Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2025 is: multifarious • \mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us\ • adjective Something described as multifarious has great diversity or variety, or is made up of many and various kinds of things. Multifarious is a formal word and a synonym of diverse . // He participated in multifarious activities throughout college. See the entry > Examples: "Over the course of his multifarious career, [musician Pat] Metheny has led numerous bands, more than a few of ...
Mar 12, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2025 is: quark • \KWORK\ • noun Quark is a word used in physics to refer to any one of several types of very small particles that make up matter. // Quarks , which combine together to form protons and neutrons, come in six types, or flavors : up, down, charm, strange, top, and bottom. See the entry > Examples: “One quantum field is special because its default value can change. Called the Higgs field , it controls the mass of many fu...
Mar 11, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2025 is: imperturbable • \im-per-TER-buh-bul\ • adjective Imperturbable describes someone or something marked by extreme calm; such a person or thing is very hard to disturb or upset. // The imperturbable captain did not panic when the boat sailed into the path of a violent storm. // Nothing disrupted the contestant's imperturbable focus. See the entry > Examples: "The thick heat is not letting up after a long stretch of nearly-90-d...
Mar 10, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2025 is: wend • \WEND\ • verb Wend is a literary word that means “to move slowly from one place to another usually by a winding or indirect course”; wending is traveling or proceeding on one’s way in such a manner. // Hikers wend along the marked trails to the top of the mountain, which provides a panoramic view of the area towns. // We wended our way through the narrow streets of the city’s historic quarter. See the entry > Examples...
Mar 09, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2025 is: gregarious • \grih-GAIR-ee-us\ • adjective Gregarious is used to describe someone who enjoys the company of other people. // Justin’s gregarious personality made it easy for him to get to know people at the networking event. See the entry > Examples: “How can we reap the benefits of deep connection if we are not naturally gregarious and extroverted? But as I have delved into the evidence, I have discovered that our social sk...
Mar 08, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2025 is: emollient • \ih-MAHL-yunt\ • noun An emollient is something, such as a lotion, that softens or soothes. // She keeps a number of oils in the bathroom—argan, almond, and coconut—to use as emollients . See the entry > Examples: " Jojoba oil and squalene are plant oils and emollients , which means they moisturize and soften skin by reinforcing its natural barrier and forming a layer that prevents moisture from escaping; beef ta...
Mar 07, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2025 is: career • \kuh-REER\ • verb To career is to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner. // The tourists gripped their seats and exchanged anxious looks as the bus careered along the narrow roads. See the entry > Examples: “This winter, I attended a livestock auction on California’s remote northern coast. Ranchers sat on plywood bleachers warming their hands as the auctioneer mumble-chanted and handlers flushed cows into ...
Mar 06, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2025 is: career • \kuh-REER\ • verb To career is to go at top speed especially in a headlong manner. // The tourists gripped their seats and exchanged anxious looks as the bus careered along the narrow roads. See the entry > Examples: “This winter, I attended a livestock auction on California’s remote northern coast. Ranchers sat on plywood bleachers warming their hands as the auctioneer mumble-chanted and handlers flushed cows into ...
Mar 06, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2025 is: askew • \uh-SKYOO\ • adjective Askew means “not straight” or “at an angle,” and can be used as both an adjective and an adverb. // The picture on the cabin wall was slightly askew . // The picture was hung askew on the cabin wall. See the entry > Examples: “I reread ‘Biography of Nigeria’s Foremost Professor of Statistics, Prof. James Nwoye Adichie,’ by Emeritus Professor Alex Animalu, Professor Peter I. Uche, and Jeff Unaeg...
Mar 05, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2025 is: schadenfreude • \SHAH-dun-froy-duh\ • noun Schadenfreude refers to a feeling of enjoyment that comes from seeing or hearing about the troubles of other people. // Schadenfreude was felt by many viewers when the arrogant contestant was voted off the show. See the entry > Examples: “In 1995, Sox fans were overjoyed to see the Yankees get knocked out of the playoffs in a thrilling divisional series.... It was Boston schadenfreu...
Mar 04, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2025 is: draconian • \dray-KOH-nee-un\ • adjective Draconian describes something (often a law, policy, restriction, etc.) that is very severe or cruel. // The editorial criticizes the draconian measures being taken by city hall to rein in spending. See the entry > Examples: “The auras that surround the Sharks and the Hawks are wildly distinct, even if the teams’ records are close to the same. To put it in Chicago terms, one team has ...
Mar 03, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2025 is: draconian • \dray-KOH-nee-un\ • adjective Draconian describes something (often a law, policy, restriction, etc.) that is very severe or cruel. // The editorial criticizes the draconian measures being taken by city hall to rein in spending. See the entry > Examples: “The auras that surround the Sharks and the Hawks are wildly distinct, even if the teams’ records are close to the same. To put it in Chicago terms, one team has ...
Mar 03, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2025 is: transpire • \tran-SPYRE\ • verb Transpire is a formal verb that means “to happen,” or in other words “to take place or occur.” It can also mean “to come to light” or “to become known,” as in “It transpired that they had met previously.” In botany, to transpire is to give off or exude watery vapor especially from the surfaces of leaves. // The monument will ensure that posterity will not soon forget the historic events that t...
Mar 02, 2025•3 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2025 is: factoid • \FAK-toyd\ • noun A factoid is a brief and usually unimportant or trivial fact. Factoid may also refer to an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. // The book is really just a collection of interesting factoids . See the entry > Examples: "Straight from the [ Lake Como , Italy] hotel docks, our captain showed us around the various villas and properties dotted around the lake, peppering in s...
Mar 01, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2025 is: factoid • \FAK-toyd\ • noun A factoid is a brief and usually unimportant or trivial fact. Factoid may also refer to an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. // The book is really just a collection of interesting factoids . See the entry > Examples: "Straight from the [ Lake Como , Italy] hotel docks, our captain showed us around the various villas and properties dotted around the lake, peppering in s...
Mar 01, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2025 is: factoid • \FAK-toyd\ • noun A factoid is a brief and usually unimportant or trivial fact. Factoid may also refer to an invented fact believed to be true because it appears in print. // The book is really just a collection of interesting factoids . See the entry > Examples: "Straight from the [ Lake Como , Italy] hotel docks, our captain showed us around the various villas and properties dotted around the lake, peppering in s...
Mar 01, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2025 is: cryptic • \KRIP-tik\ • adjective Something described as cryptic has or seems to have a hidden meaning, or is difficult to understand. // The singer posted a cryptic message on her social media accounts, and fans raced to decipher it. See the entry > Examples: "When Neon first met with 'Longlegs' writer-director Osgood Perkins, [chief marketing officer, Christian] Parkes' team pitched a cryptic viral ad campaign that put ...
Feb 28, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2025 is: cryptic • \KRIP-tik\ • adjective Something described as cryptic has or seems to have a hidden meaning, or is difficult to understand. // The singer posted a cryptic message on her social media accounts, and fans raced to decipher it. See the entry > Examples: "When Neon first met with 'Longlegs' writer-director Osgood Perkins, [chief marketing officer, Christian] Parkes' team pitched a cryptic viral ad campaign that put ...
Feb 28, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 27, 2025 is: doff • \DAHF\ • verb To doff a hat or other piece of clothing is to take it off. // They doffed their coats when they came inside the house. See the entry > Examples: “On the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco [Oscar] Wilde was introduced to a group of reporters who courteously doffed their hats. Wilde failed to return the gesture, much to the annoyance of one interviewer who used it as a pretext for blasting Wilde in h...
Feb 27, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 27, 2025 is: doff • \DAHF\ • verb To doff a hat or other piece of clothing is to take it off. // They doffed their coats when they came inside the house. See the entry > Examples: “On the ferry from Oakland to San Francisco [Oscar] Wilde was introduced to a group of reporters who courteously doffed their hats. Wilde failed to return the gesture, much to the annoyance of one interviewer who used it as a pretext for blasting Wilde in h...
Feb 27, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 26, 2025 is: ignoramus • \ig-nuh-RAY-mus\ • noun An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person. // I can't believe they let an ignoramus like that run the company. See the entry > Examples: "The alleged purpose of the [fee] increase was to discourage young people from taking courses that didn't lead to jobs where the demand for workers was great. Predictably, it didn't work. And only an ignoramus would regard an arts degree as...
Feb 26, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 26, 2025 is: ignoramus • \ig-nuh-RAY-mus\ • noun An ignoramus is an utterly ignorant or stupid person. // I can't believe they let an ignoramus like that run the company. See the entry > Examples: "The alleged purpose of the [fee] increase was to discourage young people from taking courses that didn't lead to jobs where the demand for workers was great. Predictably, it didn't work. And only an ignoramus would regard an arts degree as...
Feb 26, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2025 is: superfluous • \soo-PER-floo-us\ • adjective Superfluous is a formal word used to describe things that exceed what is necessary or sufficient, or that are simply not needed. // Further discussion seems superfluous , given the thorough conversation we just had. See the entry > Examples: “On the final single from his album Manning Fireworks , MJ Lenderman sketches a character study of a man so preoccupied with superfluous s...
Feb 25, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 25, 2025 is: superfluous • \soo-PER-floo-us\ • adjective Superfluous is a formal word used to describe things that exceed what is necessary or sufficient, or that are simply not needed. // Further discussion seems superfluous , given the thorough conversation we just had. See the entry > Examples: “On the final single from his album Manning Fireworks , MJ Lenderman sketches a character study of a man so preoccupied with superfluous s...
Feb 25, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 24, 2025 is: quip • \KWIP\ • noun Quip can refer to a clever, usually taunting remark, or to a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment. // They traded quips over a beer and laughed themselves silly. See the entry > Examples: "He's always got a story, is always ready with a quip and isn't afraid to let the four-letter words roll off the tongue in the most creative ways." — Nathan Brown, The Indian...
Feb 24, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 24, 2025 is: quip • \KWIP\ • noun Quip can refer to a clever, usually taunting remark, or to a witty or funny observation or response usually made on the spur of the moment. // They traded quips over a beer and laughed themselves silly. See the entry > Examples: "He's always got a story, is always ready with a quip and isn't afraid to let the four-letter words roll off the tongue in the most creative ways." — Nathan Brown, The Indian...
Feb 24, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 23, 2025 is: tousle • \TOW-zul\ • verb To tousle something is to dishevel it—that is, to make it untidy or unkempt. Tousle is usually, though not always, used specifically when a person’s hair is being so treated. // Vic stood in front of the mirror and tousled his hair, trying to get a cool, disheveled look. See the entry > Examples: “One of her hands tousled her long hair, which she wore down, and the other hand hovered in front of...
Feb 23, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 23, 2025 is: tousle • \TOW-zul\ • verb To tousle something is to dishevel it—that is, to make it untidy or unkempt. Tousle is usually, though not always, used specifically when a person’s hair is being so treated. // Vic stood in front of the mirror and tousled his hair, trying to get a cool, disheveled look. See the entry > Examples: “One of her hands tousled her long hair, which she wore down, and the other hand hovered in front of...
Feb 23, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2025 is: astute • \uh-STOOT\ • adjective Someone or something described as astute has or shows an ability to notice and understand things clearly. In other words, they are mentally sharp or clever. Astute can also describe someone who is crafty or wily. // They made some astute observations about the movie industry. // Astute readers will notice the error. See the entry > Examples: “Geraldine and Claire were out walking their dog...
Feb 22, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 22, 2025 is: astute • \uh-STOOT\ • adjective Someone or something described as astute has or shows an ability to notice and understand things clearly. In other words, they are mentally sharp or clever. Astute can also describe someone who is crafty or wily. // They made some astute observations about the movie industry. // Astute readers will notice the error. See the entry > Examples: “Geraldine and Claire were out walking their dog...
Feb 22, 2025•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
