Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 10, 2024 is: bogart • \BOH-gahrt\  • verb To bogart something is to use or consume it without sharing. // Nelson advised his friends not to bogart all the snacks before the rest of the party guests arrived. See the entry > Examples: "Producers of individual shows should not be allowed to shape any content but their own; otherwise, the telecast winds up being hijacked by beamed-in celebrities singing songs from terrible musicals no one’s yet seen. And as for those stage-swarming investors? Let’s ban them too. The awards they bogart belong to the ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 9, 2024 is: grudging • \GRUH-jing\  • adjective Grudging is an adjective used to describe something that is said, done, or given unwillingly or reluctantly. It can also describe someone who is unwilling or reluctant to do something. // Her theories have begun to win grudging acceptance in the scientific community. // A number of his former critics have become grudging admirers. See the entry > Examples: “‘I’m impressed,’ said Mati, grudging admiration in her tone. ‘It isn’t just a pretty name and expensive ingredients. I can never make somethin ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 8, 2024 is: reputation • \rep-yuh-TAY-shun\  • noun A reputation is the common opinion that people have about someone or something. Reputation can also refer to a positive position that someone or something has in public esteem or regard. // She's earned a reputation as a first-class playwright. // Investors feared that the scandal had damaged the company's reputation beyond repair. See the entry > Examples: "Menton [France] was once a leading lemon-growing region in Europe, with a global reputation and exports as far as the United States and R ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 7, 2024 is: extemporize • \ik-STEM-puh-ryze\  • verb To extemporize means to do something extemporaneously—in other words, to improvise. // A good talk show host must be able to extemporize when interviews don’t go as planned. See the entry > Examples: “The president was fast on his feet. Sensing an opportunity to extemporize, he looked around the chamber, pleased.” — Robin Abcarian, The Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2023 Did you know? Let’s dive into the essence of extemporize by exploring its origins. (We’ll try not to bore you with too many ext ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 6, 2024 is: plangent • \PLAN-junt\  • adjective Something, such as a sound, that is described as plangent is loud, deep, and often expressive of sadness or suffering. The word is a synonym of plaintive. // The campers were awoken by the plangent howl of a coyote off in the distance. See the entry > Examples: “Adjuah sings in a keening, plangent tone, but at one point he pauses to offer a spoken invitation: ‘Listen to the wind,’ he says. ‘The voices calling to you from yesterday.’” — Giovanni Russonello, The New York Times, 30 June 2023 Did you ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 5, 2024 is: proliferate • \pruh-LIF-uh-rayt\  • verb To proliferate is to increase quickly in number or amount. // Problems have proliferated in recent months; every day seems to present a new challenge that needs sorting out. See the entry > Examples: “Patches of scrub continue to emerge and then fall away as the canopy of young self-sown trees begins to shade them out. The beavers have created hectares of new open water and channel complexes. Deadwood is ubiquitous. Topsoil continues to grow, and fungi proliferate.” — Isabella Tree, The Book ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 4, 2024 is: agrarian • \uh-GRAIR-ee-un\  • adjective Something described as agrarian has to do with farms and farming. // Joan hopes to leave city life behind and move to a more agrarian region where she plans to raise lambs and grow heirloom vegetables. See the entry > Examples: "In an interview, [cultural studies researcher, Toni] Smith said fantasizing about agrarian life is nothing new. History presents cyclical 'back-to-the-land' movements, from America’s early West-settling pioneers to the homesteaders of the Great Depression." — Hannah M ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 3, 2024 is: melee • \MAY-lay\  • noun Melee refers to a confused fight or struggle, especially one involving hand-to-hand combat. // What started as a verbal disagreement at the football game soon turned into a general melee involving scores of spectators. See the entry > Examples: "The battle scenes are a Hollywood mishmash of medieval melees, meaningless cannonades, and World War I-style infantry advances." — Franz-Stefan Gady, Foreign Policy, 2 Dec. 2023 Did you know? English has no shortage of words for confused and noisy fights, some (fray ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 2, 2024 is: forfend • \for-FEND\  • verb Forfend is used in contexts relating to some kind of real or pretended danger or other unpleasantness. In humorous and ironic use, forfend typically appears in the phrase “heaven forfend,” and, like “heaven forbid,” expresses a usually ironic desire that something not happen or be done. In general use, if you forfend something unwanted or undesirable, you ward it off or prevent it; and if you forfend yourself from or against something, you protect or preserve yourself from it. // Heaven forfend that people ..read more

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 1, 2024 is: cohesive • \koh-HEE-siv\  • adjective Something described as cohesive sticks together and forms something closely united. The word is usually used with abstract terms in phrases like "a cohesive social unit" or "a cohesive look/aesthetic." Cohesive can also be used to describe something, such as the design of a room or the plot of a movie, that is coherent—in other words, logically or consistently ordered. // The couple chose their wedding colors and designs carefully to make sure everything had a cohesive look. // The customer service ..read more