adulation
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster
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🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 2 minutes
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Summary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 5, 2026 is:
adulation • \aj-uh-LAY-shun\ • noun
Adulation refers to extreme or excessive admiration, flattery, or praise.
// The triumphant players were greeted with shouts of adulation.
Examples:
“Curators focus on the sunnier side of Elvis's tragic story, yet Graceland still provides an intimate glimpse into superstardom and all that comes with it: the adulation, the opulence, the hangers-on and the darkness that counterbalances such a burst of light.” — Rick Rojas, The New York Times, 29 Nov. 2025
Did you know?
If witnessing a display of adulation reminds you of a dog panting after its beloved person, you’ve picked up adulation’s etymological “scent”; the word ultimately comes from the Latin verb adūlārī, meaning “to fawn on” (a sense used specifically of the affectionate behavior of dogs) or “to praise insincerely.” Adulation has been in use in English since the 15th century. The verb adulate, noun adulator, and adjective adulatory followed dutifully behind.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | It's the Word of the Day podcast for February 5th. |
| 0:12.0 | Today's word is adulation, spelled A-D-U-L-A-T-I-O-N. |
| 0:18.0 | Adulation is a noun. It refers to extreme or excessive admiration, flattery, or praise. |
| 0:23.9 | Here's the word used in a sentence from the New York Times. Curators focus on the sunnier side of Elvis's |
| 0:30.5 | tragic story. Yet, Graceland still provides an intimate glimpse into superstardom and all that comes |
| 0:37.3 | with it, the adulation, |
| 0:38.8 | the opulence, the hangers-on, and the darkness that counterbalances such a burst of light. |
| 0:45.2 | If witnessing a display of adulation reminds you of a dog panting after its beloved person, |
| 0:52.4 | you've picked up adulation's etymological scent. The word ultimately |
| 0:57.0 | comes from the Latin verb Adulari, meaning to fawn on, a sense used specifically of the |
| 1:04.6 | affectionate behavior of dogs, or to praise insincerely. Adulation has been in use in English since the 15th century. The verb |
| 1:14.5 | Agulate, noun Agilator, and adjective Agilatory followed dutifully. With your word of the day, |
| 1:21.8 | I'm Peter Sokolowski. |
| 1:33.3 | Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups. |
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