immaculate

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for March 29, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>immaculate</strong> &#149; \ih-MAK-yuh-lut\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Immaculate</em> means "spotlessly clean" or "without flaw or error." In botany and zoology, the word describes beings that have no colored spots or marks.</p> <p>// Despite the constant demands of school and fatherhood, Javier kept an <em>immaculate</em> home, tidying up whenever the opportunity arose.</p> <p>// Even a minor scandal has the power to tarnish an otherwise <em>immaculate</em> reputation. </p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/immaculate">See the entry ></a> </p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>"The <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cleanse#h2">cleanse</a> on Lunar New Year’s Eve is one of many customs—really, superstitions—taught to me by my late mother and father. It’s part of a larger idea that everything should be <em>immaculate</em>, including the body and the home, which should also be tidied and, most importantly, swept out. This is done to lay a perfect groundwork for the coming year: spotless and unblemished by past trouble." — Lan Samantha Chang, <em>Vogue</em>, 20 Jan. 2023</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>You may already use the word <em>immaculate</em> flawlessly, but most of us have a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spotty">spottier</a> history with its <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/antonymous">antonymous</a> counterpart, <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/maculate"><em>maculate</em></a>, which means "marked with spots" or "impure." Both words can be traced back to <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/macula"><em>macula</em></a>, a Latin noun (plural <em>maculae</em> or <em>maculas</em>) that scientists still use for spots on