Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Free daily dose of word power from Merriam-Webster's experts
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 27, 2025 is:
decimate • \DESS-uh-mayt\ • verb
Decimate can mean both “to destroy a large number of (plants, animals, people, etc.)” or “to severely damage or destroy a large part of (something).”
// The bay’s lobsters have been decimated by disease.
// Budget cuts ha...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 26, 2025 is:
nonchalant • \nahn-shuh-LAHNT\ • adjective
Someone described as nonchalant is relaxed and calm, either because they do not care about something or because they are not worried about something. Nonchalant can also be used to describe something, such as deme...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 25, 2025 is:
travail • \truh-VAIL\ • noun
Travail is a formal word, usually used in plural, that refers to a difficult experience or situation.
// The book describes the political travails of the governor during her first year in office.
...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 24, 2025 is:
ostensible • \ah-STEN-suh-bul\ • adjective
Ostensible is used to describe something that seems or is said to be true or real, but is possibly not true or real. In other words, it is plausible rather than demonstrably true or real.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 23, 2025 is:
slough • \SLUFF\ • verb
Slough is a formal verb used for the action of getting rid of something unwanted. It is usually used with off. Slough can also mean "to lose a dead layer of (skin)" or "to become shed or cast off."
// The editorial urges the mayor ...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2025 is:
liaison • \lee-AY-zahn\ • noun
Liaison refers to a person who helps organizations or groups work together and provide information to each other, or to a relationship that allows such interactions. Liaison can also refer to an illicit sexual relationship.
...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2025 is:
bodacious • \boh-DAY-shuss\ • adjective
Bodacious is used as an informal synonym of remarkable and noteworthy, as well as sexy and voluptuous. In some dialects of the Southern and Midland US, bodacious is used by its oldest meaning: "outright, unmistakable...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2025 is:
resurrection • \rez-uh-REK-shun\ • noun
In Christian theology, Resurrection (typically capitalized in this use) refers to the event in which Jesus Christ returned to life after his death. In general contexts, resurrection refers to the act of causing somet...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2025 is:
fastidious • \fass-TID-ee-us\ • adjective
Someone described as fastidious is extremely or overly careful about how they do something. Fastidious may also describe someone who is difficult to please, or someone who always wants to be clean, neat, etc.
// ...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2025 is:
collaborate • \kuh-LAB-uh-rayt\ • verb
To collaborate is to work with another person or group in order to do or achieve something. Collaborate can also be used disapprovingly to mean "to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and espe...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 17, 2020 is:
limpid \LIM-pid\ adjective
1 a : marked by transparency : pellucid
b : clear and simple in style
2 : absolutely serene and untroubled
Examples:
"She leaned toward him, entreaty in her eyes, and as he looked at her delicate face and into her pure, limpid eyes, as of old he was struck with his own unworthi...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2020 is:
anomaly \uh-NAH-muh-lee\ noun
1 : something different, abnormal, peculiar, or not easily classified : something anomalous
2 : deviation from the common rule : irregularity
3 : the angular distance of a planet from its perihelion as seen from the sun
Examples:
"Thermal Scanning uses intelligent thermal technol...
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