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MAY 30, 2023
nemesis Listen to the pronunciation of nemesis
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Games & Quizzes

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Name That Thing MegaQuiz: Vol. 5
Test your visual vocabulary!
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Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama
Prove you're the best of the nest.
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A Good Old-Fashioned Quiz
Can you name these antiquated items?
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Challenging Standardized Test Words, Vol. 2
No Number 2 pencil required.
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time traveler quiz which word came first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?
Which word entered the English language first?
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Words at Play

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13 Wonderful Words That You're Not Using (Yet)
Once you learn these rare words, we challenge you to use them in conversation.
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Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 3
Are they lovely, are they pointless, or are they both?
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tycoon
17 English Words that Come From Japanese
We may call them borrowings, but we're not giving them back
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Last Names That Started as Jobs
What's in a name? Sometimes, a paycheck.
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swag
Why Do We Call It 'Swag'?
'Loot' or 'stylish confidence'?
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Word Usage & Grammar

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A List of Most Commonly Confused Words
Your one-stop clarification shop
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sherbert
The Scoop on Sherbet vs. Sherbert
They taste the same
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funner
Funner, Stupider, and Other Words That Are in Fact Real
Don't argue with the dictionary
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xenophobia-definition
'Xenophobia' vs. 'Racism'
Where they overlap and how they differ
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churchill
Prepositions, Ending a Sentence With
Yes, you can end a sentence with a preposition
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Videos

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decimate video play
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
decimate video play
Is it wrong to use 'decimate' to mean 'destroy'?
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Is it 'I Could Care Less' or 'I Couldn't Care Less'?
sneaked vs snuck video play
Sneaked vs. Snuck
serial comma play
The Serial Comma Explained

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Puku: Learn New Words

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Join Merriam-Webster editors as they challenge supposed grammar rules, reveal the surprising origins behind words, tackle common questions, and generally geek out about the beautiful nightmare that is language.

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