Summer is nearly here! And with summer, there’s the opportunity to relax and enjoy everything that makes summer awesome: the heat, the flowers, the sun and the ocean breeze. Here are eight words that specifically describe summer and all of its wonderful attributes.

Estivate

To estivate is the act of spending a hot period in a dormant state - the hot weather version of hibernation. This is a perfect word to describe summer: When the heat is in full swing, we all want to hibernate and soak in the sun.

Verdant

Verdant feels like a heavy summer word, and it matches perfectly with the feel of being in a garden in the heat of June. Verdant comes from the old French word for green, verd. It represents the lush green of outside vegetation, like a summer field.

Quiescent

Quiescent is a word like estivate. It means to exists in a state of quiet and tiredness. Quiescent is good for those hot summer days where all you want to do is lie around in the shade, getting up only for a cold drink.

Ambrosial

Ambrosial is an adjective meaning “enjoyable to smell or taste,” and that can definitely describe summer. Whether it’s outdoor barbecue, the heavy scent of flowers and vegetation, or the salt of the ocean, there are a number of ambrosial scents wafting through the summer months.

Thalassophile

Thalassophile is the word for someone who loves the sea. The ocean is one of the best places to spend the summer, and being a thalassophile during the summer is one of the best things to be.

Sultry

Sultry can mean two different things: one usage is attractive and passionate, and is often used to describe a beautiful woman. It can also be used to describe weather, particularly hot and humid weather, just like summer.

Drupe

A drupe is a scientific term, meaning a fleshy fruit with a thin skin and a stone seed, like a peach or an apricot. Such fruits usually are ripe and ready to eat in the summer. The thought of a delicious peach or plum on a hot day is the perfect summer image.

Halcyon

Halcyon is a term that describes something as golden or joyful. It can be (and often is) used to describe the past in a romantic light, for seeing summers past and remembering them fondly and with nostalgia. It’s the perfect word for the end of the summer when fall is on its way.