Today's Word

Extant

EK-stant (or EK-stənt)

Definition

(adjective) Still in existence; surviving from the past.

Example

Despite centuries of conflict, several extant manuscripts from the era are still preserved in the library’s archives.

Word Origin

From Latin exstare, meaning “to stand out” or “to exist.”

Fun Fact

Extant is often used when talking about ancient artifacts, fossils, rare documents, or species on the edge of disappearance. It doesn’t mean “abundant”—it simply means it still exists, often against the odds. Scholars treasure extant texts because they offer rare windows into civilizations long gone, while biologists track extant species to protect what remains of Earth’s biodiversity.

Previous Words

Ennui

Today's Word

Ennui

on-WEE

Definition

(noun) A feeling of listlessness and dissatisfaction arising from a lack of occupation or excitement; world-weary boredom.

Example

She wasn’t unhappy exactly — just gripped by a creeping ennui that made everything feel slightly less vivid than it probably was.

Word Origin

Ennui comes directly from French, where it derives from the Old French enui, meaning “annoyance” or “worry,” rooted in the Latin in odio — literally “in hatred” — from the phrase mihi in odio est, meaning “it is hateful to me.” The word entered English in the 18th century largely through literary use, as English writers borrowed it to describe a particular quality of sophisticated dissatisfaction that ordinary boredom didn’t quite capture — the sense that the world has been fully sampled and found wanting.

Fun Fact

Ennui became the defining emotional condition of the Romantic era — so fashionable among 19th century European aristocracy and intellectuals that it was practically a status symbol. To be afflicted with ennui was to signal that you had experienced enough of life to be tired of it — a luxury available only to those with no practical concerns. The Byronic hero, epitomized by Lord Byron himself, made world-weary dissatisfaction into an aesthetic. Byron reportedly cultivated his ennui so deliberately that contemporaries noted he seemed bored by his own boredom — which is either the most Romantic thing imaginable or a very efficient use of a personality trait.

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Extant

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Ennui

Ennui

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Ennui

Iniquity

Protean

Enervate

Veracity