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

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 5, 2024 is: proliferate \pruh-LIF-uh-rayt\ verb
To proliferate is to increase quickly in number or amount.

// Problems have proliferated in recent months; every day seems to present a new challenge that needs sorting out.

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


Examples:

“Patches of scrub continue to emerge and then fall away as the canopy of young self-sown trees begins to shade them out. The beavers have created hectares of new open water and channel complexes. Deadwood is ubiquitous. Topsoil continues to grow, and fungi proliferate.” — Isabella Tree, The Book of Wilding: A Practical Guide to Rewilding, Big and Small, 2023

Did you know?

Proliferate is a [back-formation](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/back-formation) of proliferation. That means that proliferation came first (we borrowed it from French in the 1700s), and was later shortened to form the verb. Proliferation originally referred to the botanical phenomenon of some plants having buds, flowers, or other parts that are [adventitious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adventitious)—that is, that arise or occur sporadically or in other than the usual location (e.g. [pitch pines’](https://bit.ly/4afWl9o) ability to sprout new trees directly from their stumps after a fire). With advances in the study of biology in the 1800s, proliferation came to be used to refer to the rapid and repeated production of [cells](https://www.britannica.com/science/cell-biology) by division. That sense in turn [begat](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beget) the verb proliferate, which eventually came to be used when anything—whether living (such as yeast) or nonliving (such as data)—quickly increases or multiplies.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 4, 2024 is: agrarian \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\ adjective
Something described as agrarian has to do with farms and farming.

// Joan hopes to leave city life behind and move to a more agrarian region where she plans to raise lambs and grow heirloom vegetables.

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


Examples:

"In an interview, [cultural studies researcher, Toni] Smith said fantasizing about agrarian life is nothing new. History presents cyclical 'back-to-the-land' movements, from America’s early West-settling pioneers to the homesteaders of the Great Depression." — Hannah Macready, Ambrook Research, 17 Aug. 2023

Did you know?

Today, an [acre](https://www.britannica.com/science/acre-unit-of-measurement) is generally considered to be a unit of land measuring 43,560 square feet (4,047 square meters). Before that standard was set, it's believed that an acre represented a rougher measurement: the amount of land that could be plowed in one day with a [yoke](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yoke) of oxen. Both [acre](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acre) and agrarian come from the Latin noun ager and the Greek noun agrós, meaning "piece of land; field." (You can probably guess that [agriculture](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agriculture) is another descendant.) Agrarian, first used in English in the 16th century, describes things pertaining to the cultivation of fields, as well as to the farmers who cultivate them.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 3, 2024 is: melee \MAY-lay\ noun
Melee refers to a confused fight or struggle, especially one involving hand-to-hand combat.

// What started as a verbal disagreement at the football game soon turned into a general melee involving scores of spectators.

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

Examples:

"The battle scenes are a Hollywood mishmash of medieval melees, meaningless [cannonades](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cannonade), and World War I-style infantry advances." — Franz-Stefan Gady, Foreign Policy, 2 Dec. 2023

Did you know?

English has no shortage of words for confused and noisy fights, some ([fray](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fray), [brawl](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/brawl), [scrap](https://bit.ly/3J6dR3R)) more common than others ([donnybrook](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/donnybrook), [fracas](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fracas)). Melee tends to be encountered more often in written rather than spoken English, but it is far from obscure, and has seen increasing use especially in the context of video games featuring some form of hand-to-hand combat. Such games allow players to [mix it up](https://bit.ly/4cUqA7w) with all manner of rivals and [baddies](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/baddie) from the comfort and safety of their home, with mix being an especially apt word alongside melee: the latter comes from the French word mêlée, which in turn comes from the Old French verb mesler, meaning "to mix."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 2, 2024 is: forfend \for-FEND\ verb
Forfend is used in contexts relating to some kind of real or pretended danger or other unpleasantness. In humorous and ironic use, forfend typically appears in the phrase “heaven forfend,” and, like “heaven forbid,” expresses a usually ironic desire that something not happen or be done. In general use, if you forfend something unwanted or undesirable, you ward it off or prevent it; and if you forfend yourself from or against something, you protect or preserve yourself from it.

// Heaven forfend that people actually pick up dictionaries and read them!

// By studying your dictionary, you may forfend any risk of not knowing the meaning of a word.

// To forfend against the prospect of being at a loss for words, we recommend you read the Word of the Day daily.

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


Examples:

“Cigarette companies financed armies of letter and op-ed writers, think tank reports, and ‘expert’ testimony promoting the return of DDT. … Big Tobacco fought for the return of DDT, [Elena] Conis argues, because the pesticide made for such ‘a helpful scientific parable, one that, told just right, illustrated the problem of government regulation of private industry gone wrong.’ It was private companies, and not politicians—or, heaven forfend, the people—who should decide what products should be produced, and how.” — Scott W. Stern, The New Republic, 31 May 2022

Did you know?

Forfend is an unusual word in that its most commonly used sense is considered [archaic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/archaic), meaning it survives in English chiefly in specialized uses. When forfend was first used in the 14th century, it meant “to forbid.” It still does but only in phrases, like “heaven forfend” or “God forfend,” that have an exaggeratedly old-timey ring to them. (The use is also typically humorous and/or ironic.) Put another way, substituting forfend for [forbid](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/forbid) in any other context would sound strange, as in “students are forfended from using cell phones in the classroom.” Other senses of forfend, including “to protect or preserve” and “to ward off or prevent,” are current, though much less common. The fend part of the word comes from the same Latin source as [defend](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/defend).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2024 is: cohesive \koh-HEE-siv\ adjective
Something described as cohesive sticks together and forms something closely united. The word is usually used with abstract terms in phrases like "a cohesive social unit" or "a cohesive look/aesthetic." Cohesive can also be used to describe something, such as the design of a room or the plot of a movie, that is [coherent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coherent)—in other words, logically or consistently ordered.

// The couple chose their wedding colors and designs carefully to make sure everything had a cohesive look.

// The customer service department is a small but cohesive team.

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


Examples:

"The collection showcases a harmonious blend of modern aesthetics and classic craftsmanship, allowing customers to create cohesive outdoor environments that enhance the beauty of their surroundings." — Business Insider, 16 Mar. 2024

Did you know?

The Latin verb haerēre has shown remarkable [stick-to-itiveness](https://bit.ly/3VJTktg) in influencing the English lexicon, which is fitting for a word that means "to be closely attached; to stick." Among its descendants are [adhere](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adhere) (literally meaning "to stick"), adhere’s relative [adhesive](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/adhesive) (a word for sticky substances), [inhere](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inhere) (meaning "to belong by nature or habit"), and even [hesitate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hesitate) (which implies remaining stuck in place before taking action). In Latin, haerēre teamed up with the prefix co- to form cohaerēre, which means "to stick together." Cohaerēre is the ancestor of cohesive, a word borrowed into English in the early 18th century to describe something that sticks together literally (such as dough or mud) or figuratively (such as a society or sports team).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 30, 2024 is: demagogue \DEM-uh-gahg\ noun
A demagogue is a political leader who tries to get support by making use of popular prejudices, as well as by making false claims and promises and using arguments based on emotion rather than reason.

// His opponent called him a bigoted demagogue for demonizing those who don't intend to vote for him.

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

Examples:

“You need an internal guidance system for making decisions. Without one, your choices become heavily influenced by external forces such as peers, television, and demagogues.” — Tom Muha, The Capital (Annapolis, Maryland), 2 Oct. 2021

Did you know?

When the ancient Greeks used dēmagōgós (from dêmos, meaning “people,” and -agōgos, “leading”) they meant someone good—a leader who used outstanding oratorical skills to further the interests of the common people. The first known use of demagogue in English comes from the introduction to [Thomas Hobbes’s](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thomas-Hobbes) 1629 translation of a text by the ancient Greek historian [Thucydides](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thucydides-Greek-historian): “It need not be doubted, but from such a master Thucydides was sufficiently qualified, to have become a great demagogue, and of great authority with the people.” Alas, the word quickly took a negative turn; within decades it was being used to refer to someone who uses powers of persuasion to sway and mislead.