Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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grandiloquence Nov 17, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2024 is:

grandiloquence \gran-DIH-luh-kwunss\ noun

Grandiloquence is a formal word that refers to the use of extravagantly colorful or pompous language often in order to sound impressive and important.

// He was known for the flowery grandiloquence of his speeches which, his passionate delivery notwithstanding, always caused more than a few listeners to doze off.

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Examples:

“The novel, a melodramatic saga of social climbing and doomed romance, is a deliberate anachronism in both its themes and its style. Its Belle Époque setting, sweeping cast of characters, frequent asides to the reader, and grandiloquence place it firmly in the tradition of the nineteenth-century novel. It is not concerned with truth but with lies: glittering surfaces, concealed identities, and foolish pretensions.” — Jess Bergman, The New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2023

Did you know?

Grandiloquence is a word for highfalutin speech that itself has somewhat of a highfalutin ring. It’s one of several English words related to speech that come from the Latin verb loqui, meaning “to speak,” including loquacious (“full of excessive talk”), soliloquy (“a long, dramatic monologue”), and, notably, eloquence, which refers to the ability to speak or write well and in an effective or persuasive way. Those who use grandiloquence in their speech or prose could also be described as a bit extra in their attempts at eloquence—the grand in grandiloquence traces back to the Latin adjective grandis meaning “great” or “grand.”

steadfast Nov 16, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2024 is:

steadfast \STED-fast\ adjective

Someone described as steadfast is very devoted or loyal to a person, belief, or cause. Steadfast is also used to describe something, such as support, that remains unchanging.

// Despite the singer’s recent change in creative direction, his true fans have remained steadfast.

// She remained committed to her steadfast belief in nature's ability to heal itself.

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Examples:

"Describing the slowness of change is often confused with acceptance of the status quo. It's really the opposite: an argument that the status quo must be changed, and it will take steadfast commitment to see the job through. It's not accepting defeat; it's accepting the terms of possible victory." — Rebecca Solnit, LitHub.com, 11 Jan. 2024

Did you know?

Steadfast has held its ground for many centuries. Its Old English predecessor, stedefæst, combines stede, meaning "place," and fæst, meaning "fixed." Steadfast was first used in battle contexts to describe warriors who literally stood their ground, which led to its "immovable" sense, as when Sinclair Lewis wrote of "a castle, steadfast among storms." (The word was also once used to describe steady hands, as well as substances that keep their solid, firm state.) These senses were soon joined by one applied to people's character, implying unswerving faith, loyalty, or devotion; arriving in the 12th century, this meaning has remained steady in the English language ever since.

cachet Nov 15, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2024 is:

cachet \ka-SHAY\ noun

Cachet is used as a synonym of prestige to refer to the respect and admiration someone or something receives for being successful or important. It can also be used to refer to a characteristic feature or quality that confers such prestige.

// His research in Antarctica gave him a certain cachet among other scientists.

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Examples:

"This 175-year-old real-life castle in Northern Ireland has real historical cachet." — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Sept. 2024

Did you know?

If you're looking for a catchy word to add to your vocabulary, why not give your stamp of approval to cachet? After all, this term is borrowed directly from French, a language which has long held a certain cachet in English (formal- and fancy-sounding English words often have a French pedigree—evidence of the prestige bestowed on the language). In French, cachet—which comes from the Middle French verb cacher meaning "to press"—refers to an official seal pressed into soft wax and used on formal and legal documents. The "seal" sense of cachet has been used in English since the 17th century, and in the 19th century the word started acquiring its extended senses, first referring to a feature or quality conferring prestige, and by century's end to prestige itself.

raddled Nov 14, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 14, 2024 is:

raddled \RAD-uld\ adjective

Someone described as raddled is in a confused or befuddled state (as from drinking). Raddled can also describe things that are broken-down or worn.

// We were met at the door by a raddled old man who turned out to be the actor’s father, and who in his day had also been an estimable presence on the London stage.

// Louisa was delighted to discover a raddled old radio in her grandparents’ attic, even though it didn’t work.

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Examples:

“There seems to be very little information out there about Krinkles, the star of a commercial so disturbing its eternal afterlife on the internet is guaranteed: it’s probably all in a heavily guarded facility in Area 51. In the ad, this raddled gentleman pokes his head out of what appears to be a kennel after what was clearly a heavy night, crashes his way through the scenery, then eats some cereal.” — Emma Beddington, The Guardian (London, England), 31 Jan. 2024

Did you know?

The origins of raddled are a bit of a riddle, but they may have something to do with rodel, the Middle English precursor to ruddle. Rattled? No need to get red-faced, we’re here to explain. Rodel, like ruddle, refers to red ocher, a red pigment used for (among other things) marking animals, and especially sheep. Etymologists believe that both the noun raddle (also meaning “red ocher”) and verb raddle (“to mark or paint with raddle”) come from a variant of rodel. A raddled sheep is a sheep marked with red dye (as at shearing or breeding time). Over time, the verb raddle was applied more broadly to the reddening of anything, and often to reddening by use (or overuse) of rouge on a person’s face to conceal wrinkles caused by age or exhaustion. To be raddled thusly was not a compliment, and may have led to the “worn out” sense of the adjective raddled. The “confused” sense of raddled is often associated with the influence of alcohol, possibly due to the “reddening” effects of a tipple on one’s visage.

bevy Nov 13, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2024 is:

bevy \BEV-ee\ noun

A bevy is a large group of people or things. Bevy is usually used in the singular form and accompanied by the word of.

// The new streaming platform featured a bevy of new movies to choose from.

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Examples:

“Among several ‘moving murals’ currently displayed on select CTA trains is the picture of a young girl standing among daffodils, meant as a symbol of hope. Another train features a hand painting the phrase ‘New Ideas’ amid a bevy of flowers. A third includes the phrase ‘Help us bridge the gap’ while showing the juxtaposition of the city’s pristine downtown and the disrepair of certain neighborhoods.” — Erica Thompson, The Chicago Sun-Times, 18 Aug. 2024

Did you know?

There’s no need to quail when confronted with a word of uncertain origins; some mysteries are simply destined to remain as such. Etymologists have a bevy of theories about the roots of bevy, for example, but little definitive evidence—and that’s okay! What we do know is that bevy emerged out of Middle English as the collective noun for a number of birds and mammals that were commonly hunted, including pheasants, partridges, roe deer, larks, and especially quail. Bevy is still used in this way today, not only for wild game but for gulls, hens, etc. But bevies are now most often composed of a great many people and things, as in “a bevy of reporters” or “a bevy of menu options.”

labile Nov 12, 2024

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 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.

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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." — 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, elapse, and prolapse, as well as lapse itself.

armistice Nov 11, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2024 is:

armistice \AHR-muh-stus\ noun

An armistice is an agreement to stop fighting a war, or in other words, a truce.

// Both sides in the conflict agreed to an armistice.

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Examples:

"The year is 1918, and the armistice is just around the corner, but no one on the front line can possibly know that yet." — Damon Wise, Deadline, 31 Aug. 2024

Did you know?

Armistice comes from the New Latin word armistitium, which in turn combines a stem of the Latin verb sistere, meaning "to make stand, halt, bring to a standstill," with arma, meaning "implements of war, weapons." An armistice, therefore, is literally a cessation of arms. Armistice Day is the name that was given to the holiday celebrated in the United States on November 11 before it was renamed Veterans Day by Congress in 1954. The original name refers to the agreement between the Allied Powers and Germany to end the hostilities that constituted the First World War—an agreement designated to take effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.

truncate Nov 10, 2024

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.

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Examples:

“I am a scholar and a student of the Arabic poetic tradition. I study poets from Imru’ al-Qays to 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 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, 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.

inchoate Nov 09, 2024

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2024 is:

inchoate \in-KOH-ut\ adjective

Inchoate is a formal adjective 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.

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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. It's a formal word that'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."

feign Nov 08, 2024

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.

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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, 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; 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), but rather conditions or feelings, such as happiness, sleep, or outrage.

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