Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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

Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

Episodes

  1. 2 HR AGO

    labile

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2024 is: labile \LAY-byle\ adjective Someone or something described as labile is readily open to change. Labile can also be used as a synonym of [unstable](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unstable) to describe things that are readily or continually undergoing chemical, physical, or biological change or breakdown. // The director was known for being exacting but also labile, open to actors' interpretations of characters. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/labile) Examples: "Amid this high level of acting skill, [musician Kate] Lindsey stood out with her wonderfully convincing gestures and facial expressions, filling out the character of the more labile younger sister with captivating [verisimilitude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verisimilitude)." — Jeremy Yudkin, The Boston Globe, 17 July 2023 Did you know? We are confident that you won't slip up or err in learning today's word, despite its etymology. Labile was borrowed into English from French and can be traced back (by way of Middle French labile, meaning "prone to err") to the Latin verb labi, meaning "to slip or fall." Indeed, the first sense of labile in English was "prone to slip, err, or lapse," but that use is now obsolete. Other labi descendants in English include [collapse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/collapse), [elapse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/elapse), and [prolapse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolapse), as well as [lapse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapse) itself.

    2 min
  2. 2 DAYS AGO

    truncate

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2024 is: truncate \TRUNG-kayt\ verb To truncate something—such as a discussion or essay—is to make it shorter. // The interview was truncated and edited for clarity. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truncate) Examples: “I am a scholar and a student of the Arabic poetic tradition. I study poets from [Imru’ al-Qays](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Imru-al-Qays-Arab-poet) to [Mahmoud Darwish](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mahmoud-Darwish), from al-Samaw’al to Hiba Abu Nada. I am not willing to chop up this tradition into palatable and digestible bites. I will not truncate a poem if the ending makes you uncomfortable.” — Huda Fakhreddine, LitHub.com, 29 Aug. 2024 Did you know? [Bushwhack](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bushwhack) your way deep enough into the literature of tree identification and you may come across references to trees with “truncate” leaves. Such leaves (as of the [tulip tree](https://bit.ly/4dgficw), for example) have bases that are straight and even, as though they’ve been cut or sheared away from something larger. The adjectival use of truncate isn’t common—it’s mostly found in technical writing (and can also describe feathers, etc., that appear squared or evened off), but the familiar verb doesn’t fall far from the tree: it is applied when something is shortened by literally or figuratively lopping part of it off, as when someone truncates a planned speech to fit time constraints. Both adjective and noun come from the Latin verb truncare, meaning “to shorten,” which in turn traces back to the noun truncus, meaning “trunk.” So next time you’re stumped about the meaning of truncate, try to picture, well, a stump.

    2 min
  3. 3 DAYS AGO

    inchoate

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2024 is: inchoate \in-KOH-ut\ adjective Inchoate is a formal adjective and synonym of [vague](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vague) that describes something that is not completely formed or developed yet. // In the podcast, the author described the process by which she took a series of inchoate vignettes and shaped them into her best-selling novel. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inchoate) Examples: "Graffiti inserts itself like the blade of a knife between creation and destruction, between publicity and furtiveness, between word and image, cartoon, icon, and hieroglyph. … That its meaning is inchoate is part of the point. If you can explain it, you probably don't understand." — Jonathan Lethem, Cellophane Bricks: A Life in Visual Culture, 2024 Did you know? Inchoate is most often used to describe something that is not, or not yet, completely formed or developed. As a more formal word than its synonym, vague, it's sure to add pizzazz to any conversation—but only if you start working on pronouncing it correctly. The first two letters of inchoate do what you’d expect—exactly what the word in does. However, the choate in inchoate does not share the first sound of chair, nor does it rhyme with oat. Instead, it shares the first sound of cat, and rhymes with poet. Inchoate came to English in the 16th century from the Latin adjective incohātus, meaning "only begun, unfinished, imperfect," which in turn comes from a form of the verb incohāre, meaning "to start work on."

    2 min
  4. 4 DAYS AGO

    feign

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 8, 2024 is: feign \FAYN\ verb To feign something (such as surprise, ignorance, or sleep) is to pretend to feel or be affected by it. // I would never feign illness just to get out of a test. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/feign) Examples: “After Eric’s betrayal, Harper has landed at a fund dedicated to so-called impact investing in eco-friendly companies, a real-life financial trend that dovetails with a core ‘Industry’ theme: reflexive cynicism toward for-profit institutions that feign social consciousness.” — Alison Herman, Variety, 2 Aug. 2024 Did you know? Of the many ways Ferris Bueller feigns illness—that is, pretends to be sick—to avoid going to school in the 1986 comedy film [Ferris Bueller’s Day Off](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ferris-Buellers-Day-Off), arguably the most ingenious involves tucking a mannequin version of himself under the blankets of his bed to fool his family. This method of deception provides not only entertaining hijinks but also clues to the origins of the word feign itself. Today, feign is all about faking it, but it hasn’t always been so. One of the word’s oldest meanings is “to fashion, form, or shape,” which echoes that of its Latin source, the verb fingere, meaning “to mold, fashion, make a likeness of, or pretend to be.” It’s one thing to fashion a likeness of oneself as an art project, and another to try and convince your family it’s really you in order to [play hooky](https://bit.ly/4eDG9Rt); it’s this element of deceit that infused other early meanings of feign including “to lie,” “to counterfeit,” and “to forge a document.” Today, people mostly use feign to suggest the act of forming, or giving shape to, false appearances—not of personas (such as, say, that of [the Sausage King of Chicago](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thqErnTLU1s)), but rather conditions or feelings, such as happiness, sleep, or outrage.

    2 min
  5. 5 DAYS AGO

    dedication

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 7, 2024 is: dedication \ded-ih-KAY-shun\ noun Dedication refers to devotion, loyalty, or commitment to a person or cause. It can also refer to a message at the beginning of a book, song, etc., that expresses affection or gratitude for someone, or to a ceremony to mark the official completion or opening of something, such as a building. // It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but we managed to finish the project on time. // Her novel includes a brief dedication to her family. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dedication) Examples: “Friday and Saturday nights at the Whistle Stop, the Robert McCoy Trio performed two sets of drowsy, free-form jazz, a musical complement to the watered-down drinks that the bartender Lonnie served with amiable dedication.” — Colson Whitehead, Crook Manifesto: A Novel, 2023 Did you know? This one goes out to the word nerds we love. A simple word to occupy your time, but one dedicated to serving English users’ needs since the 14th century. Now that’s dedication! Dedication was first used for the solemn act of [dedicating](https://bit.ly/3zoCmIk) something, such as a calendar day or a church, to a deity or to a sacred use. The word hasn’t lost its religion in this respect; this sense is still very much in use today. But just as the verb dedicate (“to devote to the worship of a divine being”) has gained additional secular meanings over the centuries, so has dedication. By the 17th century it was being used for the act of devoting time and energy to a particular purpose (as when a band reveals its dedication to music by constantly rehearsing) as well as to a name or message [prefixed](https://bit.ly/4duxsaR) to a literary, musical, or artistic production in tribute to a person, cause, or really any part of life’s rich pageant. Nowadays, dedication commonly indicates the quality of being loyal or devoted to a cause, ideal, or purpose.

    2 min
  6. 6 DAYS AGO

    a cappella

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 6, 2024 is: a cappella \ah-kuh-PEL-uh\ adverb or adjective When a song is performed a cappella, it is sung unaccompanied by instrumental music. // A hush fell over the audience as a voice from offstage began singing a cappella. // Several a cappella groups are slated to perform during the celebration. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/a%20capella) Examples: "In a video posted to Twitter ... [H.E.R.](https://www.britannica.com/biography/H-E-R) delivers a hauntingly beautiful cover of Coldplay’s classic 'Fix You,' which peaked at No. 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2005. Backed by four of her background singers, H.E.R. belts out the 2005 hit completely a cappella." — Kyle Denis, Billboard, 14 July 2022 Did you know? A cappella arrived in English in the 18th century via the Italian phrase a cappella, meaning "in chapel or choir style." (Medieval Latin capella, meaning "chapel," is the source of English chapel.) The a cappella style reached preeminence in the late 16th century in the music that composer [Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Giovanni-Pierluigi-da-Palestrina) wrote for the Sistine Chapel of the Vatican. Because no independent instrumental parts were written down, scholars once thought that the choir sang unaccompanied, but current evidence makes clear that an organ or other instruments doubled some or several of the vocal parts. Regardless, today a cappella describes a purely vocal performance.

    2 min
  7. 4 NOV

    amalgamate

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2024 is: amalgamate \uh-MAL-guh-mayt\ verb Amalgamate is a formal verb meaning "to unite (two or more things) into one thing." // The band became famous for amalgamating different musical styles into a unique, signature sound. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amalgamate) Examples: "Place the cornmeal in a bowl, and sift in the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Stir the mixture with a spoon or whisk to amalgamate." — Martha Rose Shulman, The New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Did you know? Today, one can amalgamate—that is, combine into one—any two (or more) things, such as [hip-hop](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hip-hop) and [country music](https://bit.ly/3zx0qsI), for example. The origins of amalgamate, however, have more to do with [heavy metal](https://bit.ly/3BoZBT6). Amalgamate comes from the Medieval Latin verb amalgamāre, meaning "to combine (a metal) with [mercury](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mercury)." It’s been part of English since the 1500s, its introduction closely trailing that of the noun [amalgam](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amalgam) (from the Medieval Latin amalgama), which in its oldest use means "a mixture of mercury and another metal." (In modern dentistry, amalgams combining liquid mercury with powders containing silver, tin, and other metals are often used for filling holes in teeth). Amalgamate can be used either technically, implying the creation of an alloy of mercury, or more generally for the formation of any compound or combined entity.

    2 min
  8. 3 NOV

    cursory

    Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 3, 2024 is: cursory \KER-suh-ree\ adjective Something described as cursory has been done or made quickly. // We were disappointed that the mayor gave only a cursory glance at our report. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cursory) Examples: “After a few cursory questions … one of the owners offered me the job on the spot and I said yes without asking about the pay, which caused the other one to laugh and hit the table with his hand and promise to teach me a thing or two about the real world.” — Sarah Gilmartin, Service: A Novel, 2024 Did you know? Let your [cursor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cursor) linger long enough on our pages, and you’ll be surprised at how much you can quickly discover. Consider the entry for cursory, for example. If you [surmise](https://bit.ly/3Zwlw51) after a mere cursory glance that there’s not much to know about a word with a single sense (“hastily done or made”), you may want to [hold your horses](https://bit.ly/3TC5anx!). There’s so much to find, including a [helpful guide](https://bit.ly/4e8j74Y) to choosing synonyms of cursory, such as [shallow](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shallow) and [superficial](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superficial), that also describe things done with a lack of attention or care. There’s also an [etymology section](https://bit.ly/4es98XO), where one learns that cursory was borrowed from the Medieval Latin adjective cursōrius, which described things that were swift or related to running, and which in turn comes from the Latin noun cursor, meaning “runner.” This fact may prompt you to jog over to the entries of other cursor descendants, such as [cursorial](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cursorial) (“adapted to or involving running,” as in “cursorial insects”) and, well, [cursor](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cursor).

    2 min

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Build your vocabulary with Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day! Each day a Merriam-Webster editor offers insight into a fascinating new word -- explaining its meaning, current use, and little-known details about its origin.

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