urge to write.
Given that Tharoor has written more than 25 books, it describes him well. It is a handy word for any writer or blogger.
Example: After the trip, she felt scripturient and filled three notebooks.
9. Parturient
Adjective. About to give birth; in labour. It can also mean about to produce a new idea.
It shares a Latin root with “parturition”, the medical term for childbirth. In everyday writing it is mostly used in the second, figurative sense.
Example: The parturient committee was finally ready with its report.
10. Esurient
Adjective. Hungry or greedy.
Scripturient, parturient and esurient all end in “-urient”, a Latin ending that signals a desire or readiness to do something. Learn one and the other two become easier to remember.
Example: The esurient investors wanted returns in three months.
Bonus: Doomscrolling
Not every Tharoor word is obscure. In May 2022 he shared “doomscrolling”, the act of continuously reading bad news online, as a word that defines the times, according to The Tribune. Most phone users know the feeling even if they did not know the word.
Tharoor beyond the words
Tharoor contested the Congress president election in 2022 and lost to Mallikarjun Kharge. In 2025 he led an all-party parliamentary delegation abroad after Operation Sindoor. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for his book An Era of Darkness.
For more on public figures who trend online, visit our celebs and listicles sections.
Frequently asked questions
What is the longest word Shashi Tharoor has used?
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia, the fear of long words, at 35 letters. Floccinaucinihilipilification, at 29 letters, is the one he made famous in 2018.
What does farrago mean?
Farrago means a confused mixture. Tharoor’s 2017 use of the phrase “farrago of distortions” started the trend of people looking up his words.
Has Shashi Tharoor written a book about words?
Yes. Tharoorosaurus (2020, Penguin Random House India) explains 53 words. He also discussed A Wonderland of Words at the Bangalore Literature Festival in December 2025.
How does Shashi Tharoor have such a big vocabulary?
He has said it comes from reading widely since childhood rather than studying the dictionary.
Sources: Wikipedia: Tharoorosaurus, The Tribune on doomscrolling, Deccan Herald on A Wonderland of Words.
