Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 9, 2007 is: obstinate • \AHB-stuh-nut\  • adjective 1 : perversely adhering to an opinion, purpose, or course in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion 2 : not easily subdued, remedied, or removed Examples: As usual, Cassie remained obstinate in her opinion even though the facts were clearly stacked against her. Did you know? If you're obstinate, you'r...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 8, 2007 is: thimblerig • \THIM-bul-rig\  • verb 1 : to cheat by trickery 2 : to swindle by a trick in which a small ball or pea is quickly shifted from under one to another of three small cups to fool the spectator guessing its location Examples: The appraiser looked closely at the painting and then reluctantly told us that we had been thimblerigged into...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 7, 2007 is: askew • \uh-SKYOO\  • adjective : out of line : awry Examples: Jeff didn't realize that the bookshelf he had hung on the wall was slightly askew until he placed a pen on it and it rolled off the edge. Did you know? It's believed that "askew" was formed simply by attaching the prefix "a-" -- meaning, among other things, "in (such) a state or co...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 6, 2007 is: canard • \kuh-NARD\  • noun 1 a : a false or unfounded report or story; especially : a fabricated report b : a groundless rumor or belief 2 : an airplane with horizontal stabilizing and control surfaces in front of supporting surfaces; also : a small airfoil in front of the wing of an aircraft that increases the aircraft's stability Examples:...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 5, 2007 is: louche • \LOOSH\  • adjective : not reputable or decent Examples: Her novels are populated by louche characters wasting their days in brothels and seedy bars. Did you know? "Louche" ultimately comes from the Latin word "luscus," meaning "blind in one eye" or "having poor sight." This Latin term gave rise to the French "louche," meaning "squint...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 4, 2007 is: multifarious • \mul-tuh-FAIR-ee-us\  • adjective : having or occurring in great variety : diverse Examples: John listed his multifarious interests and activities on his college application. Did you know? Dictionary makers have dated the first appearance of "multifarious" in print as 1593 -- and rightly so -- but before that time another word s...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 3, 2007 is: ameliorate • \uh-MEE-lee-uh-rayt\  • verb : to make better or more tolerable Examples: Access to clean water would ameliorate living conditions within the village. Did you know? "Ameliorate" traces back to "melior," the Latin adjective meaning "better," and is a synonym of the verbs "better" and "improve." When is it better to use "ameliorate"...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2007 is: jocose • \joh-KOHSS\  • adjective 1 : given to joking : merry 2 : characterized by joking : humorous Examples: In the office, Ellie's lively, jocose personality keeps everyone smiling and upbeat. Did you know? When you need a word to describe something (or someone) that causes or is intended to cause laughter, you might pick "jocose" or a syno...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 1, 2007 is: demulcent • \dih-MULL-sunt\  • adjective : soothing Examples: The lozenges had a demulcent effect, and my sore throat was soon feeling much better. Did you know? "Demulcent" derives from the Latin verb "demulcēre," meaning "to soothe." "Demulcēre" in turn comes from a combination of the prefix "de-" and "mulcēre," an earlier verb that also mea...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 31, 2007 is: wetware • \WET-wair\  • noun : the human brain or a human being considered especially with respect to human logical and computational capabilities Examples: With the right wetware at the helm, the company should be able to turn a sizeable profit. Did you know? When the computer terms "software" and "hardware" sprang to life in the mid-20th cen...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2007 is: gibe • \JYBE\  • verb : to utter taunting words Examples: The crowd began to gibe at the basketball player who kept missing free throws. Did you know? Confused about "jibe" and "gibe"? The distinction actually isn't as clear-cut as some commentators would like it to be. "Jibe" is used both for the verb meaning "to be in accord, agree" ("jibe w...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2007 is: hemidemisemiquaver • \hem-ih-dem-ih-SEM-ih-kway-ver\  • noun : a musical note with the time value of 1/64 of a whole note : sixty-fourth note Examples: The pianist's fingers became a blur flying over the keys as she played the difficult hemidemisemiquavers of the allegro movement. Did you know? Hemidemisemiquavers are the fastest musical notes...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 28, 2007 is: impertinent • \im-PER-tuh-nunt\  • adjective 1 : not pertinent : irrelevant 2 a : not restrained within due or proper bounds especially of propriety or good taste b : given to or characterized by insolent rudeness Examples: Clearly offended, Susan refused to answer an impertinent question about her marriage. Did you know? English speakers adop...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 27, 2007 is: flimflam • \FLIM-flam\  • verb : to subject to a deception or fraud Examples: Mrs. Grayson was one of several people in the neighborhood who were flimflammed into donating money to the phony charity. Did you know? English is full of words concerned with trickery and deception, ranging from the colorful "flimflam," "bamboozle," and "hornswoggle...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 26, 2007 is: wallah • \WAH-luh\  • noun : a person who is associated with a particular work or who performs a specific duty or service -- usually used in combination Examples: "Location, location and location. That's what it's all about, trumpet the real-estate wallahs." (Tony Baker, The Advertiser, August 3, 2005) Did you know? "Wallah" comes from the Hin...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 25, 2007 is: youthquake • \YOOTH-kwayk\  • noun : a shift in cultural norms influenced by the values, tastes, and mores of young people Examples: The dot-com industry was the epicenter of the youthquake of the 1990s. Did you know? The 1960s were a time of seismic social upheaval brought about by young people bent on shaking up the establishment. From polit...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 24, 2007 is: apparatchik • \ah-puh-RAH-chik\  • noun 1 : member of a Communist apparat 2 : a blindly devoted official, follower, or member of an organization (as a corporation or political party) Examples: The boss seemed to prefer apparatchiks to anyone with a glimmer of independent thought. Did you know? In the context of the definition of "apparatchik"...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 23, 2007 is: alfresco • \al-FRESS-koh\  • adjective or adverb : taking place or located in the open air : outdoor, outdoors Examples: Our neighbors are looking forward to the summer, when they'll be able to dine alfresco on their new patio. Did you know? In addition to describing a type of dining, "alfresco" can also describe a kind of painting. The word "...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 22, 2007 is: foreshorten • \for-SHORT-un\  • verb 1 : to shorten by proportionately contracting in the direction of depth so that an illusion of projection or extension in space is obtained 2 : to make more compact : abridge, shorten Examples: We had a wonderful vacation, even if our time at the beach was foreshortened by two days of rain. Did you know? "F...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 21, 2007 is: prothalamion • \proh-thuh-LAY-mee-un\  • noun : a song in celebration of a marriage Examples: The king requested that the court poet commemorate the marriage of the princess with a prothalamion. Did you know? In 1595, the newly-wed Edmund Spenser wrote a poem to his young bride. He gave this poem the title Epithalamion, borrowing a Greek word...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 20, 2007 is: somnolent • \SAHM-nuh-lunt\  • adjective 1 : of a kind likely to induce sleep 2 a : inclined to or heavy with sleep : drowsy b : sleepy Examples: "I am no whit somnolent; I always hear best with my eyes shut." (Sir Walter Scott, The Legend of Montrose) Did you know? "Somnolent" first appeared in late 15th century in the redundant phrase "somno...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 19, 2007 is: henotheism • \HEN-uh-thee-iz-um\  • noun : the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods Examples: During certain periods of Egyptian history, the pharaohs and their subjects practiced henotheism. Did you know? "Henotheism" comes to us from the German word "Henotheismus," which in turn is derived from Greek "hen-" ("one")...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 18, 2007 is: jackanapes • \JAK-uh-nayps\  • noun 1 : monkey, ape 2 a : an impudent or conceited fellow b : a saucy or mischievous child Examples: Mr. Hughes had his neighbor's son pegged as a disrespectful jackanapes and was therefore reluctant to hire him to shovel the driveway. Did you know? William de la Pole, the Duke of Suffolk, was a well-regarded so...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 17, 2007 is: fulminate • \FULL-muh-nayt\  • verb : to send forth censures or invectives Examples: Jennie wrote an editorial for her town's local paper fulminating on the topic of dress codes in the public schools. Did you know? Lightning strikes more than once in the history of "fulminate." That word comes from the Latin "fulminare," meaning "to strike," a...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 16, 2007 is: corybantic • \kor-ee-BAN-tik\  • adjective : like or in the spirit of a Corybant; especially : wild, frenzied Examples: From the sound of the first guitar chord, the mosh pit looked like a swarm of bees in a corybantic dance. Did you know? The big name in goddesses in Phrygia (Asia Minor) in the fifth century B.C. was Cybele (also called Cybeb...