Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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  1. 7 hrs ago

    jaundiced

    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.

    2 min

  2. 1 day ago

    pantheon

    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."

    2 min

  3. 2 days ago

    quail

    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.

    2 min

  4. 3 days ago

    cavalcade

    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.

    2 min

  5. 4 days ago

    assiduous

    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.”

    2 min

  6. 5 days ago

    longueur

    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.”

    2 min

  7. 6 days ago

    indomitable

    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.

    2 min

  8. 18 June

    acquiesce

    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.”

    2 min

  9. 17 June

    wifty

    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.

    2 min

  10. 16 June

    gamut

    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.

    2 min
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