The word for today is… contemporary (adjective, noun) – adjective – 1a : marked by characteristics of the present period b : simultaneous 2 : happening, existing, living, or coming into being during the same period of time noun – 1 : one that is contemporary with another 2 : one of the same or nearly the same
The word for today is… keelhaul (verb) – 1 : to haul under the keel of a ship as punishment or torture 2 : to rebuke severely Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In the mid-1600s, British monarchs were intent on using their powerful navy to expand their empire. Insubordination was not tolerated, and
The word for today is… sloth (noun) – 1a : disinclination to action or labor b : spiritual apathy and inactivity 2 : any of various slow-moving arboreal edentate mammals (genera Bradypus and Choloepus) that inhabit tropical forests of South and Central America, hang from the branches back downward, and feed on leaves,
The word for today is… lothario (noun) – a man whose chief interest is seducing women Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Lothario comes from The Fair Penitent (1703), a tragedy by Nicholas Rowe. In the play, Lothario is a notorious seducer, extremely attractive but beneath his charming exterior a haughty and unfeeling
The word for today is… kerfuffle (noun) – : a disturbance or commotion typically caused by a dispute or conflict Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Fuffle was first used in Scottish English, as early as the 16th century, as a verb meaning “to dishevel.” The addition of the prefix car- (possibly derived from
The word for today is… underwhelm (verb) : to fail to impress or stimulate Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Overwhelm and its rare synonym “whelm” have both been around since the 14th century, but “underwhelm” first appeared in print in 1949. Both “overwhelm” and “whelm” are derived from the Middle English “whelmen,
The word for today is… toady (noun) – : one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : In 17th-century Europe, a toadeater was a showman’s assistant whose job was to make the boss look good. The toadeater would eat (or pretend to eat) what
The word for today is… anodyne (adjective) – 1 : serving to alleviate pain 2 : not likely to offend or arouse tensions : innocuous Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Anodyne came to English via Latin from Greek an?dynos (“without pain”), and it has been used as both an adjective and a noun (“something
The word for today is… vanilla (noun, adjective) – noun 1a : vanilla bean b : a commercially important extract of the vanilla bean that is used especially as a flavoring 2 : any of a genus (Vanilla) of tropical American climbing epiphytic orchids adjective 1 : flavored with vanilla 2 : lacking distinction : plain, ordinary,
The word for today is… voracious (adjective) – 1 : having a huge appetite : ravenous 2 : excessively eager : insatiable Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Voracious is one of several English words that derive from the Latin verb vorare, which means “to eat greedily” or “to devour.” “Vorare” is also an ancestor of “devour”
The word for today is… ambidextrous (adjective) – 1a : using both hands with equal ease or dexterity b soccer : using both feet with equal ease : 2 : designed or suitable for use by the left or right hand 3 : unusually skillful 4 : characterized by duplicity Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Latin dexter originally
The word for today is… durable (adjective) – able to exist for a long time without significant deterioration in quality or value Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Something “durable” lasts a long time, so it’s no surprise that the word comes to us, via Anglo-French, from the Latin verb durare,
The word for today is… nugatory (adjective) – 1 : of little or no consequence 2 : having no force Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Nugatory, which first appeared in English in the 17th century, comes from the Latin adjective nugatorius and is ultimately a derivative of the noun nugae, meaning “trifles.” Like its
The word for today is… funambulism (noun) – 1 : tightrope walking 2 : a show especially of mental agility Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Back in ancient Rome, tightrope walking was a popular spectacle at public gatherings. The Latin word for “tightrope walker” is “funambulus,” from the Latin funis, meaning “rope,” plus ambulare,
crepuscular (adjective) – 1 : of, relating to, or resembling twilight 2 : occurring or active during twilight Source : Online Etymology Dictionary Etymology : figurative use, “dim, indistinct,” is attested from 1660s; literal use, “pertaining to or resembling twilight,” from 1755. From Latin crepusculum “twilight, dusk,”; related to creper “obscure, uncertain,” from Proto-Italic
The word for today is… mesmerise (verb) – 1 : to subject to mesmerism (hypnotic induction held to involve animal magnetism) 2 : spellbind Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : Experts can’t agree on whether Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815) was a quack or a genius, but all concede that the late 18th-century
