Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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





dissonant • \DISS-uh-nunt\ • adjective

Dissonant typically describes music that is not in harmony, or sounds and notes that clash. In non-music contexts, dissonant describes things that clash by not being in agreement or by not fitting well together.

// The guitarist struck a dissonant chord.

// The retrospective provided a sometimes dissonant journey through the artist's decades of work.

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Examples:

"Their disparate sonic elements form a dissonant but cohesive whole, wisps of trumpet and electronic woodwinds flashing by as quickly as flickering subway car lights." — Sam Goldner, Pitchfork, 23 July 2026





Did you know?

At the root of dissonant is the Latin verb sonare. Can you guess what sonare means? Here's a hint: some related words are sonata, supersonic, and resonance. Does it sound to you as if sonare has something to do with sound? To invoke an approving sound in response: ding ding ding. In fact, sonare means "to sound," is related to the Latin noun sonus (meaning "sound"), and is also an ancestor of the English word sound. In musical contexts, dissonant and the related noun dissonance are used to describe a clashing or unresolved musical interval or chord. Consonance, in contrast, refers to a musical interval or chord that produces an impression of agreeableness or resolution.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 1, 2026 is:





conscientious • \kahn-shee-EN-shus\ • adjective

Conscientious describes someone who is concerned with doing things correctly. It can be used as a synonym for both meticulous and careful.

// She has always been a conscientious worker committed to painstaking research.

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Examples:

“Earth-friendly, conscientious gardeners learn to slow down and pay attention not only to plants but to the many creatures that share the garden. ... The garden teaches us valuable lessons. It reminds us that balance is achieved not through sorting the natural world into neat categories, but by respecting nature and allowing it to reveal to us its own complicated, interdependent and beautiful gray areas.” — Rita Perwich, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 July 2026





Did you know?

As Mahatma Gandhi once wrote, “There is a higher court than courts of justice, and that is the court of conscience.” A person who is conscientious makes sure that they are judged well by such a court. This is true for someone who is “governed by their conscience” as the oldest sense of the word is defined—as in “a conscientious leader”—but it is also true for the conscientious person paying close, careful attention to the task at hand. Conscientious came to English from French, centuries after Middle English had adopted conscience from Anglo-French; both ultimately come from the Latin verb scire, meaning “to know.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 31, 2026 is:





gumption • \GUMP-shun\ • noun

Gumption refers to courage and confidence.

// It took a lot of gumption to speak up for yourself like that.

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Examples:

"Fourth graders devise machines powered by rubber bands and 10-year-old ingenuity, some of the most creative thinking you'll ever witness. Wonders of nature and humanity coexist in these spaces. Behind all this is the gumption and bravery of teachers who set this up." — Adam Johnston, The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah), 13 May 2026





Did you know?

English speakers have had gumption (the word, that is) since the early 1700s. The term's source isn't known, but early examples of it are found in Scottish (the related terms rumblegumption and rumgumption can be found there too). Gumption originally referred to common sense, but it is now more commonly used to refer to the kind of courage and get-up-and-go that makes undertaking difficult things possible. Art historians may know a couple additional applications for the word: gumption was historically used both to refer to the art of preparing painters' colors, and as a synonym of megilp, which refers to a mixture of linseed oil and mastic varnish that is used as a vehicle for oil paints.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 30, 2026 is:





illustrious • \ih-LUSS-tree-us\ • adjective

Illustrious describes a person or deed that is highly admired and respected.

// During the ceremony, the illustrious star of stage and screen was presented with a lifetime achievement award.

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Examples:

“Two of the most respected professors—an academic power couple—invited me to their home for dinner. I was flattered and excited. When we sat down at the table, my heart sank. The first dish they served was steak tartare. Raw beef, no matter how well seasoned, no matter how swanky the cut, is not my jam. ... And in the home of these illustrious professors, I was ashamed about that. I feared they would consider me unsophisticated for not liking the dish.” — Leslie John, Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing, 2026





Did you know?

Today’s spotlight is on illustrious, from the Latin adjective illustris, meaning “shining brightly with light.” Illustris itself was probably a back-formation of the Latin verb illustrare, a word with varied meanings, among them “to light up,” “to make clear,” and “to embellish.” (Our word illustrate also comes from illustrare, of course; its original meaning was “to enlighten intellectually, culturally, or spiritually.”) At one time, illustrious could be used synonymously with its immediate Latin forbear to describe things that glow brightly, but that meaning is now considered archaic. The word today is almost exclusively used to describe something—such as a career or achievement—that stands out figuratively, shining brilliantly in the mind’s eye.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 29, 2026 is:





kith • \KITH\ • noun

Kith is an old-fashioned term that refers to familiar friends, neighbors, or relatives. It is often used in the phrase “kith and kin,” which means “friends and relatives.”

// Spending time with kith and kin at the end of the summer is the highlight of our year.

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Examples:

“One thing that you could usually count on was the loyalty of your kith and kin, your friends and family. But now it seems that the closeness of family and relatives is more difficult to maintain in the modern world.” — James Morabito, The Buffalo (New York) News, 26 July 2026





Did you know?

If you’d used the word kith a thousand years ago, you might have been referring to knowledge, or to a homeland, or to your neighbors and acquaintances. While those first two meanings of kith have long since fallen out of use, the word endures with a meaning very close to that “neighbors and acquaintances” one. Today kith appears almost exclusively in the phrase kith and kin, meaning “friends and relatives.” (Kin, another ancient word, can also refer independently to relatives.) Occasionally you will see kith and kin used to refer only to family members, much to the chagrin of those who despise redundancy in language. If you wish to avoid redundancy charges you’ll be sure to include friends as well as family among your “kith and kin.”