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Definition 1: An enormous host, a great throng (as a noun); countless, innumerable, existing in great numbers (as an adjective). [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word is a noun metamorphosing into an adjective. "Myriad" was originally a noun appearing in phrases like "a myriad of stars" but by the 19th century it was called to adjectival service, e.g. "myriad stars glowed above." Samuel Taylor Coleridge opened the 19th century with his famous phrase that demonstrated how &q

Definition 1: Originally used to refer to dyeing, this verb now means to infuse a substance into something or an idea into someone until it permeates their entire being, as a dye permeates the material it soaks. [@more@]Usage 1: "Infuse" implies the introduction of a new element, as in "Jose infused the group with a new enthusiasm." "Instill" implies a gradual imbuement of an attitude: "A parent should instill a sense of frugality in their children before they

Definition 1: (1) (Rare) Of a windy nature, full of air or wind (and, by extension, pompous), as spring and autumn are the most flatulent of the seasons; (2) containing a great deal of those very smelly gases created by bacteria in the intestines that occasionally slip out of the posteriors of unsuspecting humans and animals. [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word works well when you have to talk about this unpleasant subject without using the equally smelly colloquial expressions for it. A flatulent per

Definition 1: Irrepressibly exuberant, unruly, uncontrollable.[@more@]Usage 1: Despite its questionable pedigree (it is of unknown parentage), today's word has produced progeny of its own: a noun (rambunctiousness) and adverb (rambunctiously). I have a strong inclination to allow "rambunction" as a reasonable back-derivation referring to the quality of a rambunctious person but the dictionaries do not allow it yet. Suggested usage: "Rambunctious" is usually associated with ki

Definition 1: Partiality, predilection, proclivity, bent, or strong liking, as a penchant for romantic evenings by the fireside. [@more@]Usage 1: There is little to say about the usage of today's word since it stands out there all alone: no adjective or verb has been derived from it. We can't penchant anything nor can anything be even slightly penchant. We may only have a penchant for something and most of us have a plethora of them. Suggested usage: Penchants are biases and some are stronger th

Definition 1: Gruesome, dreadful, causing horror or terror.[@more@]Usage 1: Today's adjective may be compared: "grislier," "grisliest," and it has a noun, "grisliness." Since the suffix -ly is never doubled, there is no adverb; terrible things may only be carried out in a grisly manner or fashion. Do not confuse today's word with "grizzly," which simply means "gray" (or, as our British readers would prefer, "grey"). "Grizzly"

Definition 1: To split asunder or into two pieces.Definition 2: To cling or adhere firmly to.[@more@]Usage 2: The past tense of cleave (to cling or adhere to firmly) is "cleaved" or "clove" and the past participle is "cleaved." The past tense of cleave (to split asunder) is "cleaved or "clove" while the past participle is "cleft" (as in "cleft palate") or "cloven" (as in "cloven hoof"). Apparently both verbs are

Definition 1: 1) A fainting fit, a swoon; 2) a daydream.[@more@]Usage 1: In north-eastern Scotland a sickly child can be called "dwamie" or "dwamish," demonstrating that the two meanings of "dwam" are not as far apart as they at first appear. The feverish child not only feels faint, but may also drift off into half-waking reveries. To be "in a dwam" is to be far gone in a daydream. The verb "to dwam" means "to faint," but to "dwam

Definition 1: Defame, malign, utter slanderous statements against someone. The noun is "vilification". [@more@]Usage 1: A clear indicator of how we can lose our sense of language is the recent emergence of the term "bad-mouth". This compound verb suggests a curse of bad breath more than vilification or defamation.Suggested usage: Here is a much more poignant term for expressing the same idea as "bad-mouth": "How could you vilify me like that for accidentally lo

Definition 1: A sickly, unhealthy person whose primary concern is his or her health. [@more@]Usage 1: There is an adjective, valetudinary. Suggested usage: Ever get tired of hearing someone complain about their health until you wanted to complain yourself? Don't snivel, just remark, "He is the valedictorian of valetudinarians; it drives me crazy." Do you belong to a languishing club without a clear idea of what it is supposed to do? Try, "We've got to think positive; a valetudinar

Definition 1: To pamper, unreasonably tolerate a lack of discipline, or overindulge.[@more@]Usage 1: The verb may also be spelled "molly-coddle." The noun "mollycoddle" (or "molly-coddle") means an effeminate man or boy, just as does "molly" alone. In fact, coddle may be used alone in a sense similar to "mollycoddle:" "To coddle" means to treat someone as though they were an invalid. Suggested usage: Here is a playful word that can reli

Definition 1: A person who spends money wastefully. [@more@]Usage 1: Today's word is confused too easily with its antonym, "thrifty." To keep in mind the difference, remember that someone who throws money around spends his thrift (see Etymology), and you won't go wrong. "Spendthrift" has a colorful synonym that we don't use nearly enough. It might help you recall the meaning of today's word: "scattergood." Suggested usage: "Ethan was a known spendthrift, but hi

Definition 1: To question formally concerning an official action or personal conduct, generally done on the part of a legislative body. Also, to question about policy or government business.[@more@]Usage 1: The noun form of today's word is interpellation. One who does the questioning is an interpellator, the agent noun. Suggested usage: "TV subjected all of us to it, so why didn't the FCC interpellate the hairdresser who sold Traficant that wig?" Our readers can interpellate Dr. Langua

Definition 1: Acting stealthily, sly and secretive; under cover, out of view.[@more@]Usage 1: The verb, surrept, means "to steal or filch stealthily" and the noun is surreption "theft by stealth" or "secretive misrepresentation." Both are highlighted now by my spellchecker, indicating they are used far less often than today's adjective. Remember that today's adjective is written "surreptitious" with two "t's" and without any "c."Suggest

Definition 1: A broad sash or waistband, pleated lengthwise, and usually worn in place of a vest with a tuxedo or dinner jacket.[@more@]Usage 1: This noun is a lexical orphan, with no other part of speech stemming from it. One caveat: speakers sometimes add an anticipatory [b] in the second syllable, mispronouncing it "cumberbund." Be sure to keep your b's under rein as you use today's word. Suggested usage: Cummerbunds make only a few appearances in the lives of most people outside we

Definition 1: Exploiting opportunities presented by some weakness; taking advantage of weaknesses in others. [@more@]Usage 1: We hear today's word increasingly confused with "opportune." "Opportune" means "suitable or convenient in time or circumstance." It would be opportune to buy a new car during a sale but it would be opportunistic for the salesman to take advantage of an inexperienced customer to sell him a more expensive model than he needs. The noun is "

Definition 1: Lasting one day only; very short-lived [-lajvd], passing very quickly, fleeting.[@more@]Usage 1: "Ephemeral" is still marginally used in the original sense referring to insects that live for only a day and diseases such as an ephemeral fever or the ephemeral ague "bad hair day" which last a day but less than a nychthemeron (or "nichthy"). Suggested usage: The basic use of the word is to refer to events of exceedingly short duration: "An ephemeral

Definition 1: Fake, false, not genuine. [@more@]Usage 1: "Bogus" today is used almost exclusively as an adjective, even though it started out as a noun (see Etymology). At one time con artists passed bogus to unwary victims; now, they pass bogus coins and bills. Suggested usage: Today's word is a common colloquial replacement for "fake" or "false": "Frederique, the Count of Mountebank, as he called himself, made a costly mistake when he set up a company that wa

Definition 1: A woman of great stature, strength, and courageDefinition 2: A loud, overbearing woman; a termagant. [@more@]Usage 2: The plural is "viragoes" and the adjective is "viraginous" [vê-'rah-jê-nês]. Here is yet another example of a positive epithet for a woman gone sour (compare also "effeminate," "madame," "mistress") while those for men slide semantically in the opposite direction (compare "manly," "virtuous," &

Definition 1: As in "the real McCoy," meaning the genuine article, the original, not a substitute.[@more@]Usage 1: "The real McCoy" is a phrase that rivals another Word of the Day, "OK" (at http://www.yourdictionary.com/cgi-bin/wotd.cgi?word=ok), for begging an explanation of its origins. Wherever it comes from, "the real McCoy" is used to emphatically assert the originality of an object, idea, or reputation.Suggested usage: There is not but one context in