Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2025 is:

panacea • \pan-uh-SEE-uh\  • noun

A panacea is something that is regarded as a cure-all—that is, something that will make everything about a situation better.

// The new program should help with the city's housing crisis, but it's no panacea.

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Examples:

“It was a mistake to regard and romanticize information as a panacea for the world's problems. For they are completely different things: information, knowledge and wisdom. Every day we are bombarded with thousands of snippets of information, but there is very little knowledge, and no time to slow down to gain knowledge, much less wisdom.” — Elif Shafak, 1984: 75th Anniversary Edition by George Orwell, 2024

Did you know?

The maxim “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” isn't true, but belief in a miraculous botanical “cure for whatever ails ya” has existed for millennia and is at the root of the word panacea. In current use, panacea most often refers to a remedy—medical or otherwise—that inevitably falls far short of what some claim or hope it can do, but the word's Latin and Greek forebears referred to plants with legit healing properties, including mints and yarrows. Both the Latin word panacēa and its Greek antecedent panákeia (from the word panakēs, meaning “all-healing”) were applied especially to flowering herbs (genus Opopanax) of the carrot family used to treat various ailments.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 23, 2025 is:

logy • \LOH-ghee\  • adjective

Like sluggish and groggy, logy describes a person who is not able to think or move normally because of being tired, sick, etc., or something that moves slowly and ploddingly.

// The heavy meal left me feeling logy and in need of a nap.

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Examples:

"The picture moves at a stately pace that one supposes was considered period-appropriate but feels merely logy at times." — Glenn Kenny, The New York Times, 15 May 2025

Did you know?

The origins of the word logy (sometimes spelled loggy) likely lie in the Dutch word log, meaning "heavy," a relation of the ancient German adjective luggich, meaning "lazy." The word shares no history with the log of campfires, which is centuries older and has probable Scandinavian roots. Likewise, it has no etymological connection to groggy, which describes someone weak and unsteady on the feet or in action. That word ultimately comes from the nickname of an English admiral: "Old Grog," concerned with the health of his crew, served diluted rum to his sailors, who returned the favor by dubbing the rum mixture grog. (Modern grog is typically rum, or another liquor, cut with water and served warm, sweetened, and with lemon.)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 22, 2025 is:

jettison • \JET-uh-sun\  • verb

When you jettison something, you get rid of it either because it is not needed or because it is impeding your progress or otherwise weighing you down.

// Now that the purchase of the building has been finalized, we'll revamp what we want to keep and jettison the rest.

// The approach of the storm forced them to jettison their vacation plans.

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Examples:

“A 2017 study found that participants who wrote a to-do list before bed instead of journaling about their accomplishments fell asleep ‘significantly faster.' … ‘The more specifically participants wrote their to-do list, the faster they subsequently fell asleep, whereas the opposite trend was observed when participants wrote about completed activities,' the study authors wrote in the Journal of Experimental Psychology. They speculated that writing down tasks lets you jettison your worries, so you don't need to think about them while trying to sleep.” — Tracy Swartz, The New York Post, 20 Jan. 2025

Did you know?

Jettison comes from the Anglo-French noun geteson (literally “action of throwing”), and ultimately from the Latin verb jactare, meaning “to throw.” The noun jettison refers to a voluntary sacrifice of cargo to lighten a ship's load in time of distress, and is the source of the word jetsam, the word for goods that are so jettisoned; that word is often paired with flotsam (“floating wreckage”). These days you don't have to be on a sinking ship to jettison something: the verb also means simply “to get rid of.”

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.

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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, a mortal son of the sun god Helios. 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.

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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 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, as in “the utmost point.” Utmost in fact traces back to the Old English word ūtmest, a 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.

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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 or plot in situations where the objective is difficult or complicated. Note that devise is often confused with another dividere (and deviser) descendent: 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.

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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.) 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.

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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. 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.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 16, 2025 is:

abject • \AB-jekt\  • adjective

Abject usually describes things that are extremely bad or severe. It can also describe something that feels or shows shame, or someone lacking courage or strength.

// Happily, their attempts to derail the project ended in abject failure.

// The defendants were contrite, offering abject apologies for their roles in the scandal that cost so many their life savings.

// The author chose to cast all but the hero of the book as abject cowards.

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Examples:

“This moment ... points toward the book's core: a question of how to distinguish tenderness from frugality. Is ‘Homework' about a child who took a remarkably frictionless path, aided by a nation that had invested in civic institutions, from monetary hardship to the ivory tower? Merely technically. Is it a story of how members of a family, protected by a social safety net from abject desperation, developed different ideas about how to relate to material circumstance? We're getting there.” — Daniel Felsenthal, The Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025

Did you know?

We're sorry to say you must cast your eyes down to fully understand abject: in Middle English the word described those lowly ones who are rejected and cast out. By the 15th century, it was applied as it still is today to anything that has sunk to, or exists in, a low state or condition; in modern use it often comes before the words poverty, misery, and failure. Applied to words like surrender and apology, it connotes hopelessness and humility. The word's Latin source is the verb abicere, meaning “to throw away, throw down, overcome, or abandon.” Like reject, its ultimate root is the Latin verb jacere, meaning “to throw.” Subject is also from jacere, and we'll leave you with that word as a way to change the subject.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 15, 2025 is:

tantalize • \TAN-tuh-lyze\  • verb

To tantalize someone is to cause them to feel interest or excitement about something that is very attractive, appealing, etc.

// She was tantalized by the prospect of a big promotion.

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Examples:

"Craving a culinary adventure? Look no further than Manila Street Treats, nestled within the vibrant Tapatio Produce International Market and Shops building in Elkton. This hidden gem offers a diverse menu of Filipino and international flavors that will tantalize your taste buds." — Chester County Press (Oxford, Pennsylvania), 1 Apr. 2025

Did you know?

Pity poor King Tantalus of Lydia. The mythic monarch offended the ancient Greek gods, and was sentenced, according to Homer's Odyssey, to suffer in Hades the following punishment: to stand neck-deep in water, beneath overhanging boughs of a tree heavily laden with ripe, juicy fruit. But though he was always hungry and thirsty, Tantalus could neither drink the water nor eat the fruit: anytime he moved to get them, they would retreat from his reach. Our word tantalize is taken from the name of the eternally tormented king.