50 Cool Latin Words That Will Make You Sound Smarter Than You Actually Are
Whether you’re trying to impress a date or your professor or your friends, these 50 cool Latin words will definitely give you the edge you need in your next conversation, term paper, or text, making you sound a lot smarter than you probably are.
Abduco
Detach, withdraw
Adamo
To fall in love with, find pleasure in
Ad infinitum
Again and again in the same way; forever
Ad nauseam
Referring to something that has been done or repeated so often that it has become annoying or tiresome
Alibi
Elsewhere
Antebellum
Before the war
Aurora borealis
Northern lights
Bona fide
Genuine
Circa
At, in, or of approximately
Corpus
Body
Cum laude
With honor
De facto
In fact or in effect, whether by right or not
De jure
According to law
Deo volente
God willing
Deus ex machina
An unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel
Ergo
Therefore
Ex animo
From the heart
Ex nihilo
Out of nothing
Homo sapien
Human
Humanitas
Kindness
In medias res
Into the middle of a narrative; without preamble
In absentia
In the absence
In toto
As a whole
Ipso facto
By the very fact
Invicta
Unconquered
Magnum opus
The largest or best work of an artist
Mea culpa
An acknowledgment of one’s fault
Non sequitur
A conclusion or statement that does not logically follow from the previous argument or statement
Per capita
Per person
Per diem
Per day
Per se
By or in itself or themselves; intrinsically
Persona non grata
An unwanted person
Postmortem
After death
Praemonitus praemunitus
Forewarned is forearmed
Pro bono
For the good
Pro rata
For the rate
Quid pro quo
This for that
Rigor mortis
Stiffness of death
Semper fideles
Always faithful
Semper fortis
Always brave
Sic parvis magna
Greatness from small beginnings
Sola fide
By faith alone
Status quo
The situation in which or current condition
Subpoena
Under penalty
Tabula Rasa
Blank slate
Terra firma
Firm ground
Verbatim
Repeat exactly
Veto
I forbid
Vice versa
To change or turn around
Vox populi
Voice of the people