Today's Word

Moratorium

mor-uh-TOR-ee-um

Definition

(noun) A temporary suspension or delay of an activity, often by legal authority.

Example

The city announced a moratorium on new construction permits.

Fun Fact

Moratorium is often used in legal, governmental, or corporate settings to put a temporary halt to something controversial or under review—think eviction moratoriums or moratoriums on drilling. It originally comes from Latin morari, meaning “to delay.” You’ll often hear it in debates around environmental policy, legislation, and labor strikes—where it signals a pause, but not a solution.

Previous Words

Oblique

Today's Word

Oblique

oh-BLEEK

Definition

(adjective) Not expressed directly; indirect or evasive; also describes something angled or slanting rather than straight.

Example

Rather than criticizing his boss outright, Marcus made an oblique comment about “leadership styles in general.”

Word Origin

From Latin obliquus, meaning “slanting, sideways, indirect.” The word entered English in the 15th century through Old French oblique. In its earliest English uses it referred purely to geometry — a line that was neither perpendicular nor parallel. The figurative sense of indirectness followed naturally from that physical slant.

Fun Fact

In military history, the “oblique order” was a famous battlefield tactic — attacking at an angle rather than head-on to concentrate force on one part of an enemy’s line while the rest stood at a distance. Frederick the Great of Prussia used it to devastating effect in the 18th century. The same principle turns up everywhere: negotiators who approach sensitive topics obliquely, writers who reveal character through indirect detail, and diplomats who communicate through implication rather than declaration — all are using the oblique.

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Moratorium

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Oblique

Oblique

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Oblique

Verisimilitude

Parsimonious

Effervescent

Facetious