flexuous

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 4, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>flexuous</strong> &#149; \FLEK-shuh-wus\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> having curves, turns, or windings</p> <p><strong>2 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lithe">lithe</a> or fluid in action or movement</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>The last leg of the trail is a <em>flexuous</em> path leading up the mountain to a spectacular panoramic view of the valley.</p> <p>"This pine [the <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/longleaf%20pine">longleaf pine</a>] is not confused (or at least shouldn't be) with any other tree: the combination of long, <em>flexuous</em> needles (in 3's), whitened-silvery buds, and large cones make it distinctive in the Southeast, although in some cases our native <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slash%20pine">slash pine</a> looks similar." — John Nelson, <em>Post &amp; Courier</em> (Charleston, South Carolina), 18 Mar. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p><em>Flexuous</em> is a synonym of <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/curvy">curvy</a></em>. It is typically used in botany to describe plant stems that aren't rigid. But don't let that tendency deflect you from occasionally employing this ultimately quite flexible word. Stemming straight from Latin <em>flectere,</em> meaning "to bend," it can also mean "<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/undulating">undulating</a>" or "fluid." It might, for example, be used of writing or music, or of something or someone that moves with a fluid sort of grace.</p> <br /><br /> </p> </font>