coalesce

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 15, 2025 is: coalesce • \koh-uh-LESS\  • verb To coalesce is to come together to form one group or mass. // The club’s community service projects provide students with a common goal to coalesce around. // The movie is full of beautifully written scenes but they never coalesce into a whole. See the entry > Examples: “... as Angola prepares for the final, the combination of personal perseverance, team cohesion, and national pride coalesces into something bigger than a game: a celebration of resilience, dedication, and the enduring spirit of basketball in Angola.” — Sindiswa Mabunda, Forbes, 24 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The meaning of many English words equals the sum of their parts, and coalesce is a fitting example. The word unites the prefix co- (“together”) and the Latin verb alescere, meaning “to grow.” Coalesce is one of a number of English verbs (along with mix, commingle, merge, and amalgamate) that refer to the act of combining parts into a whole. In particular, coalesce usually implies the merging of similar parts to form a cohesive unit, such as a political ideology, a fan-following, or (perish the thought) a Portuguese man-of-war, the body of which includes three types of zooids.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 14, 2025 is: utopia • \yoo-TOH-pee-uh\  • noun Utopia refers to an imaginary place in which the government, laws, and social conditions are perfect; a utopia is a place of ideal perfection. // It’s a nice place to live, but it’s no utopia. See the entry > Examples: “Despite the rest of the group arguing with and (mostly) disagreeing with him for half the evening, my colleague stuck to his guns: it would be handy to have robots writing poetry for people. … But at the heart of my colleague’s provocative position was a utopian ideal: of a future in which technology was advanced enough to ‘do everything,’ even write poetry, so that no one needed to work. Yet this position wasn’t convincing either. His utopia sounded more than a little dull, and nobody wants to be bored out of their minds.” — Surekha Davies, Humans: A Monstrous History, 2025 Did you know? There’s quite literally no place like utopia. In 1516, English humanist Sir Thomas More published a book titled Utopia, which compared social and economic conditions in Europe with those of an ideal society on an imaginary island located off the coast of the Americas. More wanted to imply that the perfect conditions on his fictional island could never really exist, so he called it “Utopia,” a name he created by combining the Greek words ou (“not, no”) and topos (“place”). The earliest generic use of utopia was for an imaginary and indefinitely remote place. The current use of utopia, referring to an ideal place or society, was inspired by More’s description of Utopia’s perfection.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 13, 2025 is: penultimate • \pih-NUL-tuh-mut\  • adjective Penultimate means "occurring immediately before the last one," or in other words, "next to last." A formal adjective, it is always used before the noun it modifies. // The penultimate episode of the TV series features some shocking plot twists that set up what will surely be a thrilling series finale. See the entry > Examples: "The high school soccer playoffs are down to their penultimate round with the state semifinals looming later this week after a select few regional champions were crowned on Tuesday." — Matt Welch, The Plano (Texas) Star Courier, 2 Apr. 2025 Did you know? Penultimate isn't the last word in words for things that are next to last. It has a pair of closely-related noun synonyms: penult and penultima. Although all three concern something that's next to last, penult and penultima are usually a bit more specific; they are used most often to identify the next to last syllable of a word. All three come from paenultima, the feminine of paenultimus, a Latin root from paene ("almost") and ultimus ("last"). You may occasionally hear the word penultimate used as an intensified version of ultimate, as in "a race they've called 'the penultimate challenge.'" This use isn't typically found in edited prose, however, or in dictionaries, as discussed in this video.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 12, 2025 is: imprimatur • \im-pruh-MAH-toor\  • noun Imprimatur is a formal word that refers to explicit approval or permission. // Though not an official project of the theater, the drama festival has its imprimatur. See the entry > Examples: “It is not overstating to say that [Frederick] Douglass was a baseball man. He attended games, supported his sons’ involvement, and even played catch with his grandchildren. Douglass’s support gave Black baseball an imprimatur of race approval as an activity that uplifted the race. It was not frivolous for Black men to pursue this sport as an avocation, or even as a vocation.” — Gerald Early, Play Harder: The Triumph of Black Baseball in America, 2025 Did you know? Imprimatur means “let it be printed” in New Latin (the Latin used since the end of the medieval period especially in science). It comes from Latin imprimere, meaning “to imprint or impress.” In the 1600s, the word appeared in the front matter of books, accompanied by the name of an official authorizing the book’s printing. In time, English speakers began using imprimatur in the general sense of “official approval.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 11, 2025 is: languid • \LANG-gwid\  • adjective Something described as languid shows or has very little energy, force, or activity. // We paddled at a languid pace, in no hurry to arrive at our picnic destination. See the entry > Examples: “The flat once belonged to 19th-century French writer George Sand, and is now a handsome apartment with sleek decor and elevated amenities that will make it easy to enjoy languid afternoons sipping on a glass of wine and perusing the owner’s extensive literary collection.” — Elise Taylor, Nicole Kliest, and Elly Leavitt, Vogue, 8 Aug. 2025 Did you know? Lack, lack, lack. Languid is all about lack. Depending on its context, the word can suggest a lack of strength or force, a lack of energy, or a lack of activity. The lack-of-strength/force sense of languid describes the kind of sluggishness that often results from fatigue or weakness, as in “the illness left her feeling languid.” The lack-of-energy sense is synonymous with listless, and often describes someone’s character or disposition as a result of dissatisfaction or sadness. Lastly, there’s the lack-of-activity sense of languid, as in “investors are worried about the languid stock market.” So languid is a total bummer, right? Not so (ahem) fast! Sometimes it’s a good thing to dillydally, and languid has also long been used to describe stretches of time—think afternoons, days, summers, etc.—that are relatively and perhaps pleasantly chill.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2025 is: obviate • \AHB-vee-ayt\  • verb To obviate something (usually a need for something, or a necessity) is to anticipate and prevent it. A formal word, obviate can also mean "to make an action unnecessary." // The new medical treatment obviates the need for surgery. // Allowing workers flexibility should obviate any objections to the change. See the entry > Examples: "In 1987, a new kind of computer workstation debuted from Sun Microsystems. These workstations, as well as increasingly powerful desktop computers from IBM and Apple, obviated the need for specialized LISP machines. Within a year, the market for LISP machines evaporated." — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 3 Sept. 2025 Did you know? It's most often needs that get obviated. And a need that's obviated is a need that's been anticipated and prevented. That sentence may obviate your need to consult the definition again, for example. Obviate comes ultimately from the Latin adjective obviam, meaning "in the way," and obviating does often involve figuratively putting something in the way, as when an explanatory sentence placed just so blocks a need to consult a definition. (Obviam is also an ancestor of our adjective obvious.) Obviate has a number of synonyms in English, including prevent, preclude, and avert, which all can mean "to hinder or stop something." Preclude often implies that a degree of chance was involved in stopping an event, while avert always implies that a bad situation has been anticipated and prevented or deflected by the application of immediate and effective means. Obviate generally suggests the use of intelligence or forethought to ward off trouble.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2025 is: duress • \dur-RESS\  • noun Duress, which is typically used with under, refers to force or threats meant to make someone do something. It is used especially of unlawful coercion. // The defense asserts that the defendant’s confession was made under duress. See the entry > Examples: “Did you know that Toni [Morrison] also edited poetry? (What couldn’t she do!) Despite inexperience with the medium, Morrison was an early champion of the poet June Jordan. She published one of her earliest collections, Things I Do in the Dark, in 1977. In a 1975 letter, Morrison told Jordan that Random House would publish her work, but only under duress. ‘The answer they gave was “we would prefer her prose—will do poetry if we must,”’ she wrote. ‘Now I would tell them to shove it if that were me…’” — Brittany Allen, LitHub.com, 24 Apr. 2025 Did you know? Duress is most often paired with the word under to refer to force or threats meant to make someone do something. For example, someone forced to sign a document signs it “under duress,” and a person held “under duress” is not free to leave but is being constrained, usually unlawfully. (Do not confuse being “under duress” with being “under stress,” which is a much more common occurrence.) Duress comes ultimately from the Latin adjective durus, meaning “hard,” source too of durable and endure.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2025 is: finicky • \FIN-ih-kee\  • adjective Finicky describes someone who is very hard to please, or something that requires a lot of care, precision, or attentive effort. // Although she was a finicky eater as a child, she grew up to become a world-renowned chef famous for her encyclopedic knowledge of global ingredients. // The latest game in the series boasts amazing graphics but the controls are a little finicky. See the entry > Examples: "Stardom is a fleeting concept, one that we've seen play out with the biggest of stars over time. Even without outright missteps, artists often find themselves scrutinized by the masses for reasons entirely unrelated to their work. More often than not, this pressure either drives them to prove their worth to a finicky fanbase—one that will jump ship the second something else catches their attention—or pushes them back into obscurity." — Aron A., HotNewHipHop.com, 22 Aug. 2025 Did you know? If you're a reader of a certain age (say, a Boomer, Gen Xer, or even a Xennial) you may remember cheeky television commercials featuring Morris, a finicky housecat who only eats a certain brand of cat food. (Morris is still featured on product labels.) Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of finicky. The word came about in the early 19th century as an alteration of finicking, itself a 17th century alteration of another adjective, finical, which in turn is a late 16th century coinage likely derived from the adjective fine.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2025 is: candor • \KAN-der\  • noun Candor refers to the quality of being open, sincere, and honest. // During the interview, the comedian spoke with candor about the nervousness she feels every time she takes the stage. See the entry > Examples: “When Malika Andrews sat down to chat with ESSENCE, she was seated in her car. There was no rush in her voice, just an ease that showed how thoughtful and open she was to the experience. That balance of composure and candor is exactly what’s made her one of the most respected names in sports journalism.” — Diona Ballard, Essence, 7 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The Latin verb candēre, meaning “to shine or glow,” has illuminated the English lexicon for centuries. It’s given us familiar words such as candle, candid, and candidate, as well as less common terms like candela (a unit of luminous intensity) and candescent (“glowing or dazzling from or as if from great heat”). Candor, another candēre descendant, arrived in English in the 14th century. Its earliest uses referred to brightness or unstained purity and innocence; today, you’re most likely to encounter candor as a word for unquestionably honest expression.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2025 is: embarrass • \im-BAIR-us\  • verb To embarrass someone is to make them feel confused and foolish in front of other people. // Unexpected laughter embarrassed the speaker. See the entry > Examples: “Going public creates accountability and makes backing out harder. Every creator wishes they’d started sooner. Don’t let future-you have the same regret. Get okay with the idea that in the future, your past work will embarrass you. This means growth.” — Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025 Did you know? If you’ve ever felt frozen, unable to move, or like a deer in the proverbial headlights when embarrassed by something, then the origins of the verb embarrass will make a great deal of sense. When embarrass first entered English from French in the late 16th century, it was used for the action of hampering or impeding the progress of someone or something—figuratively tying them up. No wonder then that embarrass comes ultimately from the Portuguese verb embaraçar, which adds the prefix em- to the noun baraça, meaning “noose” or “rope.” This “hampering” sense of embarrass, and others related to restricting, impairing, or burdening of one sort or other, are still in use today, but they’re less common than the “to make someone feel confused and foolish in front of other people” sense is.