Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 13, 2026 is:





impertinent • \im-PER-tuh-nunt\ • adjective

Impertinent is a formal word describing someone or something that is rude and showing a lack of respect.

// The band stopped doing interviews after years of journalists asking invasive and impertinent questions.

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Examples:

“On Friday night, I discovered that the plans I had for Saturday morning were not going to work out, so I decided to go fishing instead. It was too late to hitch up with a fishing buddy, and it would be impertinent to ask permission to fish on someone’s private property at such a late hour, so I decided to go by myself to the public section of the Soque River.” — Bill Hager, The White County (Georgia) News, 7 July 2026





Did you know?

A pertinent statement or remark is one that pertains—that is, is relevant—to the subject at hand. It stands to reason, therefore, that impertinent could be used to describe things that are irrelevant. Indeed, “not pertinent” is the word’s oldest meaning, dating to the 15th century. A pertinent question: how did a word meaning “irrelevant” come to also describe someone as rude (now the more common sense of impertinent)? The answer comes down to the particular quality of rudeness on display. Burping loudly while your teacher is giving a lecture, for example, would be rude, but unlikely to be called impertinent. Raising your hand mid-lecture to ask where your teacher purchased such a ridiculous sweater, however, would be impertinent, i.e. such a question is rude because it in no way pertains to the matter at hand in a classroom.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 12, 2026 is:





gauntlet • \GAWNT-lut\ • noun

Gauntlet originally referred to a double file of men facing each other and armed with clubs or other weapons with which to strike at an individual made to run between them. It later gained an expanded sense referring to a line, series, or assemblage of people or things that poses some sort of ordeal, as in “faced a gauntlet of opponents to get to the championship.”

// Salmon returning to their spawning grounds must make it past a gauntlet of predators, from eagles to otters to bears.

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Examples:

“… I’m also a mother in my forties, which means daily life is a gauntlet of logistics: lunches, permission slips, orthodontist appointments, emotional squalls, school emails multiplying like fruit flies.” — Mira Ptacin, Literary Hub, 4 Feb. 2026





Did you know?

Gauntlet is often used today for a line, series, or assemblage of something that poses some sort of ordeal (as in “the celebs had to make it past a gauntlet of autograph-seekers”) but it originally referred to a trial of a particularly awful variety. In the not-so-golden days, a gauntlet was a military punishment in which a prisoner was made to pass between two rows of men armed with (and using) clubs or other weapons. The original word for the punishment in English was gantelope, from the Swedish gatlopp meaning, literally, “run down the lane.” Gantelope was a bit funny-sounding to the English ear, though, and through a process called folk etymology gantelope morphed into the already-familiar gauntlet. By the time gantelope had become gauntlet, an older gauntlet, referring to a protective glove worn with medieval armor, had been part of the language for about 200 years. (It comes from the Middle French word gantelet, a diminutive of gant, “glove.”)

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 11, 2026 is:





valorous • \VAL-uh-russ\ • adjective

Someone or something described as valorous is courageous or brave.

// For carrying three wounded members of his squadron out of harm's way, the lieutenant was presented with an award that recognized his valorous actions in the heat of battle.

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Examples:

"... a Texas native who was awarded the Medal of Honor for valorous action during combat in Vietnam." — Melissa Renteria, The San Antonio (Texas) Express-News, 8 Mar. 2026





Did you know?

The English language has no shortage of synonyms for brave. In fact, it even has two different such words from the same Latin verb, valēre ("to be well, to have strength"): valiant and valorous. Valiant is the older of the pair, borrowed from the Anglo-French vaillant ("worthy, strong, courageous") in the 1300s. Valorous followed in the 1400s, a combination of valor ("strength of mind or spirit that enables a person to encounter danger with firmness")—another valēre descendent—and the adjective suffix -ous. While the words can be used synonymously, valorous sometimes has an archaic or romantic ring, describing stout-hearted warriors of yore, while the more common word valiant often describes soldiers as well as general kinds of bravery or effort.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 10, 2026 is:





defer • \dih-FER\ • verb

To defer something is to put it off or delay it, to choose to do it at a later time.

// We decided to defer the offer so that we could explore other options.

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Examples:

“Amelie plans to defer college for a year to attempt a mostly solo thru-hike of the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail.” — Justin Souza, Noozhawk (Santa Barbara, California), 24 Sept. 2026





Did you know?

There are two distinct words spelled defer in English, each with its own history and meaning. The defer having to do with allowing someone else to decide or choose something, or with agreeing to follow someone else’s decision, tradition, etc., (as in “deferred to his parents’ wishes”) comes from the Latin dēferre, meaning “to bring down, convey, transfer, submit.” The defer meaning “to put off or delay” comes from a different Latin verb, differre, which itself has several meanings, including two that resound in its English descendant: “to postpone” and “to delay.” Another meaning of differre is “to be unlike or distinct,” which makes apparent another of its descendants: differ, meaning “to be different.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 9, 2026 is:





wabi-sabi • \WAH-bee-SAH-bee\ • noun

Wabi-sabi refers to a philosophy of Japanese origin that emphasizes the aesthetic value in imperfect, impermanent, and simple things. This word can also refer to the qualities of imperfection, impermanence, and simplicity considered as beautiful.

// Over the years, the gardener learned to let go of his perfectionism and embrace wabi-sabi.

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Examples:

"Traditional Japanese homes often follow the philosophy of wabi-sabi, an appreciation for imperfection and asymmetry. If elements are flawed, worn out or unbalanced, rather than scrambling to fix them, the theory goes, it's better to not only accept but celebrate a place's peccadillos." — Robin Roberts, The Vancouver (British Columbia) Sun, 9 May 2026





Did you know?

Wabi-sabi followed a simple path to English: it was borrowed directly from Japanese in the early 1960s. The philosophy this word refers to, however, is much older. In the mid-16th century, Japanese tea master Sen Rikyū firmly established simple or unadorned beauty, known as wabi, and an aged appearance or rustic patina, known as sabi, as integral aesthetic elements of the ceramics used in tea ceremonies. A popular expression of wabi-sabi is seen in kintsugi, the traditional Japanese art of repairing broken pottery using a lacquer and metal powder (such as gold, silver, or platinum) to draw attention to, rather than hide, the repair. Kintsugi is another Japanese borrowing, from kin, meaning "gold" and tsugi, meaning "patch."