Today's Word

Quandary

KWAHN-duh-ree

Definition

(noun) A state of uncertainty, confusion, or doubt, often involving a difficult decision.

Example

She found herself in a quandary when she received two amazing job offers and couldn’t decide which to take.

Fun Fact

The origin of “quandary” is unclear, but it has been used since the 16th century to describe dilemmas that leave people unsure of what to do. Whether choosing between two tempting desserts or deciding on a life-changing move, we all experience quandaries—big and small—every day!

Previous Words

Languor

Today's Word

Languor

LANG-ger

Definition

(noun) A state of pleasant tiredness or dreamy inactivity; a soft, luxurious lack of energy or motivation.

Example

The long afternoon, the slow ceiling fan, and the smell of rain left her in a state of deep, contented languor.

Word Origin

From Old French langueur, from Latin languor, derived from languere (“to be faint, to be listless, to droop”). Related to lax, languid, and slack — all sharing the Indo-European root (s)lēg- meaning “to be loose or slack.” Languor has always described a state of pleasant looseness — the body gone soft, the mind unmoored.

Fun Fact

Languor was a prized condition in Romantic poetry — Keats in particular made a kind of art of it. His “Ode to a Nightingale” and “Ode on Indolence” are essentially sustained meditations on the beauty of surrendering to a beautiful, purposeless drift. In the Victorian era, languor was also embraced by the Aesthetic Movement — figures like Oscar Wilde celebrated it as a mark of refined sensibility. To be languorous was to be too elevated for the crude busyness of ordinary life. Today, we might just call it a Sunday afternoon.

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Quandary

Definition

Example

Previous Words

Languor

Languor

Definition

Example

Word Origin

Languor

Belie

Undaunted

Wont

Recidivism