Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 6, 2026 is:





torpor • \TOR-per\ • noun

Torpor is a formal word for a state of inactivity and sluggishness. It can also be used, especially in the context of hibernating and estivating animals, to refer to a state of lowered physiological activity.

// The magazine offers lots of ideas for activities designed to shake off the torpor of a rainy day.

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Examples:

“Especially during migration in the spring and fall, bats can get tired. If they are caught in a cold snap, they can go into torpor, like a mini-hibernation, to help survive the cold period when there aren't insects available to eat for energy.” — Tara Hohoff, The Conversation, 28 May 2026





Did you know?

Cheer up, sleepy Jean (or sleepy Gene)—we know what torpor can mean, and we’re happy to share. Torpor can mean a few things, actually. Most commonly it refers to a state of mind and body characterized by inactivity and lack of energy, as on a torrid (no relation) summer day when one has little desire to do much more than lie around daydreaming. While people may be able to shake off torpor that sets in when the heat takes away the will to get things done, it’s a bit harder for animals, for whom the word has a more technical meaning. An animal in torpor is in a state of lowered body temperature and metabolic activity, usually because of extreme heat or cold. The torpor can last a few hours or it can be months before the creature wipes the sleep out of its eyes.  Torpid, the related adjective (both torpid and torpor come from the Latin verb torpēre, meaning “to be sluggish or numb”) also has both technical and nontechnical applications, as in “torpid animals” or “a torpid economy.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 5, 2026 is:





colloquial • \kuh-LOH-kwee-ul\ • adjective

Colloquial is used with words like term and word and expression to describe language that is used in familiar and informal conversation.

// The author can switch from formal academic language to a charmingly colloquial style, depending on the audience and subject of her writing.

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Examples:

"The American woodcock is a native North American bird species found in Wisconsin and much of the eastern United States and Canada. Known by a host of colloquial names, including timberdoodle, ... bogsucker and mudsnipe, the species is about the size of the American robin ..." — Paul A. Smith, The Green Bay (Wisconsin) Press-Gazette , 1 May 2026





Did you know?

The noun colloquy has since the 15th century referred to a conversation or dialogue, and when the adjective colloquial was formed in the mid-18th century it had a similar focus. (Both words trace back to the Latin verb colloquī, meaning "to converse.") Over time, however, colloquial developed a more specific meaning related to language that is most suited to informal conversation, and it ultimately garnered a secondary use for language that is so informal as to be inappropriate for a given situation. For instance, when writing an academic paper about Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, it would not serve to say that the crew of the Endurance was "in quite a pickle" when they became trapped in ice off the Caird coast. Although pickle does indeed mean "a difficult situation" in this context, its flavor—ahem—may be considered too colloquial, that is, "unacceptably informal," for academic use.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2026 is:





élan • \ay-LAHN\ • noun

Élan refers to energy and enthusiasm.

// The dancers performed with great style and élan; we were exhausted just watching them.

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Examples:

"Carrying the production with the élan of a cheerful college quarterback, [Luke] Brady is an immediately likable leading man ..." — Matt Wolf, The New York Times, 25 June 2025





Did you know?

Once upon a time, back in the early 18th century, English speakers did not have élan (the word, that is; we have always had the potential for vigorous spirit). We had, however, the verb elance, meaning "to throw," which was used for the launching of darts, javelins, and similar weaponry. Elance came from the Middle French (s')eslancer, meaning "to rush" (that is, "to hurl oneself forth"). Elance enjoyed only a short flight in English, falling into disuse by the mid-19th century, around which time English speakers picked up élan, another French word that traces back, via the Middle French noun eslan ("rush"), to (s')eslancer. We copied élan in form from the French, but we dispensed with the French sense of a literal "rush" or "dash," retaining the sense of enthusiastic animation that we sometimes also characterize as dash, spunk, or vim.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 3, 2026 is:





mitigate • \MIT-uh-gayt\ • verb

To mitigate something is to make it less severe, harmful, or painful.

// One way we can mitigate the impact the construction project will have on residents is to commit to completing it in the allotted time.

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Examples:

“The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued an emergency order to mitigate blackouts in the Carolinas as the region prepares for a period of hot weather coming up.” — Dave Kovaleski, Daily Energy Insider, 15 June 2026





Did you know?

The meaning of mitigate is straightforward enough: to make something—such as a problem, symptom, or punishment—less harsh or severe. Sometimes, however, mitigate appears where the similar-looking militate is expected. That word, which is often followed by against, means “to have weight or effect,” as in “your unexcused absences are likely to militate against your getting a promotion.” The two words are not closely related (mitigate comes from the Latin verb mitigare, meaning “to soften,” whereas militate traces to militare, meaning “to engage in warfare”), but confusion between the two has existed for long enough that some language experts accept “mitigate against” as an idiomatic alternative to militate. Even William Faulkner used mitigate in this way in his 1932 short story, Centaur in Brass, writing “It's as though there were some intangible and invisible social force that mitigates against him.” But unless you’re Faulkner, it’s best to keep mitigate and militate distinct.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 2, 2026 is:





highfalutin • \hye-fuh-LOO-tun\ • adjective

Something or someone described as highfalutin seems, or is trying to seem, great or important.

// The authors’ research may have been impressive, but their paper was full of highfalutin jargon that ultimately obscured what they intended to say.

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Examples:

“Standing 787 feet tall, the tower was one of the last of the era—when downtown Dallas’ skyline was defined by highfalutin oil execs, bankers, financiers and the architects who used steel, concrete and glass to erect opulent monuments to their economic success.” — Nick Wooten, The Dallas Morning News, 9 Jan. 2026





Did you know?

Highfalutin has a fine purpose: to describe pretentious people or language without making the person using it sound, well, pretentious. Were you to describe the high-flown speech of another using other adjectives available to you (grandiloquent, fustian, orotund) you might well be found guilty of the faux pas yourself. Highfalutin first appeared as American slang in the early 1800s, and like many slang terms it has had a lot of different spellings (hi, high faluting). The word most likely originated as a combination of the adjective high (as used in the phrase “high and mighty”) and the participle fluting. Why fluting? Maybe down-to-earth Americans thought that the overly formal, condescending, and flowery speech of the high and mighty sounded like the shrill and biting high tones of a flute. Whatever the reasoning, highfalutin has remained a staple of down-home American speech ever since.