Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 21, 2025 is: hubris • \HYOO-bris\  • noun Hubris is a formal and literary word that refers to a great or foolish amount of pride or confidence. // The project's failure was predictable, given the inexperience and unbridled hubris of those leading the effort. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hubris] Examples: "The film was billed to me as an attempt to capture the real power and bumbling hubris of a bunch of arrogant and wealthy men ... who try to rewire the world and find themselves in way over their heads." — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 30 May 2025 Did you know? English picked up both the concept of hubris and the term for that particular brand of cockiness from the ancient Greeks, who considered hubris a dangerous character flaw capable of provoking the wrath of the gods. In classical Greek tragedy, hubris was often a fatal shortcoming that brought about the fall of the tragic hero. Typically, overconfidence led the hero to attempt to overstep the boundaries of human limitations and assume a godlike status; in response, the gods inevitably humbled the offender with a sharp reminder of human mortality. Take, for example, the story of Phaethon [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Phaethon-Greek-mythology], a mortal son of the sun god Helios [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Helios-Greek-god]. In his hubris, Phaethon drives his father's sun chariot into the heavens but loses control of its horses. The chariot begins to scorch the earth, and Zeus strikes Phaethon down with a thunderbolt.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 20, 2025 is: utmost • \UT-mohst\  • adjective Utmost describes something that is the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount. // The safety of employees is of utmost importance. // Olympians push themselves to the utmost limit when training. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/utmost] Examples: “Only about 2,000 of the hybrid tea rose bushes, dubbed Barbra’s Baby, are available so far. … Streisand politely declined to comment for this story, but Dan Bifano, a master rosarian [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rosarian] and longtime gardener to Streisand, Oprah and other famous folk, believes a rose’s name ‘is always of utmost importance; it makes the rose salable or unsalable, and anytime a rose is connected to a celebrity, it’s going to pick up the sales.’” — Jeanette Marantos, The Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2025 Did you know? Utmost, which typically communicates that something is of the greatest or highest in degree, number, or amount, is commonly found modifying words like importance, concern, and respect. But utmost can also indicate that something is, literally or figuratively, farthest or most distant—that it is outmost [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outmost], as in “the utmost point.” Utmost in fact traces back to the Old English word ūtmest, a superlative [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/superlative] adjective formed from the adverb ūt, meaning “out.” Utmost can also function as a noun referring to the highest attainable point or degree, as in “the inn provides the utmost in comfort and luxury.” The noun also often occurs in phrases such as “we did our utmost to help” where it means “the highest, greatest, or best of one’s abilities, powers, and resources.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 19, 2025 is: devise • \dih-VYZE\  • verb To devise is to invent or plan something that is difficult or complicated in some way. // The siblings devised a plan to clean the house from top to bottom with hopes of getting their parents to let them go to the concert. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/devise] Examples: “The Timberwolves surprisingly advanced to the Western Conference finals last year before losing to the Mavericks. After a troublesome season, Minnesota returned before being thumped by the top-seeded Thunder. The series wasn't really close, and the Timberwolves ... will have to devise a way to compete in the Western Conference with the Lakers, Nuggets, Clippers, Spurs, Mavericks, and Warriors all chasing them.” — Gary Washburn, The Boston Globe, 1 June 2025 Did you know? There’s something inventive about devise, a word that stems from Latin dividere, meaning “to divide.” By the time devise was being used in English, its Anglo-French forebear deviser had accumulated an array of senses, including “divide,” “distribute,” “arrange,” “order,” “plan,” “invent,” and “assign by will.” English adopted some of these and added new senses, such as “imagine” and “guess,” that have fallen out of use over time. Today devise is most commonly used as a synonym of invent [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/invent] or plot [https://bit.ly/3G1wMPp] in situations where the objective is difficult or complicated. Note that devise is often confused with another dividere (and deviser) descendent: device [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/device] refers to a technique, method, tool, or small machine or gadget. One way to help keep their spellings straight is to remember that ice, usually a noun, is found at the end of the noun device, not the verb devise.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 18, 2025 is: meritorious • \mair-uh-TOR-ee-us\  • adjective Meritorious is a formal adjective used to describe something that is deserving of honor, praise, or esteem. // She was honored for her meritorious service to the city. See the entry > [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritorious] Examples: "The Air Medal is awarded to anyone who distinguishes themselves through meritorious achievement while flying." — Rick Mauch, The Fort Worth (Texas) Star-Telegram, 6 Mar. 2025 Did you know? People who demonstrate meritorious behavior certainly earn our respect, and you can use that fact to remember that meritorious has its roots in the Latin verb merēre, which means "to earn." (Merēre is also the source of the English noun and verb merit [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/merit].) Nowadays, the rewards earned for meritorious acts are likely to be of an immaterial nature—gratitude, admiration, praise, etc.—but that wasn't always so. The history of meritorious recalls a reward more concrete in nature: cold, hard cash. In Latin, meritorious literally means "bringing in money."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 17, 2025 is: fugitive • \FYOO-juh-tiv\  • noun Fugitive refers to a person who runs away to avoid being captured or arrested. // The FBI regularly updates and circulates its list of most wanted fugitives, and asks communities where they might be seen to be careful and on the lookout. See the entry > [https://bit.ly/4k7lV4C] Examples: “The automated plate readers, as they are known, enable authorities to track when vehicles of interest pass through certain intersections. The devices can also be mounted on police cars, allowing officers to sweep up troves of license plate data as they drive around. Police say the gadgets help investigate stolen cars, locate fugitives, and solve crimes by checking who came and went from a neighborhood on any given day.” — Libor Jany, The Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2025 Did you know? Fugitive entered English as both a noun and an adjective in the 14th century, coming ultimately from the Latin verb fugere, meaning “to flee.” As a noun, it originally referred, as it still does today, to someone who flees a country or location to escape persecution or danger, as from war, making it synonymous with another fugere descendent, refugee [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/refugee]. The noun soon expanded beyond those fleeing peril to individuals (such as suspects, witnesses, or defendants) trying to elude law enforcement especially by fleeing the pertinent jurisdiction. The adjective fugitive describes those literally running away or intending flight, but also has multiple figurative uses, being applied to that which is elusive, of short duration, or of transient interest, among other things.