Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for October 21, 2026 is:
 
 
 
 
 jilt &#149; \JILT\&nbsp; &#149; verb
 To jilt someone is usually to abruptly end a romantic relationship with them. Jilt is also applied to various kinds of abrupt rejection. 

// The novel begins with the hero, having just been jilted by his fiancée, setting off to hike the Appalachian Trail.

<a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jilt">See the entry ></a>
 
 
 
 Examples:
 “The set suggests Miss Havisham’s room in her estate, which was famously frozen in time from the moment her fiancé jilted her in the Dickens novel, but that’s simply the frame for a behind-the-scenes view into all of the elements ... that go into an actor’s effort to bring a character to life on stage.” — Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe, 20 May 2026 
 
 
 
 Did you know?
 What’s in a name? Often, something not very nice, through no fault and much to the chagrin of those bearing that name. Just ask <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ralph">Ralph</a> or <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/karen#dictionary-entry-2">Karen</a>. The same is (possibly) true of Gillot, an old pet form of Gillian that is thought to have led to the noun jillet, which originally referred to an unfaithful wife, and later became <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jilt#dictionary-entry-2">jilt</a>, used in the late 17th century for a person (especially a woman) who capriciously casts a lover aside. The verb jilt followed for the actions of such a person. These days, though jilt usually implies the sudden ending of a romantic relationship, it can also be used beyond that context with the broader meaning “to sever close relations with.”

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