Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 22, 2025 is:
liaison • \lee-AY-zahn\ • noun
Liaison refers to a person who helps organizations or groups work together and provide information to each other, or to a relationship that allows such interactions. Liaison can also refer to an illicit sexual relationship.
// The new position involves acting as a liaison between the police department and city schools.
// The committee has maintained close liaison with some of the former board members.
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Examples:
“In 2019, [Jefri] Lindo found work at Bestia, the trendy downtown restaurant. ... He flourished there, working his way up to house expeditor, acting as the key liaison between the kitchen and dining room.” — Laura Tejeda, The Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2025
Did you know?
If you took French in school, you might remember that liaison is the word for the phenomenon that causes a silent consonant at the end of one word to sound like it begins the next word when that word begins with a vowel, so that a phrase like beaux arts sounds like \boh zahr\. We can thank French for the origin of the term liaison, as well. It comes from Middle French lier, meaning “to bind or tie.” Other English senses of liaison apply it to all kinds of bonds—from binding and thickening agents used in cooking (as in “a butter and flour liaison”), to people who work to connect different groups, to the kind of secret relationship sometimes entered into by two people who are romantically attracted to one another.
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bodacious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 21, 2025 is:
bodacious • \boh-DAY-shuss\ • adjective
Bodacious is used as an informal synonym of remarkable and noteworthy, as well as sexy and voluptuous. In some dialects of the Southern and Midland US, bodacious is used by its oldest meaning: "outright, unmistakable."
// The bodacious decor of the boutique hotel is intended to appeal to the young and the hip.
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Examples:
"There’s no need to lug in a 6-foot specimen tree to add bodacious botanicals into your home, because even the smallest planters can make a big impact when intentionally pairing striking foliage with a unique vessel." — Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
Did you know?
Some of our readers may know bodacious as a word that figured prominently in the lingo of the 1989 film Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Others may recall the term's frequent use in the long-running "Snuffy Smith" comic strip. Neither the creators of the comic strip nor the movie can claim to have coined bodacious, which began appearing in print in the mid-1800s, but both surely contributed to its popularity. The exact origin of the word is uncertain, but it is most likely a blend of bold and audacious, and it may be linked to boldacious, a now-rare British dialect term meaning "brazen" or "impudent."
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resurrection
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 20, 2025 is:
resurrection • \rez-uh-REK-shun\ • noun
In Christian theology, Resurrection (typically capitalized in this use) refers to the event in which Jesus Christ returned to life after his death. In general contexts, resurrection refers to the act of causing something that had ended or been forgotten or lost to exist again, to be used again, etc.
// Church members look forward to celebrating the Resurrection every Easter.
// The community applauded the resurrection of the commuter rail system.
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Examples:
“Some of their efforts to follow Scripture were wonderfully zany. To wrest the death and resurrection of Jesus away from both pagan fertility rituals and Hallmark, they outlawed Easter egg hunts. ... She smashed chocolate Easter bunnies with a meat tenderizer and ripped the heads off marshmallow Peeps, while the boys gleefully gobbled the ruined remnants of consumer culture.” — Eliza Griswold, Circle of Hope: A Reckoning with Love, Power, and Justice in an American Church, 2024
Did you know?
The word resurrection first arose in English in the 14th century, coming from the Anglo-French word resurreccioun, which in turn comes from the Late Latin verb resurgere, meaning “to rise from the dead.” Originally, the word was used in Christian contexts to refer to the rising of Christ from the dead or to the festival celebrating this rising (now known as Easter). Perhaps showing the influence of the Late Latin verb resurgere’s Latin forerunner, which could mean “to rise again” (as from a recumbent position) as well as “to spring up again after being cut” (used of plants), resurrection soon began to be used more generally in the senses of “resurgence” or “revival.” It even forms part of the name of the resurrection fern, an iconic fern of the southern United States often seen growing on the limbs of live oak trees. The fern is so named due to the fact that in dry weather it curls up, turns brown, and appears dead, only to be “brought back to life” when exposed to moisture.
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fastidious
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 19, 2025 is:
fastidious • \fass-TID-ee-us\ • adjective
Someone described as fastidious is extremely or overly careful about how they do something. Fastidious may also describe someone who is difficult to please, or someone who always wants to be clean, neat, etc.
// Our parents taught us to be fastidious in keeping our rooms clean, making sure to dust every surface and sweep out every corner.
// He's a fastidious dresser whose fashion choices seem to anticipate the newest trends.
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Examples:
"Becoming Led Zeppelin, filmmaker Bernard MacMahon's new documentary about the band, certainly succeeds at taking Led Zeppelin seriously, in ways that might disappoint some viewers but that I found both compelling and refreshing. Becoming Led Zeppelin doesn't hide that it's an authorized biopic … but the film is so fastidious and detail-oriented that it never feels like hagiography." — Jack Hamilton, Slate, 11 Feb. 2025
Did you know?
If you presume that the adjective fastidious bears some relation to fast, not so fast. Fastidious comes from Latin fastidium, meaning "aversion" or "disgust." Fastidium is believed to be a combination of fastus, meaning "arrogance," and taedium, "irksomeness" or "disgust." (Taedium is also the source of tedium and tedious.) In keeping with its Latin roots, fastidious once meant "haughty," "disgusting," and "disagreeable," but the word is now most often applied to people who are very meticulous or overly difficult to please, or to work which reflects a demanding or precise attitude. Our own fastidiousness requires us to point out that the familiar adjective fast comes not from Latin, but from Old English.
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collaborate
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 18, 2025 is:
collaborate • \kuh-LAB-uh-rayt\ • verb
To collaborate is to work with another person or group in order to do or achieve something. Collaborate can also be used disapprovingly to mean "to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one's country and especially an enemy who occupies it during a war."
// Several research teams from various countries collaborated closely on the project.
// They were suspected of collaborating with enemy forces.
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Examples:
"Forever 21 collaborated with photographer Henry R. Jones II for the reveal of its Black History Month unisex collection. The 17-piece display delivers deeply personal pieces intimately connected to Jones' artistic journey. Known for his striking photography and poetry, Jones extends a unique invitation to the viewer, allowing them to immerse themselves in the intricate layers of his art." — Kenyatta Victoria, Essence, 1 May 2024
Did you know?
The Latin prefix com-, meaning "with, together, or jointly," is a bit of a chameleon—it has a habit of changing its appearance depending on what it's next to. For example, if the word it precedes begins with l, com- becomes col-. In the case of collaborate, com- teamed up with the verb laborare ("to labor") to form the Late Latin word collaborare ("to labor together"). Be careful not to confuse collaborate with corroborate, another com- relative. This word was formed when com- (this time shape-shifting to cor-) joined forces with the Latin word robur ("strength"). Together, by way of the Latin verb corroborare, they created the meaning "to support or help prove (a statement, theory, etc.) by providing information or evidence," which carried over into the English word corroborate.
Colombia