Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 3, 2017 is: tin-pot \TIN-PAHT\ adjective : cheap or trivial of its kind : petty, small-time, two-bit Examples: "Every fascist, authoritarian and tin-pot dictator in history has tried to shut down dissent." — Michael Goodwin, The New York Post, 15 June 2017 "What a gaggle of tin-pot soldiers we were, the intelligent bored silly, the mediocre exhausted,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 2, 2017 is: clew \KLOO\ noun 1 : a ball of thread, yarn, or cord 2 : something that guides through an intricate procedure or maze of difficulties : clue 3 a : a lower corner or only the after corner of a sail b : a metal loop attached to the lower corner of a sail c : (plural) a combination of lines by which a hammock is suspended Examples: "High over...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 1, 2017 is: apodictic \ap-uh-DIK-tik\ adjective : expressing or of the nature of necessary truth or absolute certainty Examples: "On the humbler level of recorded evidence, what is one to make of a thinker-scholar who ruled with apodictic, magisterial certainty that 'Shakespeare's tragedies are second-class with the exception of Lear'?" — Ge...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2017 is: werewolf \WAIR-woolf\ noun : a person transformed into a wolf or capable of assuming a wolf's form Examples: "The John Landis-directed video opens with a disclaimer stating that by creating the music video, [Michael] Jackson in no way endorsed supernatural practices—which includes the belief that humans could ever transform into werewolves...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2017 is: descry \dih-SKRYE\ verb 1 : to catch sight of 2 : find out, discover Examples: In their research, the psychologists descried an association between violent crime and hot weather. "Recent construction work on the Borough side had uncovered a cache of human bones. Builders soon reported strange noises and moving objects, and some refused to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2017 is: causerie \kohz-REE\ noun 1 : an informal conversation : chat 2 : a short informal essay Examples: The professor invited the award-winning playwright to her class to have a causerie with her literature students. "[The book] is, to be technical, a causerie, a brilliant and engaging, though none too rigorous, monologue by a self-described arc...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2017 is: alfresco \al-FRESS-koh\ adjective or adverb : taking place or located in the open air : outdoor, outdoors Examples: The restaurant has a lovely outdoor patio for customers who want to dine alfresco. "The sleek San Fernando Road gym features ... a hand-built lounge area with highlighter-hued patio furniture and ... alfresco exercise mats an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2017 is: wardrobe \WOR-drohb\ noun 1 a : a room or closet where clothes are kept b : a receptacle for clothes : clothespress c : a large trunk in which clothes may be hung upright 2 a : a collection of wearing apparel (as of one person or for one activity) b : a collection of stage costumes and accessories 3 : the department of a royal or noble hou...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2017 is: slapdash \SLAP-dash\ adjective : done or made without careful planning : haphazard, slipshod Examples: "Sunflower Cottage just above the weir had been taken by two female animals…. More, it was being done properly, the River Bank's housewives agreed. There was none of this casual, slapdash housekeeping that bachelor gentlemen were so apt t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2017 is: overwhelm \oh-ver-WELM\ verb 1 : upset, overthrow 2 a : to cover over completely : submerge b : to overcome by superior force or numbers c : to overpower in thought or feeling Examples: "The ships … [are] small enough to maneuver into tricky anchorages and light enough on passengers to not overwhelm the wildlife or fragile communities they...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2017 is: pelf \PELF\ noun : money, riches Examples: "Nowadays Western Union is good only if you want to wire cash to your child in college or pelf to a partner in peril." — Vincent L. Hall, The Dallas Morning News, 19 June 2011 "The glitter of guineas is like the glitter of buttercups, the chink of pelf is like the chime of bells, compared with the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2017 is: burke \BERK\ verb 1 : to suppress quietly or indirectly   2 : bypass, avoid Examples: The mob boss dropped a few well-timed bribes to prosecutors in an effort to burke any investigation into possible wrongdoing. "There is, however, a respectable and reasonable ethical argument against clinical trials of correctional treatment met...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2017 is: nuncupative \NUN-kyoo-pay-tiv\ adjective : spoken rather than written : oral Examples: "He left me a small Legacy in a nuncupative Will, as a Token of his Kindness for me, and he left me once more to the wide World." — Benjamin Franklin, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1791 "He did leave a will in which he bequeathed everythin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2017 is: adversity \ad-VER-suh-tee\ noun : a state or instance of serious or continued difficulty or misfortune Examples: The movie is about a group of determined mountain climbers who triumph in the face of adversity. "In this way, [the movie] 'It' was meant to reflect how our childhood experiences and fears influence the people we become, and how...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2017 is: knee-jerk \NEE-jerk\ adjective : readily predictable : automatic; also : reacting in a readily predictable way Examples: The letter to the editor asserted that the proposed institution of a curfew was a knee-jerk reaction to the problem of an uptick of nighttime crime in the city. "The habitual or knee-jerk apologist runs a great risk of l...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2017 is: hew \HYOO\ verb 1 : to cut or fell with blows (as of an ax) 2 : to give form or shape to with or as if with an ax 3 : conform, adhere Examples: "He is best known stateside for the … productions of 'Twelfth Night' and 'Richard III' that he brought to Broadway in 2013, which hewed as closely as possible to the staging choices made at the tur...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2017 is: malign \muh-LYNE\ verb : to utter injuriously misleading or false reports about : speak evil of Examples: The tech guru recalls how as a high schooler he was often maligned or simply ignored by the popular kids in his school. "I am a contrarian on the Apple Watch, which I believe has been unfairly maligned by tech pundits. I love mine, and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2017 is: euphony \YOO-fuh-nee\ noun 1 : pleasing or sweet sound; especially : the acoustic effect produced by words so formed or combined as to please the ear 2 : a harmonious succession of words having a pleasing sound Examples: He awakened on a warm morning to the euphony of birdsong outside his window. "After the war, 'A Shropshire Lad' travelle...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2017 is: chary \CHAIR-ee\ adjective 1 : hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks 2 : slow to grant, accept, or expend Examples: "Alexander Graham Bell didn't expect his telephone to be widely used for prank calls. And Steve Jobs was chary of children using his iThings." — Hayley Krischer, The New York Times, 7 Sept. 2017 "An A-1 writer but als...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2017 is: razzmatazz \raz-muh-TAZ\ noun 1 : a confusing or colorful often gaudy action or display : razzle-dazzle 2 : inflated, involved, and often deliberately ambiguous language : double-talk 3 : vim, zing Examples: We were disappointed by the candidate's speech, which offered plenty of razzmatazz but little substance. "The fireworks, the razzmata...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2017 is: palliate \PAL-ee-ayt\ verb 1 : to reduce the violence of (a disease); also : to ease (symptoms) without curing the underlying disease 2 : to cover by excuses and apologies 3 : to moderate the intensity of Examples: "He had an ability to describe and champion technological innovation and global integration in a rhetoric that palliated fears...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2017 is: lagniappe \LAN-yap\ noun : a small gift given a customer by a merchant at the time of a purchase; broadly : something given or obtained gratuitously or by way of good measure Examples: Our meal began with a lagniappe of pickled vegetables. "Lagniappe—the unexpected surprises, the extras—are one of the reasons I love New Orleans.… I live, a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2017 is: interdigitate \in-ter-DIJ-uh-tayt\ verb : to become interlocked like the fingers of folded hands Examples: A finger joint is formed when the "fingers" on the ends of two boards interdigitate for a secure fit. "Forest and savanna interdigitate over a great front thousands of miles long and a half million square miles in area—half the size o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2017 is: tendentious \ten-DEN-shus\ adjective : marked by a tendency in favor of a particular point of view : biased Examples: The book proved to be a tendentious account of the town's history, written to rescue the reputation of one of its less scrupulous founders. "The French satirical publication … has a record of ruffling feathers with tendenti...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2017 is: gregarious \grih-GAIR-ee-us\ adjective 1 a : tending to associate with others of one's kind : social b : marked by or indicating a liking for companionship : sociable c : of or relating to a social group 2 a : (of a plant) growing in a cluster or a colony b : living in contiguous nests but not forming a true colony — used especially of was...