- Today's Word
Inexorable
in-EKS-uh-ruh-buhl
Definition
(adjective) Impossible to stop, persuade, or prevent.
Example
The inexorable advance of technology reshaped every industry.
Fun Fact
Inexorable is a favorite in literature and history writing—used to describe forces, people, or progress that cannot be swayed. It originally referred to people who wouldn’t respond to pleading, but now it also captures time, decay, destiny, or power. It’s often used to describe change that is slow but certain, like rising tides or demographic shifts.
(noun) The ability to make quick, smart judgments and decisions; keen insight and shrewdness.
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.
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.