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Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

faze

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster

Arts, Literature, Language Courses, Education

4.31.2K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2023

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 3, 2023 is:

faze • \FAYZ\  • verb

To faze someone is to disturb their composure. Faze is a synonym of disconcert and daunt.

// My grandfather was a stolid individual who was not easily fazed by life's troubles.

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Examples:

"The Patriots apparently weren’t fazed that their 6-2, 185-pound receiver reportedly had the thinnest wrists in the 2022 draft at 6⅛ inches." — Ben Volin, The Boston Globe, 8 Aug. 2023

Did you know?

If you're hazy on faze, let us filter out the fuzz. Faze (not to be confused with phase) first appeared in English in the early 1800s with the same meaning we give it today: to disturb the composure of. Its appearance came centuries after the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer were penned, but both of those authors were familiar with the word's ancient parent, the now-rare verb feeze, which has been in use since the days of Old English (in the form fēsian), when it meant "to drive away" or "to put to flight." By the 1400s, it was also being used with the meaning "to frighten or put into a state of alarm," a sense close to that of the modern faze. While it is possible to use faze in constructions like "I felt fazed by the prospect of starting at a new school," it more often appears with negation, as in "it didn’t faze her a bit” or “nothing fazes him."



Transcript

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0:00.0

It's Merriam Webster's Word of the Day for October 3rd.

0:11.4

Today's word is phase, spelled F-A-Z-E phases a verb.

0:17.1

To phase someone is to disturb their composure.

0:20.7

Phase is a synonym of the words disconsert and daunt.

0:24.0

Here's the word used in a sentence from the Boston Globe by Ben Vollen.

0:29.0

The patriots apparently weren't phased that their 6-2 185-pound receiver reportedly had

0:36.2

the thinnest wrists in the 2022 draft at 6 and an 8-inches.

0:44.1

If you're hazy on the word phase, let us filter out the fuzz.

0:49.4

Phase not to be confused with the one spelled P-H-A-S-E first appeared in English in the

0:56.0

early 1800s with the same meaning we give it today, to disturb the composure of.

1:02.3

Its appearance came centuries after the works of Shakespeare and Chaucer were penned.

1:07.5

But both of those authors were familiar with the words ancient parent, the now rare verb

1:12.3

phes F-E-E-Z-E, which has been in use since the days of Old English when it meant to drive

1:18.9

away or to put to flight.

1:21.7

By the 1400s, it was also being used with the meaning to frighten or to put in a state

1:27.3

of alarm, a sense close to that of the modern word phase.

1:32.1

While it's possible to use phase in constructions like, I felt phased by the prospect of starting

1:38.1

at a new school, it more often appears with negation as in, it didn't phase her a bit

1:44.0

or nothing phases him.

1:45.8

With your word of the day on Peter Sucalowski.

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