“Verklempt”

Adjectives

This is one of my favorite words.

An article at Wikipedia identifies the adjective “verklempt” as a Yiddish word used by English-speaking Jews.

I know very little Yiddish, but I love this word because it describes in two syllables a very specific state that humans experience.

The adjective “verklempt” means choked or overcome with emotion or (emotionally) stuck.

“The standing ovation made me verklempt.” is a good example of how to use this adjective.

If you have never heard this word, of if you do not know that Yiddish words are generally pronounced like German words and do not know how to pronounce German words, then you probably will mispronounce it.

The correction pronunciation — in pseudo-phonetics — is “fair-klempt”.

The Wikipedia article says that the Yiddish adjective “verklempt” — with an M-P-T on the end — is derived from the German adjective “verklemmt” — with an M-M-T on the end.

Whether you prefer “verklempt” or “verklemmt”, consider adding it to your vocabulary.

You might be surprised by how useful this adjective will become to you.