Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 17, 2018 is: famish \FAM-ish\ verb 1 : to cause to suffer severely from hunger 2 : to suffer for lack of something necessary Examples: "At first Bartleby did an extraordinary quantity of writing. As if long famishing for something to copy, he seemed to gorge himself on my documents. There was no pause for digestion." — Herman Melville, "Bartleby the Sc...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 16, 2018 is: adapt \uh-DAPT\ verb : to make or become fit (as for a new use) often by modification  Examples: It took Rachel a while to adapt to her new school, but she is settling in well now. "Hydroponics and aeroponics require vigilant monitoring of nutrient solution. While this can be time consuming, Tiger Corner Farms has fully automated this...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 15, 2018 is: intrepid \in-TREP-id\ adjective : characterized by resolute fearlessness, fortitude, and endurance Examples: "An intrepid engineer is on the edge of fulfilling his dream of conquering the world's toughest mountaineering challenge. Peter Sunnucks, 35, will be joined by his wife Elizabeth Wood when he heads to Antarctica in two weeks' time t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 14, 2018 is: demiurge \DEM-ee-erj\ noun : one that is an autonomous creative force or decisive power Examples: "But it is difficult to create a world, even a tiny one, and some authors are more successful than others at playing demiurge…." — Sergio Ruzzier, The New York Times, 9 Oct. 2016 "Gladstone, a formidable chancellor though an indifferent prime...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 13, 2018 is: stanch \STAUNCH\ verb 1 : to check or stop the flowing of; also : to stop the flow of blood from (a wound) 2 a : to stop or check in its course b : to make watertight : stop up Examples: The company's CEO gave the keynote address at the convention, stanching rumors that he was not recovering well from his surgery. "Firefighters watched the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 12, 2018 is: reprehensible \rep-rih-HEN-suh-bul\ adjective : worthy of or deserving reprehension, blame, or censure : culpable Examples: The newspaper's most recent editorial calls for the mayor's resignation, citing the most recent accusations of bribery as both plausible and reprehensible. "As a practical matter, successful hostile environment lawsui...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 11, 2018 is: placate \PLAY-kayt\ verb : to soothe or mollify especially by concessions : appease Examples: "Laughlin can placate even the most skittish of horses, coaxing them into his trailer with sugar cubes…." — Lizzie Johnson, The San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Dec. 2017 "While reviews from riders have been generally positive, there have been complaint...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 10, 2018 is: cohort \KOH-hort\ noun 1 : companion, colleague 2 a : band, group b : a group of individuals having a statistical factor (such as age or class membership) in common in a demographic study c : one of 10 divisions of an ancient Roman legion d : a group of warriors or soldiers Examples: "A cohort of chambermaids would descend twice daily with...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 9, 2018 is: officinal \uh-FISS-uh-nul\ adjective : tending or used to cure disease or relieve pain : medicinal Examples: The plant turned out to have officinal properties and could be used to make an anti-itch ointment. "Europe's mania for rhubarb in the second half of the eighteenth century energized the drive to find the plant in its native habitat....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 8, 2018 is: mutatis mutandis \myoo-TAH-tis-myoo-TAHN-dis\ adverb 1 : with the necessary changes having been made 2 : with the respective differences having been considered Examples: "I know nothing more contemptible in a writer than the character of a plagiary; which he here fixes at a venture, and this not for a passage but a whole discourse taken out...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 7, 2018 is: gainsay \gayn-SAY\ verb 1 : to declare to be untrue or invalid 2 : contradict, oppose Examples: There is no doubt that their work makes a useful contribution, but it does not provide enough evidence to gainsay the conclusions of earlier scholars. "There is no gainsaying the fact that we have an obesity problem in the United States." — Amitr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 6, 2018 is: vapid \VAP-id\ adjective : lacking flavor, zest, animation, or spirit : flat, dull Examples: Finn liked to watch the game in silence, with the TV on mute, rather than listen to the vapid chatter of the play-by-play announcer. "The vapid, upbeat bubblegum tone of the song never wavers, even as the women … run down a truly horrifying-in-its-o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 5, 2018 is: bindle stiff \BIN-dul-stiff\ noun : hobo; especially : one who carries his clothes or bedding in a bundle Examples: "A bindle stif_ smoked in the partly open doorway of a Rock Island boxcar, nothing supernatural about him." — John Farris, Phantom Nights, 2005 "Like Alamosa, Durango and Chama, the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad created Sal...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 4, 2018 is: hornswoggle \HORN-swah-gul\ verb : bamboozle, hoax Examples: "Grass-fed is an unregulated term with no standards set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This can add to the confusion for home cooks already trying to avoid getting hornswoggled by advertising claims (look what happened to the heavily abused word 'natural')." — Jennifer Rud...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 3, 2018 is: sacerdotal \sass-er-DOH-tul\ adjective 1 : of or relating to priests or a priesthood : priestly 2 : of, relating to, or suggesting religious belief emphasizing the powers of priests as essential mediators between God and humankind Examples: The priest gives a homily after reciting the Gospel as part of his sacerdotal duties. "… as they appr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 2, 2018 is: accentuate \ak-SEN-shu-wayt\ verb : accent, emphasize; also : intensify Examples: "But his voice is so singular in aura that nothing appears to be missing.… He hints at the style of a balladeer, or even of a cabaret singer—an effect accentuated by the pointed use of rolled 'r's." — Alexander M. Ross, The New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2017 "Gradually,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 1, 2018 is: fete \FAYT\ noun 1 : festival 2 a : a lavish often outdoor entertainment b : a large elaborate party Examples: To celebrate her parents' 50th wedding anniversary, Eileen threw an evening fete to which she invited all their friends and family members. "Proceeds from the fete will help build specially adapted smart homes for our nation's most...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 31, 2017 is: antithetical \an-tuh-THET-ih-kul\ adjective 1 : being in direct and unequivocal opposition : directly opposite or opposed 2 : constituting or marked by antithesis : pertaining to the rhetorical contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words, clauses, or sentences Examples: "It's telling that the library at the Circle is a go...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 30, 2017 is: spiel \SPEEL\ noun : a voluble line of often extravagant talk : a speech delivered especially to sell or promote something Examples: We let the time-share salesman give us his opening spiel, but when he got to the high-pressure sales tactics, we cut him short and made it clear that we were not interested. "Instead of the usual spiel about...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 29, 2017 is: pooh-bah \POO-bah\ noun 1 : a person holding many public or private offices 2 : a person in high position or of great influence Examples: "Samuel Goldwyn was so impressed with the film, he sent a fan letter to Paramount's grand pooh-bah, Barney Balaban…." — Sam Irvin, Kay Thompson: From Funny Face to Eloise, 2010 "One day, Silicon Valley...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 28, 2017 is: debilitate \dih-BIL-uh-tayt\ verb : to impair the strength of : enfeeble Examples: The company offers exercises and writing prompts that promise to help would-be novelists debilitated by writer's block get words onto the page. "No matter how much Dolly tries to engineer things in her favor, she's forever an outsider—a widow suffering from...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 27, 2017 is: hortative \HOR-tuh-tiv\ adjective : giving exhortation : serving to advise or warn Examples: "None can understand or interpret Michelangelo unless we recognise the extent to which the mysticism of Catholic faith coloured his beliefs and work…. [If] we look back to the Pietà in St Peter's, finished when he was only 24, we find an image of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 26, 2017 is: abeyance \uh-BAY-unss\ noun 1 : a state of temporary activity : suspension — used chiefly in the phrase in abeyance 2 : a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested Examples: The misdemeanor charges are in abeyance while the suspect is being prosecuted for the felony. "The 1950–53 Korean War ended in an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 25, 2017 is: conciliate \kun-SILL-ee-ayt\ verb 1 : appease 2 : to gain (as goodwill) by pleasing acts 3 : to make compatible : reconcile 4 : to become friendly or agreeable Examples: "He paused, half hopefully, half timidly, whenever Captain Whalley made the slightest movement in the deck-chair, as though expecting to be conciliated by a soft spe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 24, 2017 is: nativity \nuh-TIH-vuh-tee\ noun 1 : the process or circumstances of being born; especially, capitalized : the birth of Jesus 2 : a horoscope at or of the time of one's birth 3 : the place of origin Examples: "The immutability of one's nativity may be why so many are drawn to astrology—according to a 2009 Harris Poll, a full 26 percent of...