Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2017 is: grok • \GRAHK\  • verb : to understand profoundly and intuitively Examples: "Understanding your character is as important as the lines. If you don't believe you are someone different, how will anyone else believe you? You must grok the role—or at least try." — Joseph Garcia, quoted in The Orange County (California) Register, 1 June 2014 "The C...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 11, 2017 is: supposititious • \suh-pah-zuh-TISH-us\  • adjective 1 a : fraudulently substituted : spurious b : (of a child) falsely presented as a genuine heir : illegitimate 2 a : imaginary b : of the nature of or based on a supposition : hypothetical Examples: "… James II's queen, Mary of Modena, gave birth to a son and heir, the future Old Pretender, wh...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 10, 2017 is: erstwhile • \ERST-wile\  • adverb : in the past : formerly Examples: What had erstwhile been acres of wetland was eventually developed into a thriving residential neighborhood. "The participants proceeded with civility and purpose. Meetings that erstwhile had taken entire days were concluded with agreement in an hour or two." — Greg Behrman, T...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 9, 2017 is: lanuginous • \luh-NOO-juh-nus\  • adjective : covered with down or fine soft hair Examples: At the base of the mullein's tall spire is a cluster of large lanuginous leaves. The scent [of erica, South African heather] is subtle, woody, coniferous—it smells of hot origins. And it's ridiculously tactile: I have to keep prodding the lanuginous bobb...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 8, 2017 is: panacea • \pan-uh-SEE-uh\  • noun : a remedy for all ills or difficulties : cure-all Examples: Georgette said, "I don't know if hybrid cars are a panacea for the world's environmental issues, but they seem to be a step in the right direction." "… while an uptick in subscriptions is certainly a good thing, it is unlikely to be a panacea for what...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 7, 2017 is: tetchy • \TETCH-ee\  • adjective : irritably or peevishly sensitive : touchy Examples: "What's the use of being cross with this old man? … Seems to me you're getting awful tetchy! Don't you like your old friends any more?" — Booth Tarkington, Alice Adams, 1921 "A million years ago, when written communication between people was limited to emails...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 6, 2017 is: demean • \dih-MEEN\  • verb : to conduct or behave (oneself) usually in a proper manner Examples: Theresa was proud of how well her boys demeaned themselves during the ceremony. "He knew that he had been lackadaisical, and was ashamed of himself; and at once resolved that he would henceforth demean himself as though no calamity had happened to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 5, 2017 is: acronym • \AK-ruh-nim\  • noun : a word (such as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letter or letters of each of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term; also : an abbreviation (such as FBI) formed from initial letters : initialism Examples: The new committee spent a fair amount of time choosing a name that would lend...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 4, 2017 is: visceral • \VISS-uh-rul\  • adjective 1 : felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body : deep 2 : not intellectual : instinctive, unreasoning 3 : dealing with crude or elemental emotions : earthy 4 : of, relating to, or located on or among the internal organs of the body : splanchnic Examples: "My mom is the only one who still writes me...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 3, 2017 is: refurbish • \rih-FER-bish\  • verb : to brighten or freshen up : renovate Examples: "Ann Eliza noticed that Evelina now took the precaution of putting on her crimson bow every evening before supper, and that she had refurbished with a bit of carefully washed lace the black silk which they still called new because it had been bought a year after...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 2, 2017 is: majordomo • \may-jer-DOH-moh\  • noun 1 : a head steward of a large household (such as a palace) 2 : butler, steward 3 : a person who speaks, makes arrangements, or takes charge for another; broadly : the person who runs an enterprise Examples: "Arriving at the Palace, he was informed that His Highness had gone out shortly after breakfast, and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2017 is: fey • \FAY\  • adjective 1 : marked by a foreboding of death or calamity 2 a : marked by an otherworldly air or attitude b : crazy, touched 3 a : excessively refined : precious b : quaintly unconventional : campy Examples: "Often I slipped into one of a few personas I had invented to make myself feel more authentically magical. Sometimes I was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2017 is: orientate • \OR-ee-un-tayt\  • verb 1 : to set or arrange in a definite position especially in relation to the points of the compass 2 : to acquaint with the existing situation or environment 3 : to direct (as a book or film) toward the interests of a particular group Examples: The program is designed to orientate new students to the college...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 29, 2017 is: lethargic • \luh-THAHR-jik\  • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or characterized by laziness or lack of energy : feeling or affected by lethargy : sluggish 2 : indifferent, apathetic Examples: After eating a large plate of spaghetti and meatballs I often feel lethargic and sleepy. "The cold water temperatures slow down the metabolism of the fi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 28, 2017 is: slough • \SLUFF\  • verb 1 : to cast off or become cast off 2 : to crumble slowly and fall away 3 : to get rid of or discard as irksome, objectionable, or disadvantageous Examples: "The glue [that affixes the tiling to the hull] is exposed to a wide variety of environmental conditions, including big temperature swings as well as the pressure...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 27, 2017 is: junket • \JUNK-ut\  • noun 1 : a dessert of sweetened flavored milk set with rennet 2 a : a festive social affair b : trip, journey: such as (1) : a trip made by an official at public expense (2) : a promotional trip made at another's expense Examples: The senator is under fire for going on a weeklong lavish junket. "When I was young, … our...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 26, 2017 is: upbraid • \up-BRAYD\  • verb 1 : to criticize severely : find fault with 2 : to reproach severely : scold vehemently Examples: "A helpful neighbor was able to contact the owner in Dorset and upbraided her for having her house stand empty while a young couple could find no place to live." — Kitty Ferguson, Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 25, 2017 is: hummock • \HUM-uk\  • noun 1 : a rounded knoll or hillock 2 : a ridge of ice 3 : a fertile area in the southern United States and especially Florida that is usually higher than its surroundings and that is characterized by hardwood vegetation and deep humus-rich soil Examples: "Ah! I have penetrated to those meadows on the morning of many a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 24, 2017 is: ambiguous • \am-BIG-yuh-wus\  • adjective 1 a : doubtful or uncertain especially from obscurity or indistinctness b : incapable of being explained, interpreted, or accounted for : inexplicable 2 : capable of being understood in two or more possible senses or ways Examples: "In the app, numbers and symbols are included by default, and ambiguo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 23, 2017 is: factoid • \FAK-toyd\  • noun 1 : an invented fact believed to be true because of its appearance in print 2 : a briefly stated and usually trivial fact Examples: Printed on the back of each baseball card is a chart showing the player's statistics along with one or two interesting factoids about his career. "Diana, the manager, took us through...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2017 is: cartographer • \kahr-TAH-gruh-fer\  • noun : one that makes maps Examples: A cartographer was brought in to create new graphical representations of the shoreline that had been reshaped by erosion. "A multi-media interactive website that celebrates the life and times of 16th-century cartographer Martin Waldseemüller—who created the 1507 World...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2017 is: bucolic • \byoo-KAH-lik\  • adjective 1 : of or relating to shepherds or herdsmen : pastoral 2 a : relating to or typical of rural life b : pleasing or picturesque in natural simplicity : idyllic Examples: "My husband, Toby, and I … live on a remote sheep farm in the Cotswold Hills.… Our house perches on the edge of a bucolic valley, its pas...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2017 is: eighty-six • \ay-tee-SIKS\  • verb : (slang) to refuse to serve (a customer); also : to get rid of : throw out Examples: The bar's policy is that bartenders have both the authority and responsibility to eighty-six customers who disrupt other patrons. "He eighty-sixed the last reform once he was safely re-elected, saying he wanted to give mun...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2017 is: tatterdemalion • \tatt-er-dih-MAIL-yun\  • adjective 1 : ragged or disreputable in appearance 2 : being in a decayed state or condition : dilapidated Examples: "ThreadBanger features episodes about making clothes and other D.I.Y. endeavors that will make you wish you could live life all over again and be a tatterdemalion steampunk kid from S...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2017 is: grimalkin • \grih-MAWL-kin\  • noun : a domestic cat; especially : an old female cat Examples: The family grimalkin, dreaming, perhaps, of mousing days long past, twitched her tail as she dozed contentedly on the windowsill. "The security-evading feline was caught on camera … on a confectionary shelf, back in November. Now, the grumpy grimal...