Sometimes there are words that you've seen, read, and maybe even used in conversation whose meaning you can never keep straight. Even after looking it up, the right definition doesn't stick. From our ...

People sometimes tell you you’re misusing a word and cite the Latin origin as proof. Don’t fall for the etymological fallacy. What a word means depends not on its origin, but on how speakers of a ...

Thanks to the evolution of language, technology, and lots of hyperbole, these words used to convey a lot more merit, emotion, or simply seriousness than they do nowadays. Ah, “genius.” Once reserved ...

Word meanings can shift radically, just like pronunciation. Called semantic change, a shift in a word's meaning occurs when frequent misuse becomes standard, or when metaphoric use becomes literal.

The Scripps National Spelling Bee returns this week as students from around the United States show off their smarts at the 95th annual spelling competition. The 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee ...

These words don’t mean what they once did centuries ago. In Shakespeare’s time, “cunning” simply meant clever or intellectually sharp, without any shady undertones. Today, calling someone cunning ...