Emote - plus, test your vocabulary

[Merriam-Webster]( WORD OF THE DAY [February 19, 2019](#none) emote [Audio pronunciation]( verb | ih-MOHT Definition : to give expression to [emotion]( especially in acting Scroll down for more about emote TRENDING NOW: [crosshair]( [feckless]( [emergency]( [national emergency]( [SEE ALL [>]]( PEOPLE ARE READING # ['Prestigious' — Video Word of the Day 2/18/2019]( # [The Illuminating History of 'Gaffer']( # [The News On 'Nontroversy']( # [The Good, The Bad, & The Semantically Imprecise - 2/15/19]( WORD GAMES AND QUIZZES: WEEKLY CHALLENGE [What did you just call me?! A Quiz]( Never be caught off guard [PLAY NOW]( Nailed this quiz? We have plenty more to try! [TAKE ME THERE [>]]( Did You Know? Emote is an example of what linguists call a [back-formation](—that is, a word formed by trimming down an existing word (in this case, [emotion](). As is sometimes the case with back-formations, emote has since its coinage in the early 20th century tended toward use that is less than entirely serious. It frequently appears in humorous or deprecating descriptions of the work of actors, and is similarly used to describe theatrical behavior by nonactors. Though a writer sometimes wants us to take someone's "emoting" seriously, a phrase like "expressing emotion" avoids the chance that we will hear some snideness in the writer's words. Examples of EMOTE "It's not always immediately obvious, but sometimes you fall in love with a band for the way the singers emote." — James Reed, The Boston Globe, 24 Jan. 2012 "Aiming for a higher quality than masks allowed, the makeup artist John Chambers developed a new type of foam rubber and created facial appliances that allowed actors to talk and emote." — Andrew R. Chow, The New York Times, 31 Dec. 2018 Test Your Vocabulary Fill in the blanks to complete a word that is synonymous with emotion: _ _ n _ i _ en _. [VIEW THE ANSWER [>]]( WORD OF THE YEAR 2018 Justice + 10 more Read why justice is our Word of the Year, plus lodestar, epiphany, pansexual, and 7 more top words! [SEE THE FULL LIST [>]]( MORE WORD FUN: [WORD GAMES [>]]( [TRENDING NOW [>]]( [WORDS AT PLAY [>]]( FOLLOW US: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( [Instagram]( [Pinterest]( SHARE: [Facebook][Facebook]( [Twitter][Twitter]( [View this email in a web browser]( You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day. [Unsubscribe from Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day]( [Manage your subscription settings]( Merriam-Webster, Inc. 47 Federal Street P.O. Box 281 Springfield, MA 01102 [www.merriam-webster.com](