Word of the Day
: June 20, 2026longueur
playWhat It Means
Longueur refers to a boring part of something (such as a book or play). It is usually used in the plural form.
// Though not without its longueurs, the opera came to life in the last act.
longueur in Context
“Game 3 of the World Series was a stone-cold thriller, with peaks of high drama and longueurs of exquisitely tense tedium ...” — Steve Rushin, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025
Did You Know?
You’ve probably come across long, tedious sections of books, plays, or musical works before, but perhaps you didn’t know there was a word for them. The French borrowing longueur has been doing the job for us since the late 18th century. As in English, French longueurs are tedious passages, with longueur itself literally meaning “length.” An early example of longueur used in an English text is from 18th-century writer Horace Walpole, who wrote in a letter, “Boswell’s book is gossiping; ... but there are woeful longueurs, both about his hero and himself.”
Test Your Vocabulary with M-W Quizzes
Test Your Vocabulary
What “colorful” word is often used to describe prose that is ornately and showily phrased or expressed?
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