Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 25, 2024 is: vivacious \vuh-VAY-shus\ adjective

Someone or something described as vivacious is happy and lively in an appealing way.

// Our vivacious host’s bubbly humor and welcoming spirit quickly set everyone at ease.

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

Examples:

“Mikayla Nogueira staked her claim in the beauty space on TikTok by grabbing the attention of viewers through her incredible makeup skills, her vivacious energy and, of course, her Boston accent.” — Kerry Justich, Yahoo! Life, 2 Nov. 2023

Did you know?

Vivacious may not be [onomatopoeic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/onomatopoeic) in a strict sense, but there’s definitely something lively—maybe even a bit [va-va-voom](https://bit.ly/3TpjtfW)—in the way its three syllables trip off the tongue. Perhaps this is why it has appealed to English speakers since the mid-1600s, when it was formed from the Latin adjective vivax meaning “long-lived, vigorous, or high-spirited.” Vivax comes from the verb vivere, meaning “to live.” Other English descendants of vivere include [survive](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/survive), [revive](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/revive), and [victual](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/victual)—all of which came to life during the 15th century—and [vivid](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vivid) and [convivial](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/convivial), both of which surfaced around the same time as vivacious. Somewhat surprisingly, the word [live](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live) is unrelated; it comes to us from the Old English word libban.