Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 10, 2016 is: resilience • \rih-ZIL-yunss\  • noun 1 : the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress 2 : an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change Examples: Terry and Rayanne were proud of their daughter's resilience during her search for a summer job—af...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 9, 2016 is: rectify • \REK-tuh-fye\  • verb 1 : to set right : remedy 2 : to purify (as alcohol) especially by repeated or fractional distillation 3 : to correct by removing errors Examples: After Jennifer pointed out to the store manager that she was not charged the sale price for her purchase, he promised to rectify the situation and refund her the di...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2016 is: bogus • \BOH-gus\  • adjective : not genuine : counterfeit, sham Examples: "Any time you are provided with anything that is supposedly 'free' or 'complimentary,' including a security monitoring service for a year, when you do not actually know if your personal data has been compromised, it's likely a bogus scheme to steal your identity." — M...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 7, 2016 is: devotion • \dih-VOH-shun\  • noun 1 a : religious fervor : piety b : a religious exercise or practice for private use 2 : the act of devoting b :  the fact or state of being ardently dedicated and loyal Examples: "Intensely competitive and a gifted athlete, [Mariano]  Rivera will delight baseball fans. But the memories recounted here … ultim...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2016 is: misanthrope • \MISS-un-throhp\  • noun : a person who hates or distrusts humankind Examples: "The conventional image of Groucho [Marx] was that he was on the side of the little guy, and he spoke defiantly and insolently to powerful people and wealthy people. But my feeling is that Groucho was out to deflate everybody—that he was a thoroughgo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 5, 2016 is: kith • \KITH\  • noun : familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives Examples: "The joy of returning to kith and kin was greater than all her former joys. … Never before … had Shelby seen such an outpouring of affection." — Dorothy West, The Wedding, 1995 "Cooking and sharing food are inseparable. Our labor in the kitchen culminates not in prof...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2016 is: edify • \ED-uh-fye\  • verb : to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge : uplift; also : enlighten, inform Examples: "Reading Lawrence, I am amazed and edified by the raw emotional intensity of his characters. I’m looking for ways to internalize this rich, untamed emotion and try to impart something of it to the cha...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2016 is: amity • \AM-uh-tee\  • noun : friendship; especially : friendly relations between nations Examples: "Cousin friendships really are special. They provide an unmatched level of amity and support, without the rivalries that often exist between siblings." — Helaine Becker, Today's Parent, June 2006 "The amity between the two leaders was palpable...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2016 is: glower • \GLOUR\  • verb : to look or stare with sullen annoyance or anger Examples: Kelly glowered at me after I sided with Brenda in their dispute about the chores. "Outside the subway stop, he glowered for each photo, then bade each of his fans farewell with a stately handshake. He never spoke a word." — Steven Borowiec, The Orlando (Flor...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2016 is: kerfuffle • \ker-FUFF-ul\  • noun : (chiefly British) disturbance, fuss Examples: I didn't mean to start such a kerfuffle when I suggested that we hold the company picnic at a different location this year. "… there was quite a kerfuffle (in visual-arts circles, anyway) this fall when the Jeff Wall show that was supposed to open the museum wa...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 31, 2016 is: homily • \HAH-muh-lee\  • noun 1 : a usually short sermon 2 : a lecture or discourse on a moral theme 3 : an inspirational catchphrase; also : platitude Examples: The calendar features serene photographs captioned by inspirational proverbs and homilies. "Deacons are ordained ministers in the Catholic Church but do not have the rank of priest....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2016 is: littoral • \LIT-uh-rul\  • adjective : of, relating to, or situated or growing on or near a shore especially of the sea Examples: The report shows dramatic improvement in the condition of the state's littoral waters since the cleanup effort began. "But this project will permanently add new sand to the beach and dune system of Dauphin Island's...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2016 is: flounder • \FLOUN-der\  • verb 1 : to struggle to move or obtain footing : thrash about wildly 2 : to proceed or act clumsily or ineffectually Examples: "The four Royal Air Force pilots ditched their broken bomber and dropped into the North Sea, near Britain. It was February 23, 1942…. Floundering in the frigid water, the pilots released thei...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 28, 2016 is: numinous • \NOO-muh-nus\  • adjective 1 : supernatural, mysterious 2 : filled with a sense of the presence of divinity : holy 3 : appealing to the higher emotions or to the aesthetic sense : spiritual Examples: Pilgrims to the shrine spoke to the congregation about their numinous experiences. "… the stories, different as they were from one an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2016 is: doff • \DAHF\  • verb 1 a : to remove (an article of wear) from the body b : to take off (the hat) in greeting or as a sign of respect 2 : to rid oneself of : put aside Examples: We'd only planned to stop briefly at the pond, but the children couldn't resist doffing their shoes and were quickly waist-deep in the cool water. "He received a sta...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2016 is: pidgin • \PIJ-in\  • noun : a simplified speech used for communication between people with different languages Examples: "In his 1992 book, A History of American English, the late linguist J.L. Dillard … demonstrates that the most originally American form of English was a pidgin, originating with sailor's language. Early explorers of North Am...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 25, 2016 is: berate • \bih-RAYT\  • verb : to scold or condemn vehemently and at length Examples: When her son arrived home way past curfew without so much as a phone call or text, Nancy berated him for his lack of consideration. "We'd announced the tour and Mick looked at it and went, 'I can't do this,' which was not great news at all. I wanted to slight...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2016 is: simulacrum • \sim-yuh-LAK-rum\  • noun 1 : image, representation 2 : an insubstantial form or semblance of something : trace Examples: "Most theater shows aim to conjure a simulacrum of reality onstage." — Rohan Preston, The Star Tribune (Minneapolis, Minnesota), 21 Apr. 2015 "There, hanging above you, is a simulacrum of a tardigrade, otherwi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2016 is: vatic • \VAT-ik\  • adjective : prophetic, oracular Examples: "Compared with [Stan] Lee's wisecracking dialogue and narrative prose, [Jack] Kirby's writing was stilted and often awkward, though at times it rose to a level of vatic poetic eloquence." — Jeet Heer, The New Republic, 7 Aug. 2015 "[Walt Whitman] dreamed of a new democratic civiliz...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2016 is: usufruct • \YOO-zuh-frukt\  • noun 1 : the legal right of using and enjoying the fruits or profits of something belonging to another 2 : the right to use or enjoy something Examples: He has willed all of his property to the conservation society, though his children will retain the house as a 50-year usufruct. "When there's no will, the state...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2016 is: tactile • \TAK-tul\  • adjective 1 : perceptible by touch : tangible 2 : of, relating to, or being the sense of touch Examples: "The keyboard has good tactile feedback, and the touch pad is responsive without being too twitchy." — Bruce Brown, PC Magazine, 20 Feb. 2001 "Sensitive 'robot skin' was developed by researchers at Georgia Tech in 20...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2016 is: winkle • \WINK-ul\  • verb 1 : (chiefly British) to displace, remove, or evict from a position 2 : (chiefly British) to obtain or draw out by effort Examples: "In 1483 a new English king, Richard III, tried again to winkle Henry out of Brittany, but he found that the young man was now a significant pawn on the European chessboard." — Nigel Ca...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2016 is: raconteur • \ra-kahn-TER\  • noun : a person who excels in telling anecdotes Examples: A bona fide raconteur, Taylor can turn even mundane experiences into hilariously entertaining stories. "Her fans, any of whom would welcome the chance to share … a bowl of pimento cheese with her, know [Julia] Reed as a tremendous wit, a sharp observer of t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2016 is: astute • \uh-STOOT\  • adjective 1 : having or showing shrewdness and perspicacity 2 : crafty, wily Examples: The candidate made a number of astute observations about both foreign and domestic policy during the debate. "Sure, he was funny, but George Carlin was also an astute observer of the way humans think and behave." — Keith Magill, The S...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2016 is: parlay • \PAHR-lay\  • verb 1 : to bet in a parlay 2 a : to exploit successfully b : to increase or otherwise transform into something of much greater value Examples: "Leong said she parlayed a measly $5 winning ticket into her big bonanza. First she exchanged the $5 winning ticket for another that won $10, and with that she bought a $10 tick...