Long words

This page contains words that have been claimed to be the longest words in English, or among the longest. Identifying what is officially the longest word in a language is not straightforward, as this depends on whether standard or authoritative dictionaries decide to include a word, which can depend on factors such as whether the word is actually used in normal English, or is legitimately used in technical contexts, or is simply a word that is artificially contrived in order to be recognized as a long word. Also, some words may be included in technical dictionaries or reference works (e.g., for chemical terms), but would not qualify for inclusion in a standard English dictionary. The following list includes the longest English words, and notes where the validity of some words are disputed. A few extremely long chemical terms are omitted here.

Word	# of letters	Meaning	Source & problems
Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis	45	Silicosis - a miners' lung disease caused by inhaling silica particles	This is included in Webster's unabridged dictionaries, but its validity is disputed. It is not a standard medical term, but was a word contrived in order to be unnecessarily long, but the term silicosis was already been in use for this disease, so this 45-letter term is considered unnecessary.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious	34	Very good; literally, super- "above", cali- "beauty", fragilistic- "delicate", expiali- "to atone", and -docious "educable", altogehter meaning "Atoning for being educable through delicate beauty."	The exact origin is unclear, but it is generally considered a nonsense word or a contrived word. It does not appear in dictionaries. It is mainly known from the song of the same name in the Mary Poppins film and play.
hepaticocholangiocholecystenterostomy	37	A surgical process in which a channel is made to create communication between the gall bladder and the hepatic duct or intestines	This appears in some medical dictionaries, but not in any standard dictionaries.
Pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism	30	An inherited medical disorder affecting the parathyroid gland	This is considered the longest non-contrived word in standard dictionaries, such as the Oxford English Dictionary, though its use is technical.
Floccinaucinihilipilification	29	The act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant, of having no value or being worthless.	A contrived word, apparently invented by students of Eton college, from a number of Latin elements. This is one of the longest non-technical words in major dictionaries. Etymology: from Latin floccus (“a wisp”) +‎ naucum (“a trifle”) +‎ nihilum (“nothing”) +‎ pilus (“a hair”) + -fication.
Antidisestablishmentarianism	28	The political position of opposing disestablishment, i.e., removing the governmental status or associaiton of an official state church	The longest non-contrived and nontechnical word. The Webster's Collegiate Dictionaries used to include this word, but no longer, due to its lack of usage, and few dictionaries now accept it due to lack of actual usage.
Honorificabilitudinitatibus	27	The state of someone that can achieve honors	Not a real English word; this is a long word of Latin origin that was cited by Shakespeare in the play Love's Labour's Lost.
Electroencephalographically	27	By means of electroencephalography (EEG)	The longest word in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
Semihemidemisemihemidemisemihemidemisemiquaver	50	In music, an 8192nd note	A hypothetical technical term, but not actually used.
Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia	35	The fear of long words	A nonsense word that has become popular on the Internet. This was made up for humorous purposes, and is not included in dictionaries. It is formed from the word sesquipedalian, describing long and pedantic words, plus Greek and Latin word elements for monsters and hippopotomases to make in unnecessarily long.

The following might be the longest non-contrived and non-technical words that one might actually read in regular texts.

• Deinstitutionalization (22 letters)
• Counterrevolutionaries (22 letters)
• Uncharacteristically (20 letters)
• Functionalistically (19 letters)

The longest monosyllabic words in English are schmaltzed and strengthed (10 letters each), also with notable consontant clusters.

The followng terms are the longest place names in English. These either derive from another local language of the area, or are contrived words.

• Taumata­whakatangihanga­koauau­o­tamatea­turi­pukaka­piki­maunga­horo­nuku­pokai­whenua­ki­tana­tahu (85 letters): The name of a hill in New Zealand, from the Maori language.
• Llan­fair­pwll­gwyn­gyll­gogery­chwyrn­drob­wlll­lanty­silio­gogo­goch (58 letters): A town on Anglesey, an island of Wales; from the Welsh language.
• Char­gogga­gogg­man­chau­ggagogg­chau­buna­gunga­maugg (45 letters), a lake in Webster, Massachusetts, akso known as Webster Lake. It means "Fishing place at the boundaries – neutral meeting grounds" (a contrived word).
• Ma­mungku­kumpu­rang­kunt­junya (26 letters): A place name in Australie from the Pitjantjatjara language; it means "where the Devil urinates".