Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 1, 2019 is: handsel \HAN-sul\ noun 1 : a gift made as a token of good wishes or luck especially at the beginning of a new year 2 : something received first (as in a day of trading) and taken to be a token of good luck 3 a : a first installment b : a token or sample of what is to come : earnest, foretaste Examples: Celebrating the New Year in the Scotti...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 31, 2018 is: hark back \HAHRK-BAK\ verb 1 : to turn back to an earlier topic or circumstance 2 : to go back to something as an origin or source Examples: "In Tea With The Dames, [Maggie Smith is] joined by fellow dames Judi Dench, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins; the women hark back on their early roles on stage and screen, talk about their ex-husba...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 30, 2018 is: obdurate \AHB-duh-rut\ adjective 1 a : stubbornly persistent in wrongdoing b : hardened in feelings 2 : resistant to persuasion or softening influences Examples: Obdurate lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have made it difficult for the state legislature to get anything done this term. "The emigrants were strong-willed and obdurate. The...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 29, 2018 is: fulcrum \FULL-krum\ noun 1 a : prop; specifically : the support about which a lever turns b : one that supplies capability for action 2 : a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support Examples: "Normally, bending involves using the hip as a fulcrum, and erector spinae muscles to support our trunk. When Jackson leaned over, he tran...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 28, 2018 is: canorous \kuh-NOR-us\ adjective : pleasant sounding : melodious Examples: "His artistry, technical proficiency, and canorous melodies have an introspective yet uplifting feeling by virtue of the beauty and honesty that so naturally accompany the acoustic guitar." — Kevin Gillies, Noozhawk (Santa Barbara, California), 26 Nov. 2018 "There i...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 27, 2018 is: enervate \EN-er-vayt\ verb 1 : to reduce the mental or moral vigor of 2 : to lessen the vitality or strength of Examples: Dehydration and prolonged exposure to the sun had enervated the shipwrecked crew, leaving them almost too weak to hail the passing vessel. "In contrast, there was dignity in the Joad family (of John Steinbeck's The Gra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 26, 2018 is: utmost \UT-mohst\ adjective 1 : situated at the farthest or most distant point : extreme 2 : of the greatest or highest degree, quantity, number, or amount Examples: "The refuge, which is bordered by the Centennial Mountains and Continental Divide to the south and the Gravelly Mountains to the north, is also home to the utmost point of th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 25, 2018 is: benison \BEN-uh-sun\ noun : blessing, benediction Examples: "I offer thanks for the little things and the big things, everyday benisons and once-in-a-blue-moon moments of grace." — Kati Schardl, The Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat, 17 Nov. 2017 "In the second half of the second act, the show shrinks and darkens as Hamilton's life does. The...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 24, 2018 is: grinch \GRINCH\ noun : one who spoils the pleasure of others : killjoy, spoilsport Examples: "Chalk it up to a weary world eager for uplifting entertainment, the surprise of a diamond-in-the-rough performer or simply the sheer delight of watching Britain's Got Talent judge and notorious grinch Simon Cowell grow a heart right before the au...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 23, 2018 is: assuage \uh-SWAYJ\ verb 1 : to lessen the intensity of (something that pains or distresses) : ease 2 : to make quiet : pacify 3 : to put an end to by satisfying : appease, quench Examples: "Prince wrote often and eagerly about the idea of sanctuary—places where his spiritual anxieties were assuaged." — Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 25...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 22, 2018 is: compendious \kum-PEN-dee-us\ adjective : marked by brief expression of a comprehensive matter : concise and comprehensive Examples: Noah Webster's style of defining for the first American dictionary was compendious. "For the past few years his writing has been an elegant and compendious ongoing exploration of Britain's social history thro...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2018 is: solstice \SAHL-stiss\ noun 1 : either of the two points on the ecliptic at which its distance from the celestial equator is greatest 2 : the time of the sun's passing one such point on the ecliptic which occurs about June 21 to begin summer in the northern hemisphere and about December 21 to begin winter in the northern hemisphere Example...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 20, 2018 is: frenetic \frih-NET-ik\ adjective : marked by excitement, disorder, or anxiety-driven activity : frenzied, frantic Examples: "For Youse and the roughly 90 employees who work at the store, the 5-mile move capped more than a half-year of planning, followed by a frenetic two days in which everything from the one store was transferred to the o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 19, 2018 is: tchotchke \CHAHCH-kuh\ noun : knickknack, trinket Examples: "How someone organizes their desk can tell you a lot about how they get work done. That's why we're stepping into the offices of enviably creative (and productive) people to look at what's on their desks—pens and notebooks and gadgets, but also décor and tchotchkes." — Deva Pardu...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 18, 2018 is: millefleur \adjective\ meel-FLER : having an allover pattern of small flowers and plants Examples: The museum's collection includes several medieval tapestries with millefleur designs. "An early 16th century millefleurs tapestry is a charmer, with children playing amidst the birds and animals and the thousand flowers of the style's name."...

Join us for a special edition of the Word of the Day Podcast. Host Peter Sokolowski is joined by Associate Editor and Lexicographer Emily Brewster. Leading the conversation about the Word of the Year is Ilan Stavans host of the In Contrast podcast from New England Public Radio. He is also the Lewis-Sebring Professor of Humanities and Latin American and Latino Culture at Amherst College. See Privac...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 17, 2018 is: epitome \ih-PIT-uh-mee\ noun 1 : a typical or ideal example : embodiment 2 a : a summary of a written work b : a brief presentation or statement of something 3 : brief or miniature form — usually used with in Examples: The cabin we rented was the epitome of country charm: wide pine floors, simple sturdy furniture, and clean linen curtains...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 16, 2018 is: vitiate \VISH-ee-ayt\ verb 1 : to make faulty or defective : impair 2 : to debase in moral or aesthetic status 3 : to make ineffective Examples: Some feared that the superintendent's decision to reinstate the students would vitiate the authority of the principal who suspended them in the first place. "Convected heating essentially is the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 15, 2018 is: nidus \NYE-dus\ noun 1 : a nest or breeding place; especially : a place or substance in an animal or plant where bacteria or other organisms lodge and multiply 2 : a place where something originates, develops, or is located Examples: The neighborhood had long been a nidus of crime and vice, but community policing and other interventions h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 14, 2018 is: zibeline \ZIB-uh-leen\ noun : a soft lustrous wool fabric with mohair, alpaca, or camel's hair Examples: "It's a simple, elegant design: high-collar, buttons, long sleeves, with lace and a sheer bodice. Its fabric catches the light very delicately—Bridges found the thick zibeline in London." — Hunter Harris, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2018 "The seco...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 13, 2018 is: perennial \puh-REN-ee-ul\ adjective 1 : present at all seasons of the year 2 : persisting for several years usually with new herbaceous growth from a perennating part 3 a : persistent, enduring b : continuing without interruption : constant, perpetual c : regularly repeated or renewed : recurrent Examples: "Kieran [Culkin] called Saines i...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 12, 2018 is: lunette \loo-NET\ noun 1 a : something that has the shape of a crescent or half-moon b : an opening in a vault especially for a window c : the surface at the upper part of a wall that is partly surrounded by a vault which the wall intersects and that is often filled by windows or by mural painting d : a low crescentic mound (as of sand) f...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 11, 2018 is: immure \ih-MYOOR\ verb 1 a : to enclose within or as if within walls b : imprison 2 : to build into a wall; especially : to entomb in a wall Examples: "Agnes … is a suburban lifer, a mousy, resigned little woman whose life is immured by her home, her family, and her church." — Jonathan Richards, The Santa Fe New Mexican, 7 Sept. 2018 "In...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 10, 2018 is: repartee \rep-er-TEE\ noun 1 a : a quick and witty reply b : a succession or interchange of clever retorts : amusing and usually light sparring with words 2 : adroitness and cleverness in reply : skill in repartee Examples: "One of my favorite parts of that scene was Kim's repartee with him, trying to show how smart she is, him pretending...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 9, 2018 is: galumph \guh-LUMF\ verb : to move with a clumsy heavy tread Examples: Mary's teenage son galumphed into the house and flung himself onto the couch, sighing heavily. "Incredibly, a massive rhinoceros comes galumphing toward us as rapidly as something that weighs more than two tons and resembles a tank on four legs can move." — Barbara Marsh...