50 Cool Latin Words That Will Make You Sound Smarter Than You Actually 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