An iota is an infinitesimal amount of something. The word iota is used synonymously with the etymologically related jot, and by its oldest definition refers to the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet.

// There's not an iota of doubt regarding the defendant's guilt.

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"Six years and one pandemic later, the owners’ standards have not slipped one iota." — Kitty Greenwald, Vogue, 22 Nov. 2022

Feel free to jot this down so you don’t forget: the words iota and jot share a lot more than just a common meaning—both ultimately come from the same word. When Latin scholars transcribed the Greek name of the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, they spelled it as either iota or jota (the letters i and j were simply variants of each other), and these spellings eventually passed into English as iota and jot. Since the Greek letter iota is the smallest letter of its alphabet, both words eventually came to be used in reference to very small things.

To vitiate something is to ruin it or render it ineffective.

// A single inaccuracy in the spreadsheet that supported the data vitiated the entire proposal.

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"… Lily Gladstone does more with thought, in 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' than most actors ever achieve with flagrant and spectacular action; her presence fills the screen with what used to be understood as star power (before the mainly technical prowess of conservatory-trained actors became a mark of Hollywood dignity). The role she plays is one of tragic complexity; blatant theatrics would have vitiated its grandeur." — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024

If you’re itching to find fault with the word vitiate, you don’t have to look far—the word comes ultimately from the Latin noun vitium, which refers to a fault, vice, shortcoming, or impediment to success or perfection. Accordingly, vitiate—like its fellow vitium-descended v-words vituperate ("to use harsh, condemning language"), vicious, and vice—has a negative bent. To vitiate something is, essentially, to mar or damage it in some way, whether by ruining or spoiling it ("a joke vitiated by poor timing"), corrupting it morally ("a mind vitiated by prejudice"), or rendering it null or ineffective ("fraud that vitiates a contract"). Despite its versatility, vitiate is most effective when used in formal speech and writing; that is to say, those who drop it into a construction like "a sandwich vitiated by too much peanut butter" may find themselves subject to some mild vituperation.

Durable describes people or things that last, or remain strong and in good condition over a long period of time. It is often used figuratively, as in "a durable athlete."

// The fabric was durable enough to withstand chewing from the family dog.

// She is one of Hollywood's most durable stars.

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"California proposed banning single-use cups at chain restaurants for dine-in customers, building upon its plastic straw ban, mandated phase-out of virgin plastic use, and proposal to ban plastic retail bags. Under SB 1167 ... chain restaurants instead would be required to provide dine-in customers with reusable drinking vessels that are 'a durable cup, mug, or glass containing hot or cold liquids that is cleaned and reused by the food service facility.'" — The Black Chronicle, 21 Feb. 2024

Something durable lasts a long time, so it's apt that durable comes to us (via Anglo-French) from the Latin verb durare, meaning "to last." Other descendants of durare in English include during, endure, and duration, all of which concern things lasting in one way or another. Durable even has a near synonym in the much rarer perdurable, which combines durare with the prefix per- (meaning "throughout") to create a word that can mean "lasting a very long time or indefinitely" or "eternal."

Acumen refers to keenness and depth of perception, discernment, or discrimination—in other words, the ability to think clearly and make good decisions, especially in practical matters.

// The fictional detective possesses a superior acumen that enables her to solve the most bizarre and puzzling of mysteries.

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"Industrial agriculture’s hidden costs are precisely the ones agroecology makes explicit. Its pathways reward the acumen of those on the front lines, support the livelihoods of the poor and protect the biodiversity of the planet." — Raj Patel, Scientific American, 22 Sept. 2021

A keen mind and a sharp wit can pierce confusion as easily as a needle passes through cloth. Remember this analogy between a jabbing needle and piercing perception, and you will readily recall the history of acumen. The English word retains the spelling and figurative meaning of its direct Latin ancestor acūmen, which literally means "sharp point." That word comes in turn from the Latin acuere, a verb meaning "to sharpen" that is related to acus, the Latin word for "needle." Acuere puts the acu- (gesundheit!) in a number of English words, including acute, acuity, and acuminate. In its earliest English uses, acumen referred specifically to a sharpness of wit. In modern English, it conveys the sense that someone is perceptive enough to grasp a situation quickly and clever enough to deftly apply that insight.

Someone or something described as fusty is rigidly old-fashioned. Fusty is also used as a synonym of musty to describe things that are full of dust and unpleasant, stale odors.

// Wanda is quick to admit that the music she prefers is fusty, as it excludes pretty much anything recorded after 1960.

// The trunk in the attic was full of fusty old clothes that smelled like mothballs.

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“One of the great joys of Paris is its wealth of niche museums, and there’s nowhere greater—or more atmospheric—in that regard than the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, the museum of hunting and nature.... The deliciously macabre displays of taxidermy are a highlight, but the museum also manages to avoid feeling too fusty by bringing in contemporary artists to produce works in conversation with its collections, from Sterling Ruby to Jeff Koons.” — Liam Hess, Vogue, 27 Sept. 2023

A long and winish road led fusty to English’s door. While that road is a bit obscured, evidence suggests that fusty comes from the Middle English noun foist, meaning “wine cask,” which in turn traces back to the Medieval Latin word fustis, meaning “tree trunk” or “wood.” Fusty itself originally described wine that had gone stale from sitting in the cask too long; fusty literally meant that the wine had the “taste of the cask.” Eventually, fusty was used across the culinary universe for any stale food, and especially for damp or moldy food. Those damp and moldy connotations later led fusty to be applied to musty places, and later still to anything that had lost its freshness and interest—that is, to anything old-fashioned.

Reifying is about considering or representing something abstract as a material or concrete thing. If you reify a concept or idea you somehow give it definite content and form.

// The tense personal dynamic between the two musicians was reified by the dissonant yet captivating music they made together.

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“Evolutionary theory and experimental evidence reveals that race is not a natural category. We evolved alongside people who looked like us. And social categories we create and reify affect perceptions of who is them and who is us.” — Michael Muthukrishna, Time, 3 Feb. 2024

Reify is a word that attempts to provide a bridge between what is abstract and what is concrete. Fittingly, it comes from a word that is an ancestor of real—the Latin noun res, meaning "thing." Both reify and the related noun reification first appeared in English in the mid-19th century. Each word combines the Latin res with an English suffix (-fy and -fication, respectively) that comes from the Latin verb -ficare, meaning "to make." In general use, the words refer to the act of considering or presenting an abstract idea or concept in real or material terms, or of assessing something by use of a concrete example.

Balayage is a technique by which a colorist creates highlights or lowlights in a person's hair by painting freehand using long, sweeping strokes. Balayage may also refer to the highlights or lowlights produced by this technique.

// The stylist was lauded for his skill in balayage.

// The monotone dress perfectly complemented her ombré balayage.

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"Freshen up a classic mid-length brunette base with golden face-framing balayage." — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 Apr. 2024

Your local salon probably has a bounty of tonsorial options to choose from: highlights, lowlights, frosting, streaking, foils, gloss—the list goes on. If it's a trendy lewk you're after, you might consider balayage, a technique for creating highlights or lowlights in a person's hair by painting color freehand, using long, sweeping strokes. (Balayage is a French borrowing that literally translates to "sweeping.") When done properly, balayage results in a more natural look than other traditional methods. The technique was developed in France in the 1970s and quickly made its way to the U.S. While it was fashionable in the 1970s, the technique—and the word that refers to it—faded from use during the 1980s and 1990s, only to be rediscovered in the early 21st century.

Capricious is a formal word that describes someone or something governed or characterized by impulsivity or unpredictability.

// The employees were at the mercy of a capricious manager who always seemed to impose deadlines at the last minute.

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“Tornadoes are among the planet's most fearsome phenomena, with terrifying and capricious wind speeds measured as high as 300 mph. And the U.S. sees more than any other country.” — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 9 May 2024

The adjective capricious and its close relation, the noun caprice (a synonym of whim), both come via French from the Italian word capriccio, which has disputed origins. Capriccio originally referred not to a sudden desire but to a sudden shiver of horror and likely comes from the Italian capo, meaning “head,” and riccio, the word for “hedgehog.” The implication was that someone who shuddered in fear or horror was said to have a “hedgehog head,” meaning that the person’s hair stood on end like the spines of a hedgehog. The link between a whim and a shiver of horror is notably tenuous, though, and a possible link to Italian capra, meaning “goat,” has also been suggested, given the whimsy goats seem to employ in their gamboling. (A full treatment of the disputed etymology can be found here.) Whatever its origins, capriccio came to mean “whim, fancy,” which directly relates to its uses today. Something done in a capricious manner is done on a whim, as in “a capricious decision to join the circus.”

Hoopla refers to talk or writing that is designed to get people excited about or interested in something, often with the implication that the person using the word does not find the thing exciting or interesting.

// Marvin didn’t understand all of the hoopla surrounding the new frozen yogurt shop in his neighborhood.

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“The stars seemingly have aligned for the WNBA with Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese joining the ranks of A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart, Diana Taurasi and others. The league is getting unparalleled attention. Now the challenge for the WNBA after opening its 28th season Tuesday night is translating the hype and hoopla into a movement and not just a moment in its history.” — Teresa M. Walker, The Associated Press, 15 May 2024

In French, the interjection houp-là is used roughly the same way as English’s upsy-daisy or whoops-a-daisy, as one might say when picking up a toddler who has fallen down on their bottom to assure them that their tumble is not a big deal. When the word was borrowed into English, however, it referred to a kind of excited or agitated commotion, synonymous with other h-words including hoo-ha, hubbub, and hullabaloo. Hoopla later gained a sense referring to hype, especially of the kind marketing execs cook up for the release of a new product. Both senses can carry with them a whiff of disapproval. If you’re calling something hoopla—whether it’s the bustle of activity around a holiday or the promotional buzz around a new movie—chances are you want to convey to others that the cause of the fuss may not be such a big deal.

Parry has two basic meanings. To parry can be to defend yourself by turning away from or pushing aside a weapon, assault, etc., or to evade something, such as a question, especially by using a clever response.

// Players of the game must unfailingly parry blows from multiple varied attackers while progressing through a series of worlds.

// She is consistently able to parry even the most difficult questions reporters level at her.

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“Few things annoy me more than a fight scene that’s simply a blow-by-blow account. ‘He threw a right jab, which she parried and countered with a left knee, which he dodged by rolling out of the way.’ But to what end? The beauty of literature is it’s not a movie. Certainly, one should help readers visualize movements, but good prose can do so much more.” — Rita Chang-Eppig, LitHub.com, 19 May 2023

In the The Princess Bride, William Goldman’s 1973 comedic novel later made into a popular film of the same name, there is swashbuckling galore, as in the famous showdown between the mysterious man in black and the Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya: “The man in black was slowly being forced toward a group of large boulders, for Inigo was anxious to see how well he moved when quarters were close, when you could not thrust or parry with total freedom.” To parry is to ward off a weapon or blow; indeed, parrying is as important to fencing as sticking one’s opponent with the pointy end. The word parry was borrowed from the French verb parer, meaning “to ward off” or “to avert,” and was first used in English in the late 17th century. It didn’t take long for parry to gain a figurative meaning of “to evade or turn aside something,” as when someone disarms a verbal sparring partner with a well-timed rejoinder. Montoya, for instance, parries the criminal Vizzini’s doubt that the man in black can catch up to them (“Inconceivable!”) with the sharp response “You keep using that word! … I don’t think it means what you think it does.”