Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2025 is: antic • \AN-tik\ • noun Antic refers to an attention-drawing, often wildly playful or funny act or action. It is usually used in its plural form, and is often used disapprovingly. // It wasn't clear which students were ultimately responsible for the antics that unfolded in the cafeteria that day. See the entry > Examples: “A couple of adult gorillas, including one majestic silverback, lay indolently on the ground—seemingly reveling in the...
Jul 06, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2025 is: cantankerous • \kan-TANK-uh-rus\ • adjective A cantankerous person is often angry and annoyed, and a cantankerous animal or thing is difficult or irritating to deal with. // Although the former postman was regarded by some townspeople as a scowling, cantankerous old coot, he was beloved by neighborhood children, to whom he would regularly hand out butterscotch candies from his front stoop with a twinkle in his eye. See the entry > Example...
Jul 05, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 4, 2025 is: Yankee • \YANG-kee\ • noun Yankee can refer broadly to anyone born or living in the U.S., more narrowly to only those in the northern U.S., or even more narrowly to only those in the states of New England . The broadest use is especially common outside the U.S. // It took the children some time to adjust to being the only Southerners in a classroom full of Yankees . // After years of international travel, he'd grown accustomed to living as a...
Jul 04, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2025 is: desultory • \DEH-sul-tor-ee\ • adjective Desultory is a formal word used to describe something that lacks a plan or purpose, or that occurs without regularity. It can also describe something unconnected to a main subject, or something that is disappointing in progress, performance, or quality. // After graduation, I moved from job to job in a more or less desultory manner before finding work I liked. // The team failed to cohere over the cou...
Jul 03, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 2, 2025 is: galumph • \guh-LUMF\ • verb To galumph is to move in a loud and clumsy way. // I could hear them galumphing around in the attic in search of old family photo albums. See the entry > Examples: “Dragons! Dragons roaring! Dragons squawking! Dragons sizing each other up! Dragons galumphing over the sand so awkwardly it reminds you that dragons are creatures of the air, not the earth.” — Glen Weldon, NPR , 28 July 2024 Did you know? Bump, thum...
Jul 02, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 1, 2025 is: verbose • \ver-BOHSS\ • adjective Someone described as verbose tends to use many words to convey their point. Verbose can also describe something, such as a speech, that contains more words than necessary. // The article documenting their meeting presented an odd exchange between a verbose questioner and a laconic interviewee. See the entry > Examples: "The dense, verbose text—over which some actors stumbled, understandably, on opening ni...
Jul 01, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2025 is: expunge • \ik-SPUNJ\ • verb To expunge something is to remove it completely, whether by obliterating it, striking it out, or marking it for deletion. Expunge is most commonly applied in cases in which documentation of something is removed from an official record. // Due to an error, the charges were expunged from their record. See the entry > Examples: “... Bland et al. found that an offer to expunge a criminal record after participation...
Jun 30, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2025 is: impetus • \IM-puh-tus\ • noun Impetus refers to a force or impulse that causes something (such as a process or activity) to be done or to become more active. It is often used with for and sometimes with to. // Her work provided the major impetus behind the movement. // The tragic accident became an impetus for changing the safety regulations. // The high salary and generous benefits package were impetus enough to apply for the job. See the ...
Jun 29, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2025 is: restive • \RES-tiv\ • adjective Restive can describe a person or group feeling impatience or uneasiness, or it can describe someone who is stubbornly resistant to control. // The audience grew increasingly restive as the speaker droned on and on. // The school's focus on artistic expression helps restive youths stay engaged in their learning. See the entry > Examples: "One of the most important triggers for industrial revolution in Engla...
Jun 28, 2025•3 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2025 is: oblige • \uh-BLYJE\ • verb To oblige a person or entity to do something is to require or force them to do it, either because of a law or rule, or because it is necessary. To simply oblige someone is to do them a favor. // The law obliges the government to release certain documents to the public. // When my friend said he needed someone to taste test his new recipe for the cooking competition, I was happy to oblige . See the entry > Examp...
Jun 27, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2025 is: sumptuous • \SUMP-shuh-wus\ • adjective Sumptuous is used to describe things that are very expensive, rich, luxurious, or magnificent. // The celebratory meal was a sumptuous feast of dishes from our host’s homeland. See the entry > Examples: “With comfy living areas with bistro tables, sumptuous marble bathrooms, and large private lanais with sweeping views of the ocean, mountain, or gardens, guests have ample room to spread out, relax,...
Jun 26, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2025 is: sumptuous • \SUMP-shuh-wus\ • adjective Sumptuous is used to describe things that are very expensive, rich, luxurious, or magnificent. // The celebratory meal was a sumptuous feast of dishes from our host’s homeland. See the entry > Examples: “With comfy living areas with bistro tables, sumptuous marble bathrooms, and large private lanais with sweeping views of the ocean, mountain, or gardens, guests have ample room to spread out, relax,...
Jun 26, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2025 is: flotsam • \FLAHT-sum\ • noun Flotsam refers to the floating pieces that remain after a shipwreck, or more broadly to any floating debris or wreckage. It is also used figuratively to refer to miscellaneous or unimportant material, often in the phrase "flotsam and jetsam." // Driftwood and other flotsam washed onto the beach. // Their apartment was adorned with the flotsam and jetsam of thrift stores and yard sales. See the entry > Example...
Jun 25, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2025 is: noisome • \NOY-sum\ • adjective Noisome is a formal and literary word used to describe things that are very unpleasant or disgusting; it is used especially to describe offensive smells. Noisome can also mean “highly obnoxious or objectionable” as in “we were put off by their noisome habits.” // The noisome odor of a trash can in the alley was so strong that even diners seated inside the adjacent restaurant complained to staff. See the entry...
Jun 24, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2025 is: wherewithal • \WAIR-wih-thawl\ • noun Wherewithal refers to the means, skills, resources, or money that is needed to get or do something. // The company does not have the financial wherewithal to expand into other markets at this time. See the entry > Examples: "... it is heartening to know that there are people of real influence who have the will and wherewithal to help lift the city out of the doldrums ." — Scott Wright, The Herald (Sc...
Jun 23, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 22, 2025 is: bemuse • \bih-MYOOZ\ • verb If you are bemused by something, you are confused or bewildered by it, and often also somewhat amused. // The contestant seemed somewhat bemused by the question, but gave the correct answer. See the entry > Examples: “The duck touched down on the surface of Raymond James Stadium just minutes before the Bucs scored their own touchdown. ... Many of the staff not assigned to work on the field were bemused by the ...
Jun 22, 2025•2 min
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2025 is: litmus test • \LIT-mus-TEST\ • noun A litmus test is something (such as an opinion about a political or moral issue) that is used to make a judgment about whether someone or something is acceptable. // At our family’s Thanksgiving dinner, the litmus test for good mac and cheese is whether or not it is baked. See the entry > Examples: “The audience in a Broadway show can be intoxicating, and it’s like a litmus test . If a joke doesn’t lan...
Jun 21, 2025•2 min
