Podcasts about Webster

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 10, 2025 is: obviate • AHB-vee-ayt • verb To obviate something (usually a need for something, or a necessity) is to anticipate and prevent it. A formal word, obviate can also mean "to make an action unnecessary." // The new medical treatment obviates the need for surgery. // Allowing workers flexibility should obviate any objections to the change. See the entry > Examples: "In 1987, a new kind of computer workstation debuted from Sun Microsystems. These workstations, as well as increasingly powerful desktop computers from IBM and Apple, obviated the need for specialized LISP machines. Within a year, the market for LISP machines evaporated." — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 3 Sept. 2025 Did you know? It's most often needs that get obviated. And a need that's obviated is a need that's been anticipated and prevented. That sentence may obviate your need to consult the definition again, for example. Obviate comes ultimately from the Latin adjective obviam, meaning "in the way," and obviating does often involve figuratively putting something in the way, as when an explanatory sentence placed just so blocks a need to consult a definition. (Obviam is also an ancestor of our adjective obvious.) Obviate has a number of synonyms in English, including prevent, preclude, and avert, which all can mean "to hinder or stop something." Preclude often implies that a degree of chance was involved in stopping an event, while avert always implies that a bad situation has been anticipated and prevented or deflected by the application of immediate and effective means. Obviate generally suggests the use of intelligence or forethought to ward off trouble.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 9, 2025 is: duress • dur-RESS • noun Duress, which is typically used with under, refers to force or threats meant to make someone do something. It is used especially of unlawful coercion. // The defense asserts that the defendant's confession was made under duress. See the entry > Examples: “Did you know that Toni [Morrison] also edited poetry? (What couldn't she do!) Despite inexperience with the medium, Morrison was an early champion of the poet June Jordan. She published one of her earliest collections, Things I Do in the Dark, in 1977. In a 1975 letter, Morrison told Jordan that Random House would publish her work, but only under duress. ‘The answer they gave was “we would prefer her prose—will do poetry if we must,”' she wrote. ‘Now I would tell them to shove it if that were me…'” — Brittany Allen, LitHub.com, 24 Apr. 2025 Did you know? Duress is most often paired with the word under to refer to force or threats meant to make someone do something. For example, someone forced to sign a document signs it “under duress,” and a person held “under duress” is not free to leave but is being constrained, usually unlawfully. (Do not confuse being “under duress” with being “under stress,” which is a much more common occurrence.) Duress comes ultimately from the Latin adjective durus, meaning “hard,” source too of durable and endure.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 8, 2025 is: finicky • FIN-ih-kee • adjective Finicky describes someone who is very hard to please, or something that requires a lot of care, precision, or attentive effort. // Although she was a finicky eater as a child, she grew up to become a world-renowned chef famous for her encyclopedic knowledge of global ingredients. // The latest game in the series boasts amazing graphics but the controls are a little finicky. See the entry > Examples: "Stardom is a fleeting concept, one that we've seen play out with the biggest of stars over time. Even without outright missteps, artists often find themselves scrutinized by the masses for reasons entirely unrelated to their work. More often than not, this pressure either drives them to prove their worth to a finicky fanbase—one that will jump ship the second something else catches their attention—or pushes them back into obscurity." — Aron A., HotNewHipHop.com, 22 Aug. 2025 Did you know? If you're a reader of a certain age (say, a Boomer, Gen Xer, or even a Xennial) you may remember cheeky television commercials featuring Morris, a finicky housecat who only eats a certain brand of cat food. (Morris is still featured on product labels.) Morris's tastes in cuisine are not only very particular, but very fine as well, and that's appropriate given the origin of finicky. The word came about in the early 19th century as an alteration of finicking, itself a 17th century alteration of another adjective, finical, which in turn is a late 16th century coinage likely derived from the adjective fine.

Kenny Webster interviews comedian Jesse Peyton.

On this week's episode, co-guests (!) and co-hosts of the podcast Debt Heads, Rachel Webster and Jamie Feldman, tell us about heading out for a night in 90s NYC with no plans, and winding up at a sold-out Moby show!Check out Rachel, Jamie, and Debt Heads on InstagramHave fun like RachelDonate to NYPLCheck out this week's Rachel's Recs on our Substack!What did you think of this week's episode?They Had Fun on Instagram, YouTube, and our website

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 7, 2025 is: candor • KAN-der • noun Candor refers to the quality of being open, sincere, and honest. // During the interview, the comedian spoke with candor about the nervousness she feels every time she takes the stage. See the entry > Examples: “When Malika Andrews sat down to chat with ESSENCE, she was seated in her car. There was no rush in her voice, just an ease that showed how thoughtful and open she was to the experience. That balance of composure and candor is exactly what's made her one of the most respected names in sports journalism.” — Diona Ballard, Essence, 7 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The Latin verb candēre, meaning “to shine or glow,” has illuminated the English lexicon for centuries. It's given us familiar words such as candle, candid, and candidate, as well as less common terms like candela (a unit of luminous intensity) and candescent (“glowing or dazzling from or as if from great heat”). Candor, another candēre descendant, arrived in English in the 14th century. Its earliest uses referred to brightness or unstained purity and innocence; today, you're most likely to encounter candor as a word for unquestionably honest expression.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 6, 2025 is: embarrass • im-BAIR-us • verb To embarrass someone is to make them feel confused and foolish in front of other people. // Unexpected laughter embarrassed the speaker. See the entry > Examples: “Going public creates accountability and makes backing out harder. Every creator wishes they'd started sooner. Don't let future-you have the same regret. Get okay with the idea that in the future, your past work will embarrass you. This means growth.” — Jodie Cook, Forbes, 19 Mar. 2025 Did you know? If you've ever felt frozen, unable to move, or like a deer in the proverbial headlights when embarrassed by something, then the origins of the verb embarrass will make a great deal of sense. When embarrass first entered English from French in the late 16th century, it was used for the action of hampering or impeding the progress of someone or something—figuratively tying them up. No wonder then that embarrass comes ultimately from the Portuguese verb embaraçar, which adds the prefix em- to the noun baraça, meaning “noose” or “rope.” This “hampering” sense of embarrass, and others related to restricting, impairing, or burdening of one sort or other, are still in use today, but they're less common than the “to make someone feel confused and foolish in front of other people” sense is.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 5, 2025 is: sonorous • SAH-nuh-rus • adjective Sonorous is an adjective used in formal speech and writing to describe something that has a deep, loud, and pleasant sound. Sonorous can also mean “producing sound (when struck)” and “imposing or impressive in effect or style.” // The baritone's deep, sonorous voice cut through the din of the crowd, the voices immediately halting their conversations to listen more intently. See the entry > Examples: “The sonorous notes of a modern pipe organ were the soundtrack to my tour, enhancing the sense of reverence the cathedral inspires.” — Tracey Teo, The Chicago Tribune, 11 Sept. 2024 Did you know? If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, is it sonorous? Don't be thrown off by the subtle tweak in this classic conundrum—which usually ends with “does it make a sound?”—it's still the same question. Sonorous, in its oldest sense, simply describes things that make a sound when struck (the word's Latin ancestor, sonorus, is related to sonus, meaning “sound”). By this definition, felled firs, windblown willows, etc., are all sonorous. A desktop tapped by a pencil eraser wouldn't normally be described as sonorous, however. The word is usually reserved for things that make a deep, loud, booming, or echoing sound—think timpanis (or toppling timber), not tables. Sonorous is also frequently used to describe sounds themselves, as well as voices, that are deep, loud, and pleasant. And as sonorous sounds often cause one to sit up and take notice, sonorous can also mean “imposing or impressive in effect or style,” as when describing particularly affecting speech or prose.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 4, 2025 is: repertoire • REP-er-twahr • noun Repertoire typically refers to a list or supply of plays, songs, dances, etc. that a company or person is prepared to perform,. Repertoire may also refer to a supply of skills or devices, or more broadly to an amount or supply. // The band's repertoire includes both classic and modern jazz. // The couple enrolled in a cooking class to expand their culinary repertoire. // His fashion repertoire includes a rotation of vibrant floral tops. See the entry > Examples: "[Rebecca] Roudman is best known as the frontwoman for Dirty Cello, a hard-working band that has honed a rollicking repertoire of rock anthems, bluegrass standards and Americana originals." — Andrew Gilbert, The Mercury News (San Jose, California), 21 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The Late Latin noun repertorium, meaning "list," has given English two words related to the broad range of things that someone or something can do. One is repertory, perhaps most commonly known as a word for a company that presents several different plays, operas, or other works at one theater, as well as the theater where such works are performed. Repertoire, which comes from repertorium via French, once meant the same thing as repertory but later came to refer to the works a company performs, or, in extended use, to a range of skills that a person has, such as the different pitches a baseball pitcher can throw or the particular dishes that are a chef's specialty.

In today's episode, Rafael Cortez is joined by Amanda Webster, the Chief Revenue Officer at Accruity, a leading financial advisory firm. With over two decades of experience, Amanda shares her insights on how real estate investors and professionals can optimize their financial strategies to save money, grow their revenue, and navigate the complex world of taxes.Amanda Webster is an expert in financial strategy for real estate professionals, including investors, construction companies, brokerages, and property management firms. As a military spouse and mother of five, she brings the same resilience, dedication, and strategic thinking to her work as she does to her family life.We cover:1️⃣ Why your CPA might not be the right fit for your real estate business (and how to find the right one)2️⃣ How to legally offset tax liabilities and keep more of your profits

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2025 is: gibbous • JIB-us • adjective Gibbous is most often used to describe the moon or a planet when it is seen with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated. // The waxing gibbous moon provided the perfect lighting for a night of spooky storytelling around the campfire. See the entry > Examples: “At 3:30 a.m. the gibbous moon is high in the south and Perseus is nearly overhead. Set up a comfortable lawn chair facing away from any bright lights, ideally looking toward the northeast with the moon to your back. Have insect repellent handy along with hot chocolate, tea or coffee and enjoy the show.” — Tim Hunter, The Arizona Daily Star, 7 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The adjective gibbous has its origins in the Latin noun gibbus, meaning “hump.” It was adopted into Middle English to describe rounded, convex things. While it has been used to describe the rounded body parts of humans and animals (such as the back of a camel) and to describe the shape of certain flowers (such as snapdragons), the term is most often used to describe the moon: a gibbous moon is one that is between half full and full.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2025 is: gibbous • JIB-us • adjective Gibbous is most often used to describe the moon or a planet when it is seen with more than half but not all of the apparent disk illuminated. // The waxing gibbous moon provided the perfect lighting for a night of spooky storytelling around the campfire. See the entry > Examples: “At 3:30 a.m. the gibbous moon is high in the south and Perseus is nearly overhead. Set up a comfortable lawn chair facing away from any bright lights, ideally looking toward the northeast with the moon to your back. Have insect repellent handy along with hot chocolate, tea or coffee and enjoy the show.” — Tim Hunter, The Arizona Daily Star, 7 Aug. 2025 Did you know? The adjective gibbous has its origins in the Latin noun gibbus, meaning “hump.” It was adopted into Middle English to describe rounded, convex things. While it has been used to describe the rounded body parts of humans and animals (such as the back of a camel) and to describe the shape of certain flowers (such as snapdragons), the term is most often used to describe the moon: a gibbous moon is one that is between half full and full.