play video cynic
Up Next
Title
CANCEL
video cynic
Word History

The History of 'Cynic'

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

Up next

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play video lay vs lie
Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

play video ending a sentence with a preposition
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

 

An old-fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.

play sneaked vs snuck video
Sneaked vs. Snuck

 

How the irregular 'snuck' sneaked into the dictionary

play person studying illustration
'All Intensive Purposes' or 'All Intents and Purposes'?

 

We're intent on clearing it up

play ismo merriam webster one
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "The One-derful Won"

 

Comedian ISMO tries to figure out 'one' and 'two'

play video ie vs eg
i.e. vs. e.g.

 

Often used, often confused. Here's some guidance and insight.

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
puzzle-piece-road
Missing Link Quiz February 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All