Word of the Week: Innocuous

by Naomi L. | July 22, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 2 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Little did he know that this simple, seemingly innocuous act would result in his imminent death.

– Karen Eiffel, Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

If you’ve seen the movie Stranger Than Fiction, you probably remember this iconic quote from the most important plot point in the story of Harold Crick. While resetting the time on his wristwatch after it inexplicably goes on the fritz, the narrating voice in the IRS agent’s head notes the irony that such a normally harmless act is what will lead to the untimely and heartbreaking end of his life’s story (at which point Harold understandably begins to panic).

To call anything “innocuous” – whether concrete or abstract – is to say that it’s harmless. The word is actually a prefixed form of the adjective “nocuous”, meaning “noxious, harmful, or poisonous”, though this stem seems to be used mostly for poetic writing than for modern prose. “Innocuous” comes from the Latin adjective innocuus (“harmless, innocent”), comprised of the elements in- “not” and nocuus “injurious”.

As far as I can remember, the first time I ever heard this word was while watching the movie Stranger Than Fiction. It sounded like an interesting word (though that may have been due in part to Emma Thompson’s lovely British accent), so I made a note to look it up, and have since included it a few times in my own writing. Although it may just seem like a fancy alternative to “harmless”, I find that when used once in a while, “innocuous” can add a certain charming note to a narrative that more common words like “harmless” and “innocent” seem to lack. Too much advanced vocabulary in your stories might be annoying, but using intermediate words in moderation is, in this writer’s opinion, an innocuous act.

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Exacerbate

by Naomi L. | July 15, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 0 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

“Exacerbate” isn’t a word I’ve seen or heard a lot in my lifetime. In fact, I didn’t even discover it until I started studying vocabulary words for a standardized test I took as a requirement for university admissions. The first time I read it on the flashcard, I might have guessed that it had a similar definition to the word that it sounds the most like: “exasperate”. Turns out that’s a common mistake, though these two words are not as unalike as common test prep materials might have you believe…

To “exacerbate” something is to take a bad situation and make it worse. For instance, a movie or play with a terrible script can still be exacerbated by poor direction and talentless actors. The word stems from the Latin verb exacerbare (“make worse”), which in turn is made up of the roots ex- (as in inducement of a state) and acerbus (“harsh, bitter”). Interestingly, this verb can also mean “irritate”, placing it in the same lane as the common word with which “exacerbate” is easily confused. Note, however, that “exasperate” has slightly different roots behind it (such as asper, meaning “rough”), so this shouldn’t be mistaken as a green light to use them as synonyms. The noun “exacerbation” may have meant “provocation to anger” in the past, but for the sake of modern comprehension, it’s probably best to just acknowledge the words in their separate current definitions!

So remember, as much as they may seem similar, these are two different words that are intended to have two different meanings. Take care in your choice of verbs; you don’t want to exasperate your readers by exacerbating your flawed writing with mixed-up vocabulary!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Irate

by Naomi L. | July 8, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 2 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

OK, so I decided to go with a simpler word this week. There isn’t too much I can say about the word “irate”, except that it’s on the more intense end of the “angry” spectrum. This is easy to understand, since the root of the word “irate” is “ire”, both of which come from Latin, respectively the adjective iratus (“angry”, “enraged”, “furious”) and the noun ira (“anger”, “rage”, “wrath”). Basically, it’s just another word to add to the long list of synonyms for “angry”.

When it comes to my writing, I prefer to use “irate” in scenes involving characters who are so enraged by the given circumstances, they’re practically seeing red. For example, the most recent use of the word in one of my narratives was in a love story involving a teenage couple whose relationship, for sociopolitical reasons, was considered taboo (yes, sort of like a modern version of Romeo and Juliet). In this case, “irate” was one of my words of choice to describe their parents’ reactions upon discovering they’d been secretly involved for several months. While I included various synonyms for “angry” in the scene, this one seemed especially fitting for the level of outrage that I wanted to portray, as it rests on a similar line of the spectrum as words like “infuriated” and “livid”. In my opinion, “irate” is a good word to keep in mind for descriptions of extremely angry characters; after all, you can never have too extensive a vocabulary when writing about emotions!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Pedantic

by Naomi L. | July 1, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 2 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

I’m going to take a second here to be completely honest about something: I consider myself a little pedantic. Not about everything; mostly just when it comes to writing. I sometimes catch myself fussing over the littlest details about grammar and technique, and I haven’t been shy in the past about using advanced vocabulary in my stories to come across as an erudite writer (the fact that I just used a word like “erudite” should prove my case). Even my blog’s “Word of the Week” segment probably makes me seem pedantic. It’s a flaw of mine that I’ve had since at least my teen years, possibly stemming from my (admittedly unfounded) insecurities when I was growing up…

A person who’s “pedantic” (i.e. a pedant) is someone who tends to put extra thought into minor details or effort into proving their knowledge. The word possibly has roots in the first element of the Latin noun paedagogus (“pedagogue”, meaning “teacher”), which in turn comes from the Greek word paidagōgos (pais, paid- “boy” + agōgos “guide”).

Aside from myself, I would use a word like “pedantic” to describe a character like a particularly fussy teacher or an executive obsessed with showing off their advanced vocabulary and business skills. As far as I can tell, the word always seems to carry a negative connotation, and thus would be best considered a flaw as opposed to a neutral trait or even a strength. Pedantic isn’t something I’m particularly proud to be; your characters probably shouldn’t be either!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?

Word of the Week: Axiomatic

by Naomi L. | June 24, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 0 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

Penny: Hey, I think I know how you did the card trick.

Sheldon: Oh, please! If I don’t know, you don’t know. That’s axiomatic.

Penny: (to Howard) Come here. (whispers in his ear)

Howard: You’re right.

Penny: Not too bad for someone who doesn’t know what “axiomatic” means.

– The Big Bang Theory (Season 4, Episode 18 – “The Prestidigitation Approximation”)

If you’re a fan of the popular comedy TV series The Big Bang Theory, you may remember the above dialogue from an episode where the brilliant but hopelessly arrogant Dr. Sheldon Cooper has trouble figuring out the secret behind a magic trick performed by his friend Howard Wolowitz. When his less-educated friend/neighbor Penny claims to have found the secret herself, he is quick to dismiss this as an obvious impossibility. After all (to hear Dr. Cooper tell it), in what universe could a waitress solve a problem too perplexing for a physicist? Turns out ours seems to be that universe, as Penny not only manages to further confuse Sheldon by apparently beating him to the right conclusion, but even rubs salt in the wound by making it clear that she isn’t even knowledgeable enough to grasp the full offense of his belittling remark.

(If you want to find out Howard’s secret yourself, you can watch all the episode’s card trick scenes in this video. The above dialogue starts at about 4:00. Very funny!)

To call a fact “axiomatic” is to claim that it’s already evident without the need for argument. In a way, it’s a fancy translation for the phrase “it goes without saying”. And now for a twist: for once, I’m bringing you a word that stems, not from Latin, but from Greek! “Axiomatic” is derived from axiōmatikos, which in turn comes from the Greek noun axiōma, meaning “that which is thought fitting” or “a self-evident principle”. Note that this is also the origin of the noun “axiom”, defined as “a self-evident truth”.

To be honest, I don’t remember ever hearing the word “axiomatic” before watching Sheldon use it on The Big Bang Theory. Outside of narrative, it seems to be a fitting word for dialogue spoken by academically advanced characters, especially those involved in the exact sciences. Bonus points if you can incorporate the word into an actual mathematical context; another definition for “axiomatic” is “relating to or containing axioms”, that is, “a statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based”. Feel free to get creative with the word; off the top of my head, it could prove especially versatile in science fiction writing. And that, my friends, is axiomatic!

What are your thoughts on this word? Any suggestions for future “Word of the Week” featured words?