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Word History

The History of 'Cynic'

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

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What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

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How a Word Gets into the Dictionary

 

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

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On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

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Pictures in the Dictionary

 

The story of those iconic illustrations.

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How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

play video his or her
Is singular 'they' a better choice?

 

The awkward case of 'his or her'

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
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Sound Check: A Musical Word Quiz Tune-up your vocabulary
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