Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2014 is: tabula rasa • \TAB-yuh-luh-RAH-zuh\  • noun 1 : the mind in its hypothetical primary blank or empty state before receiving outside impressions 2 : something existing in its original pristine state Examples: "In those pioneering days, I was something of a tabula rasa in the kitchen, unless you count my knack for toasting a flawless Pop-Tart."...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2014 is: recondite • \REK-un-dyte\  • adjective 1 : hidden from sight : concealed 2 : difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or knowledge to comprehend : deep 3 : of, relating to, or dealing with something little known or obscure Examples: "We hear from mathematicians that bees have practically solved a recondite problem, and have...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 11, 2014 is: collimate • \KAH-luh-mayt\  • verb : to make (something, such as light rays) parallel Examples: "Amazingly, some astrophysical jets-streams of charged particles collimated and accelerated over astronomical distances-also exhibit a helical structure." - From an article by Mario Livio on The Huffington Post, November 20, 2013 "The higher cost...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2014 is: kith • \KITH\  • noun : familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives Examples: Alan looked forward to the annual block party as a way to stay connected with his kith. "Many urban dwellers, embedded in networks of kith and kin, wouldn't dream of swapping the spiciness of the city for the white-bread pleasures of suburbia." - From an article by D...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2014 is: rancid • \RAN-sid\  • adjective 1 : having a rank smell or taste 2 : offensive Examples: Although considered healthier, unsaturated fats become rancid much more easily than saturated fats do. "Oddly enough, this wild conjecture is about as far as McGinniss goes into the rancid waters of tabloid gossip." - From a book review by Jonathan Yardle...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2014 is: virescent • \vuh-RESS-unt\  • adjective : beginning to be green : greenish Examples: Buds formed on the bare trees, infusing the stark branches with a slight virescent tint. "While Heisman Trophy winner and National Football League quarterback Tim Tebow read 'Green Eggs and Ham,' during Dr. Seuss Week, Lincoln Elementary kindergarten teacher...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 7, 2014 is: spandex • \SPAN-deks\  • noun : any of various elastic textile fibers made chiefly of polyurethane; also : clothing made of this material Examples: While spandex is appropriate for running races and perhaps errands too, few of us can get away with donning it in the workplace. "[Olympic bobsled brakeman Chris] Fogt says his athletic life and h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 6, 2014 is: epistolary • \ih-PIST-uh-lair-ee\  • adjective 1 : of, relating to, or suitable to a letter 2 : contained in or carried on by letters 3 : written in the form of a series of letters Examples: "Jonathan Franzen, with whom he had struck up an epistolary friendship, offered to get together that April when he was in Boston." - From D.T. Max's 2012...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 5, 2014 is: debunk • \dee-BUNK\  • verb : to expose the sham or falseness of Examples: At the premiere of their new movie, the actor and actress addressed the media to debunk the rumor that they were dating. "Illusionists and comedians Penn and Teller have made a career out of pulling back the curtain, whether to reveal the methods magicians employ in th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 4, 2014 is: narwhal • \NAHR-wahl\  • noun : an arctic cetacean (Monodon monoceros) about 20 feet (6 meters) long with the male having a long twisted ivory tusk Examples: In medieval times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes passed off and sold as the horn of the fabled unicorn. "Polar bears and narwhals-some of the Arctic's most unusual and beloved cr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 3, 2014 is: cadge • \KAJ\  • verb : beg, sponge Examples: Mike tried to cadge a cigarette from Paula, but she told him to get his own pack. "With a straight face I actually said that I was still hungry and tried to cadge a second half-pound burrito. I failed." - From a blog post by Karl Wilder at HuffingtonPost.com, March 4, 2014 Did you know? As long ag...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 2, 2014 is: hirsute • \HER-soot\  • adjective 1 : hairy 2 : covered with coarse stiff hairs Examples: Turner wore a hirsute mask as part of his werewolf costume for the school play. "Forget the Oscars … and make way for ... The Fluffies. No, it's nothing to do with overly hirsute cats or cute rabbits. The latest awards concerning the travel industry are...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2014 is: hospitalist • \HAH-spih-tuh-list\  • noun : a physician who specializes in treating hospitalized patients of other physicians Examples: "George has been practicing adult medicine in the St. Louis area since 1999, including 10 years of experience as a hospitalist." - From an article in newsmagazinenetwork.com, September 16, 2013 "As an interni...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2014 is: reverberate • \rih-VER-buh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to reflect or to become reflected 2 : to continue in or as if in a series of echoes : resound Examples: The sound of footsteps reverberated through the hallway. "We take some comfort knowing that the guy who ran the backhoe-mounted pavement breaker that created weeks of ear-splitting din was able...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 30, 2014 is: callous • \KAL-us\  • adjective 1 a : being hardened and thickened b : having calluses 2 a : feeling no emotion b : feeling or showing no sympathy for others : hard-hearted Examples: The company responsible for the fuel leak demonstrated callous disregard for the welfare of the people who lived downstream. "One of the most remarkable achieve...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2014 is: yen • \YEN\  • noun : a strong desire or propensity : longing; also : urge, craving Examples: Though it has been years since he moved away from home, Johnnie still experiences the occasional yen for his grandmother's cooking. "The first of the five to enlist was Ford, a devout Irish American Catholic with a yen for the seafaring life." - Fro...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 28, 2014 is: adscititious • \ad-suh-TISH-us\  • adjective 1 : derived or acquired from something on the outside 2 : supplemental, additional Examples: "We should choose our books as we would our companions, for their sterling and intrinsic merit, not for their adscititious or accidental advantages." - From Charles Caleb Colton's 1832 book Lacon "I thrill...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2014 is: infix • \IN-fiks\  • noun : a derivational or inflectional affix appearing in the body of a word Examples: The Philippine language of Tagalog adds infixes such as "-um-" and "-su-" to verbs to convey different tenses and voices. "As Mark Peters writes, [The Simpsons character Ned] Flanders is 'hyper-holy,' and his infixes sanctify a typicall...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2014 is: sallow • \SAL-oh\  • adjective : of a grayish greenish yellow color suggesting sickliness Examples: She decided not to buy the beige blouse because it made her skin look washed-out and sallow. "Butterfield is perfect in the title role, his sallow complexion, sunken eyes and haunted gaze every inch the angst-ridden lad that Card created on th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2014 is: opusculum • \oh-PUSK-yuh-lum\  • noun : a minor work (as of literature) Examples: The book is a collection of opuscula written by the author between her two major novels. "Little surprise, then, that McCall Smith has written a kindly, avuncular, contemplative opusculum sharing his enthusiasm with the uninitiated." - From an article by Richar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 24, 2014 is: smite • \SMYTE\  • verb 1 : to strike sharply or heavily 2 a : to kill or severely injure by striking b : to attack or afflict suddenly and injuriously 3 : to affect as if by striking Examples: Susan jokingly declared that her mother would smite her if she ever went out in the winter with wet hair. "For 10 years or more I was that guy at wor...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2014 is: timorous • \TIM-uh-rus\  • adjective 1 : of a timid disposition : fearful 2 : expressing or suggesting timidity Examples: The study seems to suggests that timorous people suffer from stress more frequently than their more aggressive peers. "Hwang's quest to prove his daughter died from a workplace-related illness has pitted him against the w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 22, 2014 is: knackered • \NAK-erd\  • adjective : tired, exhausted Examples: She was knackered after a hard day of work and decided not to join us for an evening out. "But when Shmuel, knackered and self-satisfied, walks into the house after an afternoon's absence of indeterminate length and implausible itinerary, my heart expands in gratitude." - From a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2014 is: perforce • \per-FORSS\  • adverb : by force of circumstances Examples: The author of the history was a court historian and his account is perforce biased in favor of the aristocracy. "Beyond an initial campaign or two, European monarchs lack the money to continue their wars and must perforce borrow it from somewhere." - From a blog by Kennet...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 20, 2014 is: rearguard • \REER-gahrd\  • adjective : of or relating to resistance especially to sweeping social forces Examples: "Even as some of API’s own members are inching toward compromise on relatively modest proposals like cap and trade legislation the lobbying group seems to be fighting a rearguard battle."- From an article by Adam Federman on Co...