Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 8, 2019 is: bas-relief \bah-rih-LEEF\ noun art : sculptural relief in which the projection from the surrounding surface is slight and no part of the modeled form is undercut ; also : sculpture executed in bas-relief Examples: "Three [works] that caught my eye were Maksymowicz's solemn plaster bas-relief of bones and tools, Gina Michaels' bronze sculp...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 7, 2019 is: germane \jer-MAYN\ adjective : being at once relevant and appropriate : fitting Examples: The message board moderator politely reminded new members to keep their posts germane to the topic being discussed. "'Most places we used to play have been demolished, and this one hasn't,' [Mick Jagger] said, and while he was mixing up his venues, h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 6, 2019 is: skulk \SKULK\ verb 1 : to move in a stealthy or furtive manner 2 : to hide or conceal something (such as oneself) often out of cowardice or fear or with sinister intent Examples: The cat often skulks around the foyer, waiting for someone to open the front door. "Engineers did not, for instance, want the robot to silently skulk up and scar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 5, 2019 is: adscititious \ad-suh-TISH-us\ adjective : derived or acquired from something extrinsic Examples: "I left the warm embrace of government work for adscititious reasons, driven not by boredom or indignation, but mainly by itchy feet ." — John Derbyshire, The National Review, 17 July 2002 "We should choose our books as we would our companions...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 4, 2019 is: minim \MIN-im\ noun 1 : a musical half note 2 : something very minute 3 : a unit of capacity equal to 1/60 fluid dram Examples: "And yet there are transcendent sparks in [writer Raymond Carver's work that] I keep going back to, moments of human communion that raise his people briefly above the wreckage of their worlds.… What's notable her...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 3, 2019 is: fecund \FEK-und\ adjective 1 : fruitful in offspring or vegetation : prolific 2 : intellectually productive or inventive to a marked degree Examples: As an artist, she gets most of her inspiration from nature; her daily walks in the woods are a fecund  source of ideas. "As if there aren't enough bugs around, get this: insects are ama...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 2, 2019 is: extemporize \ik-STEMP-puh-ryze\ verb 1 : to do something extemporaneously : improvise ; especially : to compose, perform, or speak extemporaneously 2 : to get along in a makeshift manner Examples: "Donald's own trio consisted of piano, bass and cello. Each player's part was written, not extemporized ." — Anthony Weller, The Los Angeles Ti...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 1, 2019 is: calliope \kuh-LYE-uh-pee\ noun 1 capitalized Calliope : the Greek Muse of heroic poetry 2 : a keyboard musical instrument resembling an organ and consisting of a series of whistles sounded by steam or compressed air Examples: The distant song of a calliope let everyone know the carnival was back in town. "And on Saturday, Minns, now 22, o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 31, 2019 is: brackish \BRACK-ish\ adjective 1 : somewhat salty 2 a : not appealing to the taste b : repulsive Examples: The mangrove swamp is home to many species of plants and animals that thrive in brackish water. "For decades, the Battleship Texas has rested in the shallow, brackish waters of the Houston Ship Channel, slowly decaying. While tourists...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 30, 2019 is: martinet \mar-tuh-NET\ noun 1 : a strict disciplinarian 2 : a person who stresses a rigid adherence to the details of forms and methods Examples: "Her father was a diet-and-exercise martinet , imposing a strict regimen on her as a condition for receiving an allowance." — Michael Upchurch, The Boston Globe, 20 Aug. 2017 "Topping them all, th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 29, 2019 is: augur \AW-gur\ verb 1 : to foretell especially from omens 2 : to give promise of : presage Examples: "The new discovery should provide insight into the elusive origins of the strange bright signals, and augurs a dawning era in which they will be found and studied by the thousands." — Nola Taylor Redd, Scientific American, 13 Aug. 2018 "Stil...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2019 is: irascible \ir-RASS-uh-bul\ adjective : marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger Examples: That tidy little house belongs to an irascible crank who never has a kind word for any of his neighbors. "Working with Adam Baldwin, best known as the irascible mercenary Jayne in Firefly and Serenity and the gruff but lovable John Casey on Chuck...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 27, 2019 is: desuetude \DESS-wih-tood\ noun : discontinuance from use or exercise : disuse Examples: The old bridge, which fell into desuetude after the railroad was shut down, has recently been opened as a pedestrian walkway. "It has been 15 years since Mr. Klein and his partners paid $18 million for the Sunset Tower, a faded Art Deco relic on a stretc...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26, 2019 is: wangle \WANG-gul\ verb 1 : to resort to trickery 2 : to adjust or manipulate for personal or fraudulent ends 3 : to make or get by devious means : finagle Examples: "He wangled an invitation to a White House Christmas party, where he and his wife posed for a photo with then-President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama." — Barbara Demick an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 25, 2019 is: kludge \KLOOJ\ noun : a haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a computer or programming problem Examples: Andy knocked out a hasty kludge to circumvent the buggy code until a more robust solution could be developed. "When the theatre was built in and opened in 1920, there were no concessions of any kind. Everything...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 24, 2019 is: sporadic \spuh-RAD-ik\ adjective : occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances Examples: The team's regular meetings became sporadic over the summer months, when at some points up to half of its members were on vacation. "Continuous permafrost hugs the Hudson Bay coast and spreads inland about 75 kilometres before be...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 23, 2019 is: excursion \ik-SKER-zhun\ noun 1 a : a going out or forth : expedition b (1) : a usually brief pleasure trip (2) : a trip at special reduced rates 2 : deviation from a direct, definite, or proper course; especially : digression 3 : a movement outward and back or from a mean position or axis; also : the distance traversed : amplitude Examples...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 22, 2019 is: chivy \CHIV-ee\ verb 1 : to tease or annoy with persistent petty attacks 2 : to move or obtain by small maneuvers Examples: Marielle watched her little brother as he chivied an olive from the jar with his fingers. "To encounter Hemingway as an adult was to be faced with a man whose appetite for supposedly masculine pursuits was so assiduous...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 21, 2019 is: misnomer \miss-NOH-mer\ noun 1 : the misnaming of a person in a legal instrument 2 a : a use of a wrong or inappropriate name b : a wrong name or inappropriate designation Examples: "When you see flashes along the horizon on a summer night, it could be lightning within a storm that's more than 100 miles away. ' Heat lightning ' is a misnome...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 20, 2019 is: ethereal \ih-THEER-ee-ul\ adjective 1 a : of or relating to the regions beyond the earth b : celestial c : unworldly , spiritual 2 a : lacking material substance : immaterial , intangible b : marked by unusual delicacy or refinement c : suggesting the heavens or heaven 3 : relating to, containing, or resembling a chemical ether Examples: "L...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 19, 2019 is: brandish \BRAN-dish\ verb 1 : to shake or wave (something, such as a weapon) menacingly 2 : to exhibit in an ostentatious or aggressive manner Examples: Michael appeared before the town council brandishing a petition signed by 500 people asking the town to increase funding for the public skate park. "Our plates of crisply battered cod, chip...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 18, 2019 is: hiatus \hye-AY-tus\ noun 1 a : a break in or as if in a material object : gap b biology : a gap or passage in an anatomical part or organ 2 a : an interruption in time or continuity : break ; especially : a period when something (as a program or activity) is suspended or interrupted b : the occurrence of two vowel sounds without pause or in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 17, 2019 is: tortuous \adjective\ TOR-chuh-wus 1 : marked by repeated twists, bends, or turns : winding 2 a : marked by devious or indirect tactics : crooked , tricky b : circuitous , involved Examples: "What a cast! A tsunami of lawyers, such as William Evarts, Benjamin Butler and others swept over Washington with a vengeance, launching long-winded spe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 16, 2019 is: satiate \SAY-shee-ayt\ verb : to satisfy (a need, a desire, etc.) fully or to excess Examples: After eating three pieces of pie and one of cake at the potluck, Jamie's sweet tooth was finally satiated . "While the battles between Shazam and his arch enemy Thaddeus Sivana … will satiate superhero fans, the emotional center of the movie is th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 15, 2019 is: miscible \MISS-uh-bul\ adjective : capable of being mixed; specifically : capable of mixing in any ratio without separation of two phases Examples: Oil and water are not miscible —if you pour oil in a glass of water, it will float to the top. "Although the alkalized cocoa was not completely soluble in milk or water, it was more miscible tha...