- 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.
(verb) To travel in a slow, purposeful, or indirect way.
They wended their way through the hills, stopping to take in every view.
Old English wendan, meaning “to turn” or “go,” originally used to describe physical and metaphorical journeys.