The word for today is… besmirch (verb): : to cause harm or damage to the purity, luster, or beauty of something Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Since the prefix be- in besmirch means “to make or cause to be,” when you besmirch something, you cause it to have a smirch. What’s
The word for today is… milieu (noun): : the physical or social setting in which something occurs or develops Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Milieu comes from Old French mi (meaning “middle”) and lieu (“place”). The word refers to an environment or setting. In English, lieu also is used to mean “place”
The word for today is… fester (verb): 1 : to generate pus 2a : to cause increasing poisoning, irritation, or bitterness b : to undergo or exist in a state of progressive deterioration Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fester comes from Latin fistula, meaning “pipe” or “fistulous ulcer.” Fistula, in English, refers to an
The word for today is… askew (adverb or adjective): : out of line : at an angle Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Askew was formed simply by attaching the prefix a- (meaning “in [such] a state or condition”) to skew. The latter comes from Anglo-French eschiver, meaning “to escape or avoid.” If
The word for today is… slough (noun, verb, geographical name): noun 1: 1: a place of deep mud or mire 2 : a state of moral degradation or spiritual dejection verb 1: to plod through or as if through mud noun 2: 1 : the cast-off skin of a snake 2
The word for today is… kitsch (noun): 1 : something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality 2 : a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Kitsch is an early 20th-century borrowing from German, and it refers to things in the
The word for today is… apothecary (noun): 1 : one who prepares and sells drugs or compounds for medicinal purposes 2 : pharmacy Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Apothecary, bodega, and boutique may not look very similar, but they are all related both in meaning and in origin. Each of these words can
The word for today is… prosaic (adjective): 1a : characteristic of prose as distinguished from poetry b : dull, unimaginative 2 : everyday, ordinary Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the past, any text that was not poetic was prosaic. Back then, prosaic carried no negative connotations; it simply indicated that a written work
The word for today is… founder (noun, verb): noun: one that founds or establishes verb: 1 : to become disabled especially : to go lame 2 : to give way : collapse 3 : to become submerged : sink 4 : to come to grief Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Founder is related to Latin fundus, meaning “bottom”
The word for today is… arbitrary (adjective): 1a : existing or coming about seemingly at random or by chance or as a capricious and unreasonable act of will b : based on or determined by individual preference or convenience rather than by necessity or the intrinsic nature of something 2a : not restrained
The word for today is… wherewithal (noun, pronoun, conjunction): noun: means, resources pronoun: wherewith conjunction: wherewith Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Wherewithal comes from where and withal (meaning “with”), and it has been used as a conjunction meaning “with or by means of which” and as a pronoun meaning “that with
The word for today is… sanction (noun, verb): noun 1 : a formal decree especially : an ecclesiastical decree 2a obsolete : a solemn agreement b : something that makes an oath binding 3 : the detriment, loss of reward, or coercive intervention annexed to a violation of a law as a means of enforcing
The word for today is… oligarchy (noun): 1 : government by the few 2 : a government in which a small group exercises control especially for corrupt and selfish purposes 3 : an organization under oligarchic control Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Oligarchy is one of numerous English words for a type of rule
The word for today is… parable (noun): : a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Parable comes from the Latin word parabola, from Greek parabole, meaning “comparison.” The word parabola may look familiar if you remember your geometry. The mathematical
The word for today is… transpire (verb): 1 : to take place 2a : to become known or apparent b : to be revealed : come to light 3 : to give off vaporous material specifically : to give off or exude watery vapor especially from the surfaces of leaves 4 : to pass in the form
The word for today is… indomitable (adjective): : incapable of being subdued Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : The prefix in- means “not” in numerous English words (think of indecent, indecisive, inconvenient, and infallible). When in- teamed up with the Latin domitare (“to tame”), the result was a word meaning “unable to be
