The word for today is… obviate (verb) - : to anticipate and prevent (something, such as a situation) or make (an action) unnecessary Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : It's most often needs that get obviated. And a need that's obviated is a need that's been anticipated and
The word for today is… cliché (noun) - 1: a trite phrase or expression. Also : the idea expressed by it 2: a hackneyed theme, characterization, or situation 3: something (such as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The words cliché and stereotype have
The word for today is… nescience (noun) - : lack of knowledge or awareness : ignorance Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Eighteenth-century British poet, essayist, and lexicographer Samuel Johnson once said, "There is nothing so minute or inconsiderable that I would not rather know it than not know it." He probably
The word for today is… adamant (adjective, noun) - adjective : unshakable or insistent especially in maintaining a position or opinion : unyielding noun 1: a stone (such as a diamond) formerly believed to be of impenetrable hardness 2: an unbreakable or extremely hard substance Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : A person who is
The word for today is… embarrass (verb) - transitive verb 1a: to cause to experience a state of self-conscious distress b: to place in doubt, perplexity, or difficulties c: to involve in financial difficulties 2a: to hamper the movement of b: hinder, impede 3: to make intricate : complicate 4: to
The word for today is… sonorous (adjective) - 1: producing sound (as when struck) 2: full or loud in sound 3: imposing or impressive in effect or style 4 phonetics : having a high or an indicated degree of sonority Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : If a tree falls in a forest and
The word for today is… mea culpa (noun) - : a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Mea culpa, which means "through my fault" in Latin, comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church. Said by itself, it's an exclamation of
The word for today is… obnubilate (transitive verb) - : becloud, obscure Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The meaning of obnubilate becomes clearer when you know that its ancestors are the Latin terms ob- (meaning "in the way") and nubes ("cloud"). It's a high-flown sounding word,
The word for today is… obloquy (noun) - 1: a strongly condemnatory utterance : abusive language 2: the condition of one that is discredited : bad repute Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : English speakers can choose from several synonyms to name a tongue-lashing. Abuse is a good general term that usually stresses the
The word for today is… preternatural (adjective) - 1: existing outside of nature 2: exceeding what is natural or regular : extraordinary 3: inexplicable by ordinary means, especially : psychic Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Preternatural comes from the Latin phrase praeter naturam, meaning "beyond nature." Medieval Latin scholars rendered this as
The word for today is… impetuous (adjective) - 1: marked by impulsive vehemence or passion 2: marked by force and violence of movement or action Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Impetuous types make impetuous decisions: they leap before they look, put carts before horses, count their chickens before even the tiniest of
The word for today is… concise (adjective) - : marked by brevity of expression or statement : free from all elaboration and superfluous detail Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Many people think that adding unnecessary sentences with long words will make their writing more impressive. But in fact almost every reader values concision, since
The word for today is… mediocre (adjective) - : of moderate or low quality, value, ability, or performance : ordinary, so-so Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : One of the things that is remarkable about mediocre is the extent to which it has retained its meaning over the course of more than four centuries
The word for today is… rebarbative (adjective) - : repellent, irritating Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Rebarbative traces back to the Latin word for "beard" - barba - making it a very distant relative of the English word beard. But there is some sense to the connection. After all, beards may not be
The word for today is… gesundheit (interjection): —used to wish good health especially to one who has just sneezed Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : An interjection today; I think this may be the first since I took over the WOTD reins from the late Korau. When English speakers hear "achoo,
The word for today is… anomaly (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 Source : Merriam -Webster Etymology : You might be familiar with the
