What words did Shakespeare use a lot?
Sarah Smith
Published Jan 15, 2026
15 Words Invented by Shakespeare
- Bandit.
- Critic.
- Dauntless.
- Dwindle.
- Elbow (as a verb)
- Green-Eyed (to describe jealousy)
- Lackluster.
- Lonely.
What is the most used word in Shakespeare?
Below, you'll find a handy list of some of the most common words used by Shakespeare translated into modern English.
- ABHOR - To reject, disdain.
- ABSOLUTE - Without flaw, perfect.
- ADDICTION - Tendency, proneness.
- BALK - To hesitate, chop; to dispute.
- BRAVE - Handsome.
- CHARACTER - Letter, word.
- COIL - Distress, trouble.
What words do Shakespeare use?
Examples Of Commonly Used Words Shakespeare Created
- accommodation. aerial. amazement. apostrophe. assassination. auspicious. baseless. bloody. bump. castigate. ...
- dishearten. dislocate. dwindle. eventful. exposure. fitful. frugal. generous. gloomy. gnarled. ...
- majestic. misplaced. monumental. multitudinous. obscene. palmy. perusal. pious. premeditated.
What was Shakespeare's average vocabulary?
This means that in addition the 31,534 words that Shakespeare knew and used, there were approximately 35,000 words that he knew but didn't use. Thus, we can estimate that Shakespeare knew approximately 66,534 words. According to one estimate, the average speaker of English knows between 10,000-20,000 words.
How many words did William Shakespeare know?
In the end, they came to the conclusion that in addition to the 31,534 words that Shakespeare knew and used, there were approximately 35,000 words that he knew but didn't use. Thus, we can estimate that Shakespeare knew approximately 66,534 words.
42 related questions foundWhich author had the largest vocabulary?
Hardy – with a similar sized corpus – also shows a vocabulary not dissimilar to Shakespeare's. Far more unique words than any other writer, even given his smaller corpus, and the only writer in the study with more than 20,000 stemmed words.
What are 10 words that Shakespeare invented?
15 Words Invented by Shakespeare
- Bandit.
- Critic.
- Dauntless.
- Dwindle.
- Elbow (as a verb)
- Green-Eyed (to describe jealousy)
- Lackluster.
- Lonely.
Who invented the word eyeball?
Shakespeare can be credited for the invention of thousands of words that are now an everyday part of the English language (including, but not limited to, "eyeball," "fashionable," and "manager.")
What are 10 phrases coined by Shakespeare?
13 Everyday Phrases That Actually Came From Shakespeare
- 1. " Green-eyed monster" ...
- 2. " In a pickle" ...
- "The world is your oyster." Meaning: being in a position to take advantage of life's opportunities.
- 4. " Catch a cold"
- "It's all Greek to me."
- 6. " Love is blind" ...
- 7. " Wild goose chase" ...
- 8. " A heart Of gold"
What are 5 phrases that Shakespeare invented?
Phrases Shakespeare Invented
- "All that glisters is not gold." ( ...
- “As good luck would have it” (The Merry Wives of Windsor) ...
- "Break the ice" (The Taming of the Shrew) ...
- "Clothes make the man." ( ...
- “Cold comfort” (King John) ...
- “Come what come may” ("come what may") (Macbeth) ...
- “Devil incarnate” (Titus Andronicus)
What are 3 of Shakespeare's Common phrases?
21 everyday phrases that come straight from Shakespeare's plays
- "Puking" ...
- "Vanish into thin air" ...
- "There's a method to my madness" ...
- "Wild-goose chase" ...
- "The green eyed-monster" ...
- "Break the ice" ...
- "Wear my heart upon my sleeve" ...
- "Swagger"
Who invented words in English?
The English language owes a great debt to Shakespeare. He invented over 1700 of our common words by changing nouns into verbs, changing verbs into adjectives, connecting words never before used together, adding prefixes and suffixes, and devising words wholly original.
Who got Shakespeare's best bed?
NEW scientific evidence suggests that William Shakespeare's famous snub to his wife may in fact have been a tender show of love. The world's greatest playwright only left Anne Hathaway his “second best bed” in his will.
Who invented words?
There is no reason. The order of the alphabet has never made any sense. All we know is that the people who invented the first alphabet put the letters in a certain order. When they passed those letters on to other people, and those people passed the letters on to us, we kept the letters in that order.
Who invented word vomit?
The word vomit comes from a combination of Latin and Old French. It is commonly mis-reported that Shakespeare invented the word 'puke'.
Who invented the word uncomfortable?
1. "Uncomfortable" Shakespeare was very fond of creating new words by attaching prefixes or suffixes to existing phrases. In Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare popped 'un' in front of 'comfortable' to create a word that's now used everyday by people around the world.
Who invented the word nerd?
But have you ever considered the origin of the word “nerd”? It has an unusual background, as it was initially coined by Dr. Seuss in his 1950 book “If I Ran the Zoo.” In the book, the narrator states he'll collect “a Nerkle, a Nerd, and a seersucker too” for the imaginary zoo in the story.
What is Shakespeare most famous line?
"To be, or not to be: that is the question." Perhaps the most famous of Shakespearean lines, the anguished Hamlet ponders the purpose of life and suicide in this profound soliloquy.
What Shakespeare words are still used today?
Here is a list of some of the most used in our days.
- Assassination. Yes, this very common word is an invention of Shakespeare that has found a big place in our vocabulary. ...
- Baseless. ...
- Bedazzled. ...
- Castigate. ...
- Cold-blooded. ...
- Fashionable. ...
- Multitudinous. ...
- Swagger.
Which book has the most different words?
Ulysses. One of James Joyce's greatest works, Ulysses is a massive tome. Clocking in at 265,000 words in length, with 30,030 unique words, it is considered one of the most difficult novels in existence to read.
Did Shakespeare have the largest vocabulary?
Except for a professional translator like Philemon Holland (1552-1637), Shakespeare used the largest vocabulary of any English writer. Some of the words he used in his plays are documented only a year or two before his use of them: exist, initiate, and jovial, for example.
How many words does the average person know?
According to lexicographer and dictionary expert Susie Dent, “the average active vocabulary of an adult English speaker is around 20,000 words, while his passive vocabulary is around 40,000 words.”