modicum
noun
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The Origins of Modicum Can Be Found in the Bathroom
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the English language has more than a modicum of words referring to a small amount of something—it has oodles, from smidgen to soupçon. But while modicum can be applied to countable or physical things (like words or salt) it is almost always applied instead to abstract concepts like respect, success, control, hope, dignity, or privacy. Modicum traces back to the Latin noun modus, meaning “measure,” which just so happens to be the ancestor of more than a modicum of English words, from moderate and modify to mold and commode.
Examples of modicum in a Sentence
Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2025
At least a modicum of adversity, which Cleveland didn’t really have until the very end last season, is built into the start of the new campaign.
—Joe Vardon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
And yet a new revolution precipitated by the betrayals of an older uprising ought to prompt us to view what is now unfolding in Nepal, despite its appearance of promise, with at least a modicum of wariness.
—Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
His days as a starting pitcher are gone — save for a unique scenario Wednesday, when he’ll be called into action — but that same modicum of joy remains.
—Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for modicum
Cite this Entry
“Modicum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modicum. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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modicum
noun
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