This week’s theme
Words with scene-stealing examples

This week’s words
soporiferous
misgiving


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PRONUNCIATION:

(mis-GIV-ing)

MEANING:

noun: A feeling of doubt or apprehension.

ETYMOLOGY:

From misgive (to cause doubt or apprehension), from mis- (badly or wrongly) + give (in its former sense: to suggest). Earliest documented use: 1582.

USAGE:

“Koreans cite the pressures and costs of excessive education as a large part of their reluctance to have children. (American parents in liberal enclaves might share a version of these misgivings.) An auspicious Korean childhood culminates in acceptance to one of Seoul’s three most prestigious universities. Admission is primarily based on a student’s performance on the national collegiate entrance exam, or Suneung, which is administered every year on a Thu in Nov. The opening of the stock market is delayed that day, and many construction sites are closed. Bus and metro services are increased to ease traffic congestion. Students running late may avail themselves of a police-motorcycle escort. During the English-comprehension section, which requires absolute silence, air-traffic control suspends all takeoffs and landings.”
Gideon Lewis-Kraus; The End of Children; The New Yorker; Mar 3, 2025.

See more usage examples of misgiving in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: