Each week, we scan the latest headlines to spot words in action. From major news stories to pop culture buzz, this list highlights language as it’s unfolding. Stories about changing opinions on Brexit, a new pedestrian-friendly neighborhood in Paris, and a decline in the use of semicolons all contributed words to this list of vocabulary from the week’s news.
abjure
verb: to renounce, repudiate, or retract, especially with formal solemnity; recant
From the headlines: Nine years after voting in favor of the U.K. leaving the European Union, the majority of British citizens now abjure their former approval for Brexit. Amid this widespread withdrawal of support for the policy, which has slowed the British economy, Britain and the EU are in talks to renegotiate their alliance. This week marked the first summit between the two in five years.
arthropod
noun: any invertebrate of the phylum Arthropoda that has a segmented body, jointed limbs, and usually a chitinous shell that molts
From the headlines: Paleontologists have unearthed a long-extinct sea creature that looked like a mini-arthropod monster. Dubbed the “sea moth,” the Mosura fentoni had three eyes, toothy jaws, claws, and swim flaps. Like its modern arthropod cousins including insects and crustaceans, this sea creature was also spineless and had a hard exoskeleton covering its segmented body.
bereft
adjective: feeling deprived or desolate, especially by the death of a loved one
From the headlines: Many residents of Kentucky, Virginia, and Missouri are bereft after powerful tornadoes tore through the region, causing widespread devastation and destroying thousands of homes. Local groups quickly mobilized to support the communities hit hardest by the storms. Relief efforts include emergency shelters, donation drives, and volunteer teams providing food, clothing, and cleanup assistance to those most in need.
centrist
noun: (especially in continental Europe) a member of a political party of the Center; moderate
From the headlines: After a tense and divisive presidential race in Romania, the centrist candidate Nicusor Dan won the runoff election. Dan, the former mayor of Bucharest, beat the hard-right nationalist front runner George Simion. Experts say that Dan’s moderate politics and support for Romania remaining part of the European Union tipped the balance in his favor.
emblematic
adjective: serving as an emblem; symbolic
From the headlines: The new pedestrian-friendly Paris neighborhood of Clichy-Batignolles is emblematic of the “fifteen-minute” city approach to urban planning. This kind of design allows residents to walk, bicycle, or ride public transportation for no more than fifteen minutes in order to reach their workplace, buy groceries, or otherwise fulfill their daily needs. Clichy-Batignolles, with its car-free streets, population density, and many amenities, represents the perfect example of such a plan.
grammarian
noun: a specialist or expert in grammar
From the headlines: Grammarians might shed a tear over a new study that reveals a sharp decline in semicolon use among British students. The punctuation mark isn’t faring much better in published English; books in 2000 featured nearly twice as many semicolons as those in 2024. Once a beloved tool for linking independent clauses with finesse, the semicolon is now often replaced by a period or comma/conjunction combo.
impervious
adjective: not permitting penetration or passage; impenetrable
From the headlines: A policy in the Netherlands allows citizens to tear up public paved surfaces that are impervious to water and replace them with plants. By removing concrete slabs and planting flower gardens in absorbent soil, people help lower temperatures and reduce flooding in their neighborhoods. The practice, called tegelwippen in Dutch, involves removing sealed surfaces that keep rainwater from soaking into the ground and adding deep-rooted plants that encourage absorption.
metastasize
verb: Pathology. (of malignant cells or disease-producing organisms) to spread to other parts of the body by way of blood, lymphatic vessels, or membranous surface
From the headlines: Former U.S. President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer that has metastasized to his bones. However, doctors say the cancer is hormone-sensitive, so treatment is expected to help. For U.S. men, prostate cancer is the second most common type of cancer.
plaudit
noun: an enthusiastic expression of approval
From the headlines: A team of scientists won plaudits for discovering a dolphin call that signals alarm. Researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution received the Coller-Dolittle Prize for Two-way Interspecies Communication, along with a $100,000 award. Their study centered on using non-invasive devices to record the dolphins’ whistles, technology that was highly praised by their colleagues.
repatriate
verb: to bring or send back (a person, especially a prisoner of war, a refugee, etc.) to their country or land of citizenship
From the headlines: The U.N. Refugee Agency repatriated hundreds of Rwandans who had lived in Congo since fleeing the 1994 genocide. Around 360 people were returned to Rwanda, where they’ll receive support as they reintegrate. Some were born in Congo to refugee parents but still felt a deep connection to their homeland.
