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Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

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play video drive safe ly
Drive Safe: In Praise of Flat Adverbs

 

You don't have to end all your adverbs in -ly to talk right.

play how to use a dictionary
How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary

play serenity carr next to an illustration of a refrigerator with the letter d in it
Why is there a 'd' in 'fridge' but not in 'refrigerator'?

 

Thawing one of the mysteries of English

play onomatopoeia video
A Look at Uncommon Onomatopoeia

 

Some imitative words are more surprising than others

play video lay vs lie
Lay vs. Lie

 

Editor Emily Brewster clarifies the difference.

play video ending a sentence with a preposition
Ending a Sentence with a Preposition

 

An old-fashioned rule we can no longer put up with.

play video how a word gets into the dicionary
How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

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

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
little boy with a magnifying glass looking at footprints
Quiz: Spot the Misspelled Word! Think you can detect a spelling error from a mile...
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