Today's Word

Voluble

VOL-yuh-buhl

Definition

(adjective) Speaking easily, rapidly, and at great length, especially with enthusiasm.

Example

At the dinner party, he became increasingly voluble as the conversation turned to politics.

Word Origin

Voluble comes from the Latin volubilis, meaning “rolling” or “turning easily,” from volvere (“to roll”). The word originally described physical motion, but over time it shifted metaphorically to describe speech that flows freely and continuously, as if words are rolling out without resistance.

Fun Fact

Voluble doesn’t necessarily imply intelligence or insight — only fluency and abundance. Someone can be voluble while saying very little of substance, which is why the word often carries a subtle tone of skepticism rather than praise.

Previous Words

Calumny

Today's Word

Calumny

KAL-um-nee

Definition

(noun) The making of false and damaging statements about someone; deliberate defamation of character.

Example

The calumny spread through the firm before anyone thought to check whether a single word of it was true — and by then, the damage was permanent.

Word Origin

Calumny derives from the Latin calumnia, meaning “false accusation” or “trickery,” rooted in calvi — “to trick” or “to deceive.” It entered English in the 15th century through Old French, used in legal and moral contexts to describe the deliberate fabrication of damaging falsehoods about another person. Unlike slander, which can be accidental or careless, calumny implies intent — the calculated deployment of lies as weapons against a specific target.

Fun Fact

Shakespeare was so preoccupied with calumny that it appears as a central destructive force in at least five of his plays. In Othello, Iago’s campaign of calumny against Desdemona destroys two lives without a single true accusation ever being made. In Much Ado About Nothing, a similarly fabricated slander nearly ends in tragedy before the truth emerges. Shakespeare understood something that modern psychology has since confirmed — that false accusations, once circulated, are almost impossible to fully retract. Studies show that corrections rarely travel as far or as fast as the original falsehood, which is why calumny has been one of history’s most effective and most devastating weapons.

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Voluble

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Calumny

Calumny

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Calumny

Ennui

Iniquity

Protean

Enervate