It's the Word of the Day podcast for August 26th.
Today's word is trepidation, spelled T-R-E-P-I-D-A-T-I-O-N.
Trepidation is a noun.
Trepidation refers to a feeling of fear that causes someone to hesitate
because they think that something bad or unpleasant is going to happen.
Here's the word used in a sentence from Forbes.
Met by some with cautious optimism, others with trepidation, and others with doomsday predictions,
there is no doubt that AI is here to stay and changing work in ways yet to be fully revealed.
If you've ever trembled with fright,
you know something of both the sensation and etymology of the word trepidation.
It comes from the Latin verb trepidare, which means to tremble.
Trepidare is also the root of the English verb trepidate,
meaning to feel nervous or apprehensive, but that word is now considered archaic.
Early meanings of trepidation, such as tremulous motion or tremor, reflect its shaky origins.
Over time, however, those senses gave way to our modern meaning referring to fearful hesitancy.
With your Word of the Day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
Visit Merriam-Webster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.