Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 2, 2016 is: moil • \MOYL\  • verb 1 : to work hard : drudge 2 : to be in continuous agitation : churn, swirl Examples: Revelations that the popular motivational speaker was born into a wealthy family cast further doubts on his claims that he holds the secret to finding wealth without the need to toil and moil. "Playwright Eugene O'Neill moiled over several...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2016 is: Beltane • \BEL-tayn\  • noun : the Celtic May Day festival Examples: Although Beltane celebrates the approach of summer, those attending the Beltane Fire Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, are warned to dress for the cool weather that is typical of early spring there. "It's believed that when the goddess wakes from a long winter's sleep in March,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2016 is: decorous • \DECK-er-us\  • adjective : marked by propriety and good taste : correct Examples: Before making her daily announcements, the principal mentioned how proud she was of the students' decorous conduct at their prom. "When, during the constitutional convention in Philadelphia in 1787, the discussion, polite and decorous till then, gre...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 29, 2016 is: mulct • \MULKT\  • verb 1 : to punish by a fine 2 a : to defraud especially of money : swindle b : to obtain by fraud, duress, or theft Examples: Francis was finally barred from the securities industry when it was discovered he'd been mulcting investors for years. "Attacking these firms is a crowd-pleasing sport for lawmakers, in part becaus...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 28, 2016 is: invincible • \in-VIN-suh-bul\  • adjective : incapable of being conquered, overcome, or subdued Examples: "He calls the mixture Bulletproof coffee. Drink it, the name implies, and you'll feel invincible." — Gordy Megroz, Bloomberg Businessweek, 4 May 2015 "Eventually he stops terrorizing poor Holly Hunter and retires to Superman's spaceship...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 27, 2016 is: belvedere • \BEL-vuh-deer\  • noun : a structure (such as a cupola or summerhouse) designed to command a view Examples: The couple wandered down to the belvedere at the edge of the bluff to take in the vivid colors of the sunset. "… he chiefly talked of the view from the little belvedere on the roof of the casino, and how it looked like the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 26, 2016 is: inveterate • \in-VET-uh-rut\  • adjective 1 : firmly established by long persistence 2 : confirmed in a habit : habitual Examples: Since Ernie is an inveterate liar, we naturally didn't believe him when he told us he'd met the movie star. "As an inveterate letter writer, I started sending email as soon as I could sign on with dial-up, and be...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 25, 2016 is: juxtapose • \JUK-stuh-pohz\  • verb : to place side by side (as to compare or contrast) Examples: Darlene has a keen eye for fashion, and she likes to juxtapose vintage pieces with contemporary styles to create new looks. "ESPN posted an image of poverty outside Havana's sports stadium last week, to juxtapose the well-kept stadium with the s...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 24, 2016 is: omniscient • \ahm-NISH-unt\  • adjective 1 : having infinite awareness, understanding, and insight 2 : possessed of universal or complete knowledge Examples: The novel opens with an omniscient narrator recalling memories of her twelfth birthday. "Digital advertisers … are increasingly omniscient: no longer do advertisers know just general th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 23, 2016 is: exodus • \EK-suh-dus\  • noun 1 : (capitalized) the mainly narrative second book of canonical Jewish and Christian Scripture 2 : a mass departure : emigration Examples: When the concert ended, the exodus of attendees clogged up traffic for miles. "The path of corporate exodus from New York City to New Jersey is well-worn, but real estate bro...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2016 is: noetic • \noh-ET-ik\  • adjective : of, relating to, or based on the intellect Examples: In addition to her chemistry courses, Elena took electives in philosophy and the classics to satisfy her thirst for noetic stimulation. "But the new emphasis on curiosity as a noetic virtue adds a note of transcendence to the portrait of the ideal thinke...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2016 is: litany • \LIT-uh-nee\  • noun 1 : a prayer consisting of a series of invocations and supplications by the leader with alternate responses by the congregation 2 a : a resonant or repetitive chant b : a usually lengthy recitation or enumeration c : a sizable series or set Examples: "In a silent inner litany, I say 'thank you' for the magnifice...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2016 is: piebald • \PYE-bawld\  • adjective 1 : composed of incongruous parts 2 : of different colors; especially : spotted or blotched with black and white Examples: The horse she most enjoys riding is a sleek, leggy piebald mare. "What they did find, though, were some surprise photos of a piebald deer, something few people ever get to see in the wo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2016 is: koine • \koy-NAY\  • noun 1 : the Greek language commonly spoken and written in eastern Mediterranean countries in the Hellenistic and Roman periods 2 : a dialect or language of a region that has become the common or standard language of a larger area Examples: "Examples of koines … include the Hindi/Bhojpuri varieties spoken in Fiji and Sou...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2016 is: unctuous • \UNK-chuh-wus\  • adjective 1 a : fatty, oily b : smooth and greasy in texture or appearance 2 : plastic 3 : insincerely smooth in speech and manner Examples: Anna was thankful that the unctuous man who first greeted her at the modeling agency would not be the person she would be working with. "To make the most of its amazing qual...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 17, 2016 is: fossick • \FAH-sik\  • verb 1 : (Australia & New Zealand) to search about especially for gold or gemstones 2 : (chiefly Australia & New Zealand) to search about : rummage Examples: As teenagers, the twins spent many summer afternoons fossicking for opals in the old mine. "McDowall outlines the last day's activities: a morning jaunt to Southp...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 16, 2016 is: withy • \WITH-ee\  • noun 1 : willow; especially : one whose pliable twigs are used for furniture and basketry 2 : a flexible slender twig or branch Examples: "The switch, significantly, is  … a withy of great suppleness and bite, a two-edged sword." — Janette Turner Hospital, The Last Magician, 1992 "'Care to walk up wi' me, Sassenach? It's...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 15, 2016 is: galvanize • \GAL-vuh-nyze\  • verb 1 : to subject to the action of an electric current especially for the purpose of stimulating physiologically  2 a : to stimulate or excite as if by an electric shock  b : to react as if stimulated by an electric shock 3 : to coat (iron or steel) with zinc; especially : to immerse in molten zinc to produce...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 14, 2016 is: canaille • \kuh-NYE\  • noun 1 : rabble, riffraff 2 : proletarian Examples: "I am not going to write for [The New York Weekly]—like all other papers that pay one splendidly, it circulates among stupid people & the canaille." — Mark Twain, letter, 1 June 1867 "Where the beau monde leads, the canaille will follow." — Richard Brookhiser, The Ne...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2016 is: sedentary • \SED-un-tair-ee\  • adjective 1 : not migratory : settled 2 a : doing or requiring much sitting b : not physically active 3 : permanently attached Examples: Erica much preferred working outside in the fresh air to the sedentary office job she held last summer. "It's well known that leading a sedentary life is detrimental to long-...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2016 is: hobnob • \HAHB-nahb\  • verb : to associate familiarly Examples: "We were so far from A-listers they couldn't see us with a telescope, yet there we were, hobnobbing with athletes and celebrities, all the while making good use of the free drinks and appetizers, especially the sushi rolls." — Eric Plummer, The Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Press, 14 F...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 11, 2016 is: twee • \TWEE\  • adjective : (chiefly British) affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint Examples: The cutesy knickknacks sold in that shop are a bit twee for my taste. "Some of the footage from decades gone by showcases amusingly twee TV staging and set design…." — Jack Seale, The Guardian, 11 Mar. 2016 . Did you know? Mos...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2016 is: exasperate • \ig-ZASS-puh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to excite the anger of : enrage 2 : to cause irritation or annoyance to Examples: Lila quickly became exasperated by her new roommate's habit of leaving her dirty dishes in the sink. "'Bless me, Father, for I have sinned' are the first words we hear from Mannix, a married Catholic who exasperates h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2016 is: wherefore • \WAIR-for\  • adverb 1 : for what reason or purpose : why 2 : therefore Examples: "What had already fallen from her, however, had not only piqued his curiosity, but seriously alarmed him, wherefore he urged her to tell him the worst at once." — Charles Dickens, The Old Curiosity Shop, 1841 "There's a frivolity to the lopsidedness...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2016 is: batten • \BAT-un\  • verb 1 a : to grow or make fat b : to feed gluttonously 2 : to grow prosperous especially at the expense of another — usually used with on Examples: There have always been unscrupulous individuals who batten on the misfortunes of others. "At the same time, others who had battened on the business of originating mortgages—t...