Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 16, 2025 is: adversity • \ad-VER-suh-tee\ • noun Adversity refers to a difficult situation or condition, or to a state of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune. // The soldiers were honored for acting with courage in the face of adversity . // The team overcame many adversities on their way to summiting the mountain. See the entry > Examples: “To foster self-reliance, colleges should focus on supports that empower students to fa...
Apr 16, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 15, 2025 is: pugnacious • \pug-NAY-shus\ • adjective Someone described as pugnacious shows a readiness or desire to fight or argue. // There's one pugnacious member on the committee who won't agree to anything. See the entry > Examples: "While looking through the Perkins telescope [at Saturn] one night, a pugnacious 10-year-old commented, 'Hey! I only see one ring. Rip off!'" — Tom Burns, The Delaware (Ohio) Gazette , 23 Oct. 2024 Did y...
Apr 15, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 14, 2025 is: druthers • \DRUH-therz\ • noun plural Druthers is an informal word that refers to the power or opportunity to choose—in other words, free choice. It is used especially in the phrase if one had one's druthers . // If I had my druthers , I would travel all the time. See the entry > Examples: “If I had my druthers , if I made the sequel to ‘Companion,’ it would just be a shot of her on the side of the road, cutting out her tra...
Apr 14, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2025 is: reminisce • \rem-uh-NISS\ • verb To reminisce is to talk, think, or write about things that happened in the past. // After the official reunion dinner, the old friends gathered at a pub to reminisce about their high school days, now long past. See the entry > Examples: “Our parents would reminisce about their past happiness and point to the oversized photographic portrait taken of them at the county fair sometime in the mid...
Apr 13, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2025 is: gustatory • \GUSS-tuh-tor-ee\ • adjective Gustatory describes things that are related to or associated with eating or the sense of taste. // The deli has been widely praised for its astonishing variety of gustatory delights. See the entry > Examples: "For those who have never experienced the gustatory pleasure, these cream puffs consist of freshly baked pastry shells generously covered with powdered sugar and bloated with c...
Apr 12, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 11, 2025 is: kitsch • \KITCH\ • noun Kitsch refers to something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often cheap or tacky. Kitsch also refers to a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition. // The restaurant is decorated with 1950s furniture and kitsch from old TV shows. // The critic opined that the movie, despite its lofty ambitions, at times descended into kitsch . See the entry > Examples: “If you were dressing yourself in th...
Apr 11, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2025 is: chary • \CHAIR-ee\ • adjective Chary is usually used with about or of to describe someone who is cautious about doing something. // The director is chary about spending money. // I’ve always been chary of travelling alone. See the entry > Examples: “Overall, Rendell is chary about divulging the selling price of various documents, but he does occasionally reveal some financial details.” — Michael Dirda, The Washington Post ,...
Apr 10, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2025 is: vouchsafe • \vowch-SAYF\ • verb Vouchsafe is a formal and old-fashioned word meaning "to give (something) to someone as a promise or a privilege." // He vouchsafed the secret to only a few of his closest allies. See the entry > Examples: " [Arthur] Conan Doyle (1859-1930) wrote several horribly chilling tales of the supernatural, although this might surprise readers who only know his Sherlock Holmes stories. When there are e...
Apr 09, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2025 is: apparatchik • \ah-puh-RAH-chik\ • noun Apparatchik is used disapprovingly to refer to a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization, such as a corporation or political party. // This generation of graduates wants more out of life than to become establishment apparatchiks . See the entry > Examples: "Played by What We Do in the Shadows ' Matt Berry, Shazbor is a faithful party apparatchik and staunch defe...
Apr 08, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 7, 2025 is: malleable • \MAL-ee-uh-bul\ • adjective Something described as malleable is capable of being stretched or bent into different shapes, or capable of being easily changed or influenced. // Let the cookie dough thaw until it becomes malleable enough to thinly roll. // Students' minds are malleable and they need positive influences and guidance. See the entry > Examples: "She begins by sculpting with malleable French clays to cr...
Apr 07, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 6, 2025 is: impresario • \im-pruh-SAHR-ee-oh\ • noun An impresario is a person who manages, puts on, or sponsors a performance or other entertainment, such as a concert, play, or sporting event. // The former heavyweight retired from the ring and later became a boxing impresario . See the entry > Examples: “When he stepped on stage during a comedy open mic at Castle Street spot The Barzarre in June of 2022, Louis Maynor, better known as...
Apr 06, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 5, 2025 is: benign • \bih-NYNE\ • adjective Benign describes something that does not cause harm or damage. In medical contexts it is used to describe something that does not threaten life or health (as in "a benign tumor"). Additional meanings include "mild and pleasant" (as in "benign weather conditions") and "showing kindness and gentleness" (as in "a benign outlook"). // The project required that we manage some inconvenient but ultim...
Apr 05, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 4, 2025 is: hew • \HYOO\ • verb Hew is commonly used with to to mean "to conform to or adhere to (something)." Hew on its own has several meanings having to do with cutting or shaping with a sharp tool, such as an ax. Both hewed and hewn are past participles of hew . // The senator has always hewed closely to the party line. // The explorers hewed logs for building cabins. See the entry > Examples: "The play hewed closely to the origina...
Apr 04, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 3, 2025 is: snark • \SNAHRK\ • noun Snark is an informal word that refers to an attitude or expression of mocking irreverence and sarcasm. // The stand-up comedian’s set was full of snark about current events, which had the audience rolling in the aisles. See the entry > Examples: “With snark and whimsy, [Zelda] Williams and the screenwriter Diablo Cody … put a playfully macabre spin on the Frankenstein legend that doubles as a subversi...
Apr 03, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 2, 2025 is: effusive • \ih-FYOO-siv\ • adjective Someone or something described as effusive is expressing or showing a lot of emotion or enthusiasm. // Jay positively glowed as effusive compliments on the meal echoed around the table. See the entry > Examples: "More recently, Billboard ranked Grande, who also writes and produces her own work, high on its list of the greatest pop stars of the 21st century. ... Rolling Stone has been simi...
Apr 02, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2025 is: cynosure • \SYE-nuh-shur\ • noun A cynosure is a person or thing that attracts a lot of attention or interest. As a proper noun, Cynosure may refer to the North Star or its constellation Ursa Minor . // He was the cynosure of all eyes as he walked into the room. See the entry > Examples: "Look at any picture of Kashmir and you'll understand why it is called heaven on earth. And Srinagar , framed by the majestic Zabarwan Moun...
Apr 01, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2025 is: penchant • \PEN-chunt\ • noun Penchant refers to a strong liking for something, or a strong tendency to behave in a certain way. It is usually used with for . // My penchant for mathematics helped me become an engineer. See the entry > Examples: " Sly Lives! is exceptionally strong in its attention to musical detail—even more than Questlove 's previous cinematic effort, the Academy Award–winning Summer of Soul , Sly Lives! ...
Mar 31, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 30, 2025 is: untoward • \un-TOH-erd\ • adjective Untoward is a formal word that describes something that is improper or inappropriate, or that is adverse or unfavorable. // The medication is safe and effective, with no known untoward side effects. // The investigation found that nothing untoward had happened at the event. See the entry > Examples: “You might be thinking that the best course of action would be to make sure that any such ...
Mar 30, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2025 is: elucidate • \ih-LOO-suh-dayt\ • verb To elucidate something is to make it clear or easy to understand. // The writer elucidates complex medical findings for a general audience. See the entry > Examples: “Building flexible classrooms gives the building a lifespan beyond one class or even one era of pedagogy , which, as [Lee] Fertig elucidates , are sure to evolve.” — Maya Chawla, Architectural Digest , 25 Sep. 2024 Did you k...
Mar 29, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 28, 2025 is: derelict • \DAIR-uh-likt\ • adjective Derelict is a formal word that describes something that is no longer cared for or used by anyone. It can also describe someone who is negligent or who fails to do what needs to be done. // The kids made sure to stay away from the spooky derelict houses in the neighborhood on Halloween. // The officers were charged with being derelict in their duty. See the entry > Examples: "In a movie ...
Mar 28, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2025 is: archetype • \AHR-kih-type\ • noun Archetype refers to someone or something that is seen to be a perfect example. It is also a word for the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies. // The college’s most popular philosophy professor is the archetype of the preoccupied academic, complete with the messy desk, disheveled hair, and brilliant theories. // The film is considered ...
Mar 27, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2025 is: flippant • \FLIP-unt\ • adjective Something described as flippant, such as behavior or a comment, is lacking in proper respect or seriousness. // The celebrity made a flippant remark when questioned about the scandal. See the entry > Examples: "While the show seems to take a flippant attitude to the neatly packaged solutions offered by wellness tourism, I'm curious to see what it makes of these treatments' underlying Buddhi...
Mar 26, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2025 is: hobbit • \HAH-bit\ • noun A hobbit is a member of a fictitious peaceful and friendly race of small humanlike creatures that dwell underground. // The story was filled with all sorts of imaginary people, including hobbits . See the entry > Examples: " Hobbits were no part of Tolkien's original plan. They entered rather late and through a side door, as the unexpected central characters in a children's story, The Hobbit , whic...
Mar 25, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2025 is: hobbit • \HAH-bit\ • noun A hobbit is a member of a fictitious peaceful and friendly race of small humanlike creatures that dwell underground. // The story was filled with all sorts of imaginary people, including hobbits . See the entry > Examples: " Hobbits were no part of Tolkien's original plan. They entered rather late and through a side door, as the unexpected central characters in a children's story, The Hobbit , whic...
Mar 25, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2025 is: hobbit • \HAH-bit\ • noun A hobbit is a member of a fictitious peaceful and friendly race of small humanlike creatures that dwell underground. // The story was filled with all sorts of imaginary people, including hobbits . See the entry > Examples: " Hobbits were no part of Tolkien's original plan. They entered rather late and through a side door, as the unexpected central characters in a children's story, The Hobbit , whic...
Mar 25, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 24, 2025 is: garble • \GAR-bul\ • verb To garble something, such as a word, name, message, etc., is to cause it to be unclear or distorted. This type of garbling can be the result of an accident, ignorance, or a transmission error. Garble can also mean "to so alter or distort as to create a wrong impression or change the meaning." // I was so nervous I garbled their names. See the entry > Examples: "Noisy environments and interruptions ...
Mar 24, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2025 is: de rigueur • \duh-ree-GUR\ • adjective De rigueur is a formal adjective that describes things that are necessary if you want to be fashionable, popular, socially acceptable, etc.—in other words, things required by fashion, etiquette, or custom. // Dark sunglasses are de rigueur these days among fashionistas . See the entry > Examples: “Summer swimwear has come a long way since itty-bitty string bikinis were de rigueur for t...
Mar 23, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 22, 2025 is: neologism • \nee-AH-luh-jiz-um\ • noun Neologism can refer either to a new word or expression or to a new meaning of an existing word. // I love seeing all the slangy neologisms that pop up on social media every year. See the entry > Examples: "… [U]ndertakers refashioned themselves … as funeral directors over the span of a few decades in the early twentieth century. … [T]he new generation of morticians (another neologism m...
Mar 22, 2025•2 min
