Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day Merriam-Webster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 3, 2023 is: meet-cute \MEET-kyoot\ noun
Meet-cute is a term that refers to a cute, charming, or amusing first encounter between romantic partners. A meet-cute can be such an encounter as shown in a movie or television show, or one that happens in real life.

// The elderly couple loved sharing the story of their hilarious meet-cute from 30 years ago.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meet-cute)

Examples:

“The star of E!'s new original TV movie Why Can’t My Life Be a Rom-Com? recently revealed the ‘pretty cute’ way she met her current partner, and the story is just like a meet-cute out of one of your favorite films.” — Brett Malec, E! Online, 19 Feb. 2023

Did you know?

Isn’t it cute how two words can be introduced to each other and become an inseparable pair soon after? Well, that’s exactly what happened when meet and cute got together in 1952. The duo was spotted in The New York Times Book Review in 1952 in reference to an unexpected [rendezvous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rendezvous): “This may well be, in magazine parlance, the neatest meet-cute of the week—the story of a ghost-writer who falls in love with a ghost.” Today the word is used often to refer to such encounters in films and television series (especially [rom-coms](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rom-com) and sitcoms). Writers of meet-cutes often develop plots by creating situations in which characters clash in personality, or by creating embarrassing situations in which two eventual romantic partners will meet, or by creating a misunderstanding between characters who will separate but become friends in the end.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 2, 2023 is: obstinate \AHB-stuh-nut\ adjective
Obstinate at its most basic means "stubborn." It describes people who refuse to change their behavior or ideas in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion, and it describes things that are not easily fixed, removed, or dealt with.

// The project that had been the group's main focus for weeks was temporarily stymied by one obstinate member's refusal to compromise.

// The planning committee discussed ways to mitigate the obstinate problem of [gentrification](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gentrification).

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obstinate)

Examples:

"... [Louise Bates] Ames has an uncanny way of capturing the essence of children at different developmental stages, and when you understand that it is your child's work to behave this way, that the behavior is serving growth and maturity, you are less likely to try to squash it. For instance, when you've nicely asked your 2-year-old to stop jumping on the couch and they look you in the eyes and keep jumping? It's helpful to know that this obstinate behavior is normal and is not a reason to double-down or punish your child. Instead, speak less, redirect and provide other things for your child to jump on." — Meghan Leahy, The Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2022

Did you know?

English has no shortage of words to describe stubbornness, and obstinate is one you might want to latch onto. It suggests an unreasonable persistence and is often used negatively to describe someone who is unwilling to change course or to give up a belief or plan. Animals can be obstinate, too—for instance, say, a beloved pet cat that refuses to get out of your easy chair when you want to sit down. Such an example makes a lot of sense with regard to obstinate’s history, too: the word traces back to a combination of the Latin prefix ob-, meaning “in the way,” and a word related to stare, meaning "to stand." But if you’re [adamant](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adamant) about describing Whiskers’ stubborn behavior in more [faunal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/faunal) terms, allow us to suggest [bullheaded](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bullheaded), [dogged](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogged), or [mulish](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mulish).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 1, 2023 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—in other words, its essence.

// I didn’t catch every word, but I heard enough to get the gist of the conversation.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gist)


Examples:

“Thanks to a student project at a Kirkland high school, Washington lawmakers are considering the impact of a ‘pink tax.’ The gist: Products for women often cost more than similar products designed for men. Senate Bill 5171 would allow the office of the state attorney general to review complaints and hand out fines to companies that demonstrate gender bias in their pricing.” — The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), 21 Jan. 2023

Did you know?

The main point, overarching theme, essence—that’s gist [in a nutshell](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/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 May 31, 2023 is: enthrall \in-THRAWL\ verb
Enthrall means “to hold the attention of someone by being very exciting, interesting, or beautiful,” or in other words, “to charm.” It is often used in its [past participle](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/past%20participle) form, as in “I was enthralled by the beauty of the landscape.”

// A captivating take on the human experience, the movie has enthralled audiences across the country.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/enthrall)


Examples:

“Judy Blume's books have captivated generations of readers. Anyone who has held one of her countless paperbacks will immediately recall her name. Blume's startling honesty has comforted and enthralled readers for decades ...” — Casey Abline, TAPinto (Elizabeth, New Jersey), 23 Apr. 2023

Did you know?

The history of enthrall appeals far less than the word as we use it today might suggest. In Middle English, enthrallen meant “to deprive of privileges; to put in bondage.” [Thrall](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thrall) then, as now, referred to bondage or slavery. An early figurative use of enthrall appeared in Shakespeare’s [A Midsummer Night’s Dream](https://www.britannica.com/topic/A-Midsummer-Nights-Dream-play-by-Shakespeare): “So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape.” But we rarely use even this sense of mental or moral control anymore. More often, the word simply suggests a state of being generally captivated or delighted by some particular thing. Enthrall is commonly found in its [past participle](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/past%20participle) form enthralled, which can mean “spellbound,” as in “we listened, enthralled, to the elder's oral history.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 30, 2023 is: nemesis \NEM-uh-siss\ noun
A nemesis is a formidable foe—an opponent or enemy who is very difficult to defeat. As a [proper noun](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/proper%20noun), Nemesis refers to the Greek goddess of vengeance.

// She will be playing against her old nemesis for the championship.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nemesis)

Examples:

"2020’s original Enola Holmes proved to be a surprisingly enjoyable twist on the world’s most famous detective [Sherlock Holmes], focusing instead on his overlooked sister, Enola. No surprise, then, that this follow-up is just as exciting a romp through Victorian London. Despite proving her skills in the first film, Enola struggles to establish her own detective credentials until a missing-person report leads her to a case that’s stumped even Sherlock, and sees her crossing paths with his arch nemesis, Moriarty." — Matt Kamen, WIRED, 10 Feb. 2023

Did you know?

[Nemesis](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nemesis-Greek-religion) was the Greek goddess of vengeance, a deity who doled out rewards for noble acts and punishment for evil ones. The Greeks believed that Nemesis didn't always punish an offender immediately but might wait generations to avenge a crime. In English, nemesis originally referred to someone who brought a just retribution, but nowadays people are more likely to see simple animosity rather than justice in the actions of a nemesis (consider the motivations of [Batman’s](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Batman-fictional-character) perennial foe the Joker, for example).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 29, 2023 is: sacrosanct \SAK-roh-sankt\ adjective
Sacrosanct is a formal word that describes things too important and respected to be changed or criticized. It can also mean “most sacred or holy.”

// While the family's new matriarch aimed to maintain the familiar traditions of the holidays, she did not consider the details of their celebration to be sacrosanct.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sacrosanct)


Examples:

“It might not have reached the needlessly high bar of Sony’s marketing push … but Evil Dead checked all the boxes for a successful remake. The critical reception, however, was decidedly mixed, perhaps because Raimi’s trilogy was regarded as sacrosanct by horror obsessives.” — Miles Surrey, The Ringer, 5 Apr. 2023

Did you know?

Contrary to the beliefs of some, language is not sacrosanct; rather, it is subject to constant modification based on the needs, experiences, and even whims of those who use it. Take the word sacrosanct itself, which likely comes from the Latin phrase sacro sanctus meaning “made holy by a sacred rite.” There’s a definite semantic softening from that to the “too important and respected to be changed or criticized” meaning of sacrosanct. But holy moly, has sanctus led to a whole bunch of other English words with truly [pious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pious) flavor, from [saint](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saint) and [sanctimony](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctimony) to [sanctify](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctify) and [sanctuary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctuary). Sacrum (“a sacred rite”), whence came the sacro in sacro sanctus, is no slouch either, living on in English anatomy as the name for our pelvic vertebrae—a shortening of os sacrum, which literally means “holy bone.”