more psychological concepts as reference for your poem/story
Telepathic dream - a dream in which one appears to gain insight or information about a person or event despite not having access to the relevant information in waking life; described by Sigmund Freud.
Thought echoing - (or écho des pensées) an auditory hallucination in which an individual hears their own thoughts repeated in spoken form.
Trait rumination - a tendency to focus attention on negative thoughts and emotions, which is associated with longer and more severe episodes of depression or anxiety.
Twilight state - a state of clouded consciousness in which the individual is temporarily unaware of their surroundings, experiences fleeting auditory or visual hallucinations, and responds to them by performing irrational acts, such as undressing in public, running away, or committing violence. The disturbance occurs primarily in temporal lobe epilepsy, dissociative reactions, and alcohol intoxication. On regaining normal consciousness, individuals usually report that they felt they were dreaming and have little or no recollection of their actual behavior.
Universality of emotions - the finding that certain emotional expressions, appraisals, and manifestations are the same or highly similar across cultures and societies.
Waking dream - an episode of dreamlike visual imagery experienced when one is not asleep. The term is sometimes applied to hallucinations, religious visions, and the like.
Windmill illusion - an illusion of motion of rotating objects, such as windmills and automobile wheels, which appear to reverse direction intermittently.
Xenoglossy - in parapsychology, the ostensible ability of a person to speak or write in a language that is entirely unknown to them.
Yantra - a visual pattern on which attention is focused during concentrative meditation.
Zeigarnik effect - the tendency for interrupted, uncompleted tasks to be better remembered than completed tasks. Some theorists relate this phenomenon to certain gestalt principles of organization but at the level of higher mental processing (e.g., memory), rather than at the level of pure perception; described in 1927 by Bluma Zeigarnik.
Affectionate - feeling or showing affection or warm regard; loving
Adoring - feeling or showing great affection and devotion
Affable - being pleasant and at ease in talking to others
Amorous - strongly moved by love; enamored
Caring - feeling or showing concern for or kindness to others
Devoted - characterized by loyalty and devotion
Loving - affectionate
Sweet - pleasing to the mind or feelings; agreeable, gratifying
Sympathetic - given to, marked by, or arising from sympathy, compassion, friendliness, and sensitivity to others' emotions
Tenderhearted - easily moved to love, pity, or sorrow; compassionate, impressionable
Agreeable - ready or willing to agree or consent; being in harmony
Courteous - marked by respect for and consideration of others
Decorous - marked by propriety and good taste; correct
Gallant - nobly chivalrous and often self-sacrificing
Gracious - marked by kindness and courtesy
Pleasant - having qualities that tend to give pleasure; agreeable
Polite - marked by an appearance of consideration, tact, deference, or courtesy
Respectful - marked by or showing respect or deference
Well-behaved - behaving in a polite or correct way
Well-mannered - having good manners; polite
Amiable - friendly, sociable, and congenial; generally agreeable
Affable - being pleasant and at ease in talking to others
Congenial - sociable, genial
Convivial - relating to, occupied with, or fond of feasting, drinking, and good company
Cordial - showing or marked by warm and often hearty friendliness, favor, or approval
Friendly - serving a beneficial or helpful purpose
Genial - marked by or freely expressing sympathy or friendliness
Hospitable - promising or suggesting generous and friendly welcome
Warm - marked by or readily showing affection, gratitude, cordiality, or sympathy
Welcoming - to greet hospitably and with courtesy or cordiality
Cheerful - full of good spirits; merry
Buoyant - cheerful, gay
Cheery - marked by cheerfulness or good spirits
Forward-looking - concerned with or planning for the future
Hopeful - full of hope; inclined to hope
Lighthearted - cheerfully optimistic and hopeful; easygoing
Optimistic - of, relating to, or characterized by optimism; feeling or showing hope for the future
Positive - marked by optimism
Sanguine - marked by eager hopefulness; confidently optimistic
Upbeat - cheerful, optimistic
Clever - mentally quick and resourceful
Astute - mentally sharp or clever
Bright - intelligent, clever
Brilliant - distinguished by unusual mental keenness or alertness
Intelligent - guided or directed by intellect; rational
Knowledgeable - having or showing knowledge or intelligence
Quick-witted - quick in perception and understanding
Sharp - keen in intellect; quick-witted
Smart - intelligent, bright; witty, clever
Wise - marked by deep understanding, keen discernment, and a capacity for sound judgment
Eloquent - marked by forceful and fluent expression
Articulate - expressing oneself readily, clearly, and effectively
Graceful - displaying grace in form or action
Influential - exerting or possessing influence (i.e., the act or power of producing an effect without apparent exertion of force or direct exercise of command)
Persuasive - tending to persuade (i.e., to plead with; urge)
Poised - marked by easy composure of manner or bearing
Refined - fastidious, cultivated
Silver-tongued - marked by convincing and eloquent expression
Smooth-tongued - ingratiating in speech; persuasive
Well-spoken - speaking well, fitly, or courteously
Good-natured - of a pleasant and cooperative disposition
Benevolent - marked by or disposed to doing good
Big-hearted - generous, charitable
Compassionate - having or showing compassion; sympathetic
Considerate - thoughtful of the rights and feelings of others
Good-hearted - having a kindly generous disposition
Helpful - of service or assistance; useful
Kind - of a sympathetic or helpful nature
Nice - polite, kind
Thoughtful - given to or chosen or made with heedful anticipation of the needs and wants of others
Patient - not hasty or impetuous; steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
Accommodating - willing to please; helpful, obliging
Forbearing - to hold oneself back from especially with an effort
Forgiving - willing or able to forgive (i.e., pardon)
Long-suffering - patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship
Stoical - firmly restraining response to pain or distress
Tolerant - permitting or accepting something (such as a behavior or belief) that one does not like
Uncomplaining - not complaining; patient
Understanding - endowed with understanding; tolerant, sympathetic
Unexcitable - not responsive to stimuli
Reflective - marked by reflection; thoughtful, deliberative
Contemplative - marked by or given to contemplation (i.e., an act of considering with attention)
Insightful - exhibiting or characterized by insight (i.e., the act or result of apprehending the inner nature of things or of seeing intuitively)
Introspective - characterized by examination of one's own thoughts and feelings; thoughtfully reflective
Inward-looking - more interested in themselves than in other people or societies
Meditative - marked by or conducive to meditation (i.e., a discourse intended to express its author's reflections or to guide others in contemplation)
Pensive - musingly or dreamily thoughtful
Self-analyzing - relating to or using self-analysis (i.e., a systematic attempt by an individual to understand his or her own personality without the aid of another person)
Self-examining - a reflective examination (as of one's beliefs or motives); introspective
Self-observing - introspective
Sensible - having, containing, or indicative of good sense or reason
Analytical - skilled in or using analysis especially in thinking or reasoning
Cerebral - primarily intellectual in nature
Judicious - having, exercising, or characterized by sound judgment
Logical - capable of reasoning or of using reason in an orderly cogent fashion
Practical - actively engaged in some course of action or occupation
Pragmatic - relating to matters of fact or practical affairs often to the exclusion of intellectual or artistic matters; practical
Rational - relating to, based on, or agreeable to reason
Realistic - able to see things as they really are and to deal with them in a practical way
Reasonable - being in accordance with reason
Valiant - possessing or acting with bravery or boldness
Adventurous - disposed to seek adventure or to cope with the new and unknown
Bold - fearless before danger
Courageous - having or characterized by courage; brave
Dauntless - incapable of being intimidated or subdued
Fearless - free from fear
Gallant - spirited, brave
Heroic - exhibiting or marked by courage and daring
Plucky - spirited, brave
Valorous - valiant
Apprehensive - viewing the future with anxiety or alarm
Doubtful - marked by qualities that raise doubts about worth, honesty, or validity
Hesitant - slow to act or proceed (as from fear, indecision, or unwillingness)
Insecure - beset by fear and anxiety
Mistrustful - to be suspicious
Self-conscious - uncomfortably conscious of oneself as an object of the observation of others; ill at ease
Self-doubting - timid, diffident, insecure
Self-effacing - having or showing a tendency to make oneself modestly or shyly inconspicuous
Uncertain - not having certain knowledge; doubtful
Unconfident - lacking in confidence; unsure
Disillusioned - having lost faith or trust in something formerly regarded as good or valuable
Bleak - not hopeful or encouraging; depressing
Cynical - contemptuously distrustful of human nature and motives
Defeatist - an attitude of accepting, expecting, or being resigned to defeat
Downbeat - pessimistic, gloomy
Fatalistic - hacing a belief or attitude determined by a doctrine that events are fixed in advance so that human beings are powerless to change them
Hardened - callous
Negative - marked by features of hostility, withdrawal, or pessimism
Pessimistic - of, relating to, or characterized by pessimism; gloomy
Skeptical - relating to, characteristic of, or marked by skepticism (i.e., an attitude of doubt or a disposition to incredulity either in general or toward a particular object)
Dull - tedious, uninteresting
Bland - dull, insipid
Boring - causing weariness and restlessness through lack of interest
Charmless - unattractive or unpleasant
Stodgy - boring, dull
Tiresome - wearisome, tedious
Uncharismatic - lacking charisma (i.e., a special magnetic charm or appeal)
Unexciting - not exciting; dull, commonplace
Uninspiring - not having an animating or exalting effect
Uninteresting - not attracting interest or attention
Fierce - violently hostile or aggressive in temperament
Aggressive - marked by obtrusive energy and self-assertiveness
Antagonistic - showing dislike or opposition
Argumentative - having or showing a tendency to disagree or argue with other people in an angry way; disputatious
Bellicose - favoring or inclined to start quarrels or wars
Belligerent - inclined to or exhibiting assertiveness, hostility, or combativeness
Confrontational - clashing of forces or ideas; conflict
Defiant - full of or showing a disposition to challenge, resist, or fight; bold, impudent
Hostile - marked by malevolence; having or showing unfriendly feelings
Violent - emotionally agitated to the point of using harmful physical force
Impassive - giving no sign of feeling or emotion
Aloof - removed or distant either physically or emotionally
Apathetic - having or showing little or no interest, concern, or emotion
Cold - marked by a lack of the warmth of normal human emotion, friendliness, or compassion
Detached - exhibiting an aloof objectivity usually free from prejudice or self-interest
Dispassionate - not affected by personal or emotional involvement
Expressionless - lacking expression
Indifferent - marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something
Stoic - not affected by or showing passion or feeling
Unemotional - not easily aroused or excited; cold
Lethargic - of, relating to, or characterized by laziness or lack of energy
Idle - not occupied or employed
Inactive - not active; sedentary
Indolent - averse to activity, effort, or movement; habitually lazy
Inert - very slow to move or act
Languid - sluggish in character or disposition; listless
Lazy - disinclined to activity or exertion; not energetic or vigorous
Slothful - inclined to sloth; indolent
Slow-moving - slow-footed, slowgoing
Sluggish - averse to activity or exertion; indolent; torpid
Mysterious - exciting wonder, curiosity, or surprise while baffling efforts to comprehend or identify; mystifying
Closemouthed - cautious in speaking; uncommunicative; also: secretive
Discreet - having or showing discernment or good judgment in conduct and especially in speech; prudent
Enigmatic - of, relating to, or resembling an enigma; mysterious
Evasive - tending or intended to evade; equivocal
Inscrutable - not readily investigated, interpreted, or understood; mysterious
Secretive - disposed to secrecy; not open or outgoing in speech, activity, or purposes
Taciturn - temperamentally disinclined to talk
Tight-lipped - reluctant to speak; taciturn
Uncommunicative - not disposed to talk or impart information; reserved
Odious - arousing or deserving hatred or repugnance; hateful
Abhorrent - causing or deserving strong dislike or hatred; being so repugnant as to stir up positive antagonism
Despicable - deserving to be despised; so worthless or obnoxious as to rouse moral indignation
Detestable - arousing or meriting intense dislike; abominable
Hateful - full of hate; malicious; deserving of or arousing hate
Horrible - extremely bad or unpleasant
Loathsome - giving rise to loathing; disgusting
Unkind - not pleasing or mild; inclement; harsh, cruel
Vicious - dangerously aggressive; savage
Vile - morally despicable or abhorrent
Presumptuous - overstepping due bounds (as of propriety or courtesy); taking liberties
Jovial - characterized by good-humored cheerfulness and conviviality; jolly
Joyful - experiencing, causing, or showing joy; happy
Merry - full of gaiety or high spirits; mirthful
Radiant - marked by or expressive of love, confidence, or happiness
Content - contented, satisfied
Appreciative - having or showing appreciation (i.e., a feeling or expression of admiration, approval, or gratitude)
Fulfilled - feeling happiness and satisfaction
Grateful - appreciative of benefits received
Gruntled - in good humor; happy, contented
Pleased - feeling or showing pleasure and satisfaction, especially at an event or a situation
Satisfied - pleased or content with what has been experienced or received
Thankful - well pleased; glad
Untroubled - not given trouble; not made uneasy
Unworried - not afflicted with mental distress or agitation
Disgruntled - unhappy and annoyed
Agitated - troubled in mind; disturbed and upset
Annoyed - feeling or showing angry irritation
Cross - marked by typically transitory bad temper
Distressed - of, relating to, or experiencing economic decline or difficulty
Exasperated - having or showing strong feelings of irritation or annoyance
Irritable - easily exasperated or excited
Resentful - full of resentment (i.e., a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury)
Stressed - subjected to or affected by stress (i.e., bodily or mental tension)
Vexed - feeling or showing irritation, annoyance, or distress
Jealous - hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage
Begrudging - said, done, or given reluctantly; grudging
Bitter - exhibiting intense animosity
Covetous - marked by inordinate desire for wealth or possessions or for another's possessions
Desirous - impelled or governed by desire (i.e., conscious impulse toward something that promises enjoyment or satisfaction in its attainment)
Envious - feeling or showing envy
Grudging - unwilling, reluctant
Malicious - having or showing a desire to cause harm to someone; given to, marked by, or arising from malice (i.e., desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another)
Resentful - caused or marked by resentment (i.e., a feeling of indignant displeasure or persistent ill will at something regarded as a wrong, insult, or injury)
Spiteful - filled with or showing spite; malicious
Lively - briskly alert and energetic; vigorous, animated
Animated - full of vigor and spirit; lively
Elated - marked by high spirits; exultant
Electrified - to excite intensely or suddenly
Energetic - operating with or marked by vigor or effect
Enthusiastic - filled with or marked by enthusiasm (i.e., strong excitement of feeling)
Excited - having, showing, or characterized by a heightened state of energy, enthusiasm, eagerness, etc.
Exhilarated - very happy and excited or elated
Spirited - full of energy, animation, or courage
Thrilled - extremely pleased and excited
Unhappy - not cheerful or glad; sad, wretched
Crestfallen - feeling shame or humiliation; dejected
Dejected - low in spirits; depressed
Gloomy - low in spirits; melancholy
Glum - broodingly morose
Grief-stricken - very sad; deeply affected by grief
Melancholic - of, relating to, or subject to melancholy; depressed
Miserable - being in a pitiable state of distress or unhappiness
Sad - affected with or expressive of grief or unhappiness; downcast
Sorrowful - expressive of or inducing sorrow (i.e., resultant unhappy or unpleasant state)
PHYSICAL ADJECTIVES
Aged - grown old
Ancient - having had an existence of many years; venerable
Centenarian - one that is 100 years old or older
Elderly - of, relating to, or characteristic of later life or elderly persons
Gray-haired - having gray hair; of or relating to old age or old people
Mature - of, relating to, or being an older adult; elderly
Nonagenarian - a person whose age is in the nineties
Old - advanced in years or age
Senior - a person older than another; of, relating to, or intended for seniors
Wrinkled - to become marked with or contracted into wrinkles
Attractive - arousing interest or pleasure; charming
Beautiful - having qualities of beauty; exciting aesthetic pleasure
Dashing - marked by vigorous action; spirited
Fetching - attractive, appealing
Good-looking - having a pleasing or attractive appearance
Gorgeous - splendidly or showily brilliant or magnificent
Handsome - having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance
Pretty - having conventionally accepted elements of beauty
Striking - attracting attention or notice through unusual or conspicuous qualities
Stunning - strikingly impressive especially in beauty or excellence
Average - not out of the ordinary; common
Forgettable - fit or likely to be forgotten
Homely - plain or unattractive in appearance
Mediocre - of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance
Ordinary-looking - not different or special or unexpected in any way; usual
Plain - lacking ornament; undecorated
Plain-featured - ordinary
Plain-looking - not beautiful, distinctive, or remarkable in appearance; normal
Unexceptional - not out of the ordinary; commonplace
Unremarkable - unworthy or unlikely to be noticed; not remarkable; common, ordinary
Feeble - markedly lacking in strength
Decrepit - wasted and weakened by or as if by the infirmities of old age
Delicate - not robust in health or constitution; weak, sickly
Doddering - showing or involving a loss of physical or cognitive abilities in old age
Frail - easily broken or destroyed; fragile; physically weak
Infirm - of poor or deteriorated vitality, especially: feeble from age
Sickly - somewhat unwell, also : habitually ailing
Unwell - being in poor health; ailing, sick
Wan - suggestive of poor health; sickly, pallid
Weak - lacking strength
Muscular - of or relating to physical strength; full-bodied
Athletic - vigorous, active
Brawny - muscular, also: strong, powerful
Burly - strongly and heavily built
Fit - sound physically and mentally
Herculean - of extraordinary power, extent, intensity, or difficulty
Powerful - having great power, prestige, or influence
Robust - having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health
Strong - having or marked by great physical power
Sturdy - firmly built or constituted
Short - having little length; not tall or high
Diminutive - exceptionally or notably small
Little - not big
Petite - having a small trim figure
Pint-sized - small
Short-legged - having short legs, particularly in proportion to one's body
Small - having comparatively little size or slight dimensions
Stubby - being short and thick
Teeny - tiny
Tiny - very small or diminutive; minute
Sophisticated - deprived of native or original simplicity
Chic - cleverly stylish; smart
Dapper - neat and trim in appearance
Dignified - showing or expressing dignity (i.e., formal reserve or seriousness of manner, appearance, or language)
Sons of Horus - protectors of the internal organs removed during mummification. Human-headed Imsety protects the liver; baboon headed Hapy, the lungs; jackal-headed Duamutef, the stomach; and hawk-headed Qebehsenuef, the intestines.
Stela (pl. stelae) - an upright slab of stone carved and inscribed with religious or historical texts and representations
Sunk relief - relief in which the forms are set back from the flat stone surface
Taweret - hippopotamus goddess of childbirth
Tefnut - goddess of moisture, who, with Shu, god of light and air, were the first divine couple created by Atum
Temple precinct - the enclosed area around a temple
Thoth - god of writing, scribes, and the moon; depicted as an ibis-headed human or as a baboon
Throne name - the designation “king of Upper and Lower Egypt”; one of the two most important names of the king, the other being his birth name, which identified him as the “son of Re”
Underworld - the dangerous world through which a boat carrying the sun god and his companions, including the deceased, must travel every night
Uraeus - the mythical fire-spitting cobra, a protector of kings and gods, worn on the front of the headdress, depicted rearing up with dilated hood
Wadi - valley or stream bed that is dry except perhaps in the rainy season
Wedjat eye - an eye with stylized falcon markings, meaning “that which is made whole,” the symbol of the left eye of Horus, torn out by Seth in their battle over who should rule Egypt. The eye, which was restored by the god Thoth, is a symbol of revitalization after death. Each part of the Horus eye represented a mathematical fraction in writing. Altogether the fractions add up to one, or the whole.
White crown - with a bulbous terminus, the crown of Upper Egypt
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Abozzo - a rough sketch or draft (as of a picture or a poem)
Agrypnia - insomnia
Bouleversement - reversal; a violent disturbance
Cachaça - a Brazilian liquor distilled from sugarcane
Cantillation - recitation with musical tones
Doloriferous - obsolete: producing pain
Fantasticate - to make fantastic
Graphospasm - writer's cramp (i.e., a painful spasmodic contraction of muscles of the hand or fingers brought on by excessive writing)
Immarcescible - imperishable, indestructible
Kakidrosis - secretion of sweat of a disagreeable odor
Ligneous - of or resembling wood
Metempsychosis - the passing of the soul at death into another body either human or animal
Nemoricole - inhabiting groves
Optative - expressing desire or wish
Pastourelle - a conventional form of poetic pastoral composed in French during the late middle ages and Renaissance and consisting of a love debate between a knight and a shepherdess
Secundines - afterbirth
Tramontane - lying on or coming from the other side of a mountain range
Vatic - prophetic, oracular
Vinca - periwinkle
Wiseacre - one who pretends to knowledge or cleverness
More: Lists of Beautiful Words ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
kind (late Old English–1600) - Nature in the abstract or viewed collectively.
world (c.1175–) - The material universe; the cosmos; (also rarely) a system of celestial objects. Also figurative. Chiefly with the.
frame (a.1325–) - The universe, the heavens, the earth, or any part of it, regarded as a structure. Now archaic.
creature (c.1384–1611) - The created universe; creation. Obsolete.
university (c.1450–1642) - The whole world; the universe. Obsolete.
engine (?1510–1741) - The universe, or a particular division of it, considered as a working system. Frequently in engine of the world. Obsolete.
universal (1569–1628) - The universe. Obsolete.
universality (1577–1603) - The whole world; the universe. Obsolete.
mass (1587–1697) - The created universe; the earth. Obsolete.
universe (1589–) - All existing matter, space, time, energy, etc., regarded collectively.
all (1598–) - The universe, the macrocosm; the whole of nature or existence.
cosmosie (1600) - Cosmos.
macrocosm (1602–) - The universe (opposed to microcosm); the world of all nature.
existence (1610–) - concrete. All that exists; the aggregate of being.
system (1610–1816) - The whole scheme of created things, the universe. Obsolete.
megacosm (1617–1851) - macrocosm.
cosmos (1650–) - The world or universe as an ordered and harmonious system.
materialism (1817) - concrete. The system of material things; the material universe. Obsolete. rare.
world-all (1847–) - The world considered as a unit; the universe.
panarchy (1848–) - A universal realm.
multiverse (1895–) - The universe considered as lacking order or a single ruling and guiding power.
metaverse (1994–) - Meta-universe; cosmology: the hypothetical combination of all co-existing or sequentially existing universes.
SPECIFIC TERMS
static universe (1871–) - A universe which does not move or change.
block universe (1881–) - The universe conceived as resembling an unchanging block.
plenum (1887–) - A space completely filled with matter; spec. the whole of space regarded as being so filled. Contrasted with vacuum.
expanding universe (1931–) - The universe regarded as continually expanding, so that the galaxies are steadily receding from one another.
steady state (1948–) - An unvarying condition in a physical process, especially as in the theory that the universe is eternal and maintained by constant creation of matter.
bubble universe (1982–) - In some inflationary models of cosmology: any of an infinite number of universes formed as expanding regions within a space.
Source ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs ⚜ Word List: Star
More: Word Lists ⚜ References ⚜ Historical Thesaurus
Necropolis - from the Greek meaning “city of the dead,” especially the large cemetery of an ancient city
Neith - “the terrifying one”; protector of the king and one of four goddesses who guard the coffin and the canopic box
Nemes - a royal headdress, probably of striped linen or perhaps leather, with lappets falling forward over each shoulder and with the fabric gathered and tied in back
Nephthys - sister of Isis, protector of coffins and canopic jars
Nut - the winged sky goddess; as a woman arching over the earth she is the personification of the vault of the heavens
Osiris - according to myth, Egypt’s first king; created by the gods, Osiris suffered a violent death, was made whole again magically by Isis, and became the ruler of the dead
Ostracon - a limestone or pottery flake used to sketch, practice writing, or make notes
Papyrus - the writing surface of Egyptian scribes, made from the pith of papyrus stalks separated into strips that were flattened and placed side by side, slightly overlapping. On top of this layer, another layer of strips was placed at right angles to the first. The surface was then repeatedly pounded to make it smooth. The plant juices released in the pounding caused the strips to adhere to each other permanently without the aid of glue. In art, images of papyrus plants symbolized the world, which arose from the primeval waters at the time of creation. The plant was also the heraldic symbol of Lower Egypt.
Ptah Sokar - creator god and patron of craftsmen; shown as a human without any indication of limbs
Re - meaning simply “sun,” the most important name of the sun god, who was later combined with many other gods; the creator and sustainer of the world, who travels in a bark through the sky by day and through the underworld by night
Re-Harakhty - falcon-headed god, fusion of Re and Harakhty
Red crown - red headdress, cylindrical in shape with a high back extension, symbolizing the sovereignty of the king over Lower Egypt
Sakhmet - ambivalent goddess of war, disease, and chaos, who could also cause such calamities to cease and, in her role as the sun’s destructive eye, could repel hostile powers threatening Egypt; usually shown with a lioness’s head and a lion’s mane
Sarcophagus - a coffin made of stone
Selket - goddess—shown in human form with a scorpion on her head—who, with Isis, protected Horus during his childhood and was one of the four goddesses who guard the coffin and canopic box
Serdab - an Arabic word for the statue chamber of a tomb
Seth - violent deity, murderer of his brother Osiris (who had been divinely installed to maintain order); shown in human form with the head of a strange doglike creature; associated with the desert, where the ordered world ends; nonetheless, Seth uses his powers to help protect the sun god during his nightly journey through the underworld
Sistrum - a sacred rattle consisting either of a metal hoop with crossbars to which metal disks are attached or of a rectangular centerpiece in the shape of a small temple gate with two metal bands at each side
Sledge - a platform on flat runners used to transport loads
Source ⚜ More: Word Lists ⚜ Part 1 ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs
Fabula: (also referred to as ‘story’ or ‘histoire’) the events of a narrative.
Genre: a kind; a literary type or style. Poetry, drama, novel may be subdivided into lyric (including elegy, ode, song, sonnet, etc.), epic, tragedy, comedy, short story, biography, etc.
Grand narratives: Jean-François Lyotard distinguishes between ‘grand’ narratives and ‘little’ narratives: grand narratives such as Christianity, Islam, Marxism and psychoanalysis involve systems that claim to explain everything. According to Lyotard, contemporary (or ‘postmodern’) worldviews tend to comprise ‘little narratives’ that offer fragmentary, non-totalizing and non- teleological, local or individual explanations of the world.
Heteroglossia: (Gk. ‘other/ different tongues’) a term used by Mikhail Bakhtin to describe the variety of voices or languages within a novel, but can be used of any text to give the sense that language use does not come from one origin but is multiple and diverse, a mixing of heterogeneous discourses, sociolects, etc.
Implied reader: Wolfgang Iser uses this term to denote a hypothetical reader towards whom the text is directed. The implied reader is to be distinguished from the so- called ‘real reader’.
Intentional fallacy: W.K. Wimsatt and Monroe Beardsley’s term for what they see as the mistake of attempting to interpret a literary text by appealing to the supposed intentions of its author.
Jouissance: (Fr. ‘bliss’, ‘pleasure’, including sexual bliss or orgasm) a term introduced into psychoanalytic theory by Jacques Lacan, to refer to extreme pleasure, but also to that excess whereby pleasure slides into its opposite. Roland Barthes uses the term to suggest an experience of reading as textual bliss. Similarly, Jacques Derrida suggests that the effect of deconstruction is to liberate forbidden jouissance.
Mimesis: (Gk. ‘imitation’) the idea that literature attempts to represent ‘life’ or ‘the world’ more or less accurately, as it ‘actually’ is, etc.
Nachträglichkeit: a notoriously tricky term to translate, the sense of this German word (originally associated with the writings of Freud) can be variously rendered as ‘deferred action’, ‘deferred sense’, ‘delayed effect’ or ‘afterwardsness’. It is particularly at work in trauma (where the meaning or impact of an event or experience does not happen only once, ‘at the time’).
Oxymoron: (Gk. ‘wise foolishness’) a trope that combines contradictory words or ideas, e.g. ‘bittersweet’, ‘darkness visible’.
Paradox: an apparently contradictory or strange statement of how things are: that which is apparently illogical or absurd but may be understood to be meaningful or ‘true’.
Parody: an imitation of another work of literature (usually with exaggeration) in order to make it seem ridiculous and/ or amusing.
Paronomasia: word play.
Pastiche: a work made up of imitation of other work(s); unlike parody, pastiche is not necessarily designed to ridicule.
Self- reflexivity: the phenomenon whereby a piece of writing refers to or reflects on itself. Often used interchangeably with ‘self- referentiality’.
beautiful words with "root" for your next poem/story
Abscessroot - a perennial herb (Polemonium reptans) of the eastern U.S. with compound leaves and blue flowers
Birthroot - any of several trilliums with astringent roots used in folk medicine
Bitterroot - a succulent herb (Lewisia rediviva) of the purslane family that grows in western North America and has starchy roots and pink or white flowers
Enroot - establish, implant
Eyeroot - goldenseal i.e., a perennial North American herb (Hydrastis canadensis) of the buttercup family with large leaves and a thick knotted yellow rhizome sometimes used medicinally; iceroot
Irisroot - orrisroot i.e., the fragrant rootstock of any of three European irises (Iris florentina, I. germanica, and I. pallida) used especially in perfumery
Liferoot - golden ragwort i.e., a ragwort (Senecio aureus synonym Packera aurea) of the U.S. having basal cordate leaves, lyrate or clasping stem leaves, and an open cluster of yellow-rayed flowers
Redroot - a perennial herb (Lachnanthes caroliniana synonym L. tinctoria) of the eastern U.S. whose red root is the source of a dye
Sweetroot - licorice
Unroot - to tear up by the roots; eradicate, uproot
Whiteroot - butterfly weed; windroot
Yellowroot - any of several plants with yellow roots
If any of these words inspire your writing, do tag me or send me a link. I'd love to read your work!
more psychological concepts as reference for your poem/story
Mental fog - (also called clouding of consciousness) a mental state involving a reduced awareness of the environment, inability to concentrate, and confusion.
Metaworry - persistent worry about one’s own thoughts and cognitive processes.
Numbsense - the ability of some people who have lost feeling in part or all of their body to respond to tactile stimuli in the insensible area. Such individuals insist that they are not aware of any tactile sensations but can nevertheless discriminate between stimuli and point to where they have been presented.
Object love - in psychoanalytic theory, love of a person other than the self. It is a function of the ego and not the instincts as in object cathexis.
Oneirodynia - a form of dreaming characterized by nightmares or unpleasant dreams.
Passive joy - a feeling of extreme gladness, delight, or exultation of the spirit arising from a sense of well-being or satisfaction that involves tranquility and a feeling of contentment with things as they are.
Sauce béarnaise effect - a colloquial term referring to a conditioned taste aversion. If a person happens to become ill after tasting a new food, such as sauce béarnaise, they may subsequently dislike and avoid that food. Regardless of the actual cause of the illness, the sauce will be identified with it.
Sensitive soul - in the thought of Aristotle, the type of soul possessed by nonhuman animals. The sensitive soul has the capacity to receive and react to sense impressions but does not have a capacity for rational thought.
Symbiotic marriage - a marriage or partnership of codependency, whereby the individuals are entirely reliant upon each other for the gratification of certain psychological needs.
Synergic marriage - a marriage or partnership that is enhanced by the contributions the partners can make in satisfying each other’s psychological needs in a positive manner.
Asterismal - of or relating to asterisms or constellations
Astichous - in botany, not arranged in rows
Astroite - a radiated or star-shaped mineral or fossil
Bloodflower - a tropical herb (Asclepias curassavica) with orange-red flowers
Diapasm - perfume of powdered aromatic herbs sometimes made into little balls and strung together
Diapason - a burst of sound
Diarize - to keep or write in a diary
Diatomin - a yellow or yellowish brown pigment found in certain algae and diatoms
Equant - of, being, or relating to a crystal having equal or nearly equal diameters in all directions
Gradine - one of a series of low steps or seats raised one above another; a shelf at the back of an altar on which candlesticks and flowers are placed in a Christian church
Intervert - to turn to a course or use other than the proper one; misuse
Kippage - an excited or irritated state; commotion, confusion
Perimorph - a crystal of one species enclosing one of another species
Peripeteia - a sudden or unexpected reversal of circumstances or situation especially in a literary work
Quaesitum - something sought for; end, objective
Rounceval - something very large; huge
Senecio - any of a large genus (Senecio) of widely distributed composite plants that have alternate or basal leaves and flower heads usually with yellow ray flowers
Senectitude - the final stage of the normal lifespan
Tragedienne - an actress who plays tragic roles
Urceolate - shaped like an urn
Urostege - a scale on the underside of the tail of a snake
Urushiye - a Japanese color print in which the dark colors are printed with a lustrous medium commonly considered to be lacquer
Windflaw - a gust of wind; flaw
If any of these words make their way into your next poem/story, please tag me, or send me a link. I would love to read them—always.
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