- Today's Word
Repudiate
rih-PYOO-dee-ate
Definition
(verb) To reject, deny, or disown something, especially publicly or formally.
Example
She publicly repudiated the rumors that had been circulating online.
Fun Fact
Repudiate has a sharp tone, often used in legal, political, and personal crises—from leaders distancing themselves from policies to celebrities denying rumors. It carries more weight than “disagree” or “criticize”—it’s a total severance. The word originally referred to rejecting a spouse or family member in Roman law. Today, it’s often about drawing a hard line and making sure people know where you stand.
(noun) A person who believes that the pursuit of pleasure and sensory enjoyment is the highest good and chief aim of life
A self-proclaimed hedonist, she planned her entire sabbatical around exceptional food, warm weather, and long afternoons with nothing to do.
Hedonist derives from the Greek hedone, meaning “pleasure” or “delight,” from hedys (“sweet”). The philosophical school of Hedonism was formally developed in ancient Greece — most notably by Epicurus, who argued that pleasure, properly understood, was the foundation of a good life. The word entered English in the 19th century as both a philosophical term and a descriptor for those who live purely for sensory gratification.