Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 15, 2026 is: quorum • \KWOR-um\  • noun Quorum refers to the smallest number of people who must be present at a meeting in order for official decisions to be made. Broadly speaking, quorum may refer to any select group. // We need a quorum of fifteen staff members on the call in order to move forward with the items on the meeting agenda. See the entry > Examples: “In Jewish law, some prayers, such as those in the morning service, can only be said communally, in a quorum of 10 Jewish adults, called a minyan.” — Yonat Shimron, NPR, 16 July 2026 Did you know? It takes two drama queens to tango, three Nervous Nellies to change a lightbulb, and 218 U.S. House Representatives to constitute a formal meeting. Each of these minimums—especially the last one—may be described as a quorum. This word, which can be pluralized as quorums or quora, comes directly from the Latin word quorum, which translates as “of whom.” At one time, this Latin quorum was used in the wording of the commissions granting power to justices of the peace in England. Later, when it became an English noun, quorum initially referred to the number of justices of the peace who had to be present in order to hear a case. That sense is now rare, and today quorum is used to refer to the minimum number of people required to be present at a meeting in order for official business to take place. It can also be used more broadly to mean simply “a select group.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 14, 2026 is: empirical • \im-PEER-uh-kul\  • adjective When we describe something, such as data, as empirical, we mean that it originated in, or was based on, observation or experience. Empirical can also be used to describe something that can be verified or disproved by observation or experiment, as in “empirical laws.” // The team of conservation biologists has over the years collected reams of empirical data, from species inventories to soil analyses. See the entry > Examples: “She speaks the language of food chemistry and can tell you, based on empirical facts, why raspberry should never be boiled if you want the taste of raspberry rather than the taste of raspberry jam, and why coffee and tomato, which share several of the same volatile compounds, taste obviously right together despite sounding obviously wrong.” — Maria Gunko, The California Courier (Glendale, California), 30 July 2026 Did you know? When empirical first appeared as an adjective in English, it meant simply “in the manner of an empiric.” In the ancient world, empirics were members of a sect of doctors who practiced medicine using treatments observed to be clinically effective, rather than treatments based on theoretical principles. This all sounds fine and good to a modern reader, but empirics were in direct opposition to Galen, the 2nd century Greek physician whose theories and practices (including the theory of bodily humors) dominated medicine in Europe from the Middle Ages until the mid-17th century. As the underdogs in this rivalry, empirics took some reputational hits, evidenced by the use of empiric to refer to someone who disregards or deviates from the rules of science or accepted practice; to be called an empiric was sometimes like being called a quack or charlatan. Empirical can still be used critically to describe ideas and practices that rely on experience or observation alone and without due regard for system or theory. But, perhaps in a bit of a case of “the Empirics strike back,” empirical more often keeps its narrower sense, and is used positively to describe evidence and information grounded in observation and experience, or capable of being verified or disproved by observation or experiment.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 13, 2026 is: shofar • \SHOH-far\  • noun A shofar is the horn of an animal (usually a ram) blown as a trumpet by the ancient Hebrews in battle and during religious observances. It is used in modern Judaism especially during Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur. // As a child, Eli’s favorite part of the High Holidays was the sounding of the shofar. See the entry > Examples: “Sheep were domesticated in ancient Mesopotamia over ten thousand years ago and we have the ancient cave paintings to prove it. Sheep appear in folklore, religion, and mythology from all over the world: the Greek golden fleece, the Jewish shofar, the Egyptian Pharaoh’s shepherd’s crook, Christianity’s Agnus Dei.” — Celia Mattison, Literary Hub, 30 Oct. 2025 Did you know? One of the shofar’s original uses was to proclaim the Jubilee year (a year of emancipation of enslaved Jews and restoration of alienated lands to their former owners). Today, it is mainly used in synagogues during the High Holidays. It is blown daily, except on Shabbat, during the month of Elul (the 12th month of the civil year or the 6th month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar), and is sounded a number of times during the Rosh Hashanah services, and again at the end of the last service (known as neilah) on Yom Kippur. The custom is to sound the shofar in several series that alternate shorter notes resembling sobbing and wailing with longer unbroken blasts.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 12, 2026 is: hobnob • \HAHB-nahb\  • verb To hobnob is to socialize with others, especially with people of high social status. // A great deal can be learned about the entertainment industry by hobnobbing with folks at film festivals. See the entry > Examples: “My whole attitude has been—because all I care about is the music—I don’t need to make the scene. I don’t need to hobnob with the executives because I see them all the rest of the year.” — Jem Aswad, quoted in Variety, 14 Apr. 2026 Did you know? In William Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, Sir Toby Belch warns Viola that Sir Andrew wants to duel, telling her “‘Hob, nob’ is his word” and then adding the gloss “give’t or take’t.” In today’s English, he might have said “take it or leave it.” Sir Toby’s hob, nob is an alteration of hab nab (“hit or miss,” “however things may turn out”), itself likely a shortening of the Middle English phrase habbe or nabbe (“whether I have or don’t have”). After Shakespeare’s day, hob-nob and hob or nob were used adverbially to mean “randomly.” And to drink hobnob, or hob or nob, was to take turns with one’s drinking buddies toasting each other’s health. Later, hobnob (as well as hob or nob, hob-a-nob, etc.) was verbified to mean “to drink socially” and then, dropping the booze, “to spend time with someone in a friendly way.” Today hobnob is used especially in situations where someone is chatting up someone famous or important, as in “hobnobbing with celebs.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 11, 2026 is: patina • \puh-TEE-nuh\  • noun A patina is a usually green film that forms on copper and bronze that is exposed to moist air for an extended time. The word patina can also refer to a shiny or dark surface that over time forms naturally on something (such as wood or leather), or to a literal or figurative thin layer. // The town erected a statue in her honor, which over the years developed a seafoam green patina. // Although the winery is brand-new, it has been constructed and decorated to give it a patina of old-world quaintness. See the entry > Examples: "Family, friends and neighbors filled the frames with dancing and dominoes; their apartments painted in shades of mint, butter yellow and ... pink, flecked with a patina cultivated by humidity and time." — Suzy Exposito, The Los Angeles Times, 28 July 2026 Did you know? When Italians applied the word patina to the green film that forms on the surface of copper, they were drawing from Latin, in which patina means "a shallow dish." (Presumably, the Italian meaning developed from the observation of such film forming on copper dishes.) By the mid-18th century, English speakers were also calling the green film patina, and by the 20th century, they'd expanded the word's application to surface appearances of things that have grown more beautiful with age or use—think of an old wooden desk or a tarnished silver goblet. Use of the word to refer to thin layers both literal and figurative ("a patina of grime," "a patina of respectability") followed soon after. The related verb patinate means "to give a patina to."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 10, 2026 is: loath • \LOHTH\  • adjective A person who is loath to do something is unwilling or reluctant to do that thing. // Proud of the company he had built, Henry was loath to admit that it was time to think about retiring. See the entry > Examples: “On these runs, I was loath to stop. I dreaded zebra crossings and the city-center pavements, and instead ran into the surrounding countryside, abandoning myself to the endless roads that seemed to be going nowhere.” — Madeline Potter, The Roma: A Traveling History, 2025 Did you know? Loath as some language sticklers may be to accept it—indeed, they may loathe the fact—loathe is an accepted, though less common, spelling variant of the adjective loath. The language sticklers know that loathe is most often used as a verb meaning "to hate," and their desire to keep the language tidy by letting loath alone mean "not willing or wanting to do something" is understandable. But here’s the rub: language is very often untidy. Both loath and loathe trace back to the Old English word lāth, meaning “loathsome, disgusting.” Each has had a number of variant spellings over the years, and for at least some portion of their history each word has taken on the spelling of the other. If you would like to keep the two distinct according to prevailing preferences, remember that loath is how you feel (reluctant, unwilling), and loathe is what you do (hate, dislike).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 9, 2026 is: stigma • \STIG-muh\  • noun Stigma refers to a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something. // The organization is animated by a commitment to challenging stigmas associated with the condition. See the entry > Examples: “The stigma surrounding workers of my generation is real—some depict us as burned-out, overworked employees who are difficult to manage and are merely looking for a paycheck while mapping out our exit strategy for retirement.” — Suzie Jimenez, Business Insider, 21 July 2026 Did you know? Tattoos are now common, but not long ago adorning one’s body with ink was frowned upon by much of mainstream society. Even today, tattooed individuals in some communities and contexts face stigma based on their particular form of self-expression. It turns out that the link between tattoos and stigma is ancient, at least etymologically. The roots of stigma trace back all the way to the Greek verb stizein, meaning “to tattoo,” which led to the Latin noun stigma meaning “mark” or “brand.” The earliest English uses of stigma hew close to those of its Latin forebear; the word first referred to a brand left by a hot iron. In modern use, the scar is figurative: stigma most often refers to a set of negative and often unfair beliefs that a society or group of people have about something, as when people talk about the stigma associated with mental illness, or the stigma of poverty.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 8, 2026 is: magnanimous • \mag-NAN-uh-mus\  • adjective Magnanimous is a formal word that means “having or showing a generous and kind nature.” // She was too magnanimous to resent the unkind words of those grousing about her winning the spelling bee. See the entry > Examples: “Think before you act or speak. Drive and walk carefully. Be magnanimous and forgiving if others make a boo-boo.” — Georgia Nicols, The Boston Globe, 27 Nov. 2025 Did you know? When you see anima, animus, or a similar formation in a word, it’s often an indicator of something alive, lively, or spirited. Something described as animated is full of life, for example, and the word animal refers to a living thing. The Latin word anima means “breath” or “soul” and animus means “spirit.” In magnanimous, animus is joined by the Latin word magnus, meaning “great.” Basically meaning “greatness of spirit,” magnanimity is the opposite of selfishness. A truly magnanimous person can lose without complaining and win without gloating, and angry disputes can sometimes be resolved when one side makes a magnanimous gesture toward the other.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 7, 2026 is: gist • \JIST\  • noun Gist, which almost always appears in the phrase “the gist,” refers to the general or basic meaning of something written or said. // I found the author’s grandiloquent style of writing intolerable, but I got the gist of the story. See the entry > Examples: “His daughter dismissed the film they were watching early on, [Tim] Allen explained, because she'd already got the gist of what was going to happen.” — Steven McIntosh, BBC, 1 June 2026 Did you know? The main point, overarching theme, essence—that’s gist in a nutshell. The gist of gist, if you will. The gist of a conversation, argument, story, or what-have-you is what we rely on when the actual words and details are only imperfectly recalled, inessential, or too voluminous to recount in their entirety. Gist was borrowed from the Anglo-French legal phrase laccion gist (“the action lies/is based [on]”) in the 17th century, and it was originally used in law as a term referring to the foundation or grounds for a legal action without which the action would not be legally sustainable.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 6, 2026 is: inexorable • \i-NEK-suh-ruh-bul\  • adjective Inexorable is a formal word used to describe something that cannot be stopped or changed. // For some, the changing autumn foliage is a beautiful yet bittersweet reminder of the inexorable march of time. See the entry > Examples: “At the summer solstice, the Sun ‘stands still’—the meaning of the Latin solstice—and begins its progression back toward the south. Days shorten, shadows lengthen, and the cold and dreariness of winter return. Europeans across the entire continent have noted this simple and inexorable cycle for millennia. Neolithic monuments such as Ireland’s Newgrange and England’s Stonehenge, both of which date from around 5,000 years ago, were built to mark solstices.” — Thomas A. DuBois, The Conversation, 17 June 2026 Did you know? You can beseech and implore until you’re blue in the face, but that won’t have any effect on something that’s inexorable. Inexorable, which has been part of the English language since the 1500s, was originally often applied to people, desires, or actions held to be particularly resistant to persuasion (or dissuasion). In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, for example, Romeo declares that his “intents” are “more fierce and more inexorable far / Than empty tigers or the roaring sea.” These days, it is usually used to describe the progression of something through time, or toward an end result, commonly modifying nouns like drift, pull, rise, march, decline, or tide. Inexorable comes from the Latin adjective inexorabilis, which is itself a combination of the prefix in-, meaning “not,” plus exorabilis, meaning “pliant.” If you’re wondering whether English has an exorable meaning “capable of being moved by entreaty,” indeed it does, though exorable is far less common than its antonym.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 5, 2026 is: matriculate • \muh-TRIK-yuh-layt\  • verb To matriculate is to enroll or be enrolled as a student, especially at a college or university. // She matriculated at the Rhode Island School of Design and began classes in the fall. // A spokesperson for the college said the school is expected to matriculate approximately 1,000 students for the fall semester. See the entry > Examples: "Fresh off the heels of graduation from high school, many rising freshmen are choosing to step off of the treadmill for a year before matriculating in college." — DJ Didonna, Time, 13 July 2026 Did you know? Anybody who has had basic Latin knows that alma mater, a fancy term for the school you attended, comes from a phrase that means "fostering mother." If mater means "mother," then matriculate probably has something to do with a school nurturing you just like good old mom, right? Not exactly. If you go back far enough, matriculate is distantly related to the Latin mater, but its maternal associations were lost long ago—even in terms of Latin history. It is more closely related to the Late Latin word matricula, which means "public roll or register." Matricula has more to do with being enrolled than being mothered, but it is the diminutive form of the Latin noun matrix, which in Late Latin was used in the sense of "list" or "register" and earlier referred to female animals kept for the purposes of breeding.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 4, 2026 is: apiary • \AY-pee-air-ee\  • noun Apiary refers to a place where bees are kept, and especially a collection of hives or colonies of bees kept for their honey. // One of the best parts of having a beekeeper for a sister-in-law is getting fresh jars of local honey from the family apiary. See the entry > Examples: “The 70-year-old retiree from South Philadelphia ordinarily would avoid bees out of fear, but this spring she suited up for a study on therapeutic beekeeping at the Half Mad Honey apiary in the Navy Yard. Led by Temple University occupational therapy student Meghan Robertson, the project tested if beekeeping could improve mental health and well-being in older adults.” — Kayla Yup, The Philadelphia Inquirer, 28 June 2026 Did you know? For those who enjoy honey and the fascinating creatures that make it, apiaries are the bee’s knees. The word apiary—which comes ultimately from the Latin word apis, meaning “bee”—can refer to any place where bees are kept, but is used especially for a collection of hives or colonies of bees kept for their honey. Honeybee colonies are highly complex clusters of individuals that function virtually as single organisms (as by a hive mind). Queen bees, capable of laying more than a thousand eggs per day, develop from larvae that are fed solely on royal jelly. Drones are stingless male bees whose one job (they do not gather nectar or pollen) is to mate with the queen. Drones are vastly outnumbered by tens of thousands of female worker bees who do everything else—from foraging and feeding (royal jelly is produced from their pharyngeal glands) to cleaning and defense. In other words, they run the hive.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 3, 2026 is: recalcitrant • \rih-KAL-suh-trunt\  • adjective Recalcitrant is a formal word typically used to describe someone who stubbornly refuses to obey rules or orders. Recalcitrant can also describe something that is difficult to manage or operate. // The magazine, aimed at parents and caregivers of young children, will include the latest in child development science as well as practical information, like tricks for persuading even the most recalcitrant toddler to cooperate. See the entry > Examples: “One particularly recalcitrant driver … managed to rack up 29 speeding tickets during the 10-school-day span.” — Dave Werner, The Press-Republican (Plattsburgh, New York), 20 May 2026 Did you know? When given an order or command, a recalcitrant person (or animal) digs in their heels. They will not give an inch, so to speak, immovable in their determination to defy the rules. This makes a great deal of sense, etymologically, as recalcitrant traces back to calx, the Latin word for “heel.” (Calx is also responsible for such English words as calcaneus, “the large bone of the human heel,” and—mention this at your next pizza party—calzone.) From calx, Latin users formed first the verb calcitrare (“to kick”) and then recalcitrare (“to kick back”). In Late Latin, recalcitrare was used figuratively to mean “to be stubbornly disobedient,” leading to the English adjective we apply today to stubborn mules both human and asinine.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 2, 2026 is: dissonant • \DISS-uh-nunt\  • adjective Dissonant typically describes music that is not in harmony, or sounds and notes that clash. In non-music contexts, dissonant describes things that clash by not being in agreement or by not fitting well together. // The guitarist struck a dissonant chord. // The retrospective provided a sometimes dissonant journey through the artist's decades of work. See the entry > Examples: "Their disparate sonic elements form a dissonant but cohesive whole, wisps of trumpet and electronic woodwinds flashing by as quickly as flickering subway car lights." — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026 Did you know? At the root of dissonant is the Latin verb sonare. Can you guess what sonare means? Here's a hint: some related words are sonata, supersonic, and resonance. Does it sound to you as if sonare has something to do with sound? To invoke an approving sound in response: ding ding ding. In fact, sonare means "to sound," is related to the Latin noun sonus (meaning "sound"), and is also an ancestor of the English word sound. In musical contexts, dissonant and the related noun dissonance are used to describe a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord. Consonance, in contrast, refers to a musical interval or chord that produces an impression of agreeableness or resolution.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 1, 2026 is: conscientious • \kahn-shee-EN-shus\  • adjective Conscientious describes someone who is concerned with doing things correctly. It can be used as a synonym for both meticulous and careful. // She has always been a conscientious worker committed to painstaking research. See the entry > Examples: “Earth-friendly, conscientious gardeners learn to slow down and pay attention not only to plants but to the many creatures that share the garden. ... The garden teaches us valuable lessons. It reminds us that balance is achieved not through sorting the natural world into neat categories, but by respecting nature and allowing it to reveal to us its own complicated, interdependent and beautiful gray areas.” — Rita Perwich, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026 Did you know? As Mahatma Gandhi once wrote, “There is a higher court than courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience.” A person who is conscientious makes sure that they are judged well by such a court. This is true for someone who is “governed by their conscience” as the oldest sense of the word is defined—as in “a conscientious leader”—but it is also true for the conscientious person paying close, careful attention to the task at hand. Conscientious came to English from French, centuries after Middle English had adopted conscience from Anglo-French; both ultimately come from the Latin verb scire, meaning “to know.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 31, 2026 is: gumption • \GUMP-shun\  • noun Gumption refers to courage and confidence. // It took a lot of gumption to speak up for yourself like that. See the entry > Examples: "Fourth graders devise machines powered by rubber bands and 10-year-old ingenuity, some of the most creative thinking you'll ever witness. Wonders of nature and humanity coexist in these spaces. Behind all this is the gumption and bravery of teachers who set this up." — Adam Johnston, The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah), 13 May 2026 Did you know? English speakers have had gumption (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term's source isn't known, but early examples of it are found in Scottish (the related terms rumblegumption and rumgumption can be found there too). Gumption originally referred to common sense, but it is now more commonly used to refer to the kind of courage and get-up-and-go that makes undertaking difficult things possible. Art historians may know a couple additional applications for the word: gumption was historically used both to refer to the art of preparing painters' colors, and as a synonym of megilp, which refers to a mixture of linseed oil and mastic varnish that is used as a vehicle for oil paints.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 30, 2026 is: illustrious • \ih-LUSS-tree-us\  • adjective Illustrious describes a person or deed that is highly admired and respected. // During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award. See the entry > Examples: “Two of the most respected professors—an academic power couple—invited me to their home for dinner. I was flattered and excited. When we sat down at the table, my heart sank. The first dish they served was steak tartare. Raw beef, no matter how well seasoned, no matter how swanky the cut, is not my jam. ... And in the home of these illustrious professors, I was ashamed about that. I feared they would consider me unsophisticated for not liking the dish.” — Leslie John, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, 2026 Did you know? Today’s spotlight is on illustrious, from the Latin adjective illustris, meaning “shining brightly with light.” Illustris itself was probably a back-formation of the Latin verb illustrare, a word with varied meanings, among them “to light up,” “to make clear,” and “to embellish.” (Our word illustrate also comes from illustrare, of course; its original meaning was “to enlighten intellectually, culturally, or spiritually.”) At one time, illustrious could be used synonymously with its immediate Latin forbear to describe things that glow brightly, but that meaning is now considered archaic. The word today is almost exclusively used to describe something—such as a career or achievement—that stands out figuratively, shining brilliantly in the mind’s eye. 

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 29, 2026 is: kith • \KITH\  • noun Kith is an old-fashioned term that refers to familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives. It is often used in the phrase “kith and kin,” which means “friends and relatives.” // Spending time with kith and kin at the end of the summer is the highlight of our year. See the entry > Examples: “One thing that you could usually count on was the loyalty of your kith and kin, your friends and family. But now it seems that the closeness of family and relatives is more difficult to maintain in the modern world.” — James Morabito, The Buffalo (New York) News, 26 July 2026 Did you know? If you’d used the word kith a thousand years ago, you might have been referring to knowledge, or to a homeland, or to your neighbors and acquaintances. While those first two meanings of kith have long since fallen out of use, the word endures with a meaning very close to that “neighbors and acquaintances” one. Today kith appears almost exclusively in the phrase kith and kin, meaning “friends and relatives.” (Kin, another ancient word, can also refer independently to relatives.) Occasionally you will see kith and kin used to refer only to family members, much to the chagrin of those who despise redundancy in language. If you wish to avoid redundancy charges you’ll be sure to include friends as well as family among your “kith and kin.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 28, 2026 is: cogent • \KOH-junt\  • adjective Cogent is a formal word that describes something that is very clear and easy for the mind to accept and believe. It is used as a synonym of convincing. // At the town meeting, citizens presented many cogent arguments in support of building a new senior center. See the entry > Examples: “The history of art reads here as one long, free verse poem-in-progress, gorgeous and absorbing. Even so, many of the most memorable moments come in the form of cogent micro-essays, smartly curated ensembles of work bearing a legible, lucid premise.” — Leah Ollman, The Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2026 Did you know? A cogent argument is one that really drives its point home because it is clear, coherent, and readily understandable, and perhaps also because of the etymological history of cogent. Cogent comes from the Latin verb cōgere, meaning “to drive or force together.” Something described as cogent fuses thoughts and ideas into a meaningful whole that others can readily grasp and accept. A cogent explanation is a convincing one, and cogent analysis has us nodding along because it is clear and pertinent. Cōgere was formed in Latin by combining the prefix co- with the verb agere, “to drive, lead, or act,” a root which is also the source of our familiar noun agent. Handily enough, one definition of agent is “a means or instrument by which a guiding intelligence achieves a result.” It follows logically then that cogency is often a worthwhile agent, indeed.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 14, 2026 is: yaw • \YAW\  • verb The verb yaw when used for the action of a ship, aircraft, spacecraft, or projectile means "to move to the left or right especially in an uncontrolled manner." More broadly, yaw is used as a synonym of alternate to mean "to change from one to another repeatedly." // The rogue wave hit the vessel, and the ship yawed hard to the right. // The album yaws from soulful ballad to up-tempo pop hit and back again. See the entry > Examples: "The out-of-control motion radiated down to the spacecraft itself, which began yawing and pitching in response to the force." — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 11 Nov. 2025 Did you know? In the heyday of large sailing ships, numerous nautical words appeared on the horizon. Yaw is one such word. Its origin isn't exactly known, but it began turning up in print in the 16th century, first as a noun meaning "movement off course" or "side to side movement," and then as a verb. For centuries, it remained a sailing word—often alongside pitch ("to have the front end rise and fall")—with occasional extended use as a synonym of the verb alternate. When the era of airplane flight dawned, much of the vocabulary of sailing found new life in aeronautics, and "yawing" was no longer confined to the sea. Nowadays yaw, pitch, and roll are just as likely to be used by pilots and rocket scientists to describe the motion of their crafts.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 13, 2026 is: implacable • \im-PLAK-uh-bul\  • adjective Someone or something described as implacable is not capable of being appeased or changed. // The project faced implacable resistance from community members, and is now off the table. See the entry > Examples: “Unlike, say, the globetrotting stories of Ian Fleming or John le Carré, in which victories only temporarily frustrate an implacable foe, [Agatha] Christie’s smaller worlds feel put right when the cover closes or credits roll.” — The Economist, 17 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Implacable is rooted in the Latin verb placare, meaning “to soothe,” but its im- prefix is a variant of the negating prefix in- (as in inactive) and it signals that there’s nothing warm and fuzzy here. Someone or something described as implacable cannot be soothed, which usually means trouble: implacable is most often attached to words like foe, enemy, hatred and hostility. The opposite of implacable is, of course, placable; it means “easily soothed,” but sadly isn’t called upon very often. Another placare word is likely more familiar. Placate means “to soothe or appease”; it’s frequently applied when an angry person is made to feel less so.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 12, 2026 is: fulcrum • \FULL-krum\  • noun In technical use, fulcrum refers to the support on which a lever moves when it is used to lift something. In figurative use, fulcrum refers to a person or thing that makes it possible for something to function or develop, or in other words, one who plays an essential role in something. // Although the lead actor was phenomenal, critics suggested that the supporting cast was the real fulcrum of the show. See the entry > Examples: “The moral fulcrum of Christopher Marlowe’s The Tragical History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus, in which a scholar gains knowledge and power through a demonic pact, is a relatively straightforward statement on the human condition.” — Eric Olson, Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026 Did you know? The Latin word fulcrum, which refers to the head or back support of a couch, comes from the verb fulcīre, which means “to prop, support.” When fulcrum was first used in English in the 17th century, it referred to the point on which a lever or similar device (such as the oar of a boat) is supported. The literal use easily supported figurative use, and it didn’t take long for the word to develop a meaning referring to one deemed essential to the function or development of something. Despite fulcrum’s multiple senses, the word's meanings have kept a steady theme. In zoology, fulcrum refers to a part of an animal that serves as a hinge or support, such as the joint supporting a bird’s wing.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 11, 2026 is: xeric • \ZEER-ik\  • adjective Xeric means "characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture." // She is a botanist who primarily studies xeric plants. See the entry > Examples: "Thoughtfully designed xeric, or low-water, landscapes can be dynamic, layered and full of color. Native plants and those adapted to the Intermountain West ... provide habitat and food for pollinators and birds while needing a fraction of the water that bluegrass demands." — Pula Davis and Scott Curry, The Colorado Springs Gazette, 16 May 2026 Did you know? Few English words begin with the letter X, but of those that do, a number come from the Greek xēros, meaning "dry." Around the turn of the 20th century, botanists were using the terms xerophyte and xerophytic for plants that were well adapted to survive without much water. But when seeking a more generic word that included both animals and plants, they came up, ahem, dry. In a 1926 issue of Ecology, specialists proposed using xeric as a more generalized term for either flora or fauna. They further suggested that xerophytic, among other terms, "be entirely abandoned as useless and misleading." Not everyone liked the idea. In fact, the Ecological Society of America stated that xeric was "not desirable," preferring terms such as arid. Others declared that the word should refer only to habitats, not to organisms. Enough scientists used it anyway, however, that by the 1940s xeric was well documented in scientific literature.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 10, 2026 is: effulgence • \ih-FULL-junss\  • noun Effulgence means “radiant splendor” or “brilliance.” // Guests oohed and aahed at the sudden effulgence of the pagoda, as the last of its hundreds of candles were finally lit. See the entry > Examples: “No one knows who suggested that the building be lit at night. But the obvious inspiration was Times Square, an area famous for its nighttime effulgence.” — Robert Sharoff, FastCompany.com, 7 July 2025 Did you know? Need a shiny word to bust out at your next disco party, planetarium visit, or fireworks gathering? How about effulgence? It’s not a shiny “new” word, having made its English language debut in the 17th century, but it’s unusual and has a lovely Latin pedigree: the verb fulgēre, meaning “to shine.” Effulgence isn’t used for bog-standard brightness, however; it’s reserved for shininess that dazzles, inspires, leaves you gobsmacked—in other words, “radiant splendor.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 9, 2026 is: tacit • \TASS-it\  • adjective Tacit is a formal adjective used to describe something that is expressed or understood without being directly stated. // As roommates, we had a tacit agreement that we would never pry into each other’s affairs. See the entry > Examples: “Where modern documentaries are slick productions filled with preconceived notions, embedded narratives, and tacit approval of their subjects, [Frederick] Wiseman’s work is slow, contemplative, and refreshingly slant-free.” — Kevin Slane, Boston.com, 24 Feb. 2026 Did you know? In the first chapter of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the narrator Mr. Lockwood recounts warily encountering three dogs. Although he was sure to sit still, he admits that “imagining they would scarcely understand tacit insults, I unfortunately indulged in winking and making faces at the trio” (one subsequently leapt onto his knees in fury). His tacit insults were, by the relevant definition of tacit, not expressed with words (instead he used facial expressions). Tacit can also mean “implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not expressed,” as when a tacit agreement is understood without being directly stated, and tacit approval is silently granted. Tacit traces back to the Latin verb tacēre, meaning “to be silent,” which is also the ancestor of the English adjective taciturn, used to describe someone who tends to be quiet.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2026 is: gambol • \GAM-bul\  • verb Gambol means "to run or jump in a lively way." It is used as a synonym of frolic. // There are few sights more charming than that of lambs gamboling about in a meadow in full flower. See the entry > Examples: "There's also charming footage of a couple gamboling in Central Park that might be some of the first scenes Warhol ever shot ... They're so lighthearted and playful, they're more in the spirit of his jaunty commercial drawings from the 1950s than of the deadpan Pop Art he was just then perfecting." — Blake Gopnik, The New York Times, 30 Jan. 2026 Did you know? In Middle French, the noun gambade referred to the frisky spring of a jumping horse. In the early 1500s, its influence leapt into English twice, lending a playful bounce to both noun and verb forms of gambol. (The noun means "a skipping or leaping about in play.") Neither English word is restricted to horses, but rather can be used of any frolicsome creature. The more common of the two, the verb, suggests levity and spontaneity, and it tends to be used especially of the lively activity of children or animals engaged in active play.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 7, 2026 is: perfunctory • \per-FUNK-tuh-ree\  • adjective Perfunctory is a formal word used to describe something that is done without energy or enthusiasm because of habit or because it is expected. // By the time my favorite band got to the last stop of the tour, their performance felt perfunctory. See the entry > Examples: “Even a perfunctory ending can’t take away from the film’s fiery commitment to bearing witness to misogyny’s bitter fruit. Harris’ vision as a first-time filmmaker is crystal clear, and Is God Is already feels timeless, like a parable that could have been written decades ago, and will be handily passed down as pointed social critique for decades to come.” — Aisha Harris, NPR, 15 May 2026 Did you know? A perfunctory explanation of the origins of perfunctory would be this: it comes from Latin. But given our passion for language, we can’t resist giving you all the details. Borrowed in the late 16th century, the word is specifically from the Late Latin perfunctorius, meaning “done in a careless or superficial manner.” Perfunctorius traces back to a form of perfungi (“to accomplish, perform, get through with”) and ultimately comes from two Latin sources, per-, meaning “through,” and fungi, meaning “to perform.” Fungi is also a source of such words as function, defunct, and fungible, but not fungus; that word is also from Latin, but it is most likely a modification of the Greek word spongos, meaning “sponge.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 6, 2026 is: deepfake • \DEEP-fayk\  • noun Deepfake refers to an image or recording that has been convincingly altered and manipulated to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said. // The leaked video incriminating the school's dean was discovered to be a deepfake. See the entry > Examples: "Overall, the deepfakes are impressive, if not maybe a tad uncanny, showing a near-perfect replica of how Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood looked in the late '70s." — Ethan Millman, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2026 Did you know? The old maxim "things aren’t always as they seem" seems more true than ever in the age of deepfakes. A deepfake is an image, or a video or audio recording, that has been edited using an algorithm to replace the person in the original with someone else (especially a public figure) in a way that makes it look authentic. The fake in deepfake is transparent: deepfakes are not real. The deep is less self-explanatory: this half of the term is specifically influenced by deep learning—that is, machine learning using artificial neural networks with multiple layers of algorithms.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 5, 2026 is: acquisitive • \uh-KWIZ-uh-tiv\  • adjective Someone or something described as acquisitive is characterized by a strong desire to own or acquire more things. // The game aims to teach middle schoolers to balance their acquisitive instincts with a consideration of what will benefit society as a whole. See the entry > Examples: “The Athenians, say the Corinthians in Thucydides’s history, are innovative, adventurous, swift to action, acquisitive and keen to expand their empire.” — Edith Hall, The Daily Telegraph (London), 2 May 2026 Did you know? While acquisitive is a useful synonym of the likes of greedy and avaricious, it’s relatively unknown compared to its more popular lexical relations, acquire and acquisition. The former of that pair is most often used to mean “to get as one’s own,” as in “skills acquired through practice”; the latter refers either to the act of acquiring something, as in “the acquisition of skills,” or to something acquired or gained, as in “the museum’s recent acquisitions.” All three have as their ultimate source the Latin word acquīrere, meaning “to acquire.” While acquire and acquisition have both been in use since the 15th century, acquisitive is a bit younger. The word has a somewhat rare use meaning “capable of acquiring” that dates to the late 16th century, but its “greedy” meaning dates only to the early 19th century.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 4, 2026 is: semiquincentennial • \sem-ee-kwin-sen-TEN-ee-ul\  • noun Semiquincentennial refers to a 250th anniversary or its celebration. The word can also be used as an adjective to describe something related to or associated with such an anniversary or its celebration, as in “semiquincentennial festivities.” // The town’s annual fireworks show promises to be even more spectacular than usual in honor of the nation’s semiquincentennial. See the entry > Examples: “July 4, 2026 marks the nation’s semiquincentennial—its 250th birthday since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.” — Kathryn Palmer, USA Today, 13 June 2025 Did you know? Everyone knows that if you stick a feather in your hat for, say, a Fourth of July celebration, it is called “macaroni.” But what does a Yankee Doodle Dandy call the celebration itself, specifically when it marks the 250th year since the nation’s founding? Such a special day calls for a special word and semiquincentennial fits the bill, as it does for any anniversary of the same esteemed and venerable vintage. If the word’s mouthful of seven syllables overwhelms, it’s simple to break down. The prefix semi- here means “half in quantity or value,” while quincentennial refers to a whopping 500th anniversary or its celebration. (Quin- comes from the Latin word quinque, meaning “five,” and centennial comes in part from the Latin centum, meaning “hundred.”) Hence a semiquincentennial is celebrated precisely halfway en route to a quincentennial. May knowing this etymology be a feather in your cap at your semiquincentennial BBQ.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 3, 2026 is: corrode • \kuh-ROHD\  • verb Corrode means "to slowly break apart and destroy (metal, an object, etc.) through a chemical process" or "to undergo such a process." It is also used as a synonym of undermine to mean "to gradually destroy or weaken." // Several sections of the pipe have corroded and will need to be replaced. // Years of lies and secrets had corroded their relationship. See the entry > Examples: "Each piece is made of durable steel with a powder coating that won’t rust, fade, or corrode in the weather." — Shea Simmons, Southern Living, 29 Apr. 2026 Did you know? Corrode comes from the Latin verb corrōdere, meaning "to gnaw or chew up." Corrōdere, in turn, combines the prefix cor- (used here as an intensifier with the meaning of "completely") with the verb rōdere ("to gnaw"). (You may recognize another rōdere descendent, rodent, as a word for members of an order of gnaw-happy mammals.) At one time, corrode was used to literally indicate the action of gnawing away, as in "woodworms corroded the wood." But it is the more figurative senses from the action of gnawing or eating away that have persisted, as in "salt water corroded the iron" or "a lack of transparency by local officials is corroding public trust."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 2, 2026 is: sagacious • \suh-GAY-shus\  • adjective Someone or something described as sagacious has or shows an ability to understand difficult ideas and situations and to make good decisions. Sagacious may be considered a formal synonym of wise and discerning. // Student reviews paint the writing professor as a sagacious mentor and a compassionate teacher. See the entry > Examples: “It’s a lyrical truism with the kind of wisdom that feels particularly sagacious only within the context of pop music: Of course breaking up is hard to do, but when expressed by [Neil] Sedaka at the end of each verse (and the beginning of each bridge) of his pained plea to his partner to ‘give our love another try,’ it feels like hard-earned insight.” — Andrew Unterberger, Billboard, 2 Mar. 2026 Did you know? You might expect, wise word wonk that you are, that the word sagacious is etymologically linked with sage, which, as an adjective, means “wise” or, as a noun, “a wise person.” However, despite similarities of spelling, sound, and sense, the two words are not closely related. Sagacious comes from sagire, a Latin verb meaning “to perceive keenly,” while sage comes from a different Latin verb, sapere, which means “to taste,” “to have good taste,” or “to be wise.” Sagacious entered the English language around the beginning of the 17th century and, for some decades, referred to perceptiveness of sight, taste, and especially, smell, hewing close to its Latin ancestor. It has largely lost the sense (no pun intended) of sensory keenness, and now almost exclusively describes someone or something displaying keen, discerning judgment.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 1, 2026 is: nabob • \NAY-bahb\  • noun A nabob is a very rich or important person. // The upscale hotel downtown is a popular meeting spot for the city’s corporate nabobs. See the entry > Examples: “NBA nabobs were dismayed by the player empowerment era, where players dictated trades or abandoned teams via free agency.” — Christopher L. Gasper, The Boston Globe, 26 Jan. 2025 Did you know? In India’s Mogul Empire, founded in the 16th century, provincial governors carried the Urdu title of nawāb. In 1612, Captain Robert Coverte published a report of his “discovery” of “the Great Mogoll, a prince not till now knowne to our English nation.” The Captain informed the English-speaking world that “An earle is called a Nawbob,” thereby introducing the English version of the word. Nabob, as it later came to be spelled, gained its extended sense of “a prominent person” in the 18th century, when it was applied sarcastically to British officials of the East India Company returning home after amassing great wealth in Asia. But the word was most famously used by Vice President Spiro Agnew, in a 1970 speech written by William Safire, when he referred to critical members of the news media as “nattering nabobs of negativism.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 30, 2026 is: bereft • \bih-REFT\  • adjective To be bereft is to be deprived or robbed of something, or to lack something that you need, want, or expect. Bereft is also used as a synonym of bereaved. // They appear to be completely bereft of new ideas. See the entry > Examples: "... this morning when I was going out to play in the gardens, I went to put on my favorite baseball cap since the sun was hot and, being bereft of my own natural covering, I wished to avoid a sun-scorched scalp." — Dick Brooks, The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, New York), 7 May 2026 Did you know? In Old English, the verb berēafian meant "to deprive of something." The modern equivalent (and descendant) of berēafian is bereave, a verb used to say that one has deprived or stripped someone of something, often suddenly and unexpectedly, and sometimes by force. Bereft comes from the past participle of bereave; Shakespeare uses the participle in The Merchant of Venice, when Bassanio tells Portia, "Madam, you have bereft me of all words." But by Shakespeare's day bereft was also being used as an adjective. The Bard uses it in The Taming of the Shrew, as a newly obedient and docile Katharina declares, "A woman mov'd is like a fountain troubled—muddy, … thick, bereft of beauty."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 29, 2026 is: umami • \oo-MAH-mee\  • noun Umami refers to the taste sensation that is produced by several amino acids and nucleotides and that has a rich or meaty flavor characteristic of cheese, cooked meat, mushrooms, soy, and ripe tomatoes. // The chef’s secret ingredient added the perfect burst of umami to the signature dish. See the entry > Examples: "This recipe uses a classic marble cake technique to swirl rich layers of cinnamon into a fluffy olive oil-scented loaf cake. It’s topped with a malted milk glaze for a punch of umami, but you can skip it entirely or substitute a simple vanilla glaze." — Tanya Bush, Will This Make You Happy: Stories & Recipes from a Year of Baking, 2026 Did you know? Japanese scientist Kikunae Ikeda is credited with identifying as a distinct taste the savory flavor of the amino acid glutamic acid, which he first noticed in soup stocks made with seaweed. This fifth basic taste—alongside sweet, sour, salty, and bitter—was named umami, meaning "savoriness" in Japanese. Umami can be experienced in foods such as mushrooms, anchovies, and mature cheeses, as well as in foods enhanced with monosodium glutamate, or MSG, a sodium salt derived from glutamic acid.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 28, 2026 is: gainsay • \gayn-SAY\  • verb To gainsay something is to deny or disagree with it, or to show or say that it is not true. Gainsay is a formal word usually used in negative statements. // Although the defendant initially denied involvement in the incident, there was no gainsaying the evidence that the prosecutor presented at the trial. See the entry > Examples: “Whatever you think of it, there’s no gainsaying the fact that ‘The Sound of Music’ is a remarkably durable vehicle. It’s frequently produced, and suffered no lasting damage to its reputation from a live NBC performance in 2013 ...” — Don Aucoin, The Boston Globe, 9 Jan. 2026 Did you know? You might have trouble figuring out the meaning of gainsay if you’re thinking of our modern word gain plus say. It should help to know that the gain part comes to us from the Old English word gēan-, meaning “against” or “in opposition to.” (The familiar verb gain comes from Anglo-French and is unrelated.) In Middle English, gēan- was joined to seyen (“to say”) to form gein-seyen, which led to the modern word gainsay. So when you see gainsay, think “to say against”—that is, “to deny” or “to contradict.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 27, 2026 is: oracular • \aw-RAK-yuh-ler\  • adjective Oracular is a formal word that can describe something used to forecast or prophesize, or something that resembles or relates to something used for such purposes. Oracular can also describe something that resembles an oracle—a person (such as a priestess of ancient Greece) through whom a deity is believed to speak; in this sense, an oracular statement, voice, etc. conveys wisdom or solemnity. // A few recordings of the famous speaker still exist, and though his language is formal to the point of sounding almost foreign to the modern listener, the oracular quality of his speech remains effective. See the entry > Examples: "The conversation that unfolds is some of [writer Ben] Lerner's most brilliant and daring writing to date, a mad, oracular burst of speech—about technology, parenthood, and dreaming—that flits effortlessly between prose and poetry." — Kevin Lozano, Vulture, 3 Apr. 2026 Did you know? When the ancient Greeks had questions or problems, they would turn to the gods for answers by consulting an oracle, a person through whom the gods communicated, usually in the form of cryptic verse. Oracle also referred to the god's answer or to the shrine that worshippers approached when seeking advice; the word's root is the Latin verb orare, which means "to speak." English speakers today can use oracle to simply refer to an authoritative pronouncement or to a person who makes such pronouncements—for example, "a designer who is an oracle of fashion." And the related adjective oracular is used in similar contexts: "a designer who is an oracular voice of fashion."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 26, 2026 is: symbiosis • \sim-bee-OH-sis\  • noun Symbiosis is a formal word that refers to a relationship between two people or groups that work with and depend on each other. In biology, symbiosis refers to the relationship between two different kinds of living things that live together and depend on each other. // The new playground is the result of symbiosis between multiple stakeholders, including residents, donors, and town officials. // The bacteria exist in symbiosis with the plant’s roots. See the entry > Examples: “In the old days, which weren’t that long ago ... there was that ritual moment when a rock ‘n’ roll idol, in the midst of delivering a classic anthem, would point the mic away from himself and into the arena, indicating that it was time for the audience to take over and sing the lines. It might be Springsteen doing ‘Thunder Road,’ or Madonna doing ‘Holiday.’ ... The loving symbiosis of pop star and pop audience doesn’t get much more reverent than that.” — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 7 May 2026 Did you know? Symbiosis was adopted by the scientific community in the late 1800s, coming ultimately (via German) from the Greek symbíōsis, meaning “living together, companionship.” Of course, there are a lot of ways to live together and, accordingly, several flavors of symbiosis. When a biological symbiosis between two organisms is mutually beneficial, it is termed mutualism. For example, oxpeckers are birds so named because they “peck” ticks off of infested cattle and wild mammals, a likely satisfying arrangement for both parties, and textbook mutualism. When one organism lives off another at the other’s expense, however (as, for one icky instance, head lice do), it’s called parasitism. If only parents of elementary school students could call upon an equivalent of oxpeckers to engage in mutualistic symbiosis when the need arose, but alas.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 25, 2026 is: jaundiced • \JAWN-dist\  • adjective Jaundiced means “showing or influenced by feelings of distrust, distaste, or hostility.” Someone described as jaundiced, or as possessing jaundiced opinions or views, is typically understood to feel that way because of negative past experiences. // She developed a jaundiced view of politics after years of chairing her local school board committee and witnessing all kinds of petty shenanigans. See the entry > Examples: “Now, I’m not accusing the mayor of anything. I’m saying that all of these actions were highly inappropriate for an elected official. I voted for her, but will forevermore look at her actions with a jaundiced eye.” — Eric Rinehimer, The Retrospect (Collingswood, New Jersey), 23 Jan. 2026 Did you know? Cast not a jaundiced eye on the word jaundiced—and by that we mean this: don’t dislike or distrust jaundiced because of past experiences with the word or with others like it. Jaundiced is handy for describing the grumps among us who tend toward envy, aversion, or hostility, and who doesn’t know a few of those? This useful 17th century adjective comes from an also-useful 14th century noun jaundice that still refers to a medical condition in which excess bile pigments in the bloodstream and body tissues cause a person’s skin to turn yellow. The connection between the physical condition and the bad attitude lies in the physiological theory of the bodily humors, which holds that a hostile, irritable temperament is caused by excess yellow bile in one’s body.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 24, 2026 is: pantheon • \PAN-thee-ahn\  • noun Pantheon usually refers to a group of famous or notable people or things. It also refers to the officially recognized gods of a particular people, as well as to the Roman Pantheon, the domed temple begun in 27 B.C. and rebuilt circa 118-128 A.D. // With her induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the distinguished bassist and songwriter joined a pantheon of musical legends. // His research is primarily dedicated to the Greek and Roman pantheons. See the entry > Examples: "From cheeky shots of celebrities like Jane Fonda and Arnold Schwarzenegger to extravagant, sensual portfolios of America's Olympic squads, the magazine's pantheon of photographers have helped to define the genre of sports portraiture." — Kahina Sekkaï, Vanity Fair, 14 May 2026 Did you know? Some of the earliest uses of pantheon in the English language refer to the most famous Pantheon, the circular domed temple built in Rome more than 19 centuries ago (and still standing). We can easily identify the origins of the temple's name, which the Romans borrowed from the Greek word for a temple honoring all their gods. That Greek word, pantheion, combines pan- ("all") and theos ("god"). In today's English, pantheon often refers to all the gods of a particular people (as in "the Egyptian pantheon"), a sense that arose in the 16th century but was rarely used until the 19th century. More often, though, pantheon bears a meaning developed later to refer to the eminent company of the highly venerated, be they human or not. A pantheon of this type includes no deities; it is a group of famous or notable people or things, as in "a book joining the pantheon of great world literature."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 23, 2026 is: quail • \KWAIL\  • verb To quail is to feel afraid and often to show your fear in a way that can be clearly seen. // Although giving a 5-minute speech was a requirement for passing the class, a few students quailed at the thought of public speaking, seeming to shrink behind their desks. See the entry > Examples: “Several came to protest but didn’t want their own voices cited. A woman holding a sign reading ‘I’M A 77 YEAR OLD GRANNY FOR FREEDOM’ quailed at the prospect of having her photo in the newspaper.” — Neil Steinberg, The Chicago Sun-Times, 19 Oct. 2025 Did you know? Turning to the noun quail, referring to any of a number of chicken-related game birds, for information about the verb quail is of little help. The two are etymologically unrelated, and there’s nothing specific in the behavior of quails to suggest the verb’s meaning. But never fear—the next time you hear quail, think quiver instead. Although quail and quiver are also unrelated, they both start with a distinctive qu and have meanings involving a physical reaction to fear. When you quiver (as in response to, say, hearing things that go bump in the night), you shake or move with a slight trembling motion. Quailing often goes a bit beyond trembling; quail implies shrinking or cowering in fear, as perhaps when the things that go bump in the night suddenly start approaching.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 22, 2026 is: cavalcade • \kav-ul-KAYD\  • noun Cavalcade most often refers to a series of related things. An older meaning, still in use, is “a procession of riders or carriages”; vehicles or ships in a procession can be referred to as a cavalcade too. // Since the high-powered console’s debut late last year, video game companies have steadily unveiled a cavalcade of new games that showcase its groundbreaking graphics. See the entry > Examples: “The event opened with a cavalcade of musicians, dancers and local children, followed by a horse-drawn carriage carrying the Watercress King and Queen ... who threw bags of freshly harvested watercress into the crowd as they paraded up and down Broad Street.” — Paul Coates, The Haslemere (England) Herald, 18 May 2026 Did you know? Cavalcade is a word with deep equestrian roots: it comes (via French and probably Italian) ultimately from the Latin word caballus, meaning “work horse” or “gelding.” (Spanish speakers may recognize the influence of caballus in the word caballo, meaning “horse.”) In the 17th century, cavalcade was used specifically to refer to a procession of horseback riders or carriages, especially as part of a special occasion, whether joyous or funereal. Over time, that meaning was extended to processions of other modes of travel, including ships, vehicles, or even paraders on foot or float (as invoked by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith in his song “Rose Parade” with the lyric “a wink and a wave from the cavalcade”). As a cavalcade of words before and since have done, cavalcade also took on a figurative sense to refer to a series of related things, whether or not they happen to be marching (or trotting) down the road.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 21, 2026 is: assiduous • \uh-SIJ-uh-wus\  • adjective Assiduous is a formal word that means “showing great care, attention, and effort.” // Thanks to the assiduous efforts of the local land trust over many years, a substantial amount of whip-poor-will habitat is now protected from development. See the entry > Examples: “My mom was also assiduous about what we would today call food safety, avoiding anything that could possibly cause illness, especially raw meat: ‘Well done’ was the norm for everything, and anything that could possibly go bad was kept in the fridge.” — James Martin, Work in Progress: Confessions of a Busboy, Dishwasher, Caddy, Usher, Factory Worker, Bank Teller, Corporate Tool, and Priest, 2026 Did you know? While assiduous means “showing great care, attention, and effort,” and in some situations may be an appropriate substitute for careful, it’s got a bit more oomph than careful in that it suggests a dogged or tireless persistence. If you are assiduous in your efforts (or work, research, analysis, training, preparations, etc.) for example, it’s implied that you’re in it for the long haul, or that you have the ability to “sit with” a task or challenge for a considerable amount of time. This idea is fitting given that assiduous comes from the Latin verb assidēre, meaning “to sit beside.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 20, 2026 is: longueur • \lawn-GUR\  • noun Longueur refers to a boring part of something (such as a book or play). It is usually used in the plural form. // Though not without its longueurs, the opera came to life in the last act. See the entry > Examples: “Game 3 of the World Series was a stone-cold thriller, with peaks of high drama and longueurs of exquisitely tense tedium ...” — Steve Rushin, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025 Did you know? You’ve probably come across long, tedious sections of books, plays, or musical works before, but perhaps you didn’t know there was a word for them. The French borrowing longueur has been doing the job for us since the late 18th century. As in English, French longueurs are tedious passages, with longueur itself literally meaning “length.” An early example of longueur used in an English text is from 18th-century writer Horace Walpole, who wrote in a letter, “Boswell’s book is gossiping; ... but there are woeful longueurs, both about his hero and himself.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 19, 2026 is: indomitable • \in-DAH-muh-tuh-bul\  • adjective Indomitable is a formal word used to describe something that is impossible to defeat or discourage. // Juneteenth celebrates the abolition of slavery in the United States, and honors the indomitable spirit of African Americans past and present fighting for justice, liberation, and the fulfillment of this nation’s ideals. See the entry > Examples: “During his legendary NBA career, Michael Jordan was renowned not only for his athleticism and skill but also for his indomitable will to win.” – Chicago Tribune, 1 Apr. 2026 Did you know? At five punchy syllables, indomitable is an imposing word, so it’s inevitable that some are perplexed by this synonym for impregnable. But it’s not so tough once you break it into parts. The prefix in- (spelled im- before b, m, and p) means “not” in an innumerable collection of English words. (How many have you counted so far?) The common suffix -able means “capable of, fit for, or worthy of.” Combine those two English affixes with the Latin verb domitare (“to tame”), and voila: indomitable. Indomitable was first used in English as a synonym of wild, describing—appropriately enough—things that cannot be tamed, but over time the wildness associated with indomitable developed into a specific kind of invulnerable strength.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 18, 2026 is: acquiesce • \ak-wee-ESS\  • verb To acquiesce to something is to accept it, agree with it, or allow it to happen by staying silent or by not arguing. Acquiesce is somewhat formal, and is often used with in or to. // Eventually, the professor acquiesced to the students’ request to have the seminar’s final class be a potluck lunch. See the entry > Examples: “It may be just the right time for a chicken burger to become a significant stop on the American burger’s continual evolution—but whether beef-clinging purists will acquiesce to a poultry spin, or cry fowl, remains to be seen.” — Talib Visram, Slate, 6 Apr. 2026 Did you know? If you’re looking to give your speech a gentle, formal flair, don’t give acquiesce the silent treatment. Essentially meaning “to comply quietly,” acquiesce has as its ultimate source the Latin verb quiēscere, “to be quiet.” (Quiet itself is also a close relation.) Quiēscere can also mean “to repose,” “to fall asleep,” or “to rest,” and when acquiesce arrived in English via French in the early 1600s, it did so with two senses: the familiar “to agree or comply” and the now-obsolete “to rest satisfied.” Herman Melville employed the former in Moby-Dick, when Ahab orders the “confounded” crew to change the Pequod’s course after a storm damages the compasses: “Meanwhile, whatever were his own secret thoughts, Starbuck said nothing, but quietly he issued all requisite orders; while Stubb and Flask—who in some small degree seemed then to be sharing his feelings—likewise unmurmuringly acquiesced.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 17, 2026 is: wifty • \WIF-tee\  • adjective Wifty, a synonym of ditzy, describes something or someone eccentrically silly or scatterbrained. // The play features a wifty character who starts out blissfully unaware of the conflict driving the plot but ultimately pulls it together to save the day. See the entry > Examples: “When he dreams, he dreams about moving to Wyoming, which he has visited with his family. ... Sometimes when he talks about this, it sounds as ordinary and hard-boiled as a real estate appraisal; other times it can sound fantastical and wifty and achingly naive ...” — Susan Orlean, Joyride: A Memoir, 2025 Did you know? Whence wifty? Wordsmiths have been wondering for a while. The earliest print evidence of wifty comes from the early 20th century, though the word was certainly being used in spoken English before that. The adjective suffix -y is clear enough; when added to another word it can mean “full of” (as in “muddy), “having the character of” (think “waxy”), “tending or inclined to” (as in “sleepy”), etc. So what’s wift? Well, that element could come from whiff, which as a noun can refer to a quick puff or slight gust of air—a person described by the word wifty might also, if unkindly, be called an airhead. Or perhaps the wift is related to waft, “to move or go lightly on a buoyant medium,” if it’s fair to say that the wifty among us have their heads in the clouds. Whatever once may have been known about it, the answer is now blowing in the wind.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 16, 2026 is: gamut • \GAM-ut\  • noun A gamut is a range or series of related things. When we say that something “runs the gamut,” we are saying that it encompasses an entire range of related things. // The flea market offerings run the gamut with a wide array of vendors each offering something unique. See the entry > Examples: “... she brings a certain je ne sais quoi to the production with themes running the gamut from circuses and rodeos to mermaids and pirates.” — Heather Douglas, Coast Weekend (Astoria, Oregon), 23 Apr. 2026 Did you know? With the song “Do-Re-Mi,” the 1965 musical film The Sound of Music (adapted from the 1958 stage musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein) introduced millions of non-musicians to solfège, the singing of the sol-fa syllables—do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti—to teach the tones of a musical scale. Centuries earlier, however, the do in “Do-Re-Mi” was known as ut. Indeed, the first note on the scale of Guido d’Arezzo, an 11th century musician and monk who had his own way of applying syllables to musical tones, was ut. d’Arezzo also called the first line of his bass staff gamma, which meant that gamma-ut was the term for a note written on the first staff line. In time, gamma-ut underwent a shortening to gamut, and later its meaning expanded first to cover all the notes of d’Arezzo’s scale, then to cover all the notes in the range of an instrument, and, eventually, to cover an entire range of any sort.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 15, 2026 is: tenuous • \TEN-yoo-us\  • adjective Something described as tenuous is flimsy, weak, or uncertain. // The theater had a tenuous existence for years, but today is on much more solid financial footing. See the entry > Examples: “While more non-screen-based interactive technology could be an antidote to our screen-obsessed society, it’s an extremely tenuous link to more human interaction ...” — Jennifer Pattinson Tuohy, The Verge, 4 May 2026 Did you know? Lean into the history of tenuous and you’ll find that the word comes to English from the Latin adjective tenuis, meaning “fine-drawn, thin, narrow, or slight,” and is a relative of thin. Like that more familiar word, tenuous has a wide array of meanings: it can describe a literal thinness, as in “a silkworm’s tenuous threads,” or rarity (the opposite of density), as in “a tenuous fluid,” or it can describe things that are figuratively thin or flimsy. If one team in a game has a tenuous lead, either team still has a chance at winning. If there is only a tenuous connection between two events, those events are likely unrelated.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 14, 2026 is: emblazon • \im-BLAY-zun\  • verb To emblazon something is to decorate its surface, usually with a name, slogan, or picture. // Her favorite souvenir from her trip to the Grand Canyon was a t-shirt emblazoned with a rosy sunset over the famous chasm. See the entry > Examples: “Later that week we were boarding our flight with the painting secured in an enormous case with a toothy, bespectacled cartoon squirrel emblazoned on the back and a speech bubble that read ‘I’M JUST NUTS ABOUT PUZZLES!’” — Orlando Whitfield, All That Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art, 2025 Did you know? Blazon is a less commonly used synonym of the more familiar coat of arms. Both centuries-old terms refer to heraldic designs, symbols, and other imagery (think crosses, lions, stripes, etc.) that typically appear on banners, shields, armor, and elsewhere. The verb form of blazon meaning “to depict heraldic figures or designs in drawing or engraving” and emblazon, “to inscribe or adorn with or as if with heraldic figures or designs,” came into use around the same time in the late 1500s, from the French spoken in medieval England. (The word heraldry, also ultimately from Anglo-French, came into use then too.) Emblazon still refers to marking something with an emblem of heraldry, but it is now more often used for adorning or publicizing something in any conspicuous way, whether with eye-catching decoration or colorful words of praise.