Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2010 is: congeries • \KAHN-juh-reez\  • noun : aggregation, collection Examples: As we walked past the food stalls our nostrils were assailed by a congeries of exotic, unfamiliar smells. Did you know? What do "epitome," "circus," "tribunal," and "congeries" have in common? All are part of a relatively small collection of English nouns that made the tra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 7, 2010 is: infra dig • \IN-fruh-DIG\  • adjective : being beneath one's dignity : undignified Examples: "Among artists lithography was infra dig by the 1870's -- because commercial illustrators had discovered it was a perfect printing medium for glaring posters." (D. J. R. Bruckner,The New York Times, December 20, 1998) Did you know? In her autobiography...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2010 is: peloton • \pel-uh-TAHN\  • noun : the main body of riders in a bicycle race Examples: "The first major splits occur in the peloton at about the 110-mile mark, where many riders find they can no longer keep up." (Michael Barry, The New York Times, September 26, 2008) Did you know? If you've ever watched the Tour de France on television, you've...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2010 is: ponderous • \PAHN-duh-rus\  • adjective 1 : of very great weight 2 : unwieldy or clumsy because of weight and size 3 : oppressively or unpleasantly dull : lifeless Examples: "Electronic texts can be updated at the speed of a download rather than waiting for the next edition of a ponderous textbook." (St. Petersburg Times [Florida], June 6, 201...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 4, 2010 is: cadence • \KAY-dunss\  • noun 1 : a rhythmic sequence or flow of sounds (as in language) 2 : a musical chord sequence moving to a harmonic close or point of rest 3 : the modulated and rhythmic recurrence of a sound especially in nature Examples: "She sang, and her voice flowed in a rich cadence, swelling or dying away, like a nightingale of th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2010 is: Antaean • \an-TEE-un\  • adjective 1 : mammoth 2 : having superhuman strength Examples: The movie's climax is a suspenseful fight sequence between the Antaean heroine and her grotesque alien nemesis. Did you know? In Greek mythology, Antaeus was the gigantic and powerful son of Gaea the Earth goddess and Poseidon the sea god. Antaeus was a wre...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 2, 2010 is: nescience • \NESH-ee-unss\  • noun : lack of knowledge or awareness : ignorance Examples: "[Samuel] Johnson was so vexed by a young clergyman's nescience that he complained, 'His ignorance is so great, I am afraid to show him the bottom of it.'" (Barry Baldwin, Verbatim, June 22, 2003) Did you know? Eighteenth-century British poet, essayist, a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 1, 2010 is: advert • \ad-VERT\  • verb 1 : to turn the mind or attention 2 : to call attention in the course of speaking or writing : make reference Examples: "Adverted to in the very first 'Star Wars' film, the Clone Wars take place in the narrative gap between 'Attack of the Clones' and 'Revenge of the Sith,' when Anakin Skywalker is still on the not-da...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2010 is: Wellerism • \WELL-uh-riz-um\  • noun : an expression of comparison comprising a usually well-known quotation followed by a facetious sequel Examples: My father's favorite Wellerism is "'We'll have to rehearse that,' said the undertaker as the coffin fell out of the car." Did you know? Sam Weller, Mr. Pickwick's good-natured servant in Charles...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2010 is: chary • \CHAIR-ee\  • adjective a : discreetly cautious: as b : hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks c : slow to grant, accept, or expend Examples: "And in causes both small and large, controversial and less so, he was never chary about voicing his convictions." (Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, April 7, 2010) Did you know? It was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2010 is: sepulchre • \SEP-ul-ker\  • noun 1 : a place of burial : tomb 2 : a receptacle for religious relics especially in an altar Examples: "The distant noises in the streets were gradually hushed; the house was quiet as a sepulchre; the dead of night was coffined in the silent city." (Charles Dickens, Martin Chuzzlewit) Did you know? "Sepulchre" (a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2010 is: circadian • \ser-KAY-dee-un\  • adjective : being, having, characterized by, or occurring in approximately 24-hour periods or cycles (as of biological activity or function) Examples: "Teenagers, like everyone else, need bright lights in the morning … to synchronize their inner, circadian rhythms with nature's cycles of day and night." (Thomas...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2010 is: gasconade • \gas-kuh-NAYD\  • noun : bravado or exaggerated boasting Examples: "Honesty and frankness do more for the public's confidence … than extravagant boasting or supercilious gasconade." (F. Gonzalez-Crussi, The New York Times, April 7, 2002) Did you know? The citizens of Gascony in southwestern France have proverbially been regarded a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2010 is: scuttlebutt • \SKUTT-ul-butt\  • noun : rumor, gossip Examples: After he retired, Bob regularly stopped by his old office to visit his buddies and catch up on the latest scuttlebutt. Did you know? Nowadays, office workers catch up on the latest scuttlebutt around the water cooler, and when they do, they are continuing a long-standing (althoug...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2010 is: winkle • \WINK-ul\  • verb 1 : to displace, remove, or evict from a position -- usually used with out 2 : to obtain or draw out by effort -- usually used with out Examples: "In 1483 a new English king, Richard III, tried again to winkle Henry out of Brittany, but he found that the young man was now a significant pawn on the European chessboar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2010 is: chatelaine • \SHAT-uh-layn\  • noun 1 a : the wife of a castellan : the mistress of a château b : the mistress of a household or of a large establishment 2 : a clasp or hook for a watch, purse, or bunch of keys Examples: "Leah sets aside her artistic career to become the perfect Swiss wife, mother and chatelaine of a massive estate." (Publish...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 22, 2010 is: abdicate • \AB-dih-kayt\  • verb 1 : to cast off : discard 2 : to relinquish (as sovereign power) formally 3 : to renounce a throne, high office, dignity, or function Examples: The school board has been accused of abdicating its responsibilities by failing to provide sufficient oversight of the city's schools. Did you know? Give it up. Englis...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2010 is: macerate • \MASS-uh-rayt\  • verb 1 : to cause to waste away by or as if by excessive fasting 2 : to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid; broadly : steep, soak 3 : to soften and wear away especially as a result of being wetted or steeped Examples: "Absinthe is made by macerating herbs a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2010 is: compadre • \kum-PAH-dray\  • noun : a close friend : buddy Examples: "I'm now on the Web as a lot of my compadres in journalism are right now." (Miles O'Brien, Senate Hearing (transcript), February 24, 2010) Did you know? In Spanish, a child's father and godfather are, to each other, "compadres" -- that is, "co-fathers." "Compadre" is also a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2010 is: auspicious • \aw-SPISH-us\  • adjective 1 : promising success : favorable 2 : fortunate, prosperous Examples: The young pitcher made an auspicious debut with eight strikeouts in his first major-league game. Did you know? "Auspicious" comes from Latin "auspex," which literally means "bird seer" (from the words "avis," meaning "bird," and "spec...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 18, 2010 is: waterloo • \waw-ter-LOO\  • noun : a decisive or final defeat or setback Examples: The senatorial candidate's misrepresentation of his military service could prove to be his waterloo. Did you know? The Battle of Waterloo, which occurred on June 18, 1815, has given its name to the very notion of final defeat. Why? Maybe because it ended one of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 17, 2010 is: asperity • \uh-SPAIR-uh-tee\  • noun 1 : roughness 2 : harshness of manner or of temper Examples: When asked to make a contribution, Roger glared and said with asperity, "I gave at the office." Did you know? "Asperity" has had a rough history. It came to Modern English through Middle English (where it was spelled "asprete") by way of the Angl...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2010 is: guttersnipe • \GUTT-er-snype\  • noun 1 : a homeless vagabond and especially an outcast boy or girl in the streets of a city 2 : a person of the lowest moral or economic station Examples: "Class is the great British reality, and the more books I wrote the more [Evelyn Waugh] termed me an unregenerable guttersnipe." (Anthony Burgess, The Wilso...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 15, 2010 is: edify • \ED-uh-fye\  • verb : to instruct and improve especially in moral and religious knowledge : uplift; also : enlighten, inform Examples: "There's nothing like a film festival for renewing your faith in the medium, in the possibilities of movies to surprise, delight and edify us." (Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 1, 2010)...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2010 is: vexillology • \vek-suh-LAH-luh-jee\  • noun : the study of flags Examples: Chris first got interested in vexillology as a child after visiting a museum with a large collection of rare flags. Did you know? "The flag is the embodiment, not of sentiment, but of history." Woodrow Wilson was speaking of the U.S. flag when he made that statement in...