Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2014 is: fulgent • \FULL-jint\  • adjective : dazzlingly bright : radiant Examples: "Lilac and wistaria and redbud, even the shabby heaven-trees, had never been finer, fulgent, with a burning scent…." - William Faulkner, Sanctuary, 1931 "Both queens were outfitted with lush and representative mantles, white kid gloves, splendid jewelry and dazzling...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2014 is: tankini • \tang-KEE-nee\  • noun : a woman's two-piece swimsuit consisting of bikini briefs and a tank top Examples: While women in the north are putting their swimsuits away for the season-be they one-pieces, bikinis, or tankinis-those in southerly climes can still comfortably relax poolside. "For the first time, select tankini styles feat...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2014 is: solipsism • \SOH-lip-sih-zum\  • noun : a theory holding that the self can know nothing but its own modifications and that the self is the only existent thing; also : extreme egocentrism Examples: The actor’s memoir of the years during which he struggled to break into show business is loaded with so much introspection that it borders on sol...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 2, 2014 is: expropriate • \ek-SPROH-pree-ayt\  • verb 1 : to deprive of possession or proprietary rights 2 : to transfer (the property of another) to one's own possession Examples: The city council rejected a proposal to expropriate private property for the highway expansion. "The city spent nearly $50,000 to expropriate eight tracts that could be used...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 1, 2014 is: global village • \GLOH-bul VIL-ij\  • noun : the world viewed as a community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced by electronic media (such as television and the Internet) Examples: Thanks to crowdsourcing and the generous response of the global village, the couple received enough donations from strangers all over...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 30, 2014 is: wheedle • \WEE-dul\  • verb 1 : to influence or entice by soft words or flattery 2 : to gain or get by coaxing or flattering 3 : to use soft words or flattery Examples: Suzie wheedled the babysitter into letting her stay up an hour past her bedtime. "I still make fruitcake, using a recipe that is mostly fruit and nuts and not much cake....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 29, 2014 is: rapier • \RAY-pee-er\  • adjective : extremely sharp or keen Examples: The wit and keen insight found in her blog are a testament to her rapier mind. "Mr. Brady was a veteran Republican aide and a popular figure among Washington journalists. He was equipped with a rapier wit and a buoyant charm that tended to defuse controversy even befo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 28, 2014 is: sotto voce • \sah-toh-VOH-chee\  • adverb or adjective 1 : under the breath : in an undertone; also : in a private manner 2 : very softly - used as a direction in music Examples: As her husband headed into the kitchen, our hostess began telling us sotto voce about the upcoming surprise party for him. "Former Virginia governor Robert F. M...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 27, 2014 is: fainéant • \fay-nay-AHN\  • adjective : idle and ineffectual : indolent Examples: Deanna's parents warned her not to become fainéant during the summer; even if she didn't want to work, she should travel or volunteer somewhere. "We go on, Beckett-like, enacting the rituals that define existence, trapped in an existential spiral, too fainé...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 26, 2014 is: Götterdämmerung • \gher-ter-DEM-uh-roong\  • : a collapse (as of a society or regime) marked by catastrophic violence and disorder; broadly : downfall Examples: There were those who worried that the latest civil war and attempted regime change would end in Götterdämmerung for the small country. "One wishes, of course, for some sort of Gö...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 25, 2014 is: palaver • \puh-LAV-er\  • noun 1 : a long discussion or meeting usually between persons of different cultures or levels of sophistication 2 a : idle talk b : misleading or beguiling speech Examples: "I don't know how you can stand to listen to that palaver," said Rachel, as she switched off the talk show her brother had been listening to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 24, 2014 is: teleological • \tel-ee-uh-LAH-jih-kul\  • adjective : exhibiting or relating to design or purpose especially in nature Examples: At dinner, Sandra and Miguel debated whether or not the complex structure of the human eye implied a teleological origin. "There is also something of a teleological aspect to all this urbanization hoopla, one t...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 23, 2014 is: syllepsis • \suh-LEP-sis\  • noun 1 : the use of a word to modify or govern syntactically two or more words with only one of which it formally agrees in gender, number, or case 2 : the use of a word in the same grammatical relation to two adjacent words in the context with one literal and the other metaphorical in sense Examples: Jeannie...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 22, 2014 is: esurient • \ih-SUR-ee-unt\  • adjective : hungry, greedy Examples: No one was surprised that the esurient media mogul planned to expand his empire into the social-media marketplace. "She sat opposite him …, as plump and indifferent to his presence as an old tabby cat whose esurient eye was wholly focused on a particularly toothsome mouse...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 21, 2014 is: aphelion • \a-FEEL-yun\  • noun : the point in the path of a celestial body (such as a planet) that is farthest from the sun Examples: The comet is predicted to reach aphelion a mere 22 years from now. "Although this seems somewhat counter-intuitive for those of us in the northern hemisphere, Earth is actually at perihelion in early Janu...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 20, 2014 is: carouse • \kuh-ROWZ ("OW" as in "cow")\  • verb 1 : to drink liquor freely or excessively 2 : to take part in a drunken revel : engage in dissolute behavior Examples: The sailor spent all of shore leave carousing with his mates. "Separatist fighters have taken to carousing drunkenly at night and wearing civilian clothes." - Andrew E. Kra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 19, 2014 is: velar • \VEE-ler\  • adjective 1 : formed with the back of the tongue touching or near the soft palate 2 : of, forming, or relating to a velum and especially the soft palate Examples: The word "keg" contains two velar consonants, "k" and "g." "Those throat-clearing sounds you hear in German? That's the voiceless velar fricative, and it a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 18, 2014 is: hegemony • \hih-JEM-uh-nee\  • noun 1 : dominant influence or authority over others 2 : the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group Examples: Consumers welcomed the diversification of the software market as smaller innovators challenged the hegemony of the large companies. "In the novel, a United...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 17, 2014 is: olfactory • \ahl-FAK-tuh-ree\  • adjective : of, relating to, or connected with the sense of smell Examples: The aroma of cinnamon rolls coming from the kitchen served as an enticing olfactory clue that breakfast was almost ready. "First things first, it has to be said that the place smells like an aromatic candle. Equal parts cedar, pin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 16, 2014 is: pell-mell • \pel-MEL\  • adverb 1 : in mingled confusion or disorder 2 : in confused haste Examples: After the final bell of the day rang, the pupils bolted from their desks and ran pell-mell out the door into the schoolyard. "So Congress has been racing pell-mell this month to fix this crisis that’s been simmering for two decades. And w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 15, 2014 is: divarication • \dye-vair-uh-KAY-shun\  • noun 1 : the action, process, or fact of spreading apart 2 : a divergence of opinion Examples: The team of botanists studied the growth patterns of the trees, including the divarication of their branches. "For journalists, the futurists were at worst nothing more than a further example of the diva...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 14, 2014 is: aleatory • \AY-lee-uh-tor-ee\  • adjective : characterized by chance or random elements Examples: Tom and Renee's romance had an aleatory beginning-for without the sudden rainstorm that led to their introduction beneath the shop's awning, would they ever have met? "Pollard had learned the 'cut-up' technique from Burroughs, in which the s...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 13, 2014 is: grubstake • \GRUB-stayk\  • verb : to provide with material assistance (as a loan) for launching an enterprise or for a person in difficult circumstances Examples: For the production of his short film, Zachary was grubstaked by online donations from friends and supporters. "Almost simultaneously, the Auerbachs opened a series of stores....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 12, 2014 is: lido • \LEE-doh\  • noun : a fashionable beach resort Examples: Sharon bought a new bathing suit in anticipation of her upcoming vacation at a luxurious lido. "The lido on the Promenade at Grange-over-Sands has been abandoned since it closed in 1993, although there is now a campaign for it to be reopened." - Griff Witte, BBC.com, August...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 11, 2014 is: exacerbate • \ig-ZASS-er-bayt\  • verb : to make more violent, bitter, or severe Examples: It seemed as though every new attempt at a solution served only to exacerbate the problem. "The rise of commercial data profiling is exacerbating existing inequities in society and could turn de facto discrimination into a high-tech enterprise." -...