Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 27, 2010 is: regale • \rih-GAIL\  • verb 1 : to entertain sumptuously : to feast with delicacies 2 : to give pleasure or amusement to Examples: "Mrs. O[bama] was, no surprise, also incredibly down-to-earth; she regaled our crew with tales of First Dog Bo, whose birthday was coming up." (Glamour, December 2009) Did you know? "Regale" has been an English...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26, 2010 is: milquetoast • \MILK-tohst\  • noun : a timid, meek, or unassertive person Examples: Brian was such a milquetoast that he agreed to work extra hours on Sunday even though he had already told his boss that he needed that day off. Did you know? Caspar Milquetoast was a comic strip character created in 1924 by the American cartoonist Harold T....

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 25, 2010 is: carceral • \KAHR-suh-rul\  • adjective : of, relating to, or suggesting a jail or prison Examples: Every time John walked by the old hospital he was haunted by the abandoned building’s imposing carceral towers and tiny windows. Did you know? Describing a painting of John Howard visiting a prison in 1787, Robert Hughes wrote that Howard was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 24, 2010 is: jeremiad • \jair-uh-MYE-ud\  • noun : a prolonged lamentation or complaint; also : a cautionary or angry harangue Examples: "Siegel's book is a jeremiad against the ills the Internet has visited upon our lives." (Ellen Ullman, The Washington Post, February 10, 2008) Did you know? Jeremiah was a naysayer. That Jewish prophet, who lived from...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 23, 2010 is: squinny • \SKWIN-ee\  • verb : to look or peer with eyes partly closed : squint Examples: "I leant far out, and squinnied for a sign / That this was still the town that had been 'mine'…." (Philip Larkin, "I Remember, I Remember") Did you know? "I remember thine eyes well enough. Dost thou squiny at me?" So asks Shakespeare's mad King Lear o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 22, 2010 is: minuscule • \MIN-uh-skyool\  • adjective 1 : written in or in the size or style of lowercase letters 2 : very small Examples: As the director of a tiny nonprofit organization, Julie is adept at managing expenses while working within the restraints of a minuscule budget. Did you know? "Minuscule" derives from the Latin adjective "minusculus,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 21, 2010 is: grimalkin • \grih-MAWL-kin\  • noun : a domestic cat; especially : an old female cat Examples: Maizy, the family grimalkin, wasn't as fast as she used to be, but she was still very good at catching mice. Did you know? In the opening scene of Macbeth, one of the three witches planning to meet with Macbeth suddenly announces, "I come, Graymal...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 20, 2010 is: jovial • \JOH-vee-ul\  • adjective 1 : of or relating to Jove 2 : markedly good-humored especially as evidenced by jollity and conviviality Examples: Andy remembered his Uncle Jim as a jovial, easy-going man with a ready smile, a firm handshake, and a cheery greeting for all. Did you know? In Roman astrology, planets were named after gods,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 19, 2010 is: embellish • \im-BELL-ish\  • verb 1 : to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate 2 : to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details : enhance Examples: Chris knew that his grandfather may have embellished the truth about his years serving on a submarine in the navy, but he enjoyed hearing the stories nonethe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 18, 2010 is: insouciance • \in-SOO-see-unss\  • noun : lighthearted unconcern : nonchalance Examples: The teenager’s careless insouciance about her schoolwork does not bode well for her grades. Did you know? Don't worry -- be insouciant. Perhaps your mind will rest easier if we explain that English speakers learned "insouciance" from the French in the 1...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 17, 2010 is: ponzu • \PAHN-zoo\  • noun : a tangy sauce made with citrus juice, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce and used especially on seafood Examples: "Alternate slices of avocado with seared tuna on a plate and drizzle with store-bought ponzu sauce." (Marlene Parrish, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, April 15, 2010) Did you know? The word "ponzu" is relativ...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 16, 2010 is: liminal • \LIM-uh-nul\  • adjective 1 : of or relating to a sensory threshold 2 : barely perceptible 3 : of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : in-between, transitional Examples: "The Texas/Mexico border region is a liminal zone where one culture blends into another." (Dan Goddard, San Antonio Express News, N...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 15, 2010 is: moil • \MOYL\  • verb 1 : to work hard : drudge 2 : to be in continuous agitation : churn, swirl Examples: "Why should he toil and moil … when … the strong arm of his Uncle will raise and support him?" (Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter) Did you know? "Moil" may mean "to work hard" but its origins are the opposite of hard; it ultimate...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 14, 2010 is: predilection • \pred-uh-LEK-shun\  • noun : an established preference for something Examples: Aware of Kim's predilection for Italian food, Theo brought her to a quaint trattoria on the east side of town that was highly recommended by his boss. Did you know? Do you have a predilection for words whose histories conjure up colorful images of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 13, 2010 is: advise • \ud-VYZE\  • verb 1 : to give advice to : counsel 2 : inform, notify 3 : consult, confer Examples: Betty's doctor advised her to exercise more carefully if she hoped to avoid re-injuring her sprained ankle. Did you know? "Advise" was borrowed into Middle English in the 14th century from Anglo-French "aviser," itself from "avis," me...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 12, 2010 is: dog days • \DAWG-DAYZ\  • noun 1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere 2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity Examples: "In the sapping heat of the dog days, everyone is at the beach or relaxing on the porch with iced tea." (Barbara Damrosch, Was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 11, 2010 is: stolid • \STAH-lid\  • adjective : having or expressing little or no sensibility : unemotional Examples: The judge was a man of stolid temperament who did not let the impassioned rhetoric of litigants affect his decisions. Did you know? "Stolid" derives from "stolidus," a word that means "dull" or "stupid" in Latin. It is also distantly rel...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 10, 2010 is: wildcatter • \WYLDE-katt-er\  • noun 1 : one that drills wells in the hope of finding oil in territory not known to be an oil field 2 : one that promotes unsafe and unreliable enterprises; especially : one that sells stocks in such enterprises Examples: The feature story is about a husband-and-wife team who made their billions as property w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 9, 2010 is: flotilla • \floh-TILL-uh\  • noun 1 : a fleet of ships or boats; especially : a navy organizational unit consisting of two or more squadrons of small warships 2 : an indefinite large number Examples: "Just offshore was anchored a flotilla of small motorboats -- Zephyr Cove's rental fleet…." (John Flinn, The San Francisco Chronicle, July 25,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2010 is: eminently • \EM-uh-nunt-lee\  • adverb : to a high degree : very Examples: "The village is eminently walkable and packed with attractions for foodies, shoppers, history buffs, and children." (Ellen Albanese, The Boston Globe, June 30, 2010) Did you know? When British physician Tobias Venner wrote in 1620 of houses "somewhat eminently situate...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 7, 2010 is: twee • \TWEE\  • adjective : affectedly or excessively dainty, delicate, cute, or quaint Examples: I stood in the greeting card section of the store reading through the selections, looking for one that would express my affection and appreciation without being intolerably twee. Did you know? Most adults wouldn't be caught dead saying, "Oh, lo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2010 is: eighty-six • \ay-tee-SIKS\  • verb, slang : to refuse to serve (a customer); also : to get rid of : throw out Examples: "NBC's Hannah Storm eighty-sixed her real last name, Storen, when her first employer, a heavy-metal-oriented radio station in Corpus Christi, asked her to host a show titled Storm by the Sea." (Sports Illustrated, September...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 5, 2010 is: colloquy • \KAH-luh-kwee\  • noun 1 : conversation, dialogue 2 : a high-level serious discussion : conference Examples: The company's employees worried and speculated as the executive team remained closeted in an intense colloquy for the entire morning. Did you know? "Colloquy" may make you think of "colloquial," and there is indeed a connec...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2010 is: zwieback • \SWEE-back\  • noun : a usually sweetened bread enriched with eggs that is baked and then sliced and toasted until dry and crisp Examples: "It's the cheesiest of cheesecakes, with a zwieback crumb crust." (Tina Danze, The Dallas Morning News, February 2, 2000) Did you know? In ages past, keeping food fresh for any length of time r...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2010 is: fester • \FESS-ter\  • verb 1 : to generate pus 2 : putrefy, rot 3 a : to cause increasing poisoning, irritation, or bitterness : rankle b : to undergo or exist in a state of progressive deterioration Examples: The marriage counselor advised dealing with problems immediately instead of allowing them to fester. Did you know? "Fester" first en...