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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.

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The History of 'Cynic'

 

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

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Further vs. Farther

 

They started as same word, but their meanings have drifted apart over time.

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

What our editors are looking for when they enter words in Merriam-Webster.

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Is singular 'they' a better choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

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Video: Why is there a 'c' in 'indict'?

 

And who put it there, anyway?

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A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

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Alright vs. All Right

 

Is 'alright' all right?

Games & Quizzes

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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
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Which Came First? "Jeggings" or "mom jeans"? "Chillax" or "dumpster...
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