Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 1, 2023 is: shenanigans \shuh-NAN-ih-gunz\ plural noun

Shenanigans is an informal word used to refer to mischievous or bold activity or behavior, or to dishonest or questionable practices or conduct. Its oldest meaning, and the one most likely to be encountered as the singular shenanigan, is “a devious trick used especially for an underhanded purpose.”

// Reunited at their class reunion, the school’s most notorious pranksters were instantly back to their old shenanigans, cracking up their former classmates with hilarious toasts during dinner.

// The CEO resigned amid accusations of financial shenanigans and [dubious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dubious) deals.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shenanigan)

Examples:

“If ever there was one person who was the master of pulling off April Fools’ Day gimmicks, it was my mother. Yearly, I could count on her fooling me particularly when I was in grade school. She would disguise food in my lunch box. I thought I was getting something special, but when I removed the wrapping, I would find she had cleverly packaged a Band-Aid to make me think what she was giving me was something scrumptious and tasty. Did some of her shenanigans rub off on me?” — Paul J. Volkmann, The Latrobe (Pennsylvania) Bulletin, 30 Mar. 2023

Did you know?

Fool us once, shame on you; fool us twice, shame on us. Either way, we call it shenanigans, employing a word whose history is as tricky and mischievous as its meaning. Etymologists have some theories about its origins, but no one has been able to prove any of them. All we can say for certain is that the earliest known uses of the word in print appeared in the mid-1800s. Although the “underhanded trick” sense of the word is oldest, the most common senses in use now are “dishonest or questionable practices” (as in “political shenanigans”) and “mischievous high-spirited behavior” (as in “youthful shenanigans”).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 31, 2023 is: recuse \rih-KYOOZ\ verb

Recuse means “to disqualify (oneself) as judge in a particular case.” More broadly, it can also mean “to remove (oneself) from participation to avoid a conflict of interest.”

// The judge decided to recuse herself from the case due to the nature of her relationship with the [plaintiff's](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plaintiff) family.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/recuse)

Examples:

“The court's profile has only increased as a new majority has moved rapidly on a range of polarizing issues. That has also increased scrutiny on the justices, the activities of their spouses, and when the court's members should recuse themselves from cases.” — Robert Barnes and Ann E. Marimow, The Boston Globe, 10 Feb. 2023

Did you know?

If you ever find yourself accused of refusing to recuse yourself, look on the bright side: you may be in a legal [predicament](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/predicament), but you’ve also got a great occasion to learn some etymology. [Accuse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/accuse) and recuse not only share space in the vocabulary of the courtroom, they both ultimately trace back to the Latin word causa, meaning “legal case,” “reason,” or “cause.” The current legal use of recuse to mean “to disqualify (oneself) as a judge” didn’t settle into frequent use until the 19th century. Broader application soon followed, and you can now recuse yourself from such things as debates and decisions as well as court cases.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 30, 2023 is: golem \GOH-lum\ noun

Golem refers in Jewish folklore to an artificial humanoid being endowed with life. It can also refer to someone or something (such as a robot) resembling such a being.

// She came to regard her [punctilious](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/punctilious) supervisor as a golem who never had an unprogrammed thought in his life.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/golem)

Examples:

“There is no game like Cuphead. The passion project ... instantly set itself apart from the wide swath of 2D action games with its uncanny recreation of the 1930s cartoon aesthetic. ... There’s no filler here, and every fight stands out as a memorable experience, from a bearded stone golem and his pack of evil gnomes to a train-riding cow who sees the [business end](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/business%20end) of a pressure cooker only to keep on fighting.” — Russ Frushtick, Polygon.com, 30 June 2022

Did you know?

The Hebrew ancestor of the word golem means “shapeless mass,” and the original mythical golems started as lumps of clay that were formed into figures and brought to life by means of a charm or a combination of letters forming a sacred word. In the Middle Ages, golems were thought to be the perfect servants; their only fault was that they were sometimes too literal or mechanical in fulfilling their masters’ orders. In the 16th century, the golem was thought of as a protector of the Jews in times of persecution. But following its entrance into English, golem acquired a less friendly second sense, referring to a man-made monster that inspired many of the back-from-the-dead creations of classic horror fiction. These days, the word golem is frequently used in the [gaming](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaming) world for a variety of foes and [beasties](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/beasties) made of materials ranging from ice to iron to even, in one game, candy.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2023 is: immaculate \ih-MAK-yuh-lut\ adjective

Immaculate means "spotlessly clean" or "without flaw or error." In botany and zoology, the word describes beings that have no colored spots or marks.

// Despite the constant demands of school and fatherhood, Javier kept an immaculate home, tidying up whenever the opportunity arose.

// Even a minor scandal has the power to tarnish an otherwise immaculate reputation.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immaculate)

Examples:

"The [cleanse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanse#h2) on Lunar New Year’s Eve is one of many customs—really, superstitions—taught to me by my late mother and father. It’s part of a larger idea that everything should be immaculate, including the body and the home, which should also be tidied and, most importantly, swept out. This is done to lay a perfect groundwork for the coming year: spotless and unblemished by past trouble." — Lan Samantha Chang, Vogue, 20 Jan. 2023

Did you know?

You may already use the word immaculate flawlessly, but most of us have a [spottier](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spotty) history with its [antonymous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antonymous) counterpart, [maculate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maculate), which means "marked with spots" or "impure." Both words can be traced back to [macula](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macula), a Latin noun (plural maculae or maculas) that scientists still use for spots on the skin, on the wings of insects, and on the surface of celestial objects. Maculate has not marked as many pages as immaculate, but it appears occasionally, especially as an antithesis to immaculate. The pair is used, for example, by Clive James in a 2019 column in Prospect Magazine, in reference to Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey: “… the story sweeps along in immaculate [iambic pentameter](https://www.britannica.com/art/iambic-pentameter). In only one small aspect is the immaculateness maculate.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 28, 2023 is: bildungsroman \BIL-doonks-roh-mahn\ noun

A bildungsroman is a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character.

// She was thrilled to discover that the next book on the syllabus was a bildungsroman by her favorite author.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bildungsroman)

Examples:

"[Brendan] Slocumb's debut novel, a musical bildungsroman nestled within a literary thriller, centers itself on the theft and ransom of a rising star's priceless violin—once a modest family heirloom until an appraisal reveals its true worth—just days before the prestigious Tchaikovsky Competition." — Miguel Salazar, The New York Times, 4 Dec. 2022

Did you know?

Bildungsroman is the combination of two German nouns: Bildung, meaning "education," and Roman, meaning "novel." (Nouns in German are always capitalized.) Fittingly, a bildungsroman is a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character, and in particular, with the character's psychological development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive note, with the protagonist's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over, and a life of usefulness ahead. [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johann-Wolfgang-von-Goethe)'s late 18th-century work [Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wilhelm-Meisters-Apprenticeship) is often cited as the classic example of a bildungsroman. Though the term is primarily applied to novels, in recent years some English speakers have begun to apply it to films that deal with a youthful character's coming-of-age.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 27, 2023 is: disparate \DISS-puh-rut\ adjective

Disparate things are noticeably [distinct](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/distinct) in quality or character. Disparate can also describe something that contains or is made up of fundamentally different and often [incongruous](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/incongruous) elements.

// The proposed law has the support of a disparate collection of interest groups.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disparate)

Examples:

"The season finale of Andor does a brilliant job of tying together all the disparate plot threads, but there is still more story left to tell." — Jacob Siegal, BGR, 27 Nov. 2022

Did you know?

If you enjoy sorting different objects into separate categories, you're well prepared to understand the origins of disparate. The word, which first appeared in English in the 16th century, comes from the Latin verb disparāre, meaning "to divide, separate off, make different." Disparāre, in turn, comes from parāre, a verb meaning "to supply, provide, make ready or prepare." Other descendants of parāre in English include both [separate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/separate) and [prepare](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prepare), as well as [repair](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repair#h1), [apparatus](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apparatus), and even the pugnacious [vituperate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vituperate) ("to criticize harshly and usually publicly").

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 26, 2023 is: cavalcade \kav-ul-KAYD\ noun

Cavalcade refers to a series or procession of usually related things. It can also be used specifically for a procession of riders or carriages, or vehicles or ships.

// Since the high-powered console’s debut late last year, video game companies have steadily unveiled a cavalcade of new games that showcase its groundbreaking graphics.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cavalcade)

Examples:

“Elton John’s Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour made a detour at the White House Friday as the singer performed for a small audience that included President Joe Biden during an event billed as ‘A Night When Hope and History Rhyme.’ John … performed a cavalcade of his greatest hits on the White House South Lawn, including ‘Tiny Dancer,’ ‘Rocket Man,’ ‘Your Song’ and ‘I’m Still Standing.’” — Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 23 Sept. 2022

Did you know?

Cavalcade is a word with deep [equestrian](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/equestrian) roots, though it comes (via French and possibly Italian) from a Latin word (caballus, meaning “work horse” or “[gelding](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gelding)”) that displaced equestrian’s Latin ancestor, equus, as a neutral word for horse in [Romance](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romance#h4) languages. In the 17th century, cavalcade was used specifically to refer to a procession of horseback riders or carriages, especially as part of a special occasion, whether joyous or [funereal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/funereal). Over time, that meaning was extended to processions of other modes of travel, including ships, vehicles, or even paraders on foot or float (as invoked by the late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith in his song “Rose Parade” with the lyric “a wink and a wave from the cavalcade”). As a cavalcade of words before and since have done, cavalcade also took on a figurative sense to refer to a series of related things, whether or not they happen to be marching (or trotting) down the road.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 25, 2023 is: eighty-six \ay-tee-SIKS\ verb

Eighty-six is an informal word that means “to eject, dismiss, or remove someone.” It is usually used in the context of banning or refusing to serve a customer, but it can also refer to rejecting, discontinuing, or removing something in general.

// The teenagers were eighty-sixed by the manager after they attempted to start a food fight in the restaurant.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eighty-six)

Examples:

“There are occasional scuffles and a dozen or so [ne'er-do-wells](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ne%27er-do-well) who have been permanently eighty-sixed. But, ultimately, the Last Stop is a home away from home, a playful, nonhierarchical joint you roll into for a $3.50 pint of Bud Light and an easy conversation with the dude sitting next to you.” — Ryan Miller, Seven Days (Vermont), 23 Mar. 2022

Did you know?

If you work in a restaurant or bar, you might eighty-six (or “eliminate”) a menu item when you run out of it, or you might eighty-six (or “[cut off](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cut%20off#h2)”) a customer who should no longer be served. Eighty-six is still used in this specific context, but it has also entered the general language. These days, you don't have to be a worker in a restaurant or bar to eighty-six something—you just have to have something to get rid of or discard. There are many popular but unsubstantiated theories about the origin of eighty-six. The explanation judged most probable according to Merriam-Webster's research is that the word was created as a [rhyming slang](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhyming%20slang) word for [nix](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nix), which means “to veto” or “to reject.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 24, 2023 is: zany \ZAY-nee\ noun

A zany is a person who acts like a buffoon to amuse others, or one who is generally foolish or eccentric. Zany also has a more specific sense that refers to a type of clown or acrobat in old comedies.

// My brother's friends are an unpredictable bunch of zanies.

// The production was bolstered by a talented crew of zanies.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/zany#h2)

Examples:

"'Twelfth Night,' one of Shakespeare's most popular plays, is about twins, Viola and Sebastian, who are separated by a shipwreck off the coast of the island of Illyria. Each believes the other has perished. Mistaken identities predictably ensue, along with some hilarious chaos created by a group of zanies led by Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Countess Olivia's fool Feste and serving woman Maria, all who scheme to torment Olivia's pompous manservant Malvolio." — Jeff McKinnon, Noozhawk (Santa Barbara County, California), 19 Mar. 2022

Did you know?

The [oddballs](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oddball) among us are likely familiar with zany as an adjective, meaning "eccentric." But did you know the word originated as a noun—one that has withstood the test of time? Zanies have been theatrical buffoons since the heyday of the Italian [commedia dell’arte](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/commedia-dell'arte), in which a "zanni" was a stock servant character, often an intelligent and proud valet with abundant common sense and a love of practical jokes. Zanni comes from a dialect nickname for Giovanni, the Italian form of John. The character quickly spread throughout European theater circles, inspiring such familiar characters as [Pierrot](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Pedrolino) and [Harlequin](https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harlequin-theatrical-character), and by the late 1500s an anglicized version of the noun zany was introduced to English. The adjective appeared within decades, and eventually both adopted more general meanings to refer to or describe those of us who are [quipsters](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quipster) and weirdos.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 23, 2023 is: symbiosis \sim-bee-OH-sis\ noun

In the field of biology, symbiosis refers to the relationship between two different kinds of living things that live together and depend on each other. In broader, non-scientific contexts, symbiosis means “a cooperative relationship,” such as between two persons or groups.

// A perfect symbiosis was at work between the café’s co-owners, with Stephanie managing the day-to-day operations and Maria handling the finances.

[See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/symbiosis)

Examples:

“‘I think our little butterfly house ventures have become ever more important in reminding people of the symbiosis between nature, between insects, between humans and the whole thing,’ says Stephen Fried, who’s built the enclosures across Western Europe. Butterflies and other insects play a myriad of roles in our natural systems—from pollinating plants to knocking out harmful pests.” — Sara Kiley Watson, Popular Science, 1 July 2022

Did you know?

Symbiosis was adopted by the scientific community in the late 1800s, coming ultimately (via German) from the Greek symbíōsis, meaning “living together, companionship.” Of course, there are a lot of ways to live together and, accordingly, several flavors of symbiosis. When a biological symbiosis between two organisms is mutually beneficial, it is termed [mutualism](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mutualism). For example, [oxpeckers](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oxpecker) are birds so named because they “peck” ticks off of infested cattle and wild mammals, a likely satisfying arrangement for both parties, and textbook mutualism. When one organism lives off another at the other’s expense, however (as, for one icky instance, head lice do), it’s called [parasitism](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/parasitism). If only parents of elementary school students could call upon an equivalent of oxpeckers to engage in mutualistic symbiosis when the need arose, but alas.