Today's Word

Accismus

ak-SIZ-mus

Definition

(noun) A form of irony in which a person pretends to refuse or show disinterest in something they actually desire

Example

His accismus was obvious to everyone at the table — he waved off the dessert menu three times before finally ordering the chocolate cake.

Word Origin

Accismus comes directly from the Greek akkismos, meaning “prudery” or “affectation,” derived from Akkō, the name of a foolish woman in Greek legend known for her coy, affected behavior. It entered English as a formal rhetorical term, classified among the figures of speech used in classical oratory and persuasion.

Fun Fact

Accismus is one of the oldest rhetorical tricks in the book — and one of the most recognizable in real life. Shakespeare used it masterfully in Julius Caesar, when Mark Antony repeatedly insists he has no intention of stirring the crowd, all while doing exactly that. Politicians, negotiators, and even celebrities deploy accismus constantly: the public figure who insists they have “no interest” in running for office while quietly building a campaign team is a modern textbook example. Rhetoricians classified it as a subcategory of irony, but psychologists today might simply call it strategic self-presentation.

Previous Words

Wheedle

Today's Word

Wheedle

WEE-dul

Definition

(verb) To coax or persuade someone into doing something through flattery, soft words, or gentle persistent manipulation.

Example

She had wheedled the extension out of her professor so smoothly that he’d agreed before he realized he’d been asked — which was precisely the point.

Word Origin

Wheedle is of uncertain origin — possibly from the German wedeln, meaning “to wag the tail” or “to fan,” suggesting the fawning, ingratiating behavior of an animal seeking favor. Another theory connects it to the Old English wǣdlian, meaning “to beg.” It entered English in the 17th century, and whatever its precise origin, its sense has remained remarkably stable: the soft, persistent, strategically flattering approach to getting what you want from someone who might not give it if asked directly.

Fun Fact

The psychology of wheedling has been studied extensively under the clinical term “ingratiation” — and the findings are more validating than most people would like. Research by social psychologist Edward Jones in the 1960s found that strategic flattery, opinion conformity, and favor-doing — the core toolkit of the wheedler — are remarkably effective at generating genuine positive feelings in the target, even when the target is aware the ingratiation is strategic. The implication is uncomfortable: knowing you’re being wheedled doesn’t reliably protect you from it, which is either a testament to the sophistication of the technique or a fairly unflattering comment on human susceptibility to being told what we want to hear.

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Accismus

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Wheedle

Wheedle

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Wheedle

Callow

Pernicious

Derivation

Tautological