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'Diaphanous' crowned the most beautiful English word

NPR | By Kathryn Fink,

Mallory Yu

Published June 18, 2026 at 3:56 PM CDT

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As part of a collaboration between the Poetry Society of America and Babbel, 1,500 poets and poetry lovers weighed in on the most beautiful word in the English language, crowning "diaphanous."

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Kathryn Fink

Kathryn Fink is a producer with NPR's All Things Considered.

Mallory Yu

See stories by Mallory Yu