Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2025 is: opportune • \ah-per-TOON\ • adjective Opportune describes something that is suitable or convenient for a particular situation, or that is done or happening at an appropriate time. // They chose an opportune time to invest in real estate. // She is waiting for an opportune moment to ask for a raise. See the entry > Examples: “It [the Mystic Seaport Museum in Connecticut] was constructed on the site of an 1830s shipyard built by three marin...
May 31, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2025 is: gust • \GUST\ • noun Gust refers to a sudden strong wind. It is also used figuratively for a sudden outburst of something, such as a feeling. // Today’s weather will be windy, with gusts of up to 40 miles per hour. See the entry > Examples: “This subversive comedy is now a posh panto , directed by Max Webster. It gets gusts of laughter but can feel rather forced, and the joyous language is left to fend for itself.” — Robert Gore-Langton, ...
May 30, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2025 is: nascent • \NASS-unt\ • adjective Nascent is a formal word used to describe something that is just beginning to exist, or in other words, is recently formed or developed. // The actress is now focused on her nascent singing career. See the entry > Examples: “I asked my father, recently, if I might borrow one of his old journals as research for a nascent writing project. It felt like there might be something there —in the poetry of varietal...
May 29, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2025 is: nascent • \NASS-unt\ • adjective Nascent is a formal word used to describe something that is just beginning to exist, or in other words, is recently formed or developed. // The actress is now focused on her nascent singing career. See the entry > Examples: “I asked my father, recently, if I might borrow one of his old journals as research for a nascent writing project. It felt like there might be something there —in the poetry of varietal...
May 29, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 28, 2025 is: fiasco • \fee-ASK-oh\ • noun A fiasco is a complete failure or disaster. // The entire fiasco could have been avoided if they'd simply followed the instructions. See the entry > Examples: "Fyre's first iteration, in 2017, was widely seen as a massive failure. The luxe accommodations promised on the Bahamian island of Great Exuma turned out to be tents and instead of the promised gourmet fare, guests were served cold cheese sandwiches. Aft...
May 28, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 27, 2025 is: interminable • \in-TER-muh-nuh-bul\ • adjective Interminable describes things that have or seem to have no end, especially because they continue for a very long time. // The family played games to pass the time during the interminable wait for their delayed flight. See the entry > Examples: "After what has felt like an interminable winter, spring is finally in the air. Birds are singing, daffodils and crocuses are pushing their way throug...
May 27, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2025 is: commemorate • \kuh-MEM-uh-rayt\ • verb Something, such as a plaque, statue, or parade, is said to commemorate an event, person, etc. when it serves as a memorial; it exists or is done in order to recall the event or person. A person or group commemorates an event, person, etc. by doing something special in order to remember and honor that event or person. // The plaque commemorates the battle that took place here 200 years ago. // Each year ...
May 26, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2025 is: dyspeptic • \diss-PEP-tik\ • adjective Dyspeptic is a formal and old-fashioned word used to describe someone who is bad-tempered (in other words, easily annoyed or angered), or something that shows or is characteristic of a bad temper. The noun form of dyspeptic is dyspepsia . // The comedian’s shtick of delivering dyspeptic rants on the daily annoyances of modern life was enormously popular. See the entry > Examples: “Statler and Waldorf...
May 25, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2025 is: limn • \LIM\ • verb Limn is a formal verb most often used especially in literary contexts to mean "to describe or portray," as in "a novel that limns the life of 1930s coastal Louisiana." It can also mean "to outline in clear sharp detail," as in "a tree limned by moonlight," and "to draw or paint on a surface," as in "limning a portrait." // The documentary limns the community's decades-long transformation. // We admired every detail of the...
May 24, 2025•3 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2025 is: bastion • \BAS-chun\ • noun A bastion is a place or system in which something (such as an idea) is protected and continues to survive. // The restaurant is a bastion of the region’s ancient culinary traditions. See the entry > Examples: “In 2017, Harlem residents took to the streets to protest Keller Williams after the real estate company began marketing the neighborhood’s 15-block southern radius (between 110th Street and 125th Street) a...
May 23, 2025•3 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2025 is: voluble • \VAHL-yuh-bul\ • adjective Someone may be described as voluble if they are talking a lot in a rapid, energetic way. // Bri knew something was bothering her normally voluble friend when he was reluctant to talk about his day. See the entry > Examples: “The movie is built around an interview with the legendary 91-year-old actor, still vigorous and voluble , with a seize-the-day cornball glow to him. In ‘You Can Call Me Bill,’ Shat...
May 22, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2025 is: voluble • \VAHL-yuh-bul\ • adjective Someone may be described as voluble if they are talking a lot in a rapid, energetic way. // Bri knew something was bothering her normally voluble friend when he was reluctant to talk about his day. See the entry > Examples: “The movie is built around an interview with the legendary 91-year-old actor, still vigorous and voluble , with a seize-the-day cornball glow to him. In ‘You Can Call M...
May 22, 2025•2 min
