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Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

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We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

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'Svengali' Bannon leaving White House

'A person who manipulates'

Videos

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Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

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The Serial Comma

Why don't they call it the Merriam-Webster comma?

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2016 Word of the Year: Behind the Scenes

How we chose 'surreal'

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Alright vs. All Right

Is 'alright' all right?

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Is None Singular or Plural?

Or both? Or neither?

Latest Videos

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Grammar and Usage

Word History

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  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

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Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

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  • Which came first?
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Words at Play

watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

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How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

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Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Word Games

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Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
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Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

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Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

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Add Diction
Add Diction

Build a chain of words by adding one letter at a time.

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