maelstrom

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for November 4, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>maelstrom</strong> &#149; \MAIL-strum\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p>A maelstrom is a powerful often violent whirlpool that sucks in objects within a given radius. <em>Maelstrom</em> is also often used figuratively to refer to a situation resembling the turbulence of a maelstrom, as when there are a lot of confused activities, emotions, etc. </p> <p>// He was caught in a <em>maelstrom</em> of emotions after the news he received over the phone.</p> <p>// The ship was drawn into the <em>maelstrom</em>.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maelstrom">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Innovation can be a crushing force—a physical and emotional <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/juggernaut">juggernaut</a> that can redefine entire sectors, societies, and civilizations in its <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inexorable">inexorable</a> path. As we peer into the <em>maelstrom</em> of technology’s ever-expanding possibilities—clinging to what guardrails we may find—the question that emerges is not just about <em>what</em> awaits us but about <em>when</em>. Timing, as they say, is everything.” — John Nosta, <em>Psychology Today</em>, 22 Sept. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The original <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Maelstrom">Maelstrom</a>, also known as the Mostenstraumen or Moskstraumen, is a channel located off the northwest coast of Norway that has dangerous tidal currents. English speakers became familiar with its (often exaggerated) perils through literature—<a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Edgar-Allan-Poe">Edgar Allan Poe</a> wrote a story called “A Descent into the Maelstrom,” and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jules-Verne"