Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

imperturbable


Listen Later

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 10, 2025 is:

imperturbable • \im-per-TER-buh-bul\  • adjective

Imperturbable describes someone or something marked by extreme calm; such a person or thing is very hard to disturb or upset.

// The imperturbable captain did not panic when the boat sailed into the path of a violent storm.

// Nothing disrupted the contestant's imperturbable focus.

See the entry >

Examples:

"The thick heat is not letting up after a long stretch of nearly-90-degree-days, though the crowd has not seemed to notice. Instead, these thousands of people emanate a truly imperturbable energy as they get to see gospel legend Mavis Staples for free." — David Cohn, The Daily Californian (UC Berkeley), 13 Oct. 2024

Did you know?

Imperturbable is a bit of a mouthful, but don’t let its five syllables perturb you. Instead, let us break it down: this word, as well as its antonym perturbable, comes from the Latin verb perturbare, meaning "to agitate, trouble, or throw into confusion." Perturbare comes in turn from the combination of per-, meaning "thoroughly," and turbare, meaning "to disturb"; unsurprisingly perturbare is also the source of the English verb perturb. Other perturbare descendants include disturb ("to destroy the tranquility or composure of") and turbid ("thick or opaque with or as if with roiled sediment").



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Merriam-Webster's Word of the DayBy Merriam-Webster

  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5
  • 4.5

4.5

1,229 ratings


More shows like Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

91,069 Listeners

Modern Love by The New York Times

Modern Love

8,861 Listeners

TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,033 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,506 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,689 Listeners

TED Talks Daily by TED

TED Talks Daily

11,174 Listeners

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by QuickAndDirtyTips.com

Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing

2,836 Listeners

Science Quickly by Scientific American

Science Quickly

1,383 Listeners

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over by Martha Barnette and Grant Barrett. Produced by Stefanie Levine.

A Way with Words - language, linguistics, and callers from all over

2,290 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,204 Listeners

Life Kit by NPR

Life Kit

4,379 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,420 Listeners

No Stupid Questions by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

No Stupid Questions

3,652 Listeners

Word Matters by Merriam-Webster, New England Public Media

Word Matters

485 Listeners

How to Be a Better Human by TED

How to Be a Better Human

1,389 Listeners