2026 January Word of the Day

Abnegation (noun) 

• Definition:  The act of renouncing or rejecting something. 
• Sentence:  His abnegation of all worldly possessions surprised his wealthy socialite friends.

Anachronism (noun) 

• Definition:  A thing belonging or appropriate to a period other than that in which it exists. 
• Sentence:  The presence of a smartphone in the Renaissance-era film was a glaring anachronism.

Capricious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Given to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood or behavior.
• Sentence:  The capricious weather in the mountains can turn from sunny to a blizzard in minutes.

Ebullient (adjective) 

• Definition:  Cheerful and full of energy. 
• Sentence:  The ebullient fans flooded the streets to celebrate their team’s first championship in decades.

Enervate (verb) 

• Definition:  To cause someone to feel drained of energy or vitality; weaken. 
• Sentence:  The intense humidity of the tropical island served to enervate the hikers within an hour.

Ephemeral (adjective) 

• Definition: Lasting for a very short time. 
• Sentence: The beauty of the sunset was ephemeral, fading into a deep indigo within minutes.

Equanimity (noun)

• Definition:  Mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation. 
• Sentence:  Despite the chaotic nature of the stock market crash, the seasoned investor maintained his equanimity.

Esoteric (adjective) 

• Definition:  Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge. 
• Sentence:  The professor’s lecture on esoteric quantum theories left most of the freshmen confused.

Fastidious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Very attentive to and concerned about accuracy and detail. 
• Sentence:  The editor was fastidious about punctuation, often spending hours on a single page of text.

Grandiloquent (adjective) 

• Definition:  Pompous or extravagant in language, style, or manner, especially in a way that is intended to impress. 
• Sentence:  His grandiloquent speech about “saving the universe” felt a bit much for a simple local town meeting.

Inchoate (adjective) 

• Definition:  Just begun and so not fully formed or developed; rudimentary. 
• Sentence:  She had an inchoate idea for a novel, but she hadn’t yet decided on the setting or the protagonist.

Inscrutable (adjective) 

• Definition:  Impossible to understand or interpret. 
• Sentence:  He sat with an inscrutable expression, making it impossible to tell if he was angry or pleased.

Intransigent (adjective) 

• Definition:  Unwilling or refusing to change one’s views or to agree about something. 
• Sentence:  Negotiations stalled because both parties remained intransigent regarding the budget increases.

Mellifluous (adjective) 

• Definition:  (of a voice or words) sweet or musical; pleasant to 
• hear. 
• Sentence:  The cello’s mellifluous tones filled the concert hall, calming the restless audience.

Mendacious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Not telling the truth; lying. 
• Sentence:  The court found the witness’s mendacious testimony to be completely unreliable.

Nefarious (adjective) 

• Definition:  (typically of an action or activity) wicked or criminal. 
• Sentence:  The hacker used his skills for nefarious purposes, stealing data from local charities.

Obfuscate (verb) 

• Definition:  To render obscure, unclear, or unintelligible. 
• Sentence:  The politician tried to obfuscate the truth by using overly complex jargon and long-winded anecdotes.

Parsimony (noun) 

• Definition:  Extreme unwillingness to spend money or use resources. 
• Sentence:  Known for his parsimony, the billionaire lived in a small apartment and drove a twenty-year-old car.

Perfidious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Deceitful and untrustworthy. 
• Sentence:  The king was eventually overthrown by his perfidious advisors who had been plotting in secret.

Pernicious (adjective)

• Definition:  Having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way.
• Sentence:  The pernicious influence of social media echo chambers can slowly erode a person’s ability to think critically.

Pulchritude (noun) 

• Definition:  Physical beauty. 
• Sentence:  The natural pulchritude of the Grand Canyon leaves millions of visitors speechless every year.

Quixotic (adjective) 

• Definition:  Exceedingly idealistic; unrealistic and impractical. 
• Sentence:  His quixotic quest to eliminate all plastic waste in a single year was admired but deemed impossible.

Salubrious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Health-giving; healthy. 
• Sentence:  After months in the smoggy city, the salubrious mountain air felt incredibly refreshing.

Sanguine (adjective) 

• Definition:  Optimistic or positive, especially in an apparently bad or difficult situation.
• Sentence:  Although the team was losing by ten points, the coach remained sanguine about their chances of winning.

Surreptitious (adjective) 

• Definition:  Kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of. 
• Sentence:  She cast a surreptitious glance at her phone during the meeting to check the score of the game.

Sycophant (noun) 

• Definition:  A person who acts obsequiously toward someone important in order to gain advantage. 
• Sentence:  The CEO was surrounded by sycophants who never dared to point out the flaws in his expansion plan.

Tantamount (adjective) 

• Definition:  Equivalent in seriousness to; virtually the same as. 
• Sentence:  Resigning under these suspicious circumstances is tantamount to an admission of guilt.

Ubiquitous (adjective) 

• Definition:  Present, appearing, or found everywhere. 
• Sentence:  By 2026, high-speed wireless internet had become ubiquitous even in the most remote villages.

Vicissitude (noun) 

• Definition:  A change of fortunes or circumstances, typically one that is unwelcome or unpleasant. 
• Sentence:  The business survived the vicissitudes of the global economy for over a century.

Vociferous (adjective) 

• Definition:  (especially of a person or speech) vehement or clamorous. 
• Sentence:  The protesters were vociferous in their demands for immediate climate action.

Zealot (noun) 

• Definition:  A person who is fanatical and uncompromising in pursuit of their religious, political, or other ideals. 
• Sentence:  As a fitness zealot, he never missed a workout, even on holidays or during illnesses.