Acquiescent Nothingness Incessantly: A Glossary of Mariah Carey's 10-Cent Words
Yesterday, Mariah Carey released the first single from her as-yet-untitled 14th album, “Triumphant (Get ‘Em).” She’s an odd nonfactor in her own song, singing the chorus, a bridge and some backup while guest rappers Meek Mill and Rick Ross do the heavy-lifting (she does the driving on a house remix, though).
Regardless of her virtual absence, “Triumphant” is classic Mimi in that its name is the sort of gratuitous, multi-syllabic vocab word that she has relied upon throughout her career. She’s known for her ridiculous album titles that either conjure Lisa Frank with compound nouns (Music Box, Daydream, Butterfly, Rainbow, Charmbracelet) or read like inside jokes babbled by Precious Moments figurines (The Emancipation of Mimi, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel). But that’s hardly the extent of her strange relationship with English. Her lyrics are littered with, as she might say, peculiar words that suggest she is a vocabulary booster enthusiast. She loves her some adverbs. The result is a body of words that are rarely, if ever, heard in pop music. They are below.
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A
Abandonedly – “Butterfly,” Butterfly
”For you have become a butterfly / Oh, fly abandonedly into the sun”
Abruptly - “Honey,” Butterfly
“And it’s too hard for me to leave abruptly / ‘Cause you’re the only thing I wanna do”
Abundant – “Yours,” Charmbracelet
”Everyday of my life’s so abundant with joy”
Accentuate – “Migrate,” E=MC²
”It might benefit me to throw something on / To feature my hips, accentuate my tits and steal the show”
Acquiescent – “It’s a Wrap,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“I was oh so acquiescent (acquiescent)“
Alienation – “Vision of Love,” Mariah Carey
“Suffered from alienation / Carried the weight on my own”
Alleviate – “Want You,” Glitter
“It’s just the feeling that comes over me I cannot alleviate”
Ambiguous - “Outside,” Butterfly
“Always somewhat out of place everywhere, ambiguous”
Apprehension – “The Roof,” Butterfly
“I was twisted in the web of my desire for you / My apprehension blew away”
Atrocities – “Fly Like a Bird,” The Emancipation of Mimi
“Somehow I know that there’s a place up above / With no more hurt and struggling, free of all atrocities and suffering”
Audacity – “The Art of Letting Go”
”Your audacity is too much to be believed”
C
Captivates – “To Be Around You,” Emotions
“Every time you smile it captivates my mind”
Cascades – “Sunflowers for Alfred Roy,” Charmbracelet
”I’m picturing you and me there right now as the crystal cascades showered down”
Compulsively – “Shake It Off,” The Emancipation of Mimi
“You would cheat with all your freaks and lie compulsively”
Conceive – “Someday,” Mariah Carey
“Maybe now you just can’t conceive / That there’ll ever come a time when you’re cold and lonely”
Consequently - “Clown,” Charmbracelet
“Consequently now your ego’s fully overblown”
D
Delectable – “Bliss,” Rainbow
“So gimme some pure delectable love like I’m gonna give to you”
Delusional – “Obsessed,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“You’re delusional, you’re delusional / Boy, you’re losin’ your mind”
Denominator - “It’s a Wrap,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“It’s goin’ down like a denominator”
Desolate - “Thank God I Found You”, Rainbow
“See I was so desolate before you came to me”
Despair – “You’re So Cold,” Emotions
“You just laugh as I drown in despair”
Despondency - “Petals,” Rainbow
“A boy and a girl befriended me / We’re bonded through despondency” (see also The Emancipation of Mimi’s “Fly Like a Bird”: “Sometimes I’m so despondent”)
Destitution – “There’s Got to Be A Way,” Mariah Carey
“And maybe then the future will be a time / Without War, destitution and sorrow” (see also Charmbracelet’s “My Saving Grace”: “Grew up confused, been destitute”)
Devious – “You Had Your Chance,” Charmbracelet
“I can see you were devious and shady, only trifling with me”
Diminishing – “Anytime You Need a Friend,” Music Box
“When the shadows are closing in / And your spirit’s diminishing”
Disenchanted – “Looking In,” Daydream
“Don’t think that I am disenchanted”
Disillusion – “Dreamlover,” Music Box
”I don’t want another pretender / To disillusion me one more time”
Displaced - “Reflections (Care Enough),” Glitter
“A displaced little girl wept years in silence / And whispered wishes you’d materialize”
Dissipate - “Close My Eyes,” Butterfly
“I left the worst unsaid, let it all dissipate and I try to forget”
Dissuade – “4real4real,” E=MC²
“All my friends say I’m wastin’ my time on you / Tryin’ to dissuade me with schemes”
Distraught – “Through the Rain,” Charmbracelet
“When you’re distraught and in pain without anyone...”
Diversion – “Now That I Know,” Music Box
“I never knew if I could believe in you / I thought I was just a diversion”
Dominion – “The Art of Letting Go”
“I no longer live in your dominion”
Downhearted - “Subtle Invitation,” Charmbracelet
“You don’t ever have to be downhearted again”
Dutifully – “Petals,” Rainbow
“So many I considered closest to me turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully”
E
Effervescent – “Twister,” Glitter
“But basically she kept it all inside / Childlike and effervescent with a well of pain”
Effortlessly – “Subtle Invitation,” Charmbracelet
“You can fall into me / Once again effortlessly”
Elude – “You Got Me,” Charmbracelet
“I’m entangled up in you these feelings I just can’t elude”
Elusive – “Honey,” Butterfly
“I can’t be elusive with you honey / ‘Cause it’s blatant that I’m feeling you” (see also The Emancipation of Mimi’s “One and Only”: “Is this just an impossible dream too elusive to pursue?”)
Emblazoned – “My All,” Butterfly
“I can see you clearly, vividly emblazoned in my mind”
Empathy – “O.O.C.,” E=MC²
“So sorry, whatever happened to empathy?”
Enamored – “How Much,” Rainbow
“Have you ever been so enamored baby? / That’s how much I love you”
Endlessly – “You’re So Cold,” Emotions
“You keep me waiting around endlessly”
Enfold – “Babydoll,” Butterfly
“Come lay me down, enfold me in your arms, cover me with velvet kisses”
Enmity – “Languishing,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“And after all these years of enmity, envy and tears / It’s a shame you don’t know me at all”
Enraptured – “Vanishing,” Mariah Carey
“I was so enraptured / No sensibility”
Entwined – “Fourth of July,” Butterfly
“And we floated away / Delicately lay entwined in an intimate daze”
Euphoric – “Heartbreaker,” Rainbow
“It’s a shame to be so euphoric and weak when you smile at me”
Everlasting – “Always Be My Baby,” Daydream
“And it seemed everlasting, that you would always be mine”
Evidently – “The Art of Letting Go”
”Evidently your words were merely lies”
Exceedingly – “The Art of Letting Go”
”Oh, it’s just exceedingly hurtful”
F
Fathom – “Sent Up from Above,” Mariah Carey
“It’s hard to fathom/ Reaching for someone else’s hand”
Fervid – “Fourth of July,” Butterfly
“So starry eyed on the flowery hillside / Breathless and fervid amid the dandelions”
Flailing - “Petals”, Rainbow
“She started flailing in the wind / Like golden petals scattering”
Flaxen - “Sunflowers for Alfred Roy,” Charmbracelet
“Thank you for embracing a flaxen-haired baby”
Flourish – “Butterfly,” Butterfly
“I have learned that beauty has to flourish in the light”
Futile – “When I Feel It,” outtake
”Make futile resolutions that I’m gonna let you be”
G
Grotto – “More Than Just Friends,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“We can make love in Italy in the grotto”
H
Harbors – “Looking In,” Daydream
“You’ll never know the real me / She smiles through a thousand tears and harbors adolescent fears”
Hastily - “You Need Me”, Mariah Carey
“Before you act so hastily / Baby remember you need me”
Hectic – “Fantasy,” Daydream
“I get kind of hectic inside”
I
Idolization - “Babydoll,” Butterfly
“Do you care for me beyond idolization?”
Inadvertently – “You Got Me,” Charmbracelet
“You’re so captivating that I inadvertently always catch myself thinking ‘bout the things you do”
Incandescent – “Never Too Far,” Glitter
“Glittering lights, incandescent eyes”
Incessantly – “Heartbreaker,” Rainbow
“Heartbreaker you’ve got the best of me/ But I just keep on comin’ back incessantly”
Incidentally – “So Lonely (One and Only Part II),” The Emancipation of Mimi
“Incidentally, I’m in need of healin’ / You’re the only one who gives me that feelin’”
Indefinitely - “Always Be My Baby,” Daydream
“You’ll always be a part of me / I’m part of you indefinitely”
Inevitably - “Always Be My Baby,” Daydream
“But inevitably, you’ll be back again / ‘Cause you know in your heart, babe, our love will never end”
Inferiority – “I Wish You Knew,” The Emancipation of Mimi
“See, my inferiority complex kicks in and the words escape me”
Inherently – “Outside,” Butterfly
“Inherently, it’s just always been strange”
Intertwined – “Touch My Body,” E=MC²
“In the lap of luxury, laying intertwined with me / You won’t want for nothing, boy”
Intimated - “Clown,” Charmbracelet
“You shoulda never intimated we were lovers”
Intoxicated – “Emotions,” Emotions
“I’m in love, I’m alive / Intoxicated, flying high”
Intrinsic – “Subtle Invitation,” Charmbracelet
“You’ll always be an intrinsic part of me / Even though life goes on”
Irregularities - “For the Record,” E=MC²
“Them other irregularities / They can’t compete with MC”
L
Levity – “I’m That Chick,” E=MC²
“I brings that levity / Take me for a ride”
Liability – “The Art of Letting Go”
”You’re just trifling, nothing more than a liability”
M
Majestically - “One Child”, Merry Christmas II You
“The sweet prince of peace / Lay majestically asleep glorious and pure”
Marionette – “Clown,” Charmbracelet
“A marionette show”
Masquerade – “Now That I Know,” Music Box
“This is not make believe anymore I was afraid / It was all a masquerade” (see also Charmbracelet’s “I Only Wanted”: “I was caught in your masquerade,” and E=MC²’s “Thanx 4 Nothin’”: “I was living in a lie, just a masquerade”)
Materialize - “Reflections (Care Enough),” Glitter
“A displaced little girl wept years in silence / And whispered wishes you’d materialize”
Merely - “The Art of Letting Go”
”Evidently your words were merely lies”
Miniscule – “I Wish You Well,” E=MC²
“If my shows of gratitude are miniscule inside your mind, sorry”
Misrepresented – “It’s a Wrap,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“If I ever misrepresented my self-image then I’m sorry”
N
Nonchalant – “Breakdown,” Butterfly
“Well, I guess I’m trying to be nonchalant about it / And I’m going to extremes to prove I’m fine without you”
Nothingness – “And You Don’t Remember,” Emotions
“Stranded here in nothingness / With only tears and loneliness”
O
Oblivious – “I’ve Been Thinking About You,” Music Box
“The one I spent a lifetime searching for was right here all the time / I was oblivious, so very out of touch” (see also Butterfly’s “Close My Eyes”: “Nearing the edge, oblivious, I almost fell right over”)
Obscure – “Underneath the Stars,” Daydream
“Laughing, we hurried beneath the sky / To an obscure place to hide”
Ominously – “Fourth of July,” Butterfly
“Thunder clouds hung around so threateningly, ominously hovering”
P
Painstakingly – “Want You,” Glitter
“I had a crush on you / Painstakingly I would conceal the truth”
Patriarch - “Petals,” Rainbow
“I gravitated towards a patriarch, so young predictably”
Peculiar – “I’ve Been Thinking About You,” Music Box
“I’ve been thinking about you in the most peculiar way”
Persevere – “Yours,” Charmbracelet
“Baby, our love will always persevere” (see also The Emancipation of Mimi’s “Don’t Forget About Us”: “What we had, it perseveres / That we both can’t forget it, how good we used to get it”
Persuasive – “So Lonely (One and Only Part II),” The Emancipation of Mimi
“You’re too persuasive, I can’t take it”
Prevail – “Through the Rain,” Charmbracelet
“You’ll find what you need to prevail”
Proceed - “Migrate,” E=MC²
“As we proceed getting buzzed, the envious ones hating but they can’t take they eyes off us”
Procrastinating – “Stay the Night,” The Emancipation of Mimi
“Obviously procrastinating just to be close to you a little longer now”
Pseudo – “Thanx 4 Nothin’,” E=MC²
“Seems like all I do is think about our pseudo-romance”
R
Rationalize – “Last Kiss,” E=MC²
“Picture you in my mind and I can’t seem to rationalize the way we let it end, it don’t make no sense”
Reassurance - “How Much,” Rainbow
“You don’t gotta look for reassurance, ‘cause clearly you’re the only one that’s getting this”
Relinquish – “Heartbreaker,” Rainbow
“And you tell me things that you know persuade me to relinquish my love to you”
Reluctantly - “Underneath the Stars,” Daydream
“Reluctantly we said goodbye and left our secret place so far behind”
Rendered - “When I Saw You,” Daydream
“And I was rendered still / There were no words for me to find at all”
Reverberating - “The Art of Letting Go”
”Evidently your words were merely lies, reverberating in my ears and the echo won’t subside”
Reverie – “Melt Away,” Daydream
“You and me in a cloud of reverie / Spin around inside my head unendingly”
Rhapsodize – “Melt Away,” Daydream
“Thoughts run wild as I sit and rhapsodize / Paint pretty pictures of what I’d do if you were mine” (see also Rainbow’s “Did I Do That?”: “Things you would never do you rhapsodize and get caught up in the hype”)
Romanticized – “I Only Wanted,” Charmbracelet
“Foolishly I romanticized someone was saving my life”
S
Serenity – “Angels Cry,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“I thought we’d be forever and always / You were serenity, you took away the bad days”
Solace – “Never Too Far,” Glitter
“In the memories there is solace”
Solidarity – “I Wish You Well,” E=MC²
“I truly wanted solidarity / Still wearing my blinders back then”
Solitude – “My All,” Butterfly
“I am thinking of you in my sleepless solitude tonight”
Splendor – “The Roof,” Butterfly
“I envision you caressing me and go back in time / To relive the splendor of you and I on the rooftop that rainy night”
Steadfastly – “Through the Rain,” Charmbracelet
“Keep pressing on steadfastly”
Stigmatized – “My Saving Grace,” Charmbracelet
“Been stigmatized, been black and white”
Subconscious - “Babydoll,” Butterfly
“My subconscious seems to weave itself around you”
Sublime – “Underneath the Stars,” Daydream
“And the feeling was so heady and sublime”
Subside – “Thank God I Found You,” Rainbow
“The hurt from the heartache would not subside” (See also “The Art of Letting Go”: “Evidently your words were merely lies, reverberating in my ears and the echo won’t subside”)
Succumb – “Butterfly,” Butterfly
“It’s easy to succumb to overwhelming fears inside”
Supremacy - “There’s Got To Be A Way”, Mariah Carey
“In another land they still believe / Color grants supremacy”
Surpasses – “Sent Up from Above,” Mariah Carey
“What we have surpasses / Even paradise” (see also Charmbracelet’s “Yours”: “You surpass all my fantasies”)
Surreal – “For the Record,” E=MC²
“Suddenly you’re here and it’s so surreal / And I don’t know what the deal”
T
Taunt – “I Only Wanted,” Charmbracelet
“Abandonment returns to taunt me again”
Tentatively – “Fourth of July,” Butterfly
“Tentatively kissed goodnight, and went our separate ways”
Thee – “Music Box,” Music Box
“All I have I wannna give to thee”
Transcending – “When I Saw You,” Daydream
“Soft heavenly eyes gazed into me transcending space and time”
U
Unclouded – “I Am Free,” Daydream
“You gave me a breath of life / Unclouded my eyes with sweet serenity”
Undressable – “#Beautiful”
“Ooh you make me feel undressable”
Undividedness – “Petals,” Rainbow
“I’ve always longed for undividedness and sought stability”
Unfailingly – “Forever,” Daydream
“Unfailingly, I will return to your arms and unburden your heart”
Unloosed – “Ribbon,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“Boy I’m all wrapped up in you / You make me feel so unloosed”
Untimely – “Crybaby,” Rainbow
“I think of our untimely end and everything we could have been I cry, baby I cry”
Unvarnished – “Thank God I Found You,” Rainbow
“After so much suffering I finally found unvarnished truth”
Unwavering – “Triumphant (Vintage Throwback Remix)“
”All you need is to remain unwavering.”
Unyielding – “Breakdown,” Butterfly
”Immediately I pretended to be feeling similarly and led you to believe / I was OK to just walk away from the one thing that’s unyielding and sacred to me.”
Uplifting – “Dreamlover,” Music Box
“I need somebody uplifting / To take me away”
V
Ventilation – “Obsessed,” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“Gaspin’ for air / I’m ventilation”
Verbalize – “How Much,” Rainbow
“The way I feel for you I can’t describe / It’s almost too intense to verbalize”
Vicinity – “Betcha Gon’ Know (The Prologue),” Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel
“It’s too dangerous to be in the vicinity of where you are”
W
Wane - “Sunflowers for Alfred Roy,” Charmbracelet
“Hard to see the life wane as the days went by” (see also the outtake “When I Feel It”: “My defenses start to wane”)
Wayward – “Close My Eyes,” Butterfly
“I was a wayward child with the weight of the world”
Woeful – “Clown,” Charmbracelet
“I shoulda never listened to your woeful stories / The ones I’m sure you told a thousand times before me”
Related: Supercut: Does Mariah Carey Take Songwriting Seriously?
Updated on 11/11/13 to reflect entries from recent singles “#Beautiful” and “The Art of Letting Go.”
[Image via Getty]