Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2026 is: élan • \ay-LAHN\ • noun Élan refers to energy and enthusiasm.// The dancers performed with great style and élan; we were exhausted just watching them.See the entry > Examples: "Carrying the production with the élan of a cheerful college quarterback, [Luke] Brady is an immediately likable leading man ..." — Matt Wolf, The New York Times,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2026 is: mitigate • \MIT-uh-gayt\ • verb To mitigate something is to make it less severe, harmful, or painful.// One way we can mitigate the impact the construction project will have on residents is to commit to completing it in the allotted time. See the entry > Examples: “The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order to mitigate...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2026 is: highfalutin • \hye-fuh-LOO-tun\ • adjective Something or someone described as highfalutin seems, or is trying to seem, great or important. // The authors’ research may have been impressive, but their paper was full of highfalutin jargon that ultimately obscured what they intended to say. See the entry > Examples: “Standing 787 feet tall,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 1, 2026 is: spindrift • \SPIN-drift\ • noun Spindrift refers to spray blown from waves during a gale or to fine wind-borne snow or sand.// Our whale-watching cruise was a whirlwind of flukes, fins, and clinging to the handrails amid the waves and salty blasts of spindrift.See the entry > Examples: “White-capped waves crash far below the cliffs and...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 31, 2026 is: comely • \KUM-lee\ • adjective Comely is an adjective with an old-fashioned and literary feel that describes someone or something that has a pleasing appearance, or that is pretty or attractive. // The newlyweds make quite a comely couple. See the entry > Examples: "One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Berlin 10 years ago was...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 30, 2026 is: sultry • \SULL-tree\ • adjective Sultry means “very hot and humid” when it describes such things as seasons, days, and weather. When it describes things humans do and possess—voices, poses, looks, and the like—it means “exciting or capable of exciting strong sexual desire.”// The restaurant's rooftop deck is the place to be on sultry summer...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 29, 2026 is: inveigle • \in-VAY-gul\ • verb To inveigle someone is to persuade them in a clever or deceptive way to do something. Inveigle can also mean “to get something in a clever or deceptive way.” // According to rumors, the company inveigled employees into signing the agreement.// Their attempts to inveigle the information from her were,...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 28, 2026 is: kludge • \KLOOJ\ • noun A kludge is a haphazard or makeshift solution to a problem and especially to a computer or programming problem.// Andy knocked out a hasty kludge to circumvent the glitch until a more robust solution could be developed.See the entry > Examples: “The advent of television in the 1940s allowed the movie industry to...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2026 is: parochial • \puh-ROH-kee-ul\ • adjective Parochial is a formal word that is usually used in a disapproving way to describe something that is limited in range or scope, as to a narrow region or area.// For some, college can be an expansive experience that lifts them out of a parochial mindset.See the entry > Examples: “The twenty-first...

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2026 is: aerie • \AIR-ee\ • noun Aerie refers to the nest of a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) built high up on a cliff or on the top of a mountain. It can also be used for a room or building built high up so that people inside can see things happening below them. // From the lighthouse's aerie tourists can get a bird's-eye view of the rocky...