Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 12, 2015 is: jeopardy • \JEP-er-dee\  • noun 1 : exposure to death, loss, or injury : danger 2 : the danger that an accused person is subjected to when on trial for a criminal offense Examples: Rather than risk placing his passengers in jeopardy, the pilot waited for the storm to pass before taking off. "Unless they have already accumulated substantial we...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 11, 2015 is: inculcate • \in-KUL-kayt\  • verb : to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions Examples: Mark and Victoria tried to inculcate in their children the values of hard work, self-reliance, and respect for other people. "When Duke went to seven Final Fours over a nine-year span from 1986 through 1994, the Blue Devils were invariabl...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 10, 2015 is: bellwether • \BEL-WEH-ther\  • noun : one that takes the lead or initiative : leader; also : an indicator of trends Examples: The company has long been viewed as a bellwether for the tech market, so analysts are watching it closely. "Plus, on an increasingly divided council, and in a new district elections system inviting wholesale change, Go...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 9, 2015 is: obtain • \ub-TAYN\  • verb 1 : to gain or attain usually by planned action or effort 2 : to be generally recognized or established : prevail Examples: The experiment was designed to obtain more accurate data about weather patterns. "Business owners and musical acts that want to participate in the series can sign up online and skip the trip to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 8, 2015 is: youthquake • \YOOTH-kwayk\  • noun : a shift in cultural norms influenced by the values, tastes, and mores of young people Examples: "One late afternoon in the summer of 2009, I was walking down Wythe Avenue, a thoroughfare in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood still lined with warehouses that were home to vintage clothing and indie-band pra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 7, 2015 is: clandestine • \klan-DES-tun\  • adjective : marked by, held in, or conducted with secrecy : surreptitious Examples: The commander ordered the clandestine flights over enemy territory to gather more information about the opposing forces. "Frida Kahlo met Jose Bartoli in New York while she was recuperating from spinal surgery stemming from a bus...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 6, 2015 is: noblesse oblige • \noh-BLESS-uh-BLEEZH\  • noun : the obligation of honorable, generous, and responsible behavior associated with high rank or birth Examples: "And true to those sentiments of noblesse oblige, in 1957 the Seiberling family turned the property over to a nonprofit trust." - Steve Stephens, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, April 24, 2011...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 5, 2015 is: frugal • \FROO-gul\  • adjective : characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources Examples: In order to save both energy and money, Joni was frugal with air-conditioning, usually opting to turn on a fan instead whenever it got too hot in her apartment. "Budgeting makes most people groan, and it's easy to understand why. The ide...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2015 is: swan song • \SWAHN-SAWNG\  • noun 1 : a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan 2 : a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement Examples: Professor Holland gave the final lecture of his long career, and his swan song was met with a standing ovation from his students. "In hisswan songas Major League Baseball commissioner...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 3, 2015 is: adulate • \AJ-uh-layt\  • verb : to flatter or admire excessively or slavishly Examples: A portrait of the family patriarch, a man adulated by the public while generally feared by his family, hung above the mantle. "Weadulatethe wealthy, the notorious and egocentric and even the crass and depraved and pay little attention to people who are tho...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2015 is: stalwart • \STAWL-wert\  • adjective : marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit Examples: Judith has long been a stalwart supporter of the community theater, always volunteering at fundraisers and helping out backstage during productions. "A gaggle of little children chase after the family dog and roll around on the fl...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 1, 2015 is: phreaker • \FREE-ker\  • noun : one who gains illegal access to the telephone system Examples: This year's annual conference on culture and technology will focus on the subculture of hackers and phreakers. "Wire fraud spiked, and the FBI cracked down on phreakers and their blue boxes." - Jose Pagliery, CNN.com, March 11, 2015 Did you know? Phr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2015 is: perseverate • \per-SEV-uh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to repeat or recur persistently 2 : to go back over previously covered ground Examples: To ensure the accuracy of his or her data, the scientist necessarily perseverates, repeating each experiment many times and comparing the results. "In a world of sport, where weperseverateon numbers and titles to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2015 is: metadata • \met-uh-DAY-tuh\  • noun : data that provides information about other data Examples: The investigator used metadata from phone company records to identify the culprit behind the harassing calls. "The intended point was that the NSA wasn't collecting the words we said during our phone conversations, only the phone numbers of the two...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2015 is: bodacious • \boh-DAY-shuss\  • adjective 1 : outright, unmistakable 2 : remarkable, noteworthy 3 : sexy, voluptuous Examples: The comedy writing team has created a sitcom pilot featuring two geeky guys and their bodacious female roommate. "She'd get a big kick out of this moment. Being honored and commemorated by the postal service with her ow...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 28, 2015 is: fictioneer • \fik-shuh-NEER\  • noun : someone who writes fiction especially in quantity and without high standards Examples: Dwight was a fictioneer who specialized in pulp novels, producing over 300 of them in his long career. "Is it right for such irresponsiblefictioneersto be playing around unconscionably with such tragic subject matter?"...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 27, 2015 is: riot act • \RYE-ut-AKT\  • noun : a vigorous reprimand or warning - used in the phrase read the riot act Examples: Celia's parents read her the riot act after she stayed out for almost an hour past her curfew. "[Angela Merkel] read Greece and other affected zone members the riot act: their borrowing and spending was out of control, and they'd...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2015 is: sacrilegious • \sak-ruh-LIJ-us\  • adjective 1 : committing or characterized by a technical and not necessarily intrinsically outrageous violation (such as improper reception of a sacrament) of what is sacred because consecrated to God 2 : grossly irreverent toward a hallowed person, place, or thing Examples: My great-grandfather was a die-har...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2015 is: callithump • \KAL-uh-thump\  • noun : a noisy boisterous band or parade Examples: Anyone who wants to participate in the town's annual Memorial Day callithump should be at the elementary school by 10 a.m. "Almost wherever you are in the Los Angeles area Sunday, there's a parade coming your way. Yes, it's callithump time in and about the City o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2015 is: erudite • \AIR-uh-dyte\  • adjective : having or showing knowledge that is gained by studying : possessing or displaying extensive knowledge acquired chiefly from books Examples: The university hosted an informative lecture given by an erudite scholar of Cold War history. "But because the stakes here feel so high-that is, because the Internet...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2015 is: debouch • \dih-BOUTCH\  • verb 1 : to cause to emerge : discharge 2 : to march out into open ground : emerge, issue Examples: "A mutual foe had appeared. From a passage on the left of the road there had debouched on to the field of action Albert himself and two of his band." - P. G. Wodehouse, The White Feather, 1907 "Jeremy and I had trekked...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2015 is: nepotism • \NEP-uh-tiz-um\  • noun : favoritism (as in appointment to a job) based on kinship Examples: It was strongly believed that nepotism played a role in helping Jessica get the sales manager position at her cousin's store. "The Times investigation found that at least 7% of county firefighters on the payroll since 2012 were the sons of c...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 21, 2015 is: umpteen • \UMP-teen\  • adjective : very many : indefinitely numerous Examples: By midmorning, Ellie had already phoned her sister umpteen times. "It's the home chore that everybody hates most. I see that on the TV how-to shows, read it on umpteen do-it-yourself sites. Nobody likes removing wallpaper." - Allen Norwood, Charlotte (North Carolin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 20, 2015 is: quisling • \KWIZ-ling\  • noun : one who commits treason : traitor, collaborator Examples: "This is a country that can force you to garden, where the parish or your neighbors can twist your arm, make you delve like Adam on behalf of the common neatness…. Best-kept village competitions turn stockbroker dormitory towns into little Stalingrads, w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 19, 2015 is: prudent • \PROO-dunt\  • adjective 1 : marked by wisdom or judiciousness 2 : shrewd in the management of practical affairs 3 : cautious, discreet 4 : thrifty, frugal Examples: The couple's financial advisor helped them devise a prudent investment strategy. "As a group, they tend not to be water wasters. Wasting water costs them money in the fo...