Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 27, 2026 is:





parochial • \puh-ROH-kee-ul\ • adjective

Parochial is a formal word that is usually used in a disapproving way to describe something that is limited in range or scope, as to a narrow region or area.

// For some, college can be an expansive experience that lifts them out of a parochial mindset.

See the entry >





Examples:

“The twenty-first century American university is one of the great achievements of modern civilization and the destruction of the relationship between higher education, the federal government, and the business community would set America back to a parochial era that we left a long time ago.” — Peter Balakian, Literary Hub, 9 July 2025





Did you know?

While it’s far from a given that small towns foster narrow-mindedness, the limited range of opportunities and experiences in such places when compared to those of bigger burgs is at the heart of the figurative sense of parochial. In Late Latin, parochia was the designation for a group of Christians in a given area under the leadership of one pastor—what came to be known in English as a parish in the 14th century. Both parish and its related adjective parochial were borrowed at that time directly from Anglo-French terms that came from parochia. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s that parochial expanded beyond the borders of its literal sense to describe attitudes, beliefs, mentalities, outlooks, etc., considered limited or narrow, confined or restricted, as if within a single parish.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 26, 2026 is:





aerie • \AIR-ee\ • noun

Aerie refers to the nest of a bird (such as an eagle or hawk) built high up on a cliff or on the top of a mountain. It can also be used for a room or building built high up so that people inside can see things happening below them.

// From the lighthouse's aerie tourists can get a bird's-eye view of the rocky coastline.

See the entry >





Examples:

“Their eaglet is expected to hatch around April 21. In the meantime, audience members tuning in will likely see at least one eagle at the nest. To keep up with home improvements, the majestic birds often arrive home bearing sticks and grass to add to their aerie.” — Mary Ann Lickteig, Seven Days (Burlington, Vermont), 8 Apr. 2026





Did you know?

English poet John Milton put a variant of aerie to good use in Paradise Lost (1667), writing, “… there the eagle and the stork / On cliffs and cedar tops their eyries build.” But Milton wasn’t the first to use the term, which comes to us via Medieval Latin and Old French and probably traces to an earlier Latin word, ager, meaning “field.” English speakers had been employing aerie as a word for a bird’s nest for more than a century when he penned those words. Eventually, aerie was applied to human dwellings as well as birds’ nests. At first, this sense referred to dwellings nestled high up in mountains or hills. These days, you’re also likely to hear high-rise city apartments or offices referred to as “aeries.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 25, 2026 is:





vituperate • \vye-TOO-puh-rayt\ • verb

To vituperate someone is to criticize or censure them severely or abusively. Vituperate can also mean "to use harsh condemnatory language."

// They were vituperated for betraying their friends.

See the entry >





Examples:

"On the world stage where Britain's royal family have traditionally been in the vanguard promoting our nation's brand, the Duke and Duchess remain hugely relevant. Old codgers vituperate and hate on them for their lucrative Instagram vibes, but out there in the global ether Haz and Megs still matter ..." — Tessa Dunlop, The i Paper (United Kingdom), 24 Mar. 2026





Did you know?

There would seem to be as many English words and phrases for reading someone the riot act as there are justifications for doing so, from chew out, bawl out, and ream out, to dress down and tongue-lash. Vituperate, unlike this sample litany, is decidedly formal. This isn't to say that one needs must wear a top hat or pince-nez to vituperate or be vituperated, only that the word vituperate (which traces in part back to the Latin word vitium, meaning
"fault") tends to appear in the types of publications that also use constructions like "needs must" and words like pince-nez.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2026 is:





itinerant • \eye-TIN-uh-runt\ • adjective

Itinerant describes someone who travels from place to place or only stays in a place for a short amount of time. It is used especially for people who travel in a circuit for their profession.

// Being an itinerant musician gave her the opportunity to see the wonders of the world with her own eyes.

See the entry >





Examples:

“‘There has long been this masculine idea that a lone, itinerant male blues singer, travelling the South with a guitar slung over his back, was the authentic representation of the blues,’ she [Dr. Cookie Woolner] explains, ‘while female performers like [Ma] Rainey, who drew from vaudeville and blackface minstrelsy, were commercial entertainers and not artists.’” — Deborah Nicholls-Lee, BBC, 5 June 2025





Did you know?

Many a song in popular music has been penned about the itinerant lifestyle of touring, ranging from the exuberant (“Travelin’ Band” by Creedence Clearwater Revival) to the exhausted (“Lodi” by, er, Creedence Clearwater Revival). All journeys have their highs and lows, of course, and the word itinerant is all about the journey, not the destination. Indeed, itinerant comes from the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning “to journey,” which in turn traipsed down the etymological trail from the noun iter meaning “way” or “journey.” Itinerant is usually encountered as an adjective used to describe traveling types, especially those—like touring musicians—whose itineraries (to use another iter descendent) are often circuits, but it can also be used as a noun. Itinerants, musical or otherwise, are those who never stay in one place for long, who whether by choice, profession, or circumstance, keep on chooglin’.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 24, 2026 is:





itinerant • \eye-TIN-uh-runt\ • adjective

Itinerant describes someone who travels from place to place or only stays in a place for a short amount of time. It is used especially for people who travel in a circuit for their profession.

// Being an itinerant musician gave her the opportunity to see the wonders of the world with her own eyes.

See the entry >





Examples:

“‘There has long been this masculine idea that a lone, itinerant male blues singer, travelling the South with a guitar slung over his back, was the authentic representation of the blues,’ she [Dr. Cookie Woolner] explains, ‘while female performers like [Ma] Rainey, who drew from vaudeville and blackface minstrelsy, were commercial entertainers and not artists.’” — Deborah Nicholls-Lee, BBC, 5 June 2025





Did you know?

Many a song in popular music has been penned about the itinerant lifestyle of touring, ranging from the exuberant (“Travelin’ Band” by Creedence Clearwater Revival) to the exhausted (“Lodi” by, er, Creedence Clearwater Revival). All journeys have their highs and lows, of course, and the word itinerant is all about the journey, not the destination. Indeed, itinerant comes from the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning “to journey,” which in turn traipsed down the etymological trail from the noun iter meaning “way” or “journey.” Itinerant is usually encountered as an adjective used to describe traveling types, especially those—like touring musicians—whose itineraries (to use another iter descendent) are often circuits, but it can also be used as a noun. Itinerants, musical or otherwise, are those who never stay in one place for long, who whether by choice, profession, or circumstance, keep on chooglin’.