Today's Word

Quibble

[KWIB-uhl]

Definition

(verb) To argue or raise objections about a trivial matter or minor point, especially in an attempt to evade a truth or responsibility. As a noun, it refers to the act of raising such an objection or the objection itself.

Example

Instead of addressing the main issue, the politician quibbled over the exact wording of the question, frustrating both the interviewer and the audience.

Fun Fact

The word “quibble” is believed to have originated in the early 17th century. It may be related to the now-obsolete word “quib,” meaning a quip or witty remark. Some linguists suggest it might be connected to the Latin word “quibus,” which was used in legal documents and could be seen as a source of petty arguments. Over time, “quibble” has come to be associated with nitpicking or splitting hairs, often in a way that detracts from the main point of a discussion or argument.

Previous Words

Mendacious

Today's Word

Mendacious

men-DAY-shus

Definition

(adjective) Given to lying; habitually untruthful in a way that is deliberate rather than accidental.

Example

The mendacious account he’d given the board held together just long enough for him to resign before anyone checked the numbers.

Word Origin

Mendacious derives from the Latin mendax, meaning “lying” or “false,” from mendum — “fault” or “defect.” The same root gives us mendacity — the noun form — and is related to emend and amend, both words about correcting faults. It entered English in the 17th century, used to describe not a single lie but a habitual disposition toward untruth — the difference between someone who lies and someone who is a liar.

Fun Fact

The psychology of habitual lying has fascinated researchers for decades, and the findings are consistently counterintuitive. Studies show that skilled liars don’t exhibit the nervous behaviors most people associate with deception — increased blinking, gaze aversion, fidgeting — because those behaviors are products of anxiety, and practiced liars simply aren’t anxious about lying. Research by psychologist Bella DePaulo found that people lie in approximately one fifth of their social interactions, most of them minor. The mendacious outlier isn’t someone who lies more often — it’s someone for whom the distinction between truth and falsehood has simply stopped being meaningful.

READ MORE...

Quibble

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Mendacious

Mendacious

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Mendacious

Torpid

Calumny

Ennui

Iniquity