nonpareil
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day
Merriam-Webster
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 23 September 2025
⏱️ 2 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 23, 2025 is:
nonpareil • \nahn-puh-REL\ • adjective
Nonpareil describes that which has no equal because it is better than any other.
// To this day, the band's debut album is still considered nonpareil, raising the bar for every rock group to follow.
Examples:
"The Crew's soccer operations have been nonpareil during this latest golden era of their history." — Michael Arace, The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, 24 Feb. 2025
Did you know?
Trace nonpareil back to its Middle French origins and you'll find that it comes from a term meaning "not equal." Pareil itself comes from the Latin word par, which means "equal," and non- is a common prefix meaning "not." In addition to its adjectival use, nonpareil also functions as a noun referring to an individual of unequaled excellence (as in "the nonpareil of cellists") as well as to a chocolate candy disk covered with small sugar pellets. A full exploration of the word's history, and its current functions in French, can be found here.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the Word of the Day podcast for September 23rd. |
| 0:12.0 | Today's word is non-parrell, spelled as one word, N-O-N-O-N-P-R-E-I-L. Non-Porel is an adjective. |
| 0:24.3 | It describes that which has no equal because it is better than any other. Here's the word used in a sentence from the Columbus Dispatch. |
| 0:30.7 | The cruise soccer operations have been non-Parrell during this latest golden era of their history. |
| 0:37.5 | Trace the word non-Parel back to its middle French origins, and you'll find that it comes from |
| 0:43.5 | a term meaning not equal. Paral or Parais itself comes from the Latin word par, which means equal, |
| 0:49.9 | and non-non, is a common prefix, meaning not. In addition to its adjectival use, non-n-non is a common prefix meaning not. |
| 1:10.7 | In addition to its adjectival use, non-parall also functions as a noun, referring to an individual of unequaled excellence, as in the non-parole of cellists, as well as to a chocolate candy disc covered with small sugar pellets. |
| 1:15.3 | A full exploration of the words history and its current functions in French can be found online at merriamwebster.com. |
| 1:18.9 | With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski. |
| 1:25.8 | Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups. |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Merriam-Webster, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Merriam-Webster and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.