Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 31, 2009 is: lycanthropy • \lye-KAN-thruh-pee\  • noun 1 : a delusion that one has become a wolf 2 : the assumption of the form and characteristics of a wolf held to be possible by witchcraft or magic Examples: The 1941 film The Wolf Man starred Lon Chaney, Jr., as a man cursed with lycanthropy. Did you know? If you happen to be afflicted with lycanthr...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 30, 2009 is: pescatarian • \pess-kuh-TAIR-ee-un\  • noun : one whose diet includes fish but no meat Examples: As she savored the bite of fish taco -- a food she had dearly missed since being on her vegetarian diet -- Gwyneth thought to herself, "I'll just have to consider myself a pescatarian instead." Did you know? The word "vegetarian" sprouted up in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 29, 2009 is: hobnob • \HAHB-nahb\  • verb : to associate familiarly Examples: Bill hoped his new job as a reporter would give him an opportunity to hobnob with politicians and other notables. Did you know? "Hob" and "nob" first came together in print in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, when Sir Toby Belch warned Viola (who was disguised as a man) that Sir...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 28, 2009 is: luculent • \LOO-kyuh-lunt\  • adjective : clear in thought or expression : lucid Examples: "I have heard, for example, a luculent description of poor Allister Campbell, and another drudge of the same class, running a race after dinner for a new pair of breeches." (John G. Lockhart, Memoirs of Sir Walter Scott) Did you know? To shed light o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 27, 2009 is: inhere • \in-HEER\  • verb : to be inherent : to be a fixed element or attribute Examples: Competitiveness inheres in the successful athlete's nature. Did you know? You're probably familiar with "inherent," the adjective meaning "part of the constitution or natural character of something," but were you aware of its less common relative "in...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 26, 2009 is: encomium • \en-KOH-mee-um\  • noun : glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise; also : an expression of this Examples: "The book is beautifully written and unquestioningly deserves the encomiums of critics who compared it to 'The Great Gatsby' for its elegiac tone." (David Milofsky, The Denver Post, August 2, 2009) Did you know? "The love of...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 25, 2009 is: natant • \NAY-tunt\  • adjective : swimming or floating in water Examples: "Before me natant birds hunker against the teeth of a northerly breeze." (Kevin J. Cook, Fort Collins Coloradoan, November 29, 2002) Did you know? "Natant" and the smattering of other words birthed in the waters of Latin "natare," meaning "to swim," sound unnecessar...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 24, 2009 is: gruntle • \GRUN-tul\  • verb : to put in a good humor Examples: The hour wait irked us, but once we were seated, we were immediately gruntled by an amiable waiter. Did you know? The verb "disgruntle," which has been around since 1682, means "to make ill-humored or discontented." The prefix "dis-" often means "to do the opposite of," so peo...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2009 is: rebus • \REE-bus\  • noun : a representation of syllables or words by means of pictures or symbols; also : a riddle made up of such pictures or symbols Examples: The answer to yesterday’s rebus, which showed a man on an Ark, a spider web, and a spoon stirring coffee, was "Noah Webster." Did you know? A rebus communicates its message by mea...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2009 is: rugose • \ROO-gohss\  • adjective 1 : full of wrinkles 2 : having the veinlets sunken and the spaces between elevated Examples: Sam has happy memories of being a child in his grandmother's lap, stroking her soft, rugose face. Did you know? "Rugose" was borrowed into English in the late 17th century from the Latin adjective "rugosus" ("wrin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2009 is: quash • \KWAHSH\  • verb : to nullify especially by judicial action Examples: Thanks to a loophole in the law, the defendant's lawyers were able to persuade the judge to quash the indictment against their client. Did you know? There are two "quash" verbs in English, and although their meanings are vaguely similar, they have entirely differ...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2009 is: handsel • \HAN-sul\  • noun 1 : a gift made as a token of good wishes or luck 2 : money given by a buyer to a seller to bind a bargain Examples: Having signed the papers and handed over the agreed-upon handsel of $200, Caroline was now the proud owner of a small sailing skiff. Did you know? According to an old custom in the British Isles,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2009 is: diabolical • \dye-uh-BAH-lih-kul\  • adjective : of, relating to, or characteristic of the devil : devilish Examples: The movie’s antagonist is a fairly standard supervillain, complete with the requisite incompetent minions and a diabolical scheme to destroy the world. Did you know? Like the word "devil," "diabolical" traces back to Latin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 18, 2009 is: ostracize • \AHS-truh-syze\  • verb : to exclude from a group by common consent Examples: Ostracized by her former friends for spreading false rumors and gossip, Christina now walks to school alone. Did you know? In ancient Greece, prominent citizens whose power or influence threatened the stability of the state could be exiled by a practi...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 17, 2009 is: glitch • \GLITCH\  • noun 1 a : a usually minor malfunction; also : an unexpected defect, fault, flaw, or imperfection b : a minor problem that causes a temporary setback : snag 2 : a false or spurious electronic signal Examples: The festival had an excellent lineup of performers, and the few glitches with the sound system did not seriousl...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 16, 2009 is: blench • \BLENCH\  • verb : to draw back or turn aside from lack of courage : flinch Examples: "'Let me behold thee then in thy bodily shape, if thou be'st indeed a fiend,' replied the dying knight; 'think not that I will blench from thee.'" (Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe) Did you know? If a stranger approaches you in a dark alley, it might ca...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2009 is: oracular • \aw-RAK-yuh-ler\  • adjective 1 : resembling an oracle (as in solemnity of delivery) 2 : of, relating to, or being an oracle Examples: A knowledgeable wine drinker herself, Roberta refuses to assign oracular status to professional wine critics; she drinks what she likes, not what has been well-reviewed. Did you know? When the an...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2009 is: wiki • \WIK-ee\  • noun : a Web site that allows visitors to make changes, contributions, or corrections Examples: The corporation has designed a wiki to make communication and collaboration simpler and more efficient among its employees worldwide. Did you know? Today, wikis are common stops on the information superhighway; however, they o...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2009 is: limn • \LIM\  • verb 1 : to draw or paint on a surface 2 : to outline in clear sharp detail : delineate 3 : describe Examples: In her novel, Deborah limns a vivid picture of life in the rural America of the 1950s. Did you know? Allow us to shed some light on the history of "limn," a word with lustrous origins. "Limn" traces to the Middle F...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2009 is: MacGuffin • \muh-GUFF-in\  • noun : an object, event, or character in a film or story that serves to set and keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance Examples: The missing document is the MacGuffin that sends the two spies off on an action-packed race around the world, but the real story centers on tension betwe...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2009 is: crural • \KRUR-ul\  • adjective : of or relating to the thigh or leg; specifically : femoral Examples: During his first game of the season, the team's new quarterback was injured and sidelined with a dislocated patella and anterior crural nerve damage. Did you know? "Crural" is a word that you are most likely to encounter in a medical cont...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2009 is: vitiate • \VISH-ee-ayt\  • verb 1 : to make faulty or defective : impair 2 : to debase in moral or aesthetic status 3 : to make ineffective Examples: Some feared that the superintendent’s decision to reinstate the students would vitiate the authority of the principal who suspended them in the first place. Did you know? Here's one for word...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2009 is: baroque • \buh-ROHK\  • adjective, often capitalized 1 : of or relating to a style of art and music marked by complex forms and bold ornamentation 2 : characterized by grotesqueness, extravagance, complexity, or flamboyance 3 : irregularly shaped Examples: She’s an immensely talented writer, but her baroque prose style is too grandiose for...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2009 is: polemic • \puh-LEM-ik\  • noun 1 a : an aggressive attack on or refutation of the opinions or principles of another b : the art or practice of disputation 2 : disputant Examples: "He isn't striving for objectivity; this book is part history, part polemic." (Carmela Ciuraru, Christian Science Monitor, June 16, 2009) Did you know? When "polem...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2009 is: stanch • \STAUNCH\  • verb 1 : to check or stop the flowing of; also : to stop the flow of blood from (a wound) 2 a : to stop or check in its course b : to make watertight : stop up Examples: The company's CEO gave the keynote address at the convention, stanching rumors that he was not recovering well from his surgery. Did you know? The ver...