- Today's Word
Pallid
PAL-id
Definition
(adjective) Pale, typically due to poor health; lacking vitality or interest.
Example
The actor’s face turned pallid under the stage lights.
Fun Fact
In Gothic fiction, “pallid” characters often signal illness, ghostliness, or death—think of Dracula or Victorian heroines fainting in corsets. But the word has expanded: critics use it for uninspired writing, artists for washed-out visuals, and even social commentary to describe lifeless performances or policy ideas.
(noun) A natural craving or strong desire; an instinctive inclination toward something
She couldn’t explain her appetence for solo travel — it was simply part of who she was.
Appetence comes from the Latin appetentia, derived from appetere — meaning “to strive after” or “to desire” — itself a combination of ad (“toward”) and petere (“to seek” or “to aim at”). The word entered English in the 17th century, used by philosophers and naturalists to describe instinctive drives in both humans and animals.