contrafibularities

/ˌkɒntɹəˌfɪbjʊˈlæɹɪtiz/

noun

False congratulations, sounding congratulatory while actually pulling someone's leg.

Scrabble 25

Meanings

nouncontrafibularities pl (plural only)
  1. humorouspluralplural onlyrareFalse congratulations, sounding congratulatory while actually pulling someone's leg.

    I was a bit obscure with that one. Please accept my most sincere contrafibularities...

    2005 November 15, Tsugumi Niyamoto, “Separate Ways”, in alt.games.resident-evil (Usenet)
    2 more examples

    My most enthusiastic contrafibularities go to the world-class HarperCollins construction team.

    2011, Neil Strauss, Rules of the Game, →ISBN, page 194

    If you don't have time to watch the show itself, here is a taste of Stephen Fry's hosting patter: "the creamily edible Rosamund Pike". A few new words from the Fry lexicon include: "arsewash" and "amazian". Contrafibularities all round!

    2015 September 2, Ali Plumb, “BAFTAs 2015: The Winners In Full”, in Empire

Origin

From contra- + fibular + -ity + -s. From a 1987 episode of the British television comedy Blackadder, after Dr. Samuel Johnson boasts about his newly completed dictionary containing every word in the English language. Blackadder wishes Dr. Johnson his "most enthusiastic contrafibularities", upsetting Johnson, who quickly adds the alleged word to his manuscript.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

contrafibularities. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrafibularities

MLA

“contrafibularities.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrafibularities. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “contrafibularities,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/contrafibularities.

Source: contrafibularities on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.