Today's Word

Castigate

KAS-tih-gayt

Definition

(verb) To reprimand someone severely; to criticize harshly.

Example

The editor castigated the writer for missing yet another deadline.

Word Origin

Early 17th century: from Latin castigare, from castus ‘pure’ + agere ‘to drive’.

Fun Fact

Castigate doesn’t just mean to critique—it means to come down hard, often with a tone of moral authority. In the past, it could even refer to physical punishment, but today it’s used more metaphorically: a boss tearing into an employee, a coach yelling during halftime, or a pundit scolding a public figure. It’s always loud, sharp, and meant to correct.

Previous Words

Verisimilitude

Today's Word

Verisimilitude

vair-ih-sih-MIL-ih-tood

Definition

(noun) The quality of appearing to be true or real; the convincing believability of a story, account, or portrayal.

Example

The novelist spent months researching 19th-century London to give her story the verisimilitude it needed.

Word Origin

From Latin verisimilitudo, built from verus (“true”) + similis (“like, similar”) + the suffix -tudo (forming abstract nouns). Essentially, it means “the likeness of truth.” The word entered English in the 17th century, first appearing in literary and rhetorical criticism.

Fun Fact

Aristotle was one of the first thinkers to formally discuss this concept — he argued in the Poetics that a believable impossibility is more valuable in storytelling than an unbelievable possibility. In other words, a story that feels true matters more than one that’s merely factually accurate. This idea shaped centuries of Western storytelling. Method acting, elaborate film sets, historical fiction research, and immersive video game worlds are all modern descendants of the ancient pursuit of verisimilitude.

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Castigate

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Verisimilitude

Verisimilitude

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Verisimilitude

Parsimonious

Effervescent

Facetious

Capricious