What Unusual Words Have Stuck With You From Your Reading?

Yesterday, I found myself thinking about unusual words I’ve picked up from books over the years. It’s fun to stumble across a word in a story, pause, look it up, and have it stick with you.

My examples:

Ensorcelled — I first came across this in a John Scalzi book. It’s such a fun, magical word! I forget which book of his, because I've read damn near everything he's written somehow.

Niggardly — I learned this from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. It made me pause and double-check the meaning (it means stingy or miserly, for people like me that never heard of it).

What about you? What unusual or noteworthy words have stuck with you from your reading? Have you ever managed to use them in everyday conversation, or do they just sit in your vocabulary bank, waiting for the perfect moment?

I’d love to hear your favorite finds!