Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 24, 2010 is: hale • \HAIL\  • adjective : free from defect, disease, or infirmity : sound; also : retaining exceptional health and vigor Examples: "He was a rich and powerful noble, then in his sixty-second year, but hale and sturdy, a great horseman and hunter and a pious man." (Edith Wharton, "Kerfol") Did you know? When you need a word to describe som...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 23, 2010 is: collogue • \kuh-LOHG\  • verb 1 : intrigue, conspire 2 : to talk privately : confer Examples: "If there was noise, as there often was even at dawn -- a huddle of men colloguing, a woman deliriously chanting the Mysteries -- his arrival would cause much of it to die." (Joseph O'Connor, Star of the Sea) Did you know? "Collogue" has been with u...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2010 is: alacrity • \uh-LAK-ruh-tee\  • noun : promptness in response : cheerful readiness Examples: "The good-humoured little attorney tapped at Mr. Pickwick's door, which was opened with great alacrity by Sam Weller." (Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers) Did you know? "I have not that alacrity of spirit / Nor cheer of mind that I was wont to have...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2010 is: hawthorn • \HAW-thorn\  • noun : any of a genus (Crataegus) of spring-flowering spiny shrubs or small trees of the rose family with glossy and often lobed leaves, white or pink fragrant flowers, and small red fruits Examples: Susan said that for her, one of the signs that spring had truly arrived was the flowering of the hawthorn. Did you kn...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2010 is: tousle • \TOW-zul\  • verb : dishevel, rumple Examples: Vic stood in front of the mirror and tousled his hair, trying to master the cool, disheveled look. Did you know? "Tousle" is a word that has been through what linguists call a "functional shift." That's a fancy way of saying it was originally one part of speech, then gradually came to h...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2010 is: frowsy • \FROW-zee\  • adjective 1 : musty, stale 2 : having a slovenly or uncared-for appearance Examples: "Just a little effort and elbow grease applied to a frowsy courtyard, patio or side yard will reap rewards year round." (Elizabeth Bettendorf, St. Petersburg Times [Florida], April 6, 2007) Did you know? The exact origins of this appro...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2010 is: paean • \PEE-un\  • noun 1 : a joyous song or hymn of praise, tribute, thanksgiving, or triumph 2 : a work that praises or honors its subject : encomium, tribute Examples: "I'm supposed to write a paean to Spring for my creative writing course, but all this rain just makes me depressed and uninspired," sighed Jessica. Did you know? According...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 17, 2010 is: omnium-gatherum • \ahm-nee-um-GA-thuh-rum\  • noun : a miscellaneous collection (as of things or persons) Examples: The book, a collection of short stories, is an omnium-gatherum of works by various writers. Did you know? English abounds in Latin phrases. They roll off the learned tongue like peas off a fork. "Tabula rasa"; "ab ovo"; "a post...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 16, 2010 is: cap-a-pie • \kap-uh-PEE\  • adverb : from head to foot Examples: Katie’s maid of honor, dressed cap-a-pie in purple satin, hurried up the walkway toward the church. Did you know? Think of a medieval knight riding off to battle completely encased (from head to foot, as it were) in armor. Knights thus outfitted were said to be "armed cap-a-pie...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 15, 2010 is: scour • \SKOW-er\  • verb 1 : to move about quickly especially in search 2 : to go through or range over in or as if in a search Examples: "Then came the excitement of trying to locate the fallen quail, and now the dog became a major partner, for he scoured the terrain this way and that.…" (James Michener, Texas, 1985) Did you know? There ar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 14, 2010 is: vulnerable • \VUL-nuh-ruh-bul\  • adjective 1 : capable of being physically or emotionally wounded 2 : open to attack or damage : assailable Examples: James made sure to install the latest antivirus software on his computer so it would not be vulnerable to cyber attacks. Did you know? "Vulnerable" is ultimately derived from the Latin noun "v...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 13, 2010 is: cordial • \KOR-jul\  • adjective 1 : tending to revive, cheer, or invigorate 2 a : sincerely or deeply felt b : warmly and genially affable Examples: "Whenever I went out, I heard on all sides cordial salutations, and was welcomed with friendly smiles." (Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre) Did you know? "Cordial" shares the Latin root "cor" with "c...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 12, 2010 is: frog-march • \FROG-march\  • verb : to seize from behind roughly and forcefully propel forward Examples: When the patron became loud and belligerent, a hulking bouncer swiftly pinned him in a half nelson and frog-marched him out the door. Did you know? There are a couple variations of the "frog's march" used to carry off an unruly person. Th...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 11, 2010 is: bravado • \bruh-VAH-doh\  • noun 1 a : blustering swaggering conduct b : a pretense of bravery 2 : the quality or state of being foolhardy Examples: The kayakers attempted the rapids out of sheer bravado, and capsized as a result; fortunately, they escaped with only some mild bruises and scrapes. Did you know? "Bravado" ultimately traces to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 10, 2010 is: tatterdemalion • \tatt-er-dih-MAIL-yun\  • adjective 1 : ragged or disreputable in appearance 2 : being in a decayed state or condition : dilapidated Examples: "What he wants to do is to get the tatterdemalion main building into shape so that it can be used as a retreat for priests and laymen, perhaps with profitable results." (Jonathan Yard...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 9, 2010 is: waif • \WAYF\  • noun 1 a : a piece of property found (as washed up by the sea) but unclaimed b : stolen goods thrown away by a thief in flight 2 a : something found without an owner and especially by chance b : a stray person or animal; especially : a homeless child Examples: The book is about a charming 10-year-old waif who embarks on a ser...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 8, 2010 is: inkling • \INK-ling\  • noun 1 : a slight indication or suggestion : hint, clue 2 : a slight knowledge or vague notion Examples: "She gained some inkling of the character of Hanson's life when, half asleep, she looked out into the dining-room at six o'clock and saw him silently finishing his breakfast." (Theodore Dreiser, Sister Carrie) Did y...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 7, 2010 is: eloquent • \EL-uh-kwunt\  • adjective 1 : marked by forceful and fluent expression 2 : vividly or movingly expressive or revealing Examples: Because Max is such an eloquent speaker, he was asked to give the toast at his grandfather's 75th birthday party. Did you know? Since "eloquent" can have to do with speaking, it makes sense that it comes...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 6, 2010 is: tantalize • \TAN-tuh-lyze\  • verb : to tease or torment by or as if by presenting something desirable to the view but continually keeping it out of reach Examples: The older brother mercilessly tantalized the younger one, repeatedly holding out the ball to him only to snatch it back at the last second. Did you know? Pity poor King Tantalus o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 5, 2010 is: sward • \SWORD\  • noun 1 : a portion of ground covered with grass 2 : the grassy surface of land Examples: "Students in flip-flops slap lazily across the green swards of campuses as bell music peals from the campaniles." (Sally Jenkins, The Washington Post, August 31, 2005) Did you know? "Sward," which sprouted up in the English language mor...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 4, 2010 is: irrupt • \ih-RUPT\  • verb 1 : to rush in forcibly or violently 2 : to undergo a sudden upsurge in numbers especially when natural ecological balances and checks are disturbed 3 : to become active or violent especially suddenly : erupt Examples: The stadium irrupted in applause for the local high school choir's outstanding rendition of the na...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 3, 2010 is: dossier • \DOSS-yay\  • noun : a file containing detailed records on a particular person or subject Examples: The suspect's dossier listed two arrests for grand theft auto and several more for breaking and entering. Did you know? Gather together various documents relating to the affairs of a certain individual, sort them into separate folders...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 2, 2010 is: ruthless • \ROOTH-lus\  • adjective : having no pity : merciless, cruel Examples: Even the most sociable and gentle of house cats remain, at heart, ruthless predators. Did you know? "Ruthless" can be defined as "without ruth" or "having no ruth." So what, then, is ruth? The noun "ruth," which is now considerably less common than "ruthless," m...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2010 is: puerile • \PYUR-ul\  • adjective 1 : juvenile 2 : childish, silly Examples: Though Laura enjoys a good practical joke, she finds some of the gags pulled by her co-workers on April Fool’s Day to be merely puerile. Did you know? "Puerile" may call to mind qualities of youth and immaturity, but the term itself is no spring chicken. On the contra...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2010 is: reprobate • \REP-ruh-bayt\  • noun 1 : a person foreordained to damnation 2 : a depraved person : scoundrel Examples: "He was just an old reprobate who lived poor and died broke...." (Richard Peck, A Long Way from Chicago) Did you know? These days, calling someone a "reprobate" is hardly a condemnation to hellfire and brimstone, but the orig...