The word for today is… xeric (adjective) - : characterized by, relating to, or requiring only a small amount of moisture Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : By the late 1800s, botanists were using the terms xerophyte and xerophytic for plants that were well adapted for survival in dry environments. But some felt the
The word for today is… consecutive (adjective) - : following one after the other in order : successive Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Consecutive has a good deal in common with the complementary word concurrent. Besides the fact that both begin with the prefix con- (meaning “with, together”), each word deals with the time-
The word for today is… fissiparous (adjective) - : tending to break or split up into parts : divisive Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : When it first entered English in the 19th century, fissiparous was concerned with reproduction. In biology, a fissiparous organism is one that produces new individuals by fission; that is, by
The word for today is… tacit (adjective) - 1: expressed or carried on without words or speech 2: implied or indicated (as by an act or by silence) but not actually expressed Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : In the first chapter of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, the narrator Mr. Lockwood recounts
The word for today is… bathetic (adjective) - : characterized by bathos Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : When English speakers turned apathy into apathetic in the late 17th century, using the suffix -etic to turn the noun into the adjective, they were inspired by pathetic, the adjectival form of pathos, from Greek pathētikos.
The word for today is… deepfake (noun) - : a digital image, video, voice, etc. that has been convincingly generated or altered to misrepresent someone as doing or saying something that was not actually done or said Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : The old maxim "things aren’t always as they seem&
The word for today is… puerile (adjective) - 1: juvenile 2: childish, silly Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Puerile may call to mind qualities of youth and immaturity, but the term itself is no spring chicken. On the contrary, it's been around for more than three centuries, and its predecessors
The word for today is… avarice (noun) - : excessive or insatiable desire for wealth or profit : greediness, cupidity Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : A more formal synonym for greed, avarice has a long if uncomplicated history in English. Chaucer in his 14th-century The Parson's Tale compared avarice with covetise,
The word for today is… whelm (verb) - 1: to turn (something, such as a dish or vessel) upside down usually to cover something : cover or engulf completely with usually disastrous effect 2: to overcome in thought or feeling : overwhelm Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : In the film comedy Ten Things I
The word for today is… moribund (adjective) - 1: being in the state of dying : approaching death 2: being in a state of inactivity or obsolescence Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Moribund is still sometimes used in its original literal sense of "approaching death", but it's much more
The word for today is… corrode (verb) - 1: to eat away by degrees as if by gnawing, especially : to wear away gradually usually by chemical action 2: to weaken or destroy gradually : undermine Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Corrode comes from the Latin verb corrōdere, meaning "to gnaw or chew
The word for today is… irascible (adjective) - : marked by hot temper and easily provoked anger Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : If you try to take apart irascible on the model of irrational, irresistible, and irresponsible you might find yourself wondering what ascible means—but that's not how irascible came
The word for today is… duplicity (noun) - 1: contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action, especially : the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action 2: the quality or state of being double or twofold 3 law : the technically incorrect use of two or more distinct
The word for today is… skulduggery (noun) - : underhanded or unscrupulous behavior, also : a devious device or trick Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology : Skulduggery, which can also be spelled "skullduggery," was first documented in the mid-19th century spelled as "scull-duggery." Etymologists aren't sure exactly
The word for today is… red herring (noun) - 1: a herring cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown color 2 [from the practice of drawing a red herring across a trail to confuse hunting dogs] : something that distracts attention from the real issue Source : Merriam-Webster Etymology
The word for today is… prospectus (noun) - 1: a preliminary printed statement that describes an enterprise (such as a business or publication) and that is distributed to prospective buyers, investors, or participants 2: something (such as a statement or situation) that forecasts the course or nature of something Source : Merriam-
