Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 11, 2026 is:

besotted • \bih-SAH-tud\  • adjective

Someone described as besotted is so in love that they are unable to think clearly; they are utterly infatuated. Besotted can also be used as a synonym of drunk.

// The opening scene of the movie follows a besotted couple at a party, the camera?s focus emphasizing their ignorance of all that?s around them.

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Examples:

?Kathrin [tour guide] is endearingly besotted with her adopted country and spoke about it with the reverence of a convert. Some more things I heard from her that contribute to people in Finland being happy included: sauna culture discouraging fatphobia; emphasis on design?that means even very basic, cheap things are beautiful and robust; and, of course, nature.? ? Imogen West-Knights, Slate, 27 Aug. 2025

Did you know?

Stumble on the word sot and you will likely find it attached to a person who tends to over-imbibe. The word has referred to a habitual drunkard since the late 16th century, and before that?from the days of Old English?it referred to a fool generally. The now-archaic verb sot followed a similar trajectory, its original meaning of ?to cause to appear foolish? being joined later by its ?to drink alcohol excessively? meaning. The earliest known recorded use of the related adjective besotted (in the late 16th century, from the the verb besot), however, described a state of figurative intoxication: one besotted was stupefied by love rather than liquor. The still-current sense of besotted meaning ?drunk? didn?t show up until the early 19th century. In fact, evidence of the ?infatuated? sense of besotted also predates the tipple-related senses of the noun sot, verb sot, and verb besot, suggesting perhaps that love may be the strongest intoxicant of all.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2026 is:

mea culpa • \may-uh-KOOL-puh\  • noun

The noun mea culpa is used for a formal acknowledgment of personal fault or error.

// The podcast host's mea culpa did little to satisfy those who found the episode deeply offensive.

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Examples:

"... his apology was the best public mea culpa of this century. ... It was delivered without hesitation, qualification or blame shifting." ? John Mosig, The Age (Melbourne, Australia), 24 Oct. 2025

Did you know?

Mea culpa means "through my fault" in Latin. Said by itself, it's an exclamation of apology or remorse that is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize." Mea culpa is also a noun, however. A newspaper might issue a mea culpa for printing inaccurate information, or a politician might give a speech making mea culpas for past wrongdoings. Mea culpa is one of many English terms that come from the Latin culpa, meaning "guilt." Some other examples are culpable ("meriting condemnation or blame especially as wrong or harmful"), culprit ("one guilty of a crime or a fault"), and exculpate ("to clear from alleged fault or guilt").

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 9, 2026 is:

hector • \HEK-ter\  • verb

To hector someone is to criticize or question them in a threatening way.

// The judge ordered the attorney to stop hectoring the witness.

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Examples:

?He continued to hector Neal about his inattention to business (?I have been waiting to hear from you,? again, and again, and again), without any tangible results.? ? Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Aug. 2025

Did you know?

In Homer?s Iliad, Hector, the eldest son of King Priam of Troy, was a model soldier, son, father, and friend, the champion of the Trojan army until he was killed by the Greek hero Achilles. So how did his name become a verb meaning ?to intimidate or harass?? That use was likely influenced by gangs of rowdy street toughs who roamed London in the 17th century and called themselves ?Hectors.? They may have thought themselves gallant young blades (that?s sense 3b(3)), but to the general populace they were swaggering bullies who intimidated passersby and vandalized property.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 8, 2026 is:

crepuscular • \krih-PUHSS-kyuh-ler\  • adjective

Crepuscular means ?of, relating to, or resembling twilight.? It is used in zoological contexts to describe creatures that are active during twilight, or the activities of such creatures.

// As evening came on, fireflies began to appear in the crepuscular gloaming.

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Examples:

?To gaze upon a platypus is to witness a jumble of contradictions. ? Even when you see one with your own eyes?say, paddling underwater, absorbed in her crepuscular rooting?the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) remains hard to believe.? ? Kathleen Yale, Orion, Winter 2025/2026

Did you know?

The early Romans had two words for the twilight. Crepusculum was favored by Roman writers for the half-light of evening, just after the sun sets; diluculum was reserved for morning twilight, just before the sun rises?it is related to l?cidus, meaning ?bright.? (Crepusculum was likely modeled on diluculum, from the assumed root krepos-, meaning ?twilight.?) English speakers didn?t embrace either of these Latin nouns as substitutes for the word twilight, but they did form the adjective crepuscular in the 17th century. The word?s zoological sense, relating to animals that are most active at twilight, developed in the 19th century.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 7, 2026 is:

libertine • \LIB-er-teen\  • noun

A libertine is in broad terms a person who is unrestrained by convention or morality. More narrowly, the word describes someone who leads an immoral life.

// The legend of Don Juan depicts him as a playboy and libertine.

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Examples:

"As horrifying as some of the sins of Victorian scholarship may have been, it would have been anathema to these students of classical philosophy to simply throw out Plato. But that's what some of their modern inheritors have tried to do. ? It's worth noting that we might not have Plato's work at all, were it not carefully studied and preserved by the Islamic scholars (hardly libertines themselves) of the medieval period." ? R. Bruce Anderson, The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida), 1 Feb. 2026

Did you know?

"I only ask to be free," says Mr. Skimpole in Charles Dickens' Bleak House. His words would undoubtedly have appealed to the world's first libertines. The word libertine comes from the Latin l?bert?nus, a word used in early writings of Roman antiquity to describe a formerly enslaved person who had been set free (the Roman term for an emancipated person was the Latin l?bertus). Middle English speakers used libertine to refer to a freedman, but by the late 1500s its meaning was extended to freethinkers, both religious and secular, and it later came to imply that an individual was a little too unrestrained, especially in moral affairs. The likely Latin root of libertine is l?ber, the ultimate source of our word liberty.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 6, 2026 is:

vaunted • \VAWN-tud\  • adjective

Vaunted describes someone or something that is often spoken of or described as very good or great.

// The team?s vaunted defense faltered in the second half of the game.

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Examples:

?After much initial hype, the much vaunted new production partnership fizzled out after just two seasons, leaving the franchise scrambling for a new direction and without a lead actor in its signature role.? ? Lacy Baugher, Den of Geek, 22 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

The verb vaunt has been used since the 15th century with the meaning ?to make a vain display of one?s own worth or attainments??in other words, ?to brag or boast.? Over time, vaunt developed the meaning ?to boast of (a particular thing),? as in ?the promotional flier vaunts the natural beauty of the area,? and that use gave rise to the adjectival form vaunted. The history of vaunt and vaunted leads back to the Latin?word v?nus, with the meanings ?lacking content, empty, illusory, marked by foolish or empty pride.? The word vain itself is also a descendant of v?nus.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 5, 2026 is:

deem • \DEEM\  • verb

Deem is a somewhat formal word used when someone comes to think something or to have something as an opinion after some consideration.

// The covered bridge was closed to automobile traffic for the winter because town officials deemed it a hazard to motorists.

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Examples:

?bbno$ is an artist who has certainly taken some flak over the years for his style. Some find it to be a gimmick, while others deem it corny. Despite this, he does have a pretty sizable fanbase.? ? Alexander Cole, HotNewHipHop.com, 10 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

If you feel a sense of doom when asked to define deem, we?re here with some details for your dome (sense 7). While today deem is used generally as a synonym of consider (as in ?a movie deemed appropriate for all ages?), its origins are more formal, coming specifically from the realm of law. The oldest meaning of deem, which comes from the Old English verb d?man (relative of d?m, meaning ?doom?) is ?to sit in judgment upon,? as employed by Edmund Spenser in The Faerie Queen: ?... at th?one side six Judges were dispos?d, / To view and deem the deeds of arms that day.? This sense was obsolete by the early 17th century, and other senses including ?to expect or hope? have come and gone, but deem?s use overall has never dimmed. In fact, today?s most common meaning of ?to come to think or judge something; to consider? has also been in use since Old English and is still deemed quite common.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 4, 2026 is:

ad hoc • \AD-HOCK\  • adjective

Ad hoc describes something that is formed or used for a special purpose, or that is made or done without planning because of an immediate need.

// An ad hoc committee was formed to investigate the matter.

// The company will hire more staff on an ad hoc basis.

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Examples:

"At the centre of the plan were tools designed to help governments and councils move beyond ad hoc responses to extreme weather." ? Kirsty Johnston, The New Zealand Herald, 31 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

In Latin ad hoc literally means "for this," and in English the term describes anything that can be thought of as existing "for this purpose only." For example, an ad hoc committee is generally authorized to look into a single matter of limited scope, not to broadly pursue any issue of interest. Ad hoc can also be used as an adverb meaning "for the particular end or case at hand without consideration of wider application," as in "decisions were made ad hoc."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 3, 2026 is:

spiel • \SPEEL\  • noun

A spiel is a fast speech that someone has often said before and that is usually intended to persuade people to buy something or to agree to something.

// The founder gave us a long spiel about the benefits of joining the running club.

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Examples:

?We were in a hotel and when he and his publicist exited one door of the suite, I slipped out the other to meet him at the elevator. I gave him my spiel about the film and handed him a rough cut on VHS. He said, ?Alright, we?ll take a look.?? ? Ed Burns, quoted in The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

Here?s our spiel on spiel: it?s well-known as a noun, and you may also be aware that spiel can be used as a verb meaning ?to talk extravagantly,? but did you know that the verb can also mean ?to play music?? That, in fact, is the word?s original meaning, and one it shares with its German root, spielen. Spiel is also found in glockenspiel, the name of a musical instrument similar to the xylophone.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 2, 2026 is:

exhilarate • \ig-ZIL-uh-rayt\  • verb

Exhilarate means "to cause (someone) to feel very happy and excited." It is usually used in the passive voice as (be) exhilarated.

// She was exhilarated by the prospect of attending her dream school.

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Examples:

"I'll say it: winter is my favorite season for jazz in Chicago. Summer may be busier and splashier, but there's nothing quite like nestling into a darkened club, cheeks flushed from the cold, for a singular and inventive night of music. It does more than thaw frozen fingers: It exhilarates, inspires and inflames, in the best way." ? Hannah Edgar, The Chicago Tribune, 11 Jan. 2026

Did you know?

Many people find exhilarate a difficult word to spell. It's easy to forget that silent "h" in there, and is it an "er" or "ar" after the "l"? It may be easier to remember the spelling if you know that exhilarate ultimately comes from the Latin adjective hilarus, meaning "cheerful." (This also explains why the earliest meaning of exhilarate is "to make cheerful.") Exhilarate comes from exhilaratus, a form of exhilarare, which combines ex- and hilarare, a verb from hilarus that means "to cheer or gladden." If hilarus looks familiar, that may be because it's also the source of hilarious and hilarity (as well as hilariously and hilariousness, of course).