100 most beautiful words of all time (2010)

Includes my favorite word of all time ~ palimpsest ~ so it must be a well-thought-out list.

Ailurophile ~ A cat-lover.
Assemblage ~ A gathering.
Becoming ~ Attractive.
Beleaguer ~ To exhaust with attacks.
Brood ~ To think alone.
Bucolic ~ In a lovely rural setting.
Bungalow ~ A small, cozy cottage.
Chatoyant ~ Like a cat's eye.
Comely ~ Attractive.
Conflate ~ To blend together.
Cynosure ~ A focal point of admiration.
Dalliance ~ A brief love affair.
Demesne ~ Dominion, territory.
Demure ~ Shy and reserved.
Denouement ~ The resolution of a mystery.
Desuetude ~ Disuse.
Desultory ~ Slow, sluggish.
Diaphanous ~ Filmy.
Dissemble ~ Deceive.
Dulcet ~ Sweet, sugary.
Ebullience ~ Bubbling enthusiasm.
Effervescent ~ Bubbly.
Efflorescence ~ Flowering, blooming.
Elision ~ Dropping a sound or syllable in a word.
Elixir ~ A good potion.
Eloquence ~ Beauty and persuasion in speech.
Embrocation ~ Rubbing on a lotion.
Emollient ~ A softener.
Ephemeral ~ Short-lived.
Epiphany ~ A sudden revelation.
Erstwhile ~ At one time, for a time.
Ethereal ~ Gaseous, invisible but detectable.
Evanescent ~ Vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time.
Evocative ~ Suggestive.
Fetching ~ Pretty.
Felicity ~ Pleasantness.
Forbearance ~ Withholding response to provocation.
Fugacious ~ Fleeting.
Furtive ~ Shifty, sneaky.
Gambol ~ To skip or leap about joyfully.
Glamour ~ Beauty.
Gossamer ~ The finest piece of thread, a spider's silk
Halcyon ~ Happy, sunny, care-free.
Harbinger ~ Messenger with news of the future.
Imbrication ~ Overlapping and forming a regular pattern.
Imbroglio ~ An altercation or complicated situation.
Imbue ~ To infuse, instill.
Incipient ~ Beginning, in an early stage.
Ineffable ~ Unutterable, inexpressible.
Ingénue ~ A naïve young woman.
Inglenook ~ A cozy nook by the hearth.
Insouciance ~ Blithe nonchalance.
Inure ~ To become jaded.
Labyrinthine ~ Twisting and turning.
Lagniappe ~ A special kind of gift.
Lagoon ~ A small gulf or inlet.
Languor ~ Listlessness, inactivity.
Lassitude ~ Weariness, listlessness.
Leisure ~ Free time.
Lilt ~ To move musically or lively.
Lissome ~ Slender and graceful.
Lithe ~ Slender and flexible.
Love ~ Deep affection.
Mellifluous ~ Sweet sounding.
Moiety ~ One of two equal parts.
Mondegreen ~ A slip of the ear.
Murmurous ~ Murmuring.
Nemesis ~ An unconquerable archenemy.
Offing ~ The sea between the horizon and the offshore.
Onomatopoeia ~ A word that sounds like its meaning.
Opulent ~ Lush, luxuriant.
Palimpsest ~ A manuscript written over earlier ones.
Panacea ~ A solution for all problems
Panoply ~ A complete set.
Pastiche ~ An art work combining materials from various sources.
Penumbra ~ A half-shadow.
Petrichor ~ The smell of earth after rain.
Plethora ~ A large quantity.
Propinquity ~ An inclination.
Pyrrhic ~ Successful with heavy losses.
Quintessential ~ Most essential.
Ratatouille ~ A spicy French stew.
Ravel ~ To knit or unknit.
Redolent ~ Fragrant.
Riparian ~ By the bank of a stream.
Ripple ~ A very small wave.
Scintilla ~ A spark or very small thing.
Sempiternal ~ Eternal.
Seraglio ~ Rich, luxurious oriental palace or harem.
Serendipity ~ Finding something nice while looking for something else.
Summery ~ Light, delicate or warm and sunny.
Sumptuous ~ Lush, luxurious.
Surreptitious ~ Secretive, sneaky.
Susquehanna ~ A river in Pennsylvania.
Susurrous ~ Whispering, hissing.
Talisman ~ A good luck charm.
Tintinnabulation ~ Tinkling.
Umbrella ~ Protection from sun or rain.
Untoward ~ Unseemly, inappropriate.
Vestigial ~ In trace amounts.
Wafture ~ Waving.
Wherewithal ~ The means.
Woebegone ~ Sorrowful, downcast.

Source: Alphadictionary.com

{Tanya Pretorius' Bookmarks: Me, 21s Lists, 100 most beautiful words}