lucubration
Say it: loo-kyoo-BRAY-shun /ˌluːkjʊˈbreɪʃən/ · noun
What “lucubration” means
Hard study or writing, especially late at night.
More precisely: Laborious study or writing, especially at night; also the resulting work.
When to use it
Use it for painstaking study or writing in a formal, literary or gently humorous tone, especially after dark.
Memory trick
Latin “lucubrare” means to work by lamplight: picture a tired scholar under a lamp.
Similar words
study, night work, meditation
Where it comes from
Latin lucubrare, 'to work by lamplight'.
Quick check
While everyone sleeps, you spend hours carefully studying difficult material beneath your desk lamp. What is this work?
procrastination or lucubration?
Show the answer
lucubration
Learn 5 new words a day in Kinquire. Each with a picture, how to say it, an example and a quick check, then spaced review so you actually keep them. Free to start.
Learn “lucubration”