Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 24, 2025 is: hark back \HAHRK-BAK\ verb Harking back can be about turning back to an earlier topic or circumstance, as in "a storyteller harking back to his youth," or it can be about going back to something as an origin or source, as in "a style that harks back to the turn of the previous century." // The dinner conversation harked back to the lunch debate over what counts as a traditional holiday meal. // The diner's interior decor harks back to the 1950s. [See the entry >](https://bit.ly/3Mbp1Jz) Examples: "The single harks back to [Chenier's](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Clifton-Chenier) heyday when his music was produced on 45s and put into jukeboxes, says [Maureen] Loughran." — Alicia Ault, Smithsonian Magazine, 25 June 2025 Did you know? [Hark](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hark), a very old word meaning "to listen," was used as a cry in hunting. The master of the hunt might cry "Hark! Forward!" or "Hark! Back!" The cries became set phrases, both as nouns and verbs. Thus, a "hark back" was a retracing of a route by dogs and hunters, and to "hark back" was to turn back along the path. From its use in hunting, the verb acquired its current figurative meanings concerned with returning to the past. The variants [hearken](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hearken) and [harken](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harken) (also very old words meaning "to listen") are also used, with and without back, as synonyms of hark back.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 23, 2025 is: bespoke \bih-SPOHK\ adjective Bespoke describes something that is custom-made—that is, made to fit the needs or requirements of a particular person. // As a tailor, Lana specialized in crafting bespoke clothing for her clients, each piece unique and suited to their tastes. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bespoke) Examples: “The vehicles are bespoke machines with every little detail thought of, from embroidered seats to custom floor mats to retro paint jobs.” — Charlie Berrey, SlashGear.com, 10 Nov. 2025 Did you know? In the English language of yore, the verb [bespeak](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bespeak) had various meanings, including “to speak,” “to accuse,” and “to complain.” In the 16th century, bespeak acquired another meaning: “to order.” It is from that sense that we get the adjective bespoke, referring to clothes and other things that are ordered before they are made. Bespoke has enjoyed a spike in usage in recent years, perhaps due to consumer trends that champion all things [artisanal](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artisanal) over those that are [prefab](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prefab).

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 22, 2025 is: temporize \TEM-puh-ryze\ verb To temporize is to avoid making a decision or giving a definite answer in order to have more time. // Pressured by voters on both sides of the issue, the congressman temporized. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temporize) Examples: "The question is, Did you eat the last piece of pie? And the politician who ate the last piece of pie doesn't want to say yes, because they might get in trouble. Doesn't want to say no, because that's an outright lie. So they waver, they equivocate, they temporize, they put things in context, and they talk like a politician." — David Frum, The Atlantic (The David Frum Show podcast), 21 May 2025 Did you know? Temporize comes from the Middle French word temporiser, which in turn likely traces back via Medieval Latin temporizāre, "to delay," to the Latin noun tempus, meaning "time." Tempus is also the root of such words as [tempo](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tempo), [contemporary](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contemporary), and [temporal](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/temporal). If you need to buy some time, you might resort to temporizing, but you probably won't win admiration for doing so, as the word typically carries a negative connotation. For instance, a political leader faced with a difficult issue might temporize by talking vaguely about possible solutions without actually doing anything. The point of such temporizing is to avoid taking definitive—and possibly unpopular—action, in hopes that the problem will somehow go away.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 21, 2025 is: hibernaculum \hye-ber-NAK-yuh-lum\ noun Hibernaculum (plural hibernacula) refers to a shelter occupied during the winter by a dormant animal, such as an insect, snake, bat, or [marmot](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/marmot). // Local scientists are studying the longevity of bats who use bridges and other aboveground hibernacula versus that of bats who roost all winter in subterranean caves. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hibernaculum) Examples: “Adult female bees begin looking for a hibernation location, or hibernaculum, in the fall. If the gardener is planning to deadhead any spent flowers from the summer, aim to prune stems at varying heights (8" to 24") as a nesting site for these bees. Many perennial flowers and shrubs have pithy stems that will serve as a good location. A few common Oklahoma garden plants that are good candidates include roses, purple coneflower, salvia, bee balm, and sunflowers.” — Sherry Clark, The Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star, 8 Oct. 2025 Did you know? If you’re afraid of snakes or bats, you probably won’t enjoy thinking about hibernacula, where hundreds, even thousands, of these creatures might be passing the wintry months. Other creatures also use hibernacula, though many of these tend to be less crowded. The word hibernaculum has been used for the burrow of a woodchuck, for instance, as well as for a cozy caterpillar cocoon attached to a wintry twig, and for the spot in which a frog has buried itself in mud. Hibernacula are all around us and have been around for a long, long time, but we have only called them such since the late 1700s, making hibernaculum only a few decades older than the more familiar verb [hibernate](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hibernate). Both words come from the Latin verb hibernare, meaning “to pass the winter,” which in turn comes from hibernus, meaning “winter.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 20, 2025 is: decorous \DECK-er-us\ adjective Decorous is a formal adjective used to describe an attitude or behavior characterized by propriety and good taste. // The ceremony was conducted with a decorous solemnity. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decorous) Examples: “... Elizabeth reveals, later, that she felt she never belonged to the decorous world of parties and corsets and curls and feathers on the head ...” — Ryan Lattanzio, Indie Wire, 13 Oct. 2025 Did you know? One of the earliest recorded uses of decorous appears in a book titled The Rules of Civility (1671): “It is not decorous to look in the glass, to comb, brush, or do any thing of that nature to ourselves, whilst the said person be in the Room.” This rule of thumb may be a bit outdated; like many behaviors once deemed unbecoming, public primping is unlikely to offend in modern times. Though mores shift, decorous lives on to describe timeless courtesies like polite speech, proper attire, and (ahem) covering one’s cough.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 19, 2025 is: veracity \vuh-RASS-uh-tee\ noun Veracity is a formal word that can refer to truth or accuracy, or to the quality of being truthful or honest. // The jury seemed not to doubt the veracity of the witness. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veracity) Examples: "Raise your hand if you've been questioning the veracity of real events, news stories and images posted on social media lately. It used to be we'd have to tiptoe around a minefield of hoaxes only once a year, on April 1. But thanks to the proliferation of misinformation spawned by artificial intelligence, every day on the internet is an exercise in judgment and media literacy." — Laura Yuen, The Hamilton (Ontario) Spectator, 9 Oct. 2025 Did you know? Veracity has been in use since the early 17th century, and we can honestly tell you that it comes from the Latin adjective vērāx, "truthful," which in turn comes from the earlier verus, "true." Verus also gives us the words [verity](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verity) ("the quality of being true"), [verify](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verify) ("to establish the truth of"), and [verisimilitude](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/verisimilitude) ("the appearance of truth"), among other words. In addition, vērāx is the root of the word [veraciousness](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/veraciousness), a somewhat rarer synonym and cousin of veracity.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 18, 2025 is: jaunty \JAWN-tee\ adjective Something described as jaunty is lively in manner or appearance. Jaunty can also describe something, such as an article of clothing, that suggests a lively and confident quality. // The server whistled a jaunty tune as she wiped the tables and set out fresh flowers in preparation for the day’s diners. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaunty) Examples: “He stood at the front of the room and announced that we would begin with a quiz, which we all failed because the quiz was over material that we were supposed to have covered during the last class. When he handed the quizzes back to us after the break, he did so in a frenetic, almost jaunty way, running up and down the aisles and announcing our grades—‘Zero, zero, zero’—loudly before tossing the quizzes down in front of us ...” — Lori Ostlund, Are You Happy?: Stories, 2025 Did you know? Does throwing on a jaunty hat make someone appear more genteel? Maybe, but something more definitive links the words: both jaunty and [genteel](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/genteel) come from the French word gentil, meaning “of aristocratic birth.” Genteel was borrowed first to describe things associated with aristocratic people. Jaunty joined the language just a few years later in the mid-17th century as a synonym of [stylish](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stylish) and also as a synonym for genteel. While genteel has maintained its associations of propriety and high social class, jaunty has traipsed into less stuffy territory as a descriptor of tunes and hats and other things that suggest lively confidence.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 17, 2025 is: espouse \ih-SPOWZ\ verb To espouse an ideology, belief, etc., is to take it up and support it as a cause. Espouse is usually encountered in formal speech and writing. // The article explores some of the lesser-known viewpoints espoused by the charismatic leader. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/espouse) Examples: “Crammed into a tiny apartment in Greenwich Village, they [Yoko Ono and John Lennon] immersed themselves in the city’s counterculture, absorbing progressive politics whenever they weren’t glued to the television set. Lennon’s celebrity secured the duo a large platform to espouse these ideas ...” — Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Pitchfork, 11 Oct. 2025 Did you know? As you might guess, the words espouse and [spouse](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spouse) are hitched, both coming from the Latin verb spondēre, meaning “to promise” or “to [betroth](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/betroth).” In fact, the two were once completely interchangeable, with each serving as a noun meaning “a newly married person” or “a partner in marriage” and also as a verb meaning “to marry.” Their semantic separation began when the noun espouse fell out of use. Nowadays, espouse is almost exclusively encountered as a verb used in the figuratively extended sense “to commit to and support as a cause.”

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 16, 2025 is: conversant \kun-VER-sunt\ adjective Conversant, usually used in the phrase "conversant with," describes someone who has knowledge of or experience with something. // The ideal candidate for the sommelier position will have expert knowledge of the various wines served in the restaurant and be conversant with the rich world of viniculture. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversant) Examples: "The advantages of franchise expansion are obvious. These shows benefit from name recognition and a dedicated audience, as well as writers, producers and crew members already conversant with that audience's expectations." — Alexis Soloski, The New York Times, 6 July 2025 Did you know? The adjectives conversant and [conversational](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conversational) both descend from the Latin verb conversari, meaning "to associate with." Conversant dates to the Middle Ages; an early meaning of the word was simply "having familiar association." One way to associate with others is to have a conversation with them—in other words, to talk. For a short time in the 19th century conversant could mean "relating to or suggesting conversation," but for the most part that meaning stayed with conversational while conversant went in a different direction. Today, conversant is sometimes used, especially in the United States, with the meaning "able to talk in a foreign language," as in "she is conversant in several languages," but it is more often associated with knowledge or familiarity, as in "conversant with the issues."

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for December 15, 2025 is: dreidel \DRAY-dul\ noun A dreidel is a 4-sided toy marked with Hebrew letters and spun like a top in a game of chance. The game, played by children especially at [Hanukkah](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hanukkah), is also called dreidel. // All the kids in the family look forward to playing dreidel together during Hanukkah. [See the entry >](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dreidel) Examples: “The Jewish tradition has always been [syncretic](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/syncretic), adapting and responding to the culture around it, he [Rabbi Steven Philp] said. Hanukkah is ‘a great example of this,’ Philp said, noting that the holiday’s traditions—like spinning the dreidel, eating latkes or potato pancakes, and munching on ... jelly-filled doughnuts—are customs that were borrowed from neighboring cultures over time.” — Kate Heather, The Chicago Sun-Times, 25 Dec. 2024 Did you know? If your dreidel is spinning beneath the glow of the [menorah](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/menorah), it’s probably the Jewish festival of lights known as Hanukkah. The holiday celebrates the miracle of a small amount of oil—enough for one day—burning for eight days in the Temple of Jerusalem. And though it’s a toy, the dreidel’s design is very much an [homage](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homage): on each of its four sides is inscribed a Hebrew letter—nun, gimel, he, and shin—which together stand for Nes gadol haya sham, meaning “A great miracle happened there.” (In Israel, the letter pe, short for po, “here,” is often used instead of shin). In the game of dreidel, each letter bears its own significance: the dreidel is spun and depending on which letter is on top when it lands, the player’s currency, or [gelt](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gelt), is added to or taken from the pot. Nun means the player does nothing; gimel means the player gets everything; he means the player gets half; and shin means the player adds to the pot. Wherever you land on holiday traditions, we wish you words of gimel: gratitude, grub, and, of course, [gaiety](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gaiety).