Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 9, 2013 is: glade • \GLAYD\  • noun : an open space surrounded by woods Examples: "Whenever they got a glimpse of the sun in an open glade they seemed unaccountably to have veered eastwards." - From J.R.R. Tolkien's 1954 book The Fellowship of the Ring "On the surface-sylphs and a poet in a moonlit glade before a ruined abbey-'Sylphides' looks quaint,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 8, 2013 is: unbeknownst • \un-bih-NOHNST\  • adjective : happening or existing without the knowledge of someone specified Examples: Unbeknownst to Caroline, we all chipped in to have a large bouquet of flowers delivered to her office for her birthday. "Although his wife was well aware of their excessive spending habits, Travis was the one who paid the...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 7, 2013 is: albeit • \awl-BEE-it\  • conjunction : conceding the fact that : even though : although Examples: Troy has finally landed a role in a Broadway play, albeit as a minor character. "Earth is an afterthought-just one of the 'nine realms,' albeit the one with Natalie Portman." - From a movie review by Jake Coyleap in The Daily Commercial (Leesb...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 6, 2013 is: hibernaculum • \hye-ber-NAK-yuh-lum\  • noun : a shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal (as an insect or reptile) Examples: "The affliction has spread and stands to threaten major bat hibernacula to the south and west." - From an article by Curtis Runyan in Nature Conservancy, Winter 2009 "The Game Commission estimates that...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 5, 2013 is: quibble • \KWIB-ul\  • verb 1 : to evade the point of an argument by caviling about words 2 a : cavil, carp b : bicker 3 : to subject to minor objections or criticisms Examples: There always seemed to be one person at the meeting who wanted to quibble over the fine points rather than focus on the larger plan. "I could quibble about some po...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 4, 2013 is: benefic • \buh-NEF-ik\  • adjective : producing good or helpful results or effects : beneficial Examples: Coach Reed is a strong proponent of the view that participation in sports has a benefic influence on young people. "The benefic properties of potassium hydrate have made it a commonly found element in many natural remedies." - From a p...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 3, 2013 is: lacuna • \luh-KOO-nuh\  • noun 1 : a blank space or a missing part : gap; also : deficiency, inadequacy 2 : a small cavity, pit, or discontinuity in an anatomical structure Examples: The newly discovered Civil War documents will fill many lacunae in the museum's archives. "There are some peculiar lacunae in this volume, however. While Mr....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 2, 2013 is: inveigh • \in-VAY\  • verb : to protest or complain bitterly or vehemently : rail Examples: Several property owners wrote letters to the paper inveighing against the high property taxes that they are required to pay. "The anti-mine forces recruited personalities such as filmmaker and actor Robert Redford to inveigh against the project; com...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 1, 2013 is: clochard • \kloh-SHAHR\  • noun : vagrant, tramp Examples: "Yesterday, the pope lunched at a soup kitchen … sitting down to table with 100 of the 2,000 clochards who regularly eat there." - From an article by Paddy Agnew in the Irish Times, December 28, 2009 "The character, played by Michel Simon, is an archetypal French clochard, a kind o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 30, 2013 is: lollapalooza • \lah-luh-puh-LOO-zuh\  • noun : one that is extraordinarily impressive; also : an outstanding example Examples: The device, which is due out this spring, is being touted as the lollapalooza of smart phones. "This drink, at $38 a glass in South Beach, is a real lollapalooza." - From an article by Malcolm Berko in NewsOK (Okl...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 29, 2013 is: tomfoolery • \tahm-FOO-luh-ree\  • noun : playful or foolish behavior Examples: "Scott Ferber grew up one of three boys in a house with a strict mother who did not tolerate any tomfoolery." - From an article by Sarah Gantz in the Baltimore Business Journal, October 18, 2013 "People's success also signaled a shift in the overall tone of pr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 28, 2013 is: foison • \FOY-zun\  • noun 1 : archaic : rich harvest 2 : chiefly Scottish : physical energy or strength 3 : plural, obsolete : resources Examples: "Earth's increase, foison plenty, / Barns and garners* never empty; / Vines with clust'ring bunches growing, / Plants with goodly burden bowing.…" - From Shakespeare's 1623 play The Tempest "T...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 27, 2013 is: divers • \DYE-verz\  • adjective : made up of an indefinite number greater than one : various Examples: "He is … descended from the issue of Dudleys who managed to escape Bloody Mary's ax as well as the divers other perils of Tudor England." - From an article by Christopher Buckley in the Architectural Digest, April 1989 "The tale that un...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 26, 2013 is: insuperable • \in-SOO-puh-ruh-bul\  • adjective : incapable of being surmounted, overcome, passed over, or solved Examples: Though it had appeared that the visiting team had an insuperable lead, the home team rallied to win in the end. "The project faced a perpetual lack of funding, constant bureaucratic delays, and, by the '30s, the near...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 25, 2013 is: dragon's teeth • \DRAG-unz-TEETH\  • noun 1 : seeds of strife 2 : wedge-shaped concrete antitank barriers laid in multiple rows Examples: The political analyst insisted that the government's policy was misguided and would only sow dragon's teeth by increasing poverty and discontent. "Assiduously sown by the Kremlin, the dragon's teeth of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 24, 2013 is: exact • \ig-ZAKT\  • verb 1 : to call for forcibly or urgently and obtain 2 : to call for as necessary or desirable Examples: Although Jenny eventually succeeded, working full-time while taking a full college course load exacted a high toll from her. "Bullied in five straight meetings, by an average of 13.2 points, the Jets on Sunday exac...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 23, 2013 is: Svengali • \sven-GAH-lee\  • noun : a person who manipulates or exerts excessive control over another Examples: In her tell-all autobiography, the singer portrays her former husband/manager as an abusive and controlling Svengali. "Not long before, he'd met Harvey Dorfman, a gruff, Bronx-born sports psychologist who was destined to become...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 22, 2013 is: forfend • \for-FEND\  • verb 1 : to ward off : prevent 2 : protect, preserve Examples: The fort functioned as a place of refuge where the settlers could forfend themselves from attack. "'Sir!' Scotty sounded genuinely indignant. 'You're not suggesting that I would let any piece of equipment aboard my ship fall into disrepair, are you?' 'H...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2013 is: trumpery • \TRUMP-uh-ree\  • noun 1 : worthless nonsense 2 : trivial or useless articles : junk Examples: Moving to a new house has given me an excuse to toss out years of accumulated knickknacks and trumpery. "But there's so much trumpery on parade, including a relentless air of self-importance, that it's even hard to simply enjoy the pe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2013 is: cubit • \KYOO-bit\  • noun : any of various ancient units of length based on the length of the forearm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger and usually equal to about 18 inches (46 centimeters) Examples: The teacher explained that the ancient Egyptians did not measure things in feet and yards as we do but rather calculated measu...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2013 is: phosphene • \FAHSS-feen\  • noun : a luminous impression due to excitation of the retina Examples: "One way to see phosphenes is to close your eyes and rub them with your palms or fingers…." - From Andrew Neher's 1990 book Paranormal and Transcendental Experience "At the event, visitors will draw blindfolded to allow the phosphenes (patte...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2013 is: homologate • \hoh-MAH-luh-gayt\  • verb : to sanction or allow; especially : to approve or confirm officially Examples: The plea bargain between the district attorney and the defense must be homologated by a judge. "As Europe and the U.S. get closer in emissions regulations, the cost to homologate (legally certify) cars for both markets w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2013 is: accolade • \AK-uh-layd\  • noun 1 a : a ceremonial embrace b : a ceremony or salute conferring knighthood 2 a : a mark of acknowledgment : award b : an expression of praise 3 : a brace or a line used in music to join two or more staffs carrying simultaneous parts Examples: The movie's special effects have drawn accolades from both fans an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2013 is: conurbation • \kah-ner-BAY-shun\  • noun : an aggregation or continuous network of urban communities Examples: The conurbation is served by a sophisticated system of trains and subways. "He also questioned whether China needs more cities when most migration has been to the 70 biggest conurbations." - From an article in the Pittsburgh Post...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2013 is: sporadic • \spuh-RAD-ik\  • adjective : occurring occasionally, singly, or in irregular or random instances Examples: Since the region only receives sporadic rainfall, it is not conducive to growing most crops. "His wife, Harriet, however, was a sweetie, a sculptress by occupation who displayed a sporadic enthusiasm for the history of the...