Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 17, 2016 is: nimrod • \NIM-rahd\  • noun 1 : hunter 2 : idiot, jerk Examples: "The hunting season is now in full blast. Several nimrods, both veteran and amateur, are shouldering the gun and marching to the woods and marshes." — Gary Pullano, The Holland (Michigan) Sentinel, 13 Dec. 2015 "The stereotypical cast for the film-within-the-film cleverly ov...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 16, 2016 is: sub rosa • \sub-ROH-zuh\  • adverb : in confidence : secretly Examples: "For 30 years he kept notes, almost sub rosa, finally publishing his work with his own funds just before his death." — Jeannette Ferrary, The New York Times Book Review, 31 May 1987 "Now, when you say you think they will test it, do you think they will test it openly,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 15, 2016 is: pulchritude • \PUHL-kruh-tood\  • noun : physical comeliness Examples: The snowboarder's talent won her many medals, and her pulchritude gained her much attention from sponsors looking for a spokeswoman. "Though the actress playing the queen has the requisite pulchritude, she lacks the gravitas to convince us that she's a 41-year-old, wit...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 14, 2016 is: canoodle • \kuh-NOO-dul\  • verb : to engage in amorous embracing, caressing, and kissing Examples: Chaperones watched for couples attempting to sneak under the gymnasium's bleachers to canoodle. "The sexiest new lounge in Des Moines features a must-drink cocktail list that blends in well with the atmosphere of dim lights and cute little...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 13, 2016 is: tribulation • \trib-yuh-LAY-shun\  • noun : distress or suffering resulting from oppression or persecution; also : a trying experience Examples: "Now Lemsford's great care, anxiety, and endless source of tribulation was the preservation of his manuscripts." — Herman Melville, White Jacket; or, the World in a Man-of-War, 1850 "In sharing t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 12, 2016 is: marmoreal • \mahr-MOR-ee-ul\  • adjective : of, relating to, or suggestive of marble or a marble statue especially in coldness or aloofness Examples: "'Thank you for your submission,' the note begins with marmoreal courtesy. It ends with a wish for success in placing your manuscript with another house." — William Germano, The Chronicle of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 11, 2016 is: incumbent • \in-KUM-bunt\  • noun 1 : the holder of an office or ecclesiastical benefice 2 : one that occupies a particular position or place Examples: The two-term incumbent has already raised almost a million dollars for the upcoming congressional race. "In recent weeks, the candidates hoping to succeed Obama have backed into an honest...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 10, 2016 is: gruntle • \GRUN-tul\  • verb : to put in a good humor Examples: The hour-long wait at the restaurant irked us, but once we were seated, we were soon gruntled by an amiable waiter. "I returned to my interrupted slumber in a mood far from gruntled. It was an injury to my amour propre to realize that in the Whitcomb affair I had been a small...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 9, 2016 is: jocund • \JAH-kund\  • adjective : marked by or suggestive of high spirits and lively mirthfulness Examples: Clayton gave a jocund shout when he entered the room and saw the many friends who had come for his surprise 50th birthday celebration. "The jocund nature of Beethoven's Second Symphony is in utter contradiction with Beethoven's path...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 8, 2016 is: exonerate • \ig-ZAH-nuh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to relieve of a responsibility, obligation, or hardship 2 : to clear from accusation or blame Examples: Dana was exonerated for the crime of taking the money after it was found that her fingerprints did not match those on the cashbox. "… a 2015 measure approved by the Legislature will provide more...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 7, 2016 is: peccadillo • \pek-uh-DIL-oh\  • noun : a slight offense Examples: Mark's thank-you note to his hostess was sincere and touching; his only peccadillo was addressing her by her first name instead of "Mrs. Henderson." "[Tanyanne] Ball seemed to have mastered the form of affable confrontation: as soon as she saw someone perpetrating a civic pe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 6, 2016 is: rescript • \REE-skript\  • noun 1 : a written answer of a Roman emperor or of a pope to a legal inquiry or petition 2 : an official or authoritative order, decree, edict, or announcement 3 : an act or instance of rewriting Examples: The rescript declared that the lands surrounding the new palace would henceforth belong to the royal family....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 5, 2016 is: challah • \KHAH-luh\  • noun : egg-rich yeast-leavened bread that is usually braided or twisted before baking and is traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath and holidays Examples: My father made a blessing over the challah before it was broken and passed around the Shabbat table. "The table was graced with the latkes and doughnuts that...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 4, 2016 is: whilom • \WYE-lum\  • adjective : former Examples: I was pleased to find an interview with the whilom president of my alma mater in the local paper. "On the eastern side settlement and agriculture have all but obliterated the whilom tallgrass prairie, so that it is hardly visible to anyone who would not seek it out on hands and knees...."...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 3, 2016 is: reminisce • \rem-uh-NISS\  • verb : to indulge in the process or practice of thinking or telling about past experiences Examples: Justin met up with some of his college buddies to reminisce about old times. "Most of us have a comfort food we eat when we are reminiscing, sad or depressed." — Marion Goldberg, The Poughkeepsie (New York) Jour...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 2, 2016 is: foliage • \FOH-lee-ij\  • noun 1 : a representation of leaves, flowers, and branches for architectural ornamentation 2 : the aggregate of leaves of one or more plants 3 : a cluster of leaves, flowers, and branches Examples: A trip to the local conservatory was just the thing to beat my winter blues—the bright flowers against the backdrop o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 1, 2016 is: abject • \AB-jekt\  • adjective 1 : sunk to or existing in a low state or condition 2 a : cast down in spirit : servile, spiritless b : showing hopelessness or resignation 3 : expressing or offered in a humble and often ingratiating spirit Examples: The organization is dedicated to alleviating the suffering of those living in abject povert...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 31, 2016 is: sumptuous • \SUMP-shuh-wus\  • adjective : extremely costly, rich, luxurious, or magnificent Examples: The hotel's most sumptuous suite overlooks the lush gardens and includes a palatial marble bathroom with a spa and a commodious, intricately tiled walk-in shower. "On Thanksgiving, guests dine at a sumptuous table of traditional foods, sw...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 30, 2016 is: herald • \HAIR-uld\  • verb 1 : to give notice of : announce 2 a : to greet especially with enthusiasm : hail b : publicize 3 : to signal the approach of : foreshadow Examples: The first real snowfall heralded the arrival of skiing season. "… the transportation agency's initiative has been heralded as a new way to approach transportation p...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 29, 2016 is: obstreperous • \ub-STREP-uh-rus\  • adjective 1 : marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness : clamorous 2 : stubbornly resistant to control : unruly Examples: After two months at sea with dwindling food supplies and declining confidence in the captain, the ship's crew became obstreperous and began to plot a mutiny. "It is Rob she calls for...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 28, 2016 is: jeremiad • \jair-uh-MYE-ud\  • noun : a prolonged lamentation or complaint; also : a cautionary or angry harangue Examples: Mrs. Whinge waggled a finger at us and launched into a doleful jeremiad about how we would come to no good end. "[Pope Francis's] now-famous jeremiads as pope against today's culture of excessive consumption and envir...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 27, 2016 is: proscribe • \proh-SCRYBE\  • verb 1 : to publish the name of as condemned to death with the property of the condemned forfeited to the state 2 : to condemn or forbid as harmful or unlawful : prohibit Examples: The town passed an ordinance that proscribed the ownership of snakes and other exotic pets. "Military law may proscribe conduct whi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 26, 2016 is: zeugma • \ZOOG-muh\  • noun : the use of a word to modify or govern two or more words in such a way that it applies to each in a different sense or makes sense with only one (as in "opened the door and her heart to the homeless boy") Examples: A clever use of zeugma was demonstrated by Groucho Marx's character Rufus T. Firefly in Duck Soup...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 25, 2016 is: harry • \HAIR-ee\  • verb 1 : to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault 2 : to force to move along by harassing 3 : to torment by or as if by constant attack Examples: The young boy harried the kitten until it swiped him with its claws. "Coming off a Thursday schedule packed with practice, a Pearl Harbor visit and a luau, the Ag...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 24, 2016 is: pundit • \PUN-dit\  • noun 1 : a learned person : teacher 2 : a person who gives opinions in an authoritative manner usually through the mass media : critic Examples: Grandpa likes watching liberal and conservative pundits spar about the issues of the day on the Sunday morning talk shows. "But in general, pundits and analysts tend to overe...