trenchant

<font size="-1" face="arial, helvetica"> <p> <strong> <font color="#000066">Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for June 6, 2023 is:</font> </strong> </p> <p> <strong>trenchant</strong> &#149; \TREN-chunt\&nbsp; &#149; <em>adjective</em><br /> <p><em>Trenchant</em> is a formal word that is usually used to describe communication that is notably strong, clear, and perceptive, or in other words, “sharp.”</p> <p>// The author’s <em>trenchant</em> wit was very evident in the critique she wrote of the much-acclaimed film.</p> <p>// <em>Trenchant</em> insights made eloquently by the speaker clearly affected many of those in the audience. </p> <p><a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trenchant">See the entry ></a></p> </p> <p> <strong>Examples:</strong><br /> <p>“Written and directed by Tommy Lee Wallace (a longtime collaborator of <em>Halloween</em> director John Carpenter), the film’s scares touch on ancient witchcraft and computer chips made out of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Stonehenge">Stonehenge</a> fragments. The movie also takes some <em>trenchant</em> digs at TV advertising and emphasizes an odd and foreboding atmosphere over cheap shocks.” — David Sims, <em>The Atlantic</em>, 8 Sep. 2021</p> </p> <p> <strong>Did you know?</strong><br /> <p>There’s much to know about the word <em>trenchant</em>, but we’ll cut to the chase. The word <em>trenchant</em> comes from the Anglo-French verb <em>trencher</em>, meaning “to cut.” Hence, a trenchant sword is one with a <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/keen">keen</a> edge. Nowadays, <em>trenchant</em> mostly describes things that don’t cut deep literally, but that are still felt: a trenchant remark is one that cuts close to the bone, and a trenchant observation is one that cuts to the heart of the matter. In addition to meaning “<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/caustic">caustic</a>” and “sharply perceptive,” <em>trenchant</em> also carries a sense