Word Nerd: 5 Odd Words that Start with an O

The seasons have changed and we are well on our way towards the end of the year. You might just be amazed at how time has flown by and go, “Oh!”
We share your expression of surprise and love for this cool month. So, for this edition of Word Nerd, we are sharing 5 odd words that start with an O (not including October).

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1. Obdurate: A word which originated from Latin – ‘Ob’ means opposition and ‘durus’ means hard (according to Lexico). So obdurate means stubbornly resistant. The way we felt as children when our parents said no to a late bedtime or an extra hour of play in the evening.
2. Obfuscate: Can you just tell that this has Latin roots as well? Obfuscate means to bewilder someone or deliberately make unclear. It comes from the Latin for ‘darken’ – think of this word as throwing a veil over something in order to hide. Perhaps, like us, you did it when asked about how ready you were for exams?
3. Obstreperous: The way entire classes can behave towards end of term or when a surrogate teacher steps in – noisy and difficult to control. It’s a polysyllabic word with a simple meaning. Useful if you’re trying for a Spelling Bee or trying to showcase your vocabulary.
4. Octarchy: You might have heard of oligarchy (which also begins with an ‘o’) and anarchy – octarchy has a similar context. It is a government of eight people (from the ‘Oct’ meaning eight). It can also mean a state of eight regions.
5. Odoriferous: We bet you can guess the meaning of this one. Odoriferous means giving a smell – especially an unpleasant one. Think fish markets, mouldy bread, stale curries, and old socks. What other examples come to mind? Feel free to share in the comments.

Any other odd words that you would like to add to our list? Email us or leave a comment.