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Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

Free daily dose of word power from Merriam-Webster"s experts

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00:02:10

junket

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/16

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 16, 2025 is: junket • \JUNK-ut\ • noun Junket refers to a trip that is paid for by someone else, such as a promotional trip made at another's expense, or an official's trip made at public expense. // The cast of the widely-acclaimed movie is making press junkets to major cities. See the entry > Examples: "... our regents are doing nothing to curtail the expectation that presidents and schools

en-us

00:02:14

impervious

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/15

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 15, 2025 is: impervious • \im-PER-vee-us\ • adjective Impervious describes that which does not allow something (such as water or light) to enter or pass through. It is also used formally to mean “not bothered or affected by something.” Both senses of impervious are usually used with to. // The material is impervious to water. // The mayor seems impervious to criticism. See the entry > Examples:

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00:01:45

scuttlebutt

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/14

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 14, 2025 is: scuttlebutt • \SKUTT-ul-butt\ • noun Scuttlebutt refers to rumor or gossip—in other words, talk or stories about someone or something that may not be true. // According to the scuttlebutt in the financial markets, the company will be downsizing soon. See the entry > Examples: “If highly social otters want the local scuttlebutt, so to speak, they can pick up information through the

en-us

00:01:45

apotropaic

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/13

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 13, 2025 is: apotropaic • \ap-uh-troh-PAY-ik\ • adjective Something described as apotropaic is designed or intended to avert evil. // The etchings are believed to be associated with ancient apotropaic rituals. See the entry > Examples: “Scholars ... say witches were believed to be attracted to the scent of a human shoe and, having entered one, found themselves trapped. Footwear is one of a

en-us

00:01:29

fester

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/12

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2025 is:fester • \FESS-ter\ • verb Something that festers becomes worse as time passes. Fester can also mean, in the context of wounds, sores, etc., “to become painful and infected.” // We should deal with these problems now instead of allowing them to fester. See the entry > Examples: “Minor plumbing leaks left to fester have snowballed into water seeping down walls and out of light

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00:02:05

darling

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/11

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 11, 2025 is: darling • \DAHR-ling\ • noun Darling can refer to a dearly loved person or to someone who is liked very much by a person or group. It can also mean “a kind and helpful person” as in, “Be a darling and carry this inside for me, would you?” // Our baby grandchild is just the sweetest little darling. // The actor has become a darling of the entertainment industry in both film and music. See the

en-us

00:01:58

uncanny

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/10

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 10, 2025 is: uncanny • \un-KAN-ee\ • adjective Uncanny is typically used to describe something that is strange or unusual in a way that is surprising or difficult to understand. It can also describe something that seems to have a supernatural character or origin. // The child has an uncanny ability to recognize streets and locations she's seen only once or twice before. // The lights suddenly flickered, and we

en-us

00:01:47

gloss

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/09

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 9, 2025 is:gloss • \GLAHSS\ • verb To gloss a word or phrase is to provide its meaning, or in other words, to explain or define it. // Many unfamiliar terms are glossed in the book’s introduction. See the entry > Examples: “It is revealing that early dictionaries regularly defined equality as ‘conformity,’ or glossed the word, like Noah Webster did in 1806, as ‘likeness, evenness,

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00:01:54

modicum

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/08

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 8, 2025 is:modicum • \MAH-dih-kum\ • noun Modicum is a formal word that means “a small amount.” It is almost always used with of. // The band enjoyed a modicum of success in the early 2010s before becoming an international sensation. See the entry > Examples: “Imagine, for example, that the gods decided to bestow upon Sisyphus a modicum of mercy. The rock, the hill, the never-ending,

en-us

00:01:48

bumptious

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/07

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 7, 2025 is:bumptious • \BUMP-shus\ • adjective Bumptious describes people who are rudely and often noisily confident or over-assertive. It can also be applied to actions or behaviors that show this same attitude. // Our host apologized for the bumptious party guest who caused a scene before being asked to leave. See the entry > Examples: "She comes across as a bumptious, irritating

en-us

00:01:50

exculpate

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/06

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 6, 2025 is: exculpate • \EK-skull-payt\ • verb To exculpate someone is to prove that they are not guilty of doing something wrong. // The editorial expresses confidence that the evidence will exculpate the accused. See the entry > Examples: “Research shows that social-media use is associated with greater narcissism (as well as depression and anxiety).... But it is too easy to exculpate

en-us

00:02:16

plethora

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/05

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 5, 2025 is: plethora • \PLETH-uh-ruh\ • noun Plethora refers to a very large amount or number of something. Plethora is most often used in the phrase "a plethora of." // The hotel offers a plethora of amenities, including indoor and outdoor pools, a fitness center, and world-class dining. See the entry > Examples: "In 1895, Japan won Taiwan from China in the Treaty of Shimonoseki, ending the

en-us

00:01:56

risible

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/04

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 4, 2025 is:risible • \RIZZ-uh-bul\ • adjective Risible is a formal word used disapprovingly to describe things that deserve to be mocked or laughed at because they are absurd or unreasonable. // Although the teachers derided the students’ slang as risible nonsense, the same had been said about their own generation’s lingo. See the entry > Examples: "Smartwatches and smartphones are banned in

en-us

00:01:43

sleuth

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/03

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 3, 2025 is: sleuth • \SLOOTH\ • verb To sleuth is to carefully or methodically search for information, or to act as a detective. // We spent hours at the flea market sleuthing for 19th century paintings. See the entry > Examples: "To fill the market with vintage treasure, we called upon some of the industry’s best dressed—Anok Yai, Emma Chamberlain, Hamish Bowles, Julia Sarr-Jamois, Kaia

en-us

00:01:43

ziggurat

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/02

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 2, 2025 is: ziggurat • \ZIG-uh-rat\ • noun A ziggurat is an ancient Mesopotamian temple consisting of a pyramidal structure built in successive stages with outside staircases and a shrine at the top. The word ziggurat is also sometimes used for a similarly shaped structure. // Ancient ziggurats were always built with a core of mud brick and an exterior covered with baked brick. They had no internal chambers and

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00:02:03

convoluted

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/05/01

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2025 is: convoluted • \KAHN-vuh-loo-tud\ • adjective Something described as convoluted is very complicated and difficult to understand, or has many curves and turns. // The speaker’s argument was so convoluted that most of the audience had trouble determining whether they were for or against the new policy. // The route from the airport to the village was long and convoluted. See the entry >

en-us

00:02:20

insouciance

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/04/30

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2025 is:insouciance • \in-SOO-see-unss\ • noun Insouciance is a formal word that refers to a feeling of carefree unconcern. It can also be understood as a word for the relaxed and calm state of a person who is not worried about anything. // The young actor charmed interviewers with his easy smile and devil-may-care insouciance. See the entry > Examples: “Gladiator II is OK when

en-us

00:02:10

furtive

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/04/29

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 29, 2025 is: furtive • \FER-tiv\ • adjective Furtive describes something that is done in a quiet and secret way to avoid being noticed. It can also mean "expressive of stealth" or "sly" (as in "a furtive look"), or "obtained underhandedly" (as in "furtive gains"). // We exchanged furtive smiles across the table, carefully not to attract the teacher's attention. See the entry > Examples:

en-us

00:01:36

alacrity

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/04/28

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 28, 2025 is: alacrity • \uh-LAK-ruh-tee\ • noun Alacrity refers to a quick and cheerful readiness to do something. // She accepted the invitation to go on the trip with an alacrity that surprised her parents, who had assumed she wouldn’t be interested. See the entry > Examples: “Antipater, about to mount his horse, saw Pollio and Sameas so close to him that the sleeve of Sameas almost

en-us

00:02:00

decimate

Merriam-Webster"s Word of the Day ·

2025/04/27

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 27, 2025 is:decimate • \DESS-uh-mayt\ • verb Decimate can mean both “to destroy a large number of (plants, animals, people, etc.)” or “to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something).” // The bay’s lobsters have been decimated by disease. // Budget cuts have decimated public services throughout the state. See the entry > Examples: “The deer—and there is an abundance of those

en-us

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