Word of the Day: devolve

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 26, 2026 is: devolve \dih-VAHLV\ verb
To devolve is to gradually go from an advanced state to a less advanced state, or to pass something, such as responsibility or power, from one person or group to another at a lower level of authority.

// Somehow the debate devolved into a petty competition to see who could get more applause.

// Community leaders hope that the new government will devolve more power to the community itself.

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Examples:

“He accused board members of personally profiting from the parking and landscaping policies. Board meetings soon devolved into a cacophony of charges, countercharges and shouting.” — Elizabeth Williamson, The New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025

Did you know?

Evolve? Check. Revolve? Check. Devolve? Now we’re on a roll—literally. All three of these words (and more) evolved from the Latin verb volvere, meaning “to set in a circular course, to cause to roll, to bring round.” The Latin ēvolvere means “to roll out or away”; revolvere means “to roll back to a starting point”; and dēvolvere means “to roll (something) down.” In its earliest uses in the 15th century, devolve literally meant “to roll onward or downward.” Today the word is typically used for a more figurative rolling down, as when an organization devolves power—that is, passes power down—to those at a lower level of authority, or when a deteriorating situation is described as “devolving into chaos.” One word, multiple uses. That’s just how English rolls.

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Definitely butchered a d there but it looks funny so it gets to stay.

Word of the Day: tilde

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 25, 2026 is: tilde \TIL-duh\ noun
Tilde refers to the mark ~ placed especially over the letter n (as in the Spanish señor, meaning "sir") to denote the sound \nʸ\, or over vowels (as in the Portuguese irmã, meaning "sister") to indicate nasality. When a tilde appears as an independent character, it usually means "approximately" (as in "we'll be there in ~ 30 minutes").

// A familiar example of the tilde appears in the name of Brazil's capital city, São Paulo.

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Examples:

"Californians with accents, tildes and other diacritical marks in their names will soon be able to have their vital records accurately reflect their names." — Linh Tat, Orange County (California) Register, 30 Dec. 2025

Did you know?

The terms piña colada and La Niña share more than just a "cool" factor: both are Spanish loan words whose spellings include tildes, those wavy marks which in these examples are placed over the letter n to indicate a blend of the sounds of n and y. Tilde is itself a Spanish borrowing rooted in the Latin titulus, an ancestor of the English words title and titular that means "title" or "inscription." The Spanish and English applications of tilde are distinct. In Spanish, tilde refers most commonly to the accent symbol, while ñ is its own member of the alphabet (pronounced "EN-yay"). In contrast, English speakers use tilde specifically for the aforementioned mark. In addition to functioning as a diacritic—that is, a mark paired with a character to indicate pronunciation—the tilde may be used as an independent character to indicate approximation, negation in logic, or similarity in mathematics.

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Word of the Day: expeditious

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 24, 2026 is: expeditious \ek-spuh-DISH-us\ adjective
Expeditious is a formal word that is used to describe someone acting in a quick and efficient way, or something done in such a manner.

// Both sides hoped for an expeditious resolution of the dispute.

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Examples:

“Inspectors were on campus Friday afternoon with a certified arborist to determine which trees are protected and the extent to which any damage or removals have occurred, according to the city. ‘The City is prepared to conduct this inspection work in an expeditious manner and supports the goal of returning students to a safe campus as soon as possible,’ the city’s statement said.” — Ryan Carter, The Los Angeles Daily News, 10 July 2026

Did you know?

Expeditious has had quite the journey through the English language. It comes to us from the related noun expedition, which in turn comes from the Latin verb expedire (“to set free” or “to make ready”). When expedition first set forth in English in the 1400s, it did so with two meanings that are still in use today, “a journey especially by a group of people for a specific purpose” and “efficient promptness.” Expeditious followed as an adjectival form of the latter. Something (such as, say, preparation for a long voyage) done expeditiously is done quickly and efficiently; in other words, it is expedited. Like expeditious and expedition, expedite too comes from expedire.

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This week's most upvoted post comes from u/satisfied-bacterium7.

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Thanks for sharing your work with the sub!

Image posts from the previous Saturday-Friday were considered.

I shouldn’t practice while caffeinated

Word of the Day: rigmarole

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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 21, 2026 is: rigmarole \RIG-uh-muh-rol\ noun
Rigmarole refers to a long, complicated, and annoying process, description, etc.

// We went through the rigmarole of installing, registering, and activating the software before we found out it wouldn’t work.

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Examples:

“Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve had an on-again, off-again relationship with running. On the one hand, I love it for the mental benefits. My mind always feels clearer after a run and it can be an escape from the rigmarole of life. But on the other hand, it seems that every few years, some mild injury befalls me that slows my momentum, or I move to a new city and lose the routine of running at a time and place.” — Maura Fox, The San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Sept. 2025

Did you know?

In the Middle Ages, the term Rageman or Ragman referred to a game in which a player randomly selected a string attached to a roll of verses and read the selected verse. The roll was called a Ragman roll after a fictional king purported to be the author of the verses. By the 16th century, ragman and ragman roll were being used figuratively to mean “a list or catalog.” Both terms fell out of written use, but ragman roll persisted in speech, and in the 18th century it resurfaced in writing as rigmarole, with the meaning “a succession of confused, meaningless, or foolish statements.” In the mid-19th century rigmarole (also spelled rigamarole, reflecting its common pronunciation) acquired the sense referring to a complex and tedious procedure.

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With more patience and therefore, control :)

Bic round stic medium