Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 24, 2012 is: demarcate • \dih-MAHR-kayt\  • verb 1 : to fix or define the limits of : delimit 2 : to set apart : distinguish Examples: A crumbling stone wall demarcated the property. "The war on terrorism has made it hard to demarcate the proper lines between military action and law enforcement, simply because it doesn't resemble traditional wars between...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2012 is: pippin • \PIP-in\  • noun 1 : a crisp tart apple having usually yellow or greenish-yellow skin strongly flushed with red and used especially for cooking 2 : a highly admired or very admirable person or thing Examples: The CEO's retirement speech was a pippin. "[Judge Len Goodman of 'Dancing with the Stars'] said … that the dance was 'first c...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 22, 2012 is: oppugn • \uh-PYOON\  • verb 1 : to fight against 2 : to call in question Examples: The local papers have begun to oppugn the candidate's claims, arguing that the facts do not support her statements about her past business ventures. "Physics Nobel prize winner Carlo Rubbia reacts to reporters ahead of the Nobel Laureates Beijing Forum 2011 in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 21, 2012 is: tub-thumper • \TUB-thump-er\  • noun : a vociferous supporter (as of a cause) Examples: Aunt Lucille was a tub-thumper for temperance who never passed up an opportunity to sermonize fervently on the evils of "demon drink" and the virtues of abstinence. "As some of you are aware, I've been a frequent tub thumper for winter gardening. In the m...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 20, 2012 is: unbolted • \un-BOHL-tud\  • adjective : not sifted Examples: The restaurant is famous for its cornbread, which is the product of a generations-old recipe that calls for unbolted cornmeal and buttermilk. "[Sylvester] Graham advised everyone to eat bread made of coarse, stone-ground, unbolted flour, and he believed that bread should be baked a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 19, 2012 is: élan • \ay-LAHN\  • noun : vigorous spirit or enthusiasm Examples: The dance troupe performed with their usual grace and élan. "That's the setting for [Tasha Alexander's] rollicking, popular series of mysteries featuring Lady Emily Hargreaves, a headstrong woman who smokes cigars, drinks port, reads Homer in the original Greek, slings wittic...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 18, 2012 is: sylph • \SILF\  • noun 1 : an elemental being in the theory of Paracelsus that inhabits air 2 : a slender graceful woman or girl Examples: The dancer was a lovely, elegant sylph upon the stage. "By the time [Whitney Houston's] first album came out, in 1985, she'd been given a thorough makeover: the cover photo showed a sleek-haired, golden-s...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 17, 2012 is: fallacious • \fuh-LAY-shus\  • adjective 1 : embodying a fallacy 2 : tending to deceive or mislead : delusive Examples: The notion that disease is caused by malign spirits was known to be fallacious long before germ theory gave us real understanding of disease. "The whole idea that Romney was responsible for good or bad things in Massachuset...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 16, 2012 is: secrete • \sih-KREET\  • verb 1 : to deposit or conceal in a hiding place 2 : to appropriate secretly : abstract Examples: The squirrel had secreted nuts all over the yard in preparation for winter, and as spring approached, more were still to be found. "With either engine [the Porsche 911 Cabriolet] is flipping fast, particularly above 4,00...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 15, 2012 is: instauration • \in-staw-RAY-shun\  • noun 1 : restoration after decay, lapse, or dilapidation 2 : an act of instituting or establishing something Examples: "Once, humanity dreamed of the great instauration - a rebirth of ancient wisdom that would compel us into a New Age...." - From an article by Knute Berger in the Seattle Weekly, December...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 14, 2012 is: volplane • \VAHL-playn\  • verb 1 : to glide in or as if in an airplane 2 a : to descend gradually in controlled flight b : to fly in a glider Examples: An eagle soared and volplaned gracefully across the sky. "Does it [the northern flying squirrel] really fly: No. It glides (or "volplanes") and always in a downward direction. - From an arti...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 13, 2012 is: nugatory • \NOO-guh-tor-ee\  • adjective 1 : of little or no consequence : trifling, inconsequential 2 : having no force : inoperative Examples: The decision to remove such a minor character from the show should have a nugatory impact on its success. "I had grown up hearing Kenneth Williams and others bemoaning in quavering comic tones the i...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 12, 2012 is: upbraid • \up-BRAYD\  • verb 1 : to criticize severely : find fault with 2 : to reproach severely : scold vehemently Examples: The foreman was upbraided for not strictly enforcing the company's worksite safety policies during his shifts. "Later that autumn, when their first three-month lease was approaching its end, the Hawkings heard that a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2012 is: nondescript • \nahn-di-SKRIPT\  • adjective 1 : belonging or appearing to belong to no particular class or kind : not easily described 2 : lacking distinctive or interesting qualities : dull, drab Examples: The famous spy was a quiet, nondescript man that no one could describe even a few minutes after meeting him, which was clearly an advant...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2012 is: quietus • \kwye-EE-tus\  • noun 1 : final settlement (as of a debt) 2 : removal from activity; especially : death 3 : something that quiets or represses Examples: The town council voted against granting a permit to stage the concert in the park, thus putting the quietus on any repeat of last year's unruly behavior. "All this comes just about...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2012 is: winsome • \WIN-sum\  • adjective 1 : generally pleasing and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence 2 : cheerful, lighthearted Examples: Darryl's winsome nature made him well-liked in the office, and his cubicle was a popular destination for co-workers looking for a conversation partner. "Faina, a winsome blonde child with a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2012 is: diplopia • \dih-PLOH-pee-uh\  • noun : a disorder of vision in which two images of a single object are seen because of unequal action of the eye muscles - called also double vision Examples: Most cases of diplopia go away on their own, but in some instances it can be a sign of an aneurysm or other disorder in the brain. "Every August thousand...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2012 is: arrogate • \AIR-uh-gayt\  • verb 1 a : to claim or seize without justification b : to make undue claims to having : assume 2 : to claim on behalf of another : ascribe Examples: The city council has accused the mayor of arrogating decision-making authority to himself that rightly belongs with the council. "Iranian political analysts said Mr. A...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2012 is: putsch • \PUTCH\  • noun : a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government Examples: German theologian and pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed for his role in an intricate putsch aimed at assassinating Adolf Hitler that occurred on July 20, 1944. "Mr. Duceppe did not bother disguising his efforts to organize a p...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2012 is: felicitate • \fih-LISS-uh-tayt\  • verb 1 : to consider happy or fortunate 2 : to offer congratulations to Examples: The other swimmers politely felicitated the winner of the race. "The rising music stars, all of whom are first-prize winners of the All India Radio Competition 2011, will be felicitated in the morning inaugural session."-From a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2012 is: Babbitt • \BAB-it\  • noun : a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards Examples: The candidate's economic agenda appeals to the frugal Babbitts in his constituency. "There is something delightfully counterintuitive about [author Richard] Florida's theory as he chooses...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2012 is: immense • \ih-MENSS\  • adjective 1 : marked by greatness especially in size or degree; especially : transcending ordinary means of measurement 2 : supremely good Examples: I often find it difficult to convey to the students in my science classes how immense the universe truly is. "Even moderate rains -- and Rio is a city of immense downpours...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2012 is: yuppify • \YUP-uh-fye\  • verb : to make appealing to yuppies; also : to infuse with the qualities or values of yuppies Examples: While rent prices in the city have fallen, the neighborhoods that were relatively recently yuppified remain too expensive for most city residents. "Celebrating 60 years of racing in 2009, Darlington Raceway ... is...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 1, 2012 is: abeyance • \uh-BAY-unss\  • noun 1 : a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested 2 : temporary inactivity : suspension Examples: Our plans to go for a bike ride were in abeyance until the weather cleared up. "The remaining $5,000 of the fine is held in abeyance and will not have to be paid unless additional...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 29, 2012 is: bosky • \BAH-skee\  • adjective 1 : having abundant trees or shrubs 2 : of or relating to a woods Examples: As we drove away from the city, apartment buildings gave way to homes with yards, then at last to a bosky landscape dominated by tall pines. "In 1863, when two brothers were abducted by armed gangsters and marched into a forest, the...