Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for May 12, 2024 is: torrid  \TOR-id\ adjective  
Torrid can be used to describe something that is literally hot (such as a region near the Earth’s equator) or figuratively hot (such as a romance).

// The tabloids were relentless in covering every minor detail of the celebrity couple’s torrid affair.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torrid)
  
  
Examples:
  
“Chinese cities such as Chongqing, a southwestern metropolis known for its torrid summers, have for years used their air raid tunnels as public cooling centers.” — The Associated Press, 7 July 2023  
  
Did you know?  
   
[Hot](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hot), [steamy](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/steamy), [sultry](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sultry): English is full of words that do double-duty in describing thirst traps both literal (as in the [tropics](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tropics)) and figurative (as in, well, [thirst traps](https://bit.ly/4aCmX48)). Torrid comes from the Latin verb torrēre, which means “to burn” or “to parch” and is an ancestor of our word [toast](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toast). (Despite its dry implications, torrēre is also an ancestor of [torrent](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/torrent), as in “a torrent of rain.”) Torrid first appeared in English in the 16th century and was originally used to describe something burned or scorched by exposure to the sun, but it has since taken on an extended meaning similar to the “sexy” sense of hot: “showing fiery passion,” as in “torrid love letters” or “a torrid affair.”

torrid

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      Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 11, 2024 is:
    
  
  
  
    foment • \FOH-ment\  • verb
    To foment something, such as hostility or opposition, is to cause it, or try to cause it, to grow or develop. Foment is used synonymously with incite.

// Rumors that the will was a fake fomented distrust between the two families.

See the entry >
  
  
  
    Examples:
    "For this prequel to The Witcher, we go back, back, back to 1,200 years before the time of Geralt of Rivia—and if you don’t know who that is, it matters not. Slide right into the self-contained story of a continent where elves, dwarves and other often-warring peoples are living in uneasy proximity, until the arrival of one vicious dictatorship to rule them all makes everyone even less relaxed. Out in the sticks, soldier turned travelling bard Éile (Sophia Brown) is already fomenting revolutionary solidarity by singing rousing folk songs in pubs…" — Jack Seale, The Guardian (London), 25 Dec. 2022
  
  
  
    Did you know?
    If you had sore muscles in the 1600s, your doctor might have advised you to foment the injury, perhaps with heated lotions or warm wax. Does this sound like an odd prescription? It's less so if you know that foment traces to the Latin verb fovēre, which means "to heat or warm" or "to soothe." The earliest documented English uses of foment appear in medical texts offering advice on how to soothe various aches and pains by the application of moist heat. In time, the idea of applying heat became a metaphor for stimulating or rousing to action. Foment then started being used in political contexts to mean "to stir up" or "to call to action."

  


foment


  
    
      Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 10, 2024 is:
    
  
  
  
    tractable • \TRAK-tuh-bul\  • adjective
    Tractable is used to describe someone or something that is easily led, managed, taught, or controlled.

// This new approach should make the problem more tractable.

// The horse’s tractable temperament made her especially popular with new riders.

See the entry >
  
  
  
    Examples:
    “… Kawasaki’s popular KLR650 … only makes about 40 horsepower, yet it has launched untold numbers of epic rides due to its reliable, tractable and manageable output.” — William Roberson, Forbes, 30 Sept. 2022
  
  
  
    Did you know?
    A frequentative is a form of a verb that indicates repeated action. The frequentative of the word sniff, for example, is sniffle, meaning “to sniff repeatedly.” Some English words come from a frequentative in another language, and tractable is one. Tractable, meaning “easily led or managed,” comes from the Latin adjective tractabilis, which in turn comes from the verb tractare, which has various meanings including “to drag about,” “to handle,” “to deal with,” and “to treat.” Not to drag on too much about Latin, but tractare is the frequentative of another Latin verb, trahere, meaning “to drag or pull.” Now, one can pull or tug a draft animal on a lead, for example, whether or not that animal is willing or compliant. But if one can pull, handle, or otherwise deal with that animal repeatedly or continuously with ease (by treating it well, we presume)? Well, you can see where this is leading—in English we would call our helpful animal friend tractable. Speaking of farms, despite its resemblance, tractor did not pass through the frequentative tractare but it does come from trahere. 

  


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      Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 9, 2024 is:
    
  
  
  
    consternation • \kahn-ster-NAY-shun\  • noun
    Consternation is a formal word that refers to a strong feeling of surprise or sudden disappointment that causes confusion.

// The candidate caused consternation among his supporters by changing positions on a key issue.  

See the entry >
  
  
  
    Examples:
    “The incarcerated [Freedom] Riders’ new freedom song, which they sang incessantly to the consternation of their guards, was ‘Buses Are a Comin’,’ and the freedom buses continued to roll into Mississippi until mid-August.” — Raymond Arsenault, John Lewis: In Search of the Beloved Community, 2024
  
  
  
    Did you know?
    If you’ve ever been flummoxed, befuddled, or even fuddled, you know a thing or two about consternation—but perhaps not all of it. Consternation and confusion are not synonymous, though it’s understandable that they are sometimes confused. Consternation refers not to confusion, but to a feeling of amazement or dismay that can lead to confusion, or otherwise hinder or stop someone in their tracks. And much like dismay, consternation is often used in constructions starting with “much to,” as in “much to their consternation, their teacher announced a pop quiz as soon as class started.” People also often “express” or “show” their consternation in various ways, whether with furrowed brow, mouth agog, or assorted mumblings and grumblings—visual and audible clues that they are working out just what to do next after being consternated.  

  


consternation


  
    
      Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 8, 2024 is:
    
  
  
  
    incognito • \in-kahg-NEE-toh\  • adjective or adverb
    When you go incognito, your true identity is kept secret (as through the use of a different name or a disguise). Incognito can be used either as an adverb or an adjective with the same meaning.

// The food critic made an incognito visit to the restaurant.

// The pop star travels incognito as much as possible, using a fake name and wearing a wig and heavy makeup to avoid the paparazzi.

See the entry >
  
  
  
    Examples:
    "Though legitimate reasons exist for sailing incognito, the researchers point to a number of suspicious sites of activity. These include a region in North Korean waters that the authors suggest corresponds to illegal fishing, having briefly boasted the world's highest density of fishing vessels between 2017 and 2019. Meanwhile the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, off the eastern coast of Australia, was visited by an average of three fishing vessels a day, suggesting possible unobserved environmental damage." — The Economist, 6 Jan. 2024
  
  
  
    Did you know?
    The ancient Romans knew that there are times when you don't want to be recognized. For example, a story in Ovid’s Metamorphoses tells how Jupiter and Mercury visited a village incognito and asked for lodging. The supposedly penniless travelers were turned away from every household except that of a poor elderly couple named Baucis and Philemon; the pair provided a room and a feast for the visitors despite their own poverty. The Romans had a word that described someone or something unknown, like the gods in the tale: incognitus, a term that is the ancestor of our modern incognito. Cognitus is a form of the Latin verb cognoscere, which means "to know" and which also gives us recognize and cognizance, among other words. 

  


incognito


  
    
      Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 7, 2024 is:
    
  
  
  
    gossip • \GAH-sup\  • verb
    To gossip is to talk about the personal lives of other people. 

// The two siblings often gossip with each other about their neighbors via texting.

See the entry >
  
  
  
    Examples:
    “Not all gossip is bad, [psychologist, Miriam] Kirmayer said, nor does it always mean someone who talks about others will talk about you. ‘Sometimes, our friends are gossiping as a need to secure support or to set out our perspectives and experiences,’ she said. It can be a way to work through a problem or grow closer via shared values.” — Julia Pugachevsky, Business Insider, 26 Mar. 2024
  
  
  
    Did you know?
    Merriam-Webster here, your one and only source for the juicy history of the English lexicon (including gossip, girl). It’s no secret that gossiping often involves discussing the intimate details of other people’s lives, but did you know that the origins of gossip are a bit more chummy, and even a tad divine? Word on the street is that the Old English word sibb, meaning “relative” or “kinsman,” long ago combined with the word god (meaning, well, “god”) to form  godsibb, which referred to a person who was spiritually related to another, specifically by being a baptismal sponsor. Today we call such a person a godparent. Over the centuries, godsibb changed both in form and in meaning. In Middle English, gossib came to be used for a close friend or chum as well as for a godparent. From there it was only a short step to gossip, a word for anyone—not just a friend, relative, or sponsor—known for spilling the tea. By the early 17th century, gossip had expanded into the verb use that has been the talk of the town ever since.

  


torrid

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