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

Exegesis

Today's Word

Exegesis

ek-suh-JEE-sis

Definition

(noun) A critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious or literary one

Example

The rabbi’s exegesis of the passage revealed layers of meaning that the congregation had never considered in decades of reading the same words.

Word Origin

Exegesis comes directly from the Greek exegesis, meaning “explanation” or “narrative,” from exegeisthai — from ex (“out”) + hegeisthai (“to guide” or “to lead”). The literal sense is “to lead out” — to draw meaning out from within a text. It entered English in the 17th century primarily as a theological term for biblical interpretation before broadening to literary and legal analysis.

Fun Fact

Exegesis has shaped civilizations. The great medieval Jewish scholar Rashi produced line-by-line exegesis of the Torah and Talmud so comprehensive and precise that it is still printed alongside the original texts in traditional editions today — nearly a thousand years after he wrote it. Christian, Islamic, and Jewish traditions all developed rich exegetical traditions independently, and the methods they pioneered — close reading, contextual analysis, attention to original language — form the backbone of modern literary criticism and legal interpretation, whether scholars acknowledge the debt or not.

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Adulation

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Exegesis

Exegesis

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Exegesis

Apposite

Turgid

Polemical

Gadfly