Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2018 is: recalcitrant \rih-KAL-suh-trunt\ adjective 1 : obstinately defiant of authority or restraint 2 a : difficult to manage or operate b : not responsive to treatment c : resistant Examples: The magazine, aimed at parents and caregivers of young children, will include the latest in child development science as well as practical information, li...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2018 is: admonish \ad-MAH-nish\ verb 1 a : to indicate duties or obligations to b : to express warning or disapproval to especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner 2 : to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to 3 : to say (something) as advice or a warning Examples: The teacher admonished the students to not speak over one anot...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2018 is: valorous \VAL-uh-russ\ adjective 1 : possessing or acting with bravery or boldness : courageous 2 : marked by, exhibiting, or carried out with courage or determination : heroic Examples: For carrying three wounded members of his squadron out of harm's way, the lieutenant was presented with an award that recognized his valorous actions in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2018 is: furlong \FER-lawng\ noun : a unit of distance equal to 220 yards (about 201 meters) Examples: "They tramped on again. But they had not gone more than a furlong when the storm returned with fresh fury." — J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring, 1954 "Entered in the nine-furlong Pennsylvania Derby is a mix of local runners taking a sh...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2018 is: boustrophedon \boo-struh-FEE-dahn\ noun : the writing of alternate lines in opposite directions (as from left to right and from right to left) Examples: The archaeologist noticed that the text on the tablet was written in boustrophedon. "A few days later the same Captain Pasha gave them a gift of an ancient boustrophedon inscription which...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 8, 2018 is: palmary \PAL-muh-ree\ adjective : outstanding, best Examples: A daughter of missionaries, Pearl S. Buck wrote many works about Chinese life and culture, with her palmary novel, The Good Earth, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1932. "The palmary case of telling someone what to do is to issue, for instance, the simple imperative 'Go away'—an ut...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 7, 2018 is: derring-do \dair-ing-DOO\ noun : daring action : daring Examples: "They're two of the most celebrated climbers in the world, struggling to find the right words to describe an astonishing act of human derring-do: On June 3, 2017, Honnold ascended the Freerider route of El Capitan, a nearly 3,000-foot rock face in Yosemite National Park, not...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 6, 2018 is: umbrage \UM-brij\ noun 1 : a feeling of pique or resentment at some often fancied slight or insult 2 : shady branches : foliage 3 : shade, shadow 4 a : an indistinct indication : vague suggestion : hint b : a reason for doubt : suspicion Examples: "Often, after an active morning, she would spend a sunny afternoon in lying stirless on the t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 5, 2018 is: mordant \MOR-dunt\ adjective 1 : biting and caustic in thought, manner, or style : incisive 2 : acting as a mordant (as in dyeing) 3 : burning, pungent Examples: "When Clementine tried to tell him that the result might well be a blessing in disguise, Winston Churchill maintained his normal standards of mordant wit by replying that 'at the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2018 is: gridiron \GRID-eye-ern\ noun 1 : a grate for broiling food 2 : something consisting of or covered with a network 3 : a football field Examples: "Despite his prowess on the gridiron, he received little attention from Division-I football programs." — Tom Layberger, Forbes, 14 Sept. 2018 "[Thomas] Jefferson wanted wide streets, lots of land r...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 3, 2018 is: sinew \SIN-yoo\ noun 1 : tendon; especially : one dressed for use as a cord or thread 2 a : solid resilient strength : power Examples: "This roast from the shoulder was beefy and juicy…. A thin line of sinew was the only unpleasant distraction." — Cook's Country, June 1995 "Among the materials [American explorer John Wesley Powell] left in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2018 is: connive \kuh-NYVE\ verb 1 : to pretend ignorance of or fail to take action against something one ought to oppose 2 a : to be indulgent or in secret sympathy : wink b : to cooperate secretly or have a secret understanding 3 : conspire, intrigue Examples: "Arnold worked out a plan not only to turn over the fort and its men to the British but...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 1, 2018 is: verbose \ver-BOHSS\ adjective 1 : containing more words than necessary : wordy; also : impaired by wordiness   2 : given to wordiness Examples: "[The] text … is verbose and vague, and so comically overheated that it can feel like a parody of late Tennessee Williams, when that playwright's florid style had graduated to full rococo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2018 is: lycanthropy \lye-KAN-thruh-pee\ noun 1 : a delusion that one has become a wolf 2 : the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic Examples: The 1941 film The Wolf Man starred Lon Chaney, Jr., as a man cursed with lycanthropy. "Born in 1859, Alfred Edward Housman came from a talented fami...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2018 is: caterwaul \KAT-er-wawl\ verb 1 : to make a harsh cry 2 : to protest or complain noisily Examples: The woods were quiet until the sound of a chainsaw caterwauling in the distance broke the calm. "Between begging calls, the young birds made more practice launches, flapping their wings and jumping. Paired adults were re-forming their relation...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2018 is: shambles \SHAM-bulz\ noun 1 : slaughterhouse 2 a : a place of mass slaughter or bloodshed b : a scene or a state of great destruction : wreckage c : a scene or a state of great disorder or confusion d : great confusion : mess Examples: "The scene is reminiscent of the opening of the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark, when Indiana Jones fle...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2018 is: multitudinous \mul-tuh-TOO-duh-nus\ adjective 1 : including a multitude of individuals : populous 2 : existing in a great multitude 3 : existing in or consisting of innumerable elements or aspects Examples: The author's appearance is expected to attract a multitudinous gathering that will fill the entire auditorium. "First and foremost are...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2018 is: pamphleteer \pam-fluh-TEER\ verb 1 : to write and publish pamphlets 2 : to engage in partisan arguments indirectly in writings Examples: Though he is remembered today for his novels and essays, George Orwell was also known to pamphleteer for causes important to him. "After the pamphlet wars between supporters of Louis XIII and Marie de Med...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2018 is: holy writ \HOH-lee-RIT\ noun 1 often capitalized Holy Writ : Bible 2 : a writing or utterance having unquestionable authority Examples: "But just because these people claim to be experts doesn't mean their every utterance should be treated as holy writ." — James Delingpole, The Spectator, 7 Apr. 2018 "Holy Writ is a text we read and engage...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2018 is: fugacious \fyoo-GAY-shus\ adjective : lasting a short time : evanescent Examples: The rock band's rise in popularity turned out to be fugacious, and within two years its members had moved on to other careers. "The maple leaves are a yellow light signaling me to slow down and take in the last pulse of color of a fugacious fall." — David Joh...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2018 is: indoctrinate \in-DAHK-truh-nayt\ verb 1 : to instruct especially in fundamentals or rudiments : teach 2 : to imbue with a usually partisan or sectarian opinion, point of view, or principle Examples: "Clearly, [in the television series 'The Handmaid's Tale'] the Sons of Jacob have been scarily successful in indoctrinating Americans—or, more...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2018 is: mawkish \MAW-kish\ adjective 1 : lacking flavor or having an unpleasant taste 2 : exaggeratedly or childishly emotional Examples: "Naomi Watts gives a committed, grounded performance as a single mother who finds herself surprisingly agreeable to doing whatever it takes to stay connected to her beloved older son. Few films aspire to be both...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2018 is: brouhaha \BROO-hah-hah\ noun : a state of commotion or excitement : hubbub, uproar Examples: There was much brouhaha in the tabloids over the young actor's sudden marriage to the woman who had been his high school sweetheart. "But where do you go, when the temperatures are soaring and you want to cool off but without all of the brouhaha th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2018 is: rebuff \rih-BUFF\ verb : to reject or criticize sharply : snub Examples: "The wait at [Sushi Sho in the Ritz-Carlton] is worth it for a chance to dine with the chef most famously known for rebuffing Michelin inspectors back home and eschewing the stars they'd have borne." — Cliff Lee, The Globe and Mail (Canada), 14 July 2018 "When the 49e...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2018 is: superjacent \soo-per-JAY-sunt\ adjective : lying above or upon : overlying Examples: "Village streets threaded around the hillside, eternally watched over by the superjacent castle." — Evan Rail, The New York Times, 25 Sept. 2011 "Article 56 of the convention provides that … the coastal State has … sovereign rights for the purpose of explo...