Viral describes anything with the qualities of a virus—a viral infection or a viral disease, such as the flu, or the virus that causes COVID. Viral can also describe anything that reproduces itself and spreads, metaphorically like a virus, such as a viral idea or a viral fashion. Internet memes are often called viral. Virile describes qualities […]

Wary means cautious or suspicious; it describes a person or animal who is watching for possible danger: Be wary of emails from strangers! Weary means tired, in two senses—“feeling low energy after labor” and “feeling that one has had too much of an experience and wanting no more”: We were weary after a day of […]

The difference between you’re, your, and yore is easy to remember. You’re is the contraction of you are; the apostrophe stands for the missing letter a; thus, you can insert the words you are in place of you’re in the following sentences without affecting the meaning: You’re my best friend You’re late to the meeting again! Your is the possessive […]

A yoke is a very specific object—the device used to attach an animal, such as an ox or horse, to a plow or wagon. Yoke is also a verb for “to put a yoke on”: Please yoke the ox to this wagon. As such, yoke is a popular metaphor for oppression, slavery, and heavy burdens: American […]