Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 28, 2017 is: harbinger \HAHR-bun-jer\ noun 1 : one that initiates a major change : a person or thing that originates or helps open up a new activity, method, or technology : pioneer 2 : something that foreshadows a future event : something that gives an anticipatory sign of what is to come Examples: When the star running back went down with an injury...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 27, 2017 is: anneal \uh-NEEL\ verb 1 a : to heat and then cool (a material, such as steel or glass) usually for softening and making less brittle; also : to cool slowly usually in a furnace b : to heat and then cool (double-stranded nucleic acid) in order to separate strands and induce combination at lower temperature with complementary strands 2 : st...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 26, 2017 is: illustrious \ih-LUSS-tree-us\ adjective : notably or brilliantly outstanding because of dignity or achievements or actions : eminent Examples: During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award. "For the first time, WWE's illustrious father-daughter duo 'Nature Boy' Ric Flair and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 25, 2017 is: non sequitur \NAHN-SEK-wuh-ter\ noun 1 : an inference that does not follow from the premises 2 : a statement (such as a response) that does not follow logically from or is not clearly related to anything previously said Examples: Unprepared for the question, the speaker gave a response that was a jumble of non sequiturs and irrelevant obs...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 24, 2017 is: mucilaginous \myoo-suh-LAJ-uh-nus\ adjective 1 : sticky, viscid 2 : of, relating to, full of, or secreting mucilage Examples: "It started quietly last summer, when social media watchers began buzzing about it. Tweens had struck on a recipe for a mucilaginous, stomach-turning substance and were posting videos of themselves playing with it....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 23, 2017 is: viand \VYE-und\ noun 1 : an item of food; especially : a choice or tasty dish 2 : (plural) provisions, food Examples: "The family sat down to table, and a frugal meal of cold viands was deposited before them." — Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d’Urbervilles, 1891 "No fewer than three restaurants are planned for the new hotel, including one at g...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 22, 2017 is: obliterate \uh-BLIT-uh-rayt\ verb 1 a : to remove from recognition or memory b : to remove from existence 2 : to make undecipherable by wiping out or covering over Examples: The children's chalk drawings remained on the sidewalk until a rainstorm came along and obliterated them. "That was before Hurricane Maria obliterated the only tropic...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2017 is: wifty \WIF-tee\ adjective : eccentrically silly, giddy, or inane : ditzy Examples: "Developers are, by nature, dreamers and gamblers, seeing opportunity and growth where others see only the Steak & Bagel Train. Many developers appear a tad wifty, perhaps existing in some altered state of consciousness, but this project is in a class b...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2017 is: bombinate \BAHM-buh-nayt\ verb : to make a sustained deep murmuring, humming, or buzzing sound : buzz, drone Examples: The only sounds Jared could hear in the office that night were those of his own typing and the air conditioner bombinating. "Black-marketeers and scalpers began buzzing around the theatres, bombinating ceaselessly, … 'Ten...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2017 is: fervid \FER-vid\ adjective 1 : very hot : burning 2 : marked by often extreme intensity of feeling Examples: "Here at the Toronto International Film Festival, there are posters for an upcoming Guillermo del Toro-curated exhibit called 'Influences' that will let you sample the movies and books and music that fed the director's fervid imagi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2017 is: belaud \bih-LAWD\ verb : to praise usually to excess Examples: "Several cheers went up. Piccard, unaware of the scene unfolding behind him, seemed to think they were meant to belaud his plan." — Jake Silverstein, Nothing Happened and Then It Did: A Chronicle in Fact and Fiction, 2011 "We believe it was about 1835 that Mr. Dearborn republi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2017 is: jalousie \JAL-uh-see\ noun 1 : a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding direct sun and rain 2 : a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation Examples: The rooms of the little bungalow were protected from the brutal tropical heat by wooden jalousies. "All the old jalousies h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2017 is: lollygag \LAH-lee-gag\ verb : to spend time idly, aimlessly, or foolishly : dawdle Examples: Owen had a habit of lollygagging in the morning when he was supposed to be getting ready for school, and that meant that he was sometimes late. "We were spoiled in the heart of summer by daylight that lingered until 10 p.m. We felt no sense of hur...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2017 is: proximity \prahk-SIM-uh-tee\ proximity : the quality or state of being proximate : closeness Examples: "[T]he company's main advantages as an exporter include proximity to the U.S. market, quality of production and its ability to alter production to suit the needs and design tastes of U.S. consumers." — Thomas Russell, Furniture Today, 4...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 14, 2017 is: stellar \STEL-er\ adjective 1 a : of or relating to the stars : astral b : composed of stars 2 : of or relating to a theatrical or film star 3 a : principal, leading b : outstanding Examples: Kelly's stellar academic record should help her gain acceptance to almost any college she wants to attend. "The carbon-rich asteroid is like a time...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2017 is: roué \roo-AY\ noun : a man devoted to a life of sensual pleasure : rake Examples: "Hugh Grant, as a roué who seems to realize that his charm is a regrettably cheap commodity, enjoyed something of a comeback in Florence Foster Jenkins." — Tom Gliatto, People, 17 Jan. 2017        "[Roger Moore's] Bond was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2017 is: shilly-shally \SHIL-ee-SHAL-ee\ verb 1 : to show hesitation or lack of decisiveness or resolution 2 : dawdle Examples: "As for buying Concord grapes at either a farm stand or a supermarket, the rule of thumb is, when you see them, claim them. Don't shilly-shally, because the season for this most coveted of grapes is fleeting." — Heidi Leg...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2017 is: doughty \DOW-tee\ adjective : marked by fearless resolution : valiant Examples: Noticing that the cashier shorted him a nickel, the doughty child marched up to the counter and demanded it from her. "The early lighthouse keepers were a doughty lot, and had to be, insofar as their job wasn't merely to light the wick, but save the occasional...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2017 is: pathos \PAY-thahss\ noun 1 : an element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion 2 : an emotion of sympathetic pity Examples: "Clowns have always been represented as tricksters and jokers, from the days of jesters all the way through Ronald McDonald, but the high jinks were always paired with pathos and human...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2017 is: cotton \KAH-tun\ verb 1 : to take a liking — used with to 2 : to come to understand — used with to or on to Examples: "He was so much fun to have in the company. He had that warm, inviting voice. Audiences just cottoned to him." — Gary Gisselman, quoted in The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 3 Mar. 2016 "This exhibition—like many of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 8, 2017 is: mandarin \MAN-drin\ adjective 1 : of, relating to, or typical of a public official in the Chinese Empire of any of nine superior grades 2 : marked by polished ornate complexity of language Examples: "I don't think there's anything about the novel that doesn't impress me: its stream of satirical invention…; its mandarin prose that perfectly...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 7, 2017 is: archetype \AHR-kih-type\ noun 1 : the original pattern or model of which all things of the same type are representations or copies : prototype; also : a perfect example  2 : a transcendent entity that is a real pattern of which existing things are imperfect representations : idea 3 : (psychology) an inherited idea or mode of thought i...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 6, 2017 is: esemplastic \ess-em-PLASS-tik\ adjective : shaping or having the power to shape disparate things into a unified whole Examples: "Art achieves its impact from something Samuel Taylor Coleridge called its esemplastic power, the ability to make sense out of chaos, to 'shape into one' the many truths around us." — Teresa Jordan, The Year of Li...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 5, 2017 is: parable \PAIR-uh-bul\ noun : example; specifically : a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle Examples: The priest opened his homily by relating the parable of the Good Samaritan, from the Gospel of Luke. "Remotely based on the 1844 Hans Christian Andersen tale 'The Snow Queen,' a parable...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2017 is: stridulate \STRIJ-uh-layt\ verb : to make a shrill creaking noise by rubbing together special bodily structures — used especially of male insects (such as crickets or grasshoppers) Examples: "When attacked from the side, the crickets stridulated and tried to bite their attacker." — Matt Walker, BBC News, 28 July 2009 "Every day throughout...