Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 23, 2026 is:





asunder • \uh-SUN-der\ • adverb or adjective

Asunder is most often used as an adverb—often with a verb such as tear or rip—to mean "apart" or "into pieces." It is more rarely used as an adjective meaning "apart from each other," as in "standing with legs wide asunder."

// The park was torn asunder by yesterday's microburst, and many of its trails have been blocked by fallen trees.

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Examples:

"We cannot see erosion but we know it happens. [Artist Harrison] Bowe's work is filled with hints of vastness, but he's also pointing to how water might carve a mountain asunder." — Andrew Harper, Hobart Mercury (Australia), 6 Dec. 2025





Did you know?

To get to the root of today’s word, it helps to take it apart and focus on the sunder. You see, asunder comes from the verb sunder, which means "to break apart" or "to become parted, disunited, or severed." Both words come from the Old English word sundor, meaning "apart." The adverbial "into parts" sense of asunder is often used in the phrase "tear asunder," which can be used both literally (as in "fabric torn asunder") and, more often, figuratively (as in "a community torn asunder by the dispute"). The adjectival "apart from each other" sense can be found in the phrase "poles asunder," used to describe two things that are as vastly far apart as the poles of the Earth.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 22, 2026 is:





vocation • \voh-KAY-shun\ • noun

Vocation can refer simply to an occupation, or it can refer to a strong calling to pursue a particular kind of work or course of action.

// Since he was a teenager, he knew that he would find his vocation in marine biology.

// She is headed to medical school to pursue her vocation as a doctor.

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Examples:

“Through her education and her father’s encouragement, she had nurtured a vocation for literature and was determined to make a career for herself in the bundan, Japan’s literary elite …” — Bryan Karetnyk, introduction to Troubled Waters by Higuchi Ichiyō, 2026





Did you know?

When vocation was first used in English in the 15th century it referred specifically to a summons from God to perform a particular task or function in life, especially a religious one. This meaning is no surprise given the word’s source: it comes from the Latin vocation-, vocacio, meaning “summons,” which in turn comes from vocāre, meaning “to call.” Vocation also has a non-religious function in the English language as a word for the strong desire to do a certain kind of work, or as a word for the work itself, making vocation a synonym of the words calling and occupation.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2026 is:





jilt • \JILT\ • verb

To jilt someone is usually to abruptly end a romantic relationship with them. Jilt is also applied to various kinds of abrupt rejection.

// The novel begins with the hero, having just been jilted by his fiancée, setting off to hike the Appalachian Trail.

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Examples:

“The set suggests Miss Havisham’s room in her estate, which was famously frozen in time from the moment her fiancé jilted her in the Dickens novel, but that’s simply the frame for a behind-the-scenes view into all of the elements ... that go into an actor’s effort to bring a character to life on stage.” — Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe, 20 May 2026





Did you know?

What’s in a name? Often, something not very nice, through no fault and much to the chagrin of those bearing that name. Just ask Ralph or Karen. The same is (possibly) true of Gillot, an old pet form of Gillian that is thought to have led to the noun jillet, which originally referred to an unfaithful wife, and later became jilt, used in the late 17th century for a person (especially a woman) who capriciously casts a lover aside. The verb jilt followed for the actions of such a person. These days, though jilt usually implies the sudden ending of a romantic relationship, it can also be used beyond that context with the broader meaning “to sever close relations with.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 20, 2026 is:





compunction • \kum-PUNK-shun\ • noun

Compunction refers to a feeling of misgiving, that is, doubt or suspicion especially concerning a future event. It can also refer to a feeling of guilt or regret. The word is typically used in negative constructions.

// We moved ahead with the plans without compunction.

// They felt no compunctions about their crimes.

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Examples:

"As a younger man, he tried to finish everything he started. But today he drops a book without compunction if he's extracted what he needed or lost interest." — Jim Higgins, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 21 Dec. 2025





Did you know?

According to an old proverb, "a guilty conscience needs no accuser." The implication is that the sting of a guilty conscience can prick very hard indeed. The sudden guilty "prickings" of compunction are reflected in the word's Latin roots: compungere means "to prick hard" or "to sting." Compungere, in turn, comes from pungere, meaning "to prick," which is the ancestor of some other prickly words in English, such as puncture and point.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 19, 2026 is:





fervid • \FER-vid\ • adjective

Fervid is used to describe people or things that express or are expressive of strong feelings.

// The core of the book is the fervid letters the friends exchanged during the years they were apart.

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Examples:

“Fervid superfans of high-profile groups often pore over members’ appearances, performances, and private lives. Perceived ‘bad’ behavior such as smoking or drinking can earn widespread public backlash, forcing stars to live under strict rules.” — Jessie Yeung, CNN, 16 Jan. 2026





Did you know?

The metaphor of strong emotions bubbling over simmers in the roots of fervid, which comes from the Latin verb fervēre, meaning “to boil.” In English, this root gave us not only fervid but the similar-sounding and sometimes synonymous word fervent. But while fervid usually suggests warm emotion that is expressed in a spontaneous or feverish manner (as in “fervid basketball fans”), fervent is reserved for a kind of emotional warmth that is steady and sincere (as in “a fervent belief in human kindness”). Fervid fans of kimchi or sauerkraut (or fervent followers of anything fermented), may appreciate that fervēre is also the root of ferment.