Today's Word

Pertinacious

per-tuh-NAY-shus

Definition

(adjective) Holding firmly to an opinion, purpose, or course of action; extremely persistent.

Example

Despite repeated setbacks, her pertinacious pursuit of the project impressed everyone on the team.

Word Origin

From Latin pertinax, meaning “very tenacious” or “holding fast.”

Fun Fact

Pertinacious is stronger than persistent—it suggests a stubborn, almost unshakeable grip on a goal or belief. Historically, the word was sometimes used critically, implying someone who refused to yield even when logic (or politeness) suggested they should. Today, it often carries admiration: pertinacious people are the ones who push breakthroughs, finish impossible tasks, and stay steady when others waver.

Previous Words

Supercilious

Today's Word

Supercilious

soo-per-SIL-ee-us

Definition

(adjective) Behaving as though one is superior to others; having a condescending attitude that communicates contempt through manner rather than words.

Example

The supercilious tone of the response made it clear he hadn’t just disagreed with the proposal — he had found the act of reading it slightly beneath him.

Word Origin

Supercilious derives from the Latin superciliosus, meaning “haughty,” from supercilium — literally “eyebrow” — built from super- (“above”) and cilium (“eyelid” or “eyelash”). The raised eyebrow as a physical gesture of disdain or condescension was so culturally universal in ancient Rome that the word for eyebrow became the word for haughtiness. It entered English in the 16th century, carrying its physical origin quietly — every use of the word contains the ghost of a lifted brow.

Fun Fact

The eyebrow raise is one of the most cross-culturally consistent human expressions — studies of facial expression across isolated cultures with no contact with Western media found the same gesture used to communicate superiority, skepticism, and dismissal. Paul Ekman, the psychologist whose work on universal facial expressions influenced everything from airport security screening to the television series Lie to Me, identified the unilateral eyebrow raise as one of the most reliably readable expressions across all human populations. The Romans who named superciliousness after the eyebrow were observing something genuinely universal — which makes the word’s etymology one of the more precise pieces of folk psychology preserved in the English language.

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Pertinacious

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Previous Words

Supercilious

Supercilious

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Supercilious

Pallid

Prosaic

Trenchant

Fervent