Today's Word

Adulation

aj-uh-LAY-shun

Definition

(noun) Excessive admiration or praise, often to the point of insincerity or obsession.

Example

The celebrity was showered with adulation, though some of it felt more like performance than sincerity.

Word Origin

Late Middle English: from Latin adulatio(n-), from adulari meaning “to fawn upon.”

Fun Fact

Adulation isn’t just praise — it’s over-the-top, sometimes cringe-worthy worship. While it can be genuine, it often implies that someone is going too far in their admiration, whether for a pop star, political figure, or social media influencer. It frequently appears in commentary about celebrity culture, cult followings, or fan behavior that blurs the line between loyalty and obsession.

Previous Words

Acumen

Today's Word

Acumen

AK-yoo-men

Definition

(noun) The ability to make quick, smart judgments and decisions; keen insight and shrewdness.

Example

Her financial acumen was evident from the start — within six months of joining the firm, she had identified three inefficiencies that had gone unnoticed for years.

Word Origin

Acumen comes directly from the Latin acumen, meaning “sharpness” or “a point,” derived from acuere — “to sharpen.” The same root gives us acute, acupuncture, and acuity — all words carrying the sense of something pointed, precise, and penetrating. It entered English in the 16th century, originally used to describe mental sharpness before settling into its modern sense of shrewd, practical judgment.

Fun Fact

The Roman orator Cicero was considered the gold standard of acumen in the ancient world — not just for his intellect but for his almost supernatural ability to read a room, anticipate opponents, and make split-second rhetorical decisions under pressure. Julius Caesar, no slouch himself, reportedly studied Cicero’s speeches obsessively. When Cicero was eventually executed on Mark Antony’s orders, Antony’s wife Fulvia is said to have pulled out Cicero’s tongue and stabbed it with her hairpin — a final act of revenge against the sharpest tongue in Rome.

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Adulation

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Acumen

Acumen

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Acumen

Contumacious

Ineffable

Disparate

Esoteric