categorical

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for January 29, 2021 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>categorical</strong> &#149; \kat-uh-GOR-ih-kul\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><strong>1 :</strong> <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/absolute">absolute</a>, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unqualified">unqualified</a></p> <p><strong>2 a :</strong> of, relating to, or constituting a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/category">category</a></p> <p><strong>b :</strong> involving, according with, or considered with respect to specific categories</p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The Fair School Funding Plan … offers … <em>categorical</em> funding to determine the actual costs of safety and mental health programs and educations for disadvantaged and gifted students and those with disabilities or the need to learn English. — <a href="https://www.swantonenterprise.com/news/19449/proposed-school-funding-plan-lauded">David J. Coehrs, <em>The Swanton (Ohio) Enterprise</em>, 8 Dec. 2020</a></p> <p>"In the strongest story, 'Guericke’s Unicorn,' the narrator visits the Alps, hoping to write a <em>categorical</em> guide to monsters and feeling haunted by her studies. It's a study of mood and strangeness that brings to mind Del and Sofia Samatar's illustrated bestiary 'Monster Portraits.'" — <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/books/review/judith-schalansky-inventory-losses.html">Kate Zambreno, <em>The New York Times</em>, 8 Dec. 2020</a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>The ancestor of <em>categorical</em> and <em><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/category">category</a></em> has been important in logic and philosophy since the days of Aristotle. Both English words derive from Greek <em>katēgoria</em>, which Aristotle used to name the 10 fundamental classes (also called "<