Merriam-webster's Word Of The Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 23, 2024 is: exodus • \EK-suh-dus\  • noun An exodus is a situation in which many people leave a place at the same time—in other words a mass departure or emigration. // The resort town eagerly anticipated the mass exodus from the cities to its beaches as summer approached. See the entry > Examples: “Experts link lower rents to a possible drop in demand after population losses during a recent exodus from parts of Southern California. As the state’s population has stagnated, some believe demand may cool and dampen rent growth.” — Anthony de Leon, The Los Angeles Times, 14 Mar. 2024 Did you know? The Biblical book of Exodus describes the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, so it's no surprise that the word exodus, uncapitalized, has come to refer more generally to any mass departure. Exodus was adopted into English (via Latin) from the Greek word Exodos, which literally means

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2024 is: palpable • \PAL-puh-bul\  • adjective Something described as palpable is obvious and notable. Palpable may also be used as a synonym of tangible to describe something that can be perceived by one's sense of touch. // The tension in the courtroom was palpable as the jury foreman stood to announce the verdict. See the entry > Examples: "The power of the ancestral people who built Cliff Palace feels palpable as I stand inside the cliff hollow, marvelling at towers and rooms that slot together perfectly." — Linda Barnard, The Toronto Star, 16 Sept. 2023 Did you know? If you find it fascinating how English speakers push words with concrete meanings into figurative use, we feel you. By which we mean we understand you, of course, not that we are patting your head or poking you in the shoulder. Palpable, which has since the 14th century described things that can be literall

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2024 is: noblesse oblige • \noh-BLESS-uh-BLEEZH\  • noun Noblesse oblige refers to the idea that people who have high social rank or wealth should be helpful and generous to people of lower rank or to people who are poor. // As the inheritor of a great fortune, he was raised to have a strong sense of noblesse oblige, not only volunteering and donating to charity, but advocating for structural change to address inequality. See the entry > Examples: “As is usually the case, actual research reveals that the pair bond of the cardinal is not really sacrosanct. The ostensibly quaint couples we see regularly have a 20% divorce rate, which is of course better than our own, but they are not exactly swans. And while they are mated, they are generally monogamous, but polygyny is known. It is, however, usually observed in cases where the male of an adjacent territory goes missing or because an unmated fe

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2024 is: gingerly • \JIN-jer-lee\  • adjective An act or manner described as gingerly is very cautious or careful. // It’s a delicate subject, and we need to approach it with gingerly care and tact. // The antelope moved with a gingerly gait that suggested it was hurt. See the entry > Examples: “Note: bears do not in a gingerly manner put their paws against each stem of a lovely ripe pear and gently pull upward against the branch, the proper harvesting method. ‘Picked’ in bear-lingo means tearing down carefully constructed tree cages and knocking as many branches to the ground as needed; then taking several bites out of each luscious pear, leaving scattered remnants all over the ground ...” — Cate Gable, The Chinook Observer (Long Beach, Washington), 14 Oct. 2020 Did you know? Though more common as an adverb meaning “very cautiously and carefully,” as in “moving gingerly ac

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2024 is: underwhelm • \un-der-WELM\  • verb To underwhelm someone is to fail to impress or excite them. // Despite the hype, the movie underwhelmed most reviewers, who criticized its slow pace and poor special effects. See the entry > Examples: "Wake me up when NBA All-Star Weekend ends. Let’s start with the Dunk Contest, which is supposed to be the most exciting event. It wasn’t. Most of the dunks, and the judging of said dunks, underwhelmed." — Zachary Pereles, CBS Sports, 19 Feb. 2024 Did you know? Overwhelm and its rare synonym whelm have both been around since the Middle Ages, but underwhelm is a 20th-century coinage. Both overwhelm and whelm come from the Middle English whelmen, meaning "to turn over" or "to cover up." Underwhelm is a playful overturning of overwhelm that is well suited for contexts in which something fails to excite. As is often the case with younger w

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2024 is: qua • \KWAH\  • preposition Qua is a preposition used in formal speech or writing that means “in the capacity or character of (someone or something).” It is used synonymously with as to indicate that someone or something is being referred to or thought about in a particular way. // The artist qua artist is less interesting to me than the artist as a human being. See the entry > Examples: “He [Charlie Chaplin] financed his own films; he wrote them; he took music credit; he even choreographed. Most of the cast and crew were on his payroll. He even co-owned his distribution company. The box-office take went straight into his pocket. He was not beholden to anyone, but he was not indispensable, either. Losing the Chaplin studio had a negligible impact on the movie business qua business.” — Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 Did you know? A preposition is a word—an

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 17, 2024 is: circumlocution • \ser-kum-loh-KYOO-shun\  • noun Circumlocution refers to the use of many words to say something that could be said more clearly and directly with fewer words. Usually encountered in formal speech and writing, circumlocution can also refer to speech that is intentionally evasive. // The judge coughed and pointed to her watch, clearly impatient with the attorney's tiresome circumlocutions in defense of his client. See the entry > Examples: “The slight stiltedness of her … English merges with the circumlocution of business-school lingo to produce phrases like ‘the most important aspect is to embrace a learning mind-set’ and ‘I believe we’re going to move forward in a positive way.’” — Noam Scheiber, The New York Times, 1 Oct. 2023 Did you know? In The King’s English (1906), lexicographers H. W. Fowler and F. G. Fowler advised, “Prefer the single word

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 16, 2024 is: inalienable • \in-AY-lee-uh-nuh-bul\  • adjective Something considered inalienable is impossible to take away or give up. // The American ethos is built on the belief that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are inalienable rights. See the entry > Examples: "Despite the hurdles, comedians continue to negotiate their inalienable need to do stand-up to the point that money comes as a secondary concern." — Jake Kroeger, The Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2023 Did you know? Alien, alienable, inalienable—it's easy enough to see the Latin word alius, meaning "other," at the root of these three words. Alien joined our language in the 14th century, and one of its earliest meanings was "belonging to another." By the early 1600s that sense of alien had led to alienable, an adjective describing something you can give away or transfer to another owner. The word unalienable ca

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 15, 2024 is: purloin • \per-LOYN\  • verb To purloin is to take something that belongs to someone else—that is, to steal it. Purloin is much more formal-sounding than steal, but is often—though not always—encountered in humorous contexts, suggesting that the theft is not serious. // The puppy managed to purloin a few cookies from the plate when no one was looking. // The studio stepped up security, fearing that someone might attempt to purloin a copy of the script for the show’s season finale. See the entry > Examples: “The pitch for every tax scam is the same: ‘We will help you avoid paying the IRS.’ While there are hundreds of legitimate ways to reduce your federal income tax bill, fraud merchants purloin millions through what the IRS calls its ‘Dirty Dozen.’ Most of the swindles involve bogus tax breaks.” — John F. Wasik, Forbes, 5 May 2023 Did you know? Picture a pie cooling

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 14, 2024 is: furlong • \FER-lawng\  • noun A furlong is a unit of distance equal to 220 yards (about 201 meters), and is used chiefly in horse racing. // To win the Kentucky Derby, a Thoroughbred must run 10 furlongs, or one and 1/4 miles. See the entry > Examples: “My battle with this monster began a decade ago when a wayward seedling popped up in my perennial bed. It subsequently flowered so gloriously that, like a common dolt, I left it there. What I didn’t realize is that every bloom drops lots of seeds. Even worse, after the plant’s foliage withers in summer, spreading roots grow by the furlong in every direction. A pink primrose tsunami swept over my garden the following spring, choking the phlox and drowning the daylilies.” — Steve Bender, Southern Living, 26 Sept. 2023 Did you know? Furlong is an English original that can be traced back to Old English furlang, a combina