Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2017 is: watershed • \WAW-ter-shed\  • noun 1 a : a dividing ridge between drainage areas b : a region or area bounded peripherally by a divide and draining ultimately to a particular watercourse or body of water 2 : a crucial dividing point, line, or factor : turning point Examples: "This year marked a watershed for contemporary classical music in t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 22, 2017 is: lief • \LEEF\  • adverb : soon, gladly Examples: "I'd as lief be in the tightening coils of a boa constrictor as be held by that man," declared Miss Jezebel. "I thank you for your company; but, good faith, I had as / lief have been myself alone." — William Shakespeare, As You Like It, 1599 Did you know? Lief began as lēof in Old English and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2017 is: ameliorate • \uh-MEE-lee-uh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to make better or more tolerable 2 : to grow better : improve Examples: Access to clean water would ameliorate living conditions within the village. "There is one variable that many childhood experts agree can ameliorate the uncertainty in the lives of 'at risk' youths. A caring adult willing to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 20, 2017 is: hackle • \HACK-ul\  • noun 1 a : one of the long narrow feathers on the neck or back of a bird b : the neck plumage of the domestic fowl 2 : a comb or board with long metal teeth for dressing flax, hemp, or jute 3 a : (plural) hairs (as on a dog's neck and back) that can be erected b : (plural) temper, dander Examples: The rooster's colorful...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 19, 2017 is: chaffer • \CHAFF-er\  • verb 1 a : haggle, exchange, barter b : to bargain for 2 : (British) to exchange small talk : chatter Examples: "And while Levy and Toriki drank absinthe and chaffered over the pearl, Huru-Huru listened and heard the stupendous price of twenty-five thousand francs agreed upon." — Jack London, "The House of Mapuhi," 19...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 18, 2017 is: furtive • \FER-tiv\  • adjective 1 a : done in a quiet and secretive way to avoid being noticed : surreptitious b : expressive of stealth : sly 2 : obtained underhandedly Examples: Julia and I exchanged furtive glances across the room when Edward asked who had rearranged his CD collection. "… I create a hidden fortress for the cake at the ba...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 17, 2017 is: effulgence • \ih-FULL-junss\  • noun : radiant splendor : brilliance Examples: "There's plenty of conflict about who invented hummus or falafel … and where these dishes reach their dazzling effulgence, but the truth is there are common dishes and flavors to many of the cuisines found along the southern edge of the Mediterranean Sea." — Laura...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 16, 2017 is: decry • \dih-KRY\  • verb 1 : to depreciate (as a coin) officially or publicly 2 : to express strong disapproval of Examples: Town officials were surprised by how roundly the changes to the town hall's hours were decried. "He has previously spoken on behalf of music education and decried music piracy and the low royalty rates paid to artists...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 15, 2017 is: gadzookery • \gad-ZOO-kuh-ree\  • noun : (British) the use of archaisms (as in a historical novel) Examples: "Several other stories and verses that they jointly contributed to magazines are historical and melodramatic in tone, larded with archaic oaths and exclamations and general gadzookery." — Julia Briggs, A Woman of Passion: The Life of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 14, 2017 is: besmirch • \bih-SMERCH\  • verb : to cause harm or damage to : sully, soil Examples: "Greenfield is not one of those biographers who set out to besmirch their subjects and deplore their lives, and for whom every detail is an indictment." — Luc Sante, The New York Times Book Review, 25 June 2006 "But to many of us, golf is more than a game…....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2017 is: irenic • \eye-REN-ik\  • adjective : favoring, conducive to, or operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation Examples: The former senator's irenic nature made her an ideal candidate to be a foreign ambassador. "In a period when relations between religious traditions are characterized by suspicion and lack of understanding, Gregg's eve...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2017 is: vade mecum • \vay-dee-MEE-kum\  • noun 1 : a book for ready reference : manual 2 : something regularly carried about by a person Examples: "Well into the 20th century, John Barlow's Ideal Handbook, the vade mecum of the rifleman, carried instructions for molding the Keene bullet." — Jim Foral, Gun Digest 2012, 2011 "How to Do Biography is no...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2017 is: minuscule • \MIN-uh-skyool\  • adjective 1 : written in or in the size or style of lowercase letters 2 : very small Examples: The number of bugs in the latest version of the computer program is minuscule compared to the number that surfaced in the earlier version. "What's essentially a minuscule contact lens that never has to be removed or c...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2017 is: tattoo • \ta-TOO\  • noun 1 : a rapid rhythmic rapping 2 a : a call sounded shortly before taps as notice to go to quarters b : outdoor military exercise given by troops as evening entertainment Examples: The impatient man began beating a tattoo with his fingers on the countertop. "As tennis fans, we spend our time watching the players' hand...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2017 is: ominous • \AH-muh-nus\  • adjective : being or exhibiting an omen : portentous; especially : foreboding or foreshadowing evil : inauspicious Examples: Our fears about the picnic being cancelled were heightened by the sight of dark, ominous clouds appearing over the horizon. "An ominous week-long standoff between the government and its rogue f...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2017 is: ramify • \RAM-uh-fye\  • verb 1 : to split up into branches or constituent parts 2 : to send forth branches or extensions 3 : to cause to branch Examples: "In alternating chapters, 'The Lost Boy' moves back and forth in time, from a present-day whodunit set in a city … to a grim tale set in the 1870s on one of the myriad rocky islands lying o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2017 is: syncretism • \SING-kruh-tiz-um\  • noun 1 : the combination of different forms of belief or practice 2 : the fusion of two or more originally different inflectional forms Examples: "Dance caller and historian Phil Jamison … argues convincingly … that American square dance is not a colonial relic from the British Isles, but rather a uniquely A...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2017 is: postulate • \PAHSS-chuh-layt\  • verb 1 : demand, claim 2 a : to assume or claim as true, existent, or necessary b : to assume as an axiom or as a hypothesis advanced as an essential presupposition, condition, or premise of a train of reasoning (as in logic or mathematics) Examples: "Some postulate that the moment when machines surpass humans...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2017 is: affable • \AF-uh-bul\  • adjective 1 : being pleasant and at ease in talking to others 2 : characterized by ease and friendliness Examples: Michelle looked forward to sharing her coffee breaks with Joe, one of her more affable coworkers. "Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson is an affable, chatty fellow. But the filmmaker sounded particul...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2017 is: nugatory • \NOO-guh-tor-ee\  • adjective 1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential 2 : having no force : inoperative Examples: "The novel's greatest talker is Sandro's best friend, Ronnie Fontaine, whose photographs (such as we hear about them) seem nugatory, but whose stories are captivating." — James Wood, The New Yorker,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2017 is: cabotage • \KAB-uh-tahzh\  • noun 1 : trade or transport in coastal waters or airspace or between two points within a country 2 : the right to engage in coastal trade or transport Examples: "If Britain were granted cabotage, B.A.'s planes would be able to operate like a domestic carrier—to hop about the United States, picking up and dischargi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2017 is: laconic • \luh-KAH-nik\  • adjective : using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious Examples: The reporters had a hard time getting the laconic quarterback to share his thoughts after the tough loss. "Far from laconic, Penny is steeped with a positive attitude as she greets students wit...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2017 is: exponent • \ik-SPOH-nunt\  • noun 1 : a symbol written above and to the right of a mathematical expression to indicate the operation of raising to a power 2 a : one that expounds or interprets b : one that champions, practices, or exemplifies Examples: "As the leading exponent of naturalism in fiction, [Émile] Zola believed in the clinically...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2017 is: genuflect • \JEN-yuh-flekt\  • verb 1 a : to bend the knee b : to touch the knee to the floor or ground especially in worship 2 : to be humbly obedient or respectful Examples: "Other jazz pianists would pause to genuflect when they entered a room where Peterson was playing...." — David Hinckley, The New York Daily News, 25 Dec. 2007 "By a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 27, 2017 is: shunpike • \SHUN-pyke\  • noun : a side road used to avoid the toll on or the speed and traffic of a superhighway Examples: David did some math to determine if the money on the extra gas needed to take the shunpike cost more than the toll for using the freeway. "The News On 6 wanted to see if other drivers would consider a shunpike to sav...