Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Free daily dose of word power from Merriam-Webster's experts
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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 21, 2025 is:
bloviate • \BLOH-vee-ayt\ • verb
To bloviate is to speak or write in an arrogant tone and with more words than are necessary.
// The podcaster tends to bloviate endlessly on topics about which he is not particularly knowledgeable.
...Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 20, 2025 is:
gauche • \GOHSH\ • adjective
Gauche describes someone or something having or showing a lack of awareness about the proper way to behave. When describing a person or a behavior, gauche can mean “socially awkward” or “tactless”; when describing an object ...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 19, 2025 is:
serendipity • \sair-un-DIP-uh-tee\ • noun
Serendipity refers to luck that takes the form of finding valuable or pleasant things that are not looked for, or to an instance of such luck.
// They found each other by pure serendipity.
...Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 18, 2025 is:
eccentric • \ik-SEN-trik\ • adjective
Eccentric usually describes people and things that deviate from conventional or accepted usage or behavior, especially in odd or whimsical ways. It is also used technically to mean "deviating from a circular path" a...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 17, 2025 is:
crucible • \KROO-suh-bul\ • noun
A crucible, in the word’s literal use, is a pot in which metals or other substances are heated to a very high temperature or melted. But crucible is more often encountered in figurative use referring to a difficult test ...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 16, 2025 is:
writhe • \RYTHE\ • verb
To writhe is to twist one’s body from side to side. The word is often used when the body or a bodily part is twisting in pain.
// The injured player lay on the football field, writhing in pain.
// At the instruction of their t...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 15, 2025 is:
radial • \RAY-dee-ul\ • adjective
Radial describes things that are arranged or have parts arranged in straight lines coming out from the center of a circle.
// Her mosaics echo radial patterns observed in nature, from succulents to sea urchins.
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 14, 2025 is:
heyday • \HAY-day\ • noun
Heyday refers to the period of one's greatest popularity, vigor, or prosperity. It is usually used in the singular.
// In its heyday, the circus was a major form of entertainment for the small town.
...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2025 is:
peremptory • \puh-REMP-tuh-ree\ • adjective
Peremptory is a formal word used especially in legal contexts to describe an order, command, etc., that requires immediate compliance with no opportunity to show why one should not comply. It is also used disa...
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2025 is:
abide • \uh-BYDE\ • verb
If someone cannot abide someone or something bad, unpleasant, etc., they cannot tolerate or accept that person or thing. Abide can also mean "to accept without objection" and "to remain or continue."
// I just can't abide such ...
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