modicum
noun
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The Origins of Modicum Can Be Found in the Bathroom
It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the English language has more than a modicum of words referring to a small amount of something—it has oodles, from smidgen to soupçon. But while modicum can be applied to countable or physical things (like words or salt) it is almost always applied instead to abstract concepts like respect, success, control, hope, dignity, or privacy. Modicum traces back to the Latin noun modus, meaning “measure,” which just so happens to be the ancestor of more than a modicum of English words, from moderate and modify to mold and commode.
Examples of modicum in a Sentence
Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025
Where the Season 2 finale imbued its important action scenes with a modicum of whimsy, last night’s episode presented little by way of humor, stylistic finesse, or emotional release.
—Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025
The premise holds more than a modicum of clever intrigue, blending sci-fi, romance, horror and action-adventure in a slow-burning character study centered on two broken-spirited, sharp-shooting loners protecting the world from evil.
—Courtney Howard, Variety, 13 Feb. 2025
Lyonne and Johnson seek to give the lone wolf Charlie a modicum of stability this go around.
—Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 8 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for modicum
Cite this Entry
“Modicum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modicum. Accessed 2 Jun. 2025.
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modicum
noun
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