The word for today is… asseverate (verb) - : to affirm or declare positively or earnestly Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : In a 2001 essay in The New York Times, novelist Elmore Leonard warned writers against using any verb other than "said" to carry dialogue, describing how an encounter with asseverated
The word for today is… erratic (adjective, noun) adjective 1: having no fixed course : wandering 2a: characterized by lack of consistency, regularity, or uniformity b: deviating from what is ordinary or standard : eccentric 3: transported from an original resting place especially by a glacier 4 archaic : nomadic noun : one that
The word for today is… inevitable (adjective) - : incapable of being avoided or evaded Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Inevitable can occasionally be found used as a noun (“the inevitable had come to pass”), but more frequently it is encountered as an adjective. Some, in fact, would classify this word not only
The word for today is… banal (adjective) - : lacking originality, freshness, or novelty : trite Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : There are several pronunciations of banal, but the three most common are \BAY-nul, \buh-NAHL, and \buh-NAL\ (which rhymes with canal). The earliest pronunciation given in our dictionaries is the now-
The word for today is… crux (noun) - 1: a puzzling or difficult problem : an unsolved question 2: an essential point requiring resolution or resolving an outcome 3: a main or central feature (as of an argument) Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Latin speakers used crux to refer literally to an instrument
The word for today is… permutation (noun) - 1: often major or fundamental change (as in character or condition) based primarily on rearrangement of existent elements, also : a form or variety resulting from such change 2a: the act or process of changing the lineal order of an ordered set of objects
The word for today is… contaminate (verb) - 1a: to soil, stain, corrupt, or infect by contact or association b: to make inferior or impure by admixture 2: to make unfit for use by the introduction of unwholesome or undesirable elements Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Contaminate, taint, pollute, and defile mean
The word for today is… bacchanalian (adjective, noun) - adjective : of, relating to, or suggesting the ancient Roman religious rites marked by orgiastic revelry and drunkenness that were held in honor of Bacchus, the god of wine noun : a bacchanalian reveler Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The Roman god of drama, wine,
The word for today is… candid (adjective, noun) - adjective 1a: expressing opinions, feelings, etc. in an open, honest, and sincere way, also : being or involving such expression b: disposed to criticize severely : blunt c: indicating or suggesting sincere honesty and absence of deception 2: relating to or being photography or
The word for today is… nexus (noun) - 1: connection, link, also : a causal link 2: a connected group or series 3: center, focus Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : When nexus came into English in the 17th century, it meant “connection” or “link.” Eventually, people began using it to refer to a
The word for today is… hobgoblin (noun) - 1: a mischievous goblin 2: bogey Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : While a goblin is traditionally regarded in folklore as a grotesque, evil, and malicious creature, a hobgoblin tends to be more of a playful troublemaker. (The character of Puck from Shakespeare’s A
The word for today is… cereal (adjective, noun) - adjective : relating to grain or to the plants that produce it noun 1: a plant (such as a grass) yielding starchy grain suitable for food, also : its grain 2: a prepared foodstuff of grain (such as oatmeal or cornflakes) Source : Merriam-Webster
The word for today is… Gordian knot (noun) - 1: an intricate problem, especially : a problem insoluble in its own terms 2: a knot tied by Gordius, king of Phrygia, held to be capable of being untied only by the future ruler of Asia, and cut by Alexander the Great with
The word for today is… inflection (noun) - 1: change in pitch or loudness of the voice 2a: the change of form that words undergo to mark such distinctions as those of case, gender, number, tense, person, mood, or voice b: a form, suffix, or element involved in such variation c:
The word for today is… onus (noun) - 1[Latin] a: burden b: a disagreeable necessity : obligation c: blame d: stigma 2[New Latin] : burden of proof Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Understanding the etymology of onus shouldn’t be a burden; it’s as simple as knowing that English borrowed the
The word for today is… anchorite (noun) - : a person who lives in seclusion usually for religious reasons Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The term "anchor" was being used for religious hermits about 450 years before "anchorite" came into common use in our language. The reclusive "anchor&
