Today's Word

Harried

HAIR-eed

Definition

(adjective) Feeling strained as a result of persistent demands or stress.

Example

The harried assistant juggled calls, emails, and last-minute meetings.

Fun Fact

Harried stems from the same root as harass—both come from old Norse and Middle English words related to raiding or attacking. Originally used in military contexts, harried now refers to a psychological onslaught: the kind of pressure that comes from emails piling up, kids yelling, and zero time for yourself. It’s the perfect word for a Monday at 4:59 p.m.

Previous Words

Fallacy

Today's Word

Fallacy

FAL-uh-see

Definition

(noun) A mistaken belief or flawed line of reasoning that appears convincing but leads to an incorrect conclusion.

Example

The claim that because something is natural it must be safe is a well-known fallacy.

Word Origin

From Latin fallacia, meaning “deceit, trick, artifice,” derived from fallax (“deceitful”), from fallere (“to deceive, to trip up”). The same root gives us “fail,” “false,” “fault,” and “infallible.” A fallacy, at its etymological core, is something that trips you up — a deceptive stumble built into the reasoning itself.

Fun Fact

Aristotle catalogued the first formal list of fallacies in Sophistical Refutations around 350 BCE, identifying 13 types of faulty argument. Today, logicians have catalogued over 100 recognized fallacies — from the ad hominem (attacking the person rather than the argument) to the slippery slope to the Texas sharpshooter (cherry-picking data to support a predetermined conclusion). In an era of social media and rapid-fire debate, being able to name and identify a fallacy on the spot is considered one of the most practically useful intellectual tools a person can develop.

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Harried

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Fallacy

Fallacy

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Fallacy

Chimerical

Unconscionable

Hermetic

Gossamer