rectitude

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for July 8, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>rectitude</strong> &#149; \REK-tuh-tood\&nbsp; &#149; <em>noun</em><br /> <p><em>Rectitude</em> is a formal noun that means “moral integrity or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/righteousness">righteousness</a>” or “the quality or state of being correct in judgment or procedure.”</p> <p>// The keynote speaker encouraged the graduates to go on to live lives of unimpeachable <em>rectitude</em> and integrity.</p> <p>// As treasurer of the club, she advocated a kind of fiscal <em>rectitude</em> that is widely credited with saving the organization from financial ruin.</p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rectitude">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“The district attorney was the picture of a gray-haired <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/eminence">eminence</a>, a figure of <em>rectitude</em> in a circus of a city. He conducted his indictment press conferences—an evening news staple—sitting down, grim as an undertaker, at the center of a long boardroom table. Unlike ... his <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bete%20noire">bête noire</a> at the U.S. attorney's office, he never raised his voice, cracked a smile or indulged in theatrics.” — Andrew Kirtzman, <em>The Washington Post</em>, 9 Dec. 2022</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>Ready for some straight talk about <em>rectitude</em>? Righto! <em>Rectitude</em> is a formal word that comes from the Latin adjective <em>rectus</em>, which means both “right” and “straight,” and ultimately from the Latin verb <em>regere</em>, meaning “to lead straight.” <em>Rectitude</em> today typically refers to moral integrity—that is, to “straightness” or “rightness” of character. (An early use referred literally to a straight line, but t