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?

Word of the Week: Defenestration

by Naomi L. | June 17, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 6 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

I bet you’ve never heard this word before. Unless you’re a history enthusiast, of course, in which case you may already be familiar with it from reading about the Defenestrations of Prague. I, however, am not such an enthusiast; to give an idea, I had never heard about the aforementioned historical incidents until I started doing research for this blog post. Instead, I didn’t learn about the word “defenestration” until I read a short humorous piece by the famous Brazilian satirical writer Luís Fernando Veríssimo, in which he comments on several words that sound like they should mean something different than what they actually do. According to the author, “defenestration” should be some sort of exotic lustful act practiced by few, or another word for the extermination of pests, or an official term found in legal documents, but he never would have guessed what it really means…

“Defenestration” is the act of throwing a person or object out of a window. To be honest, I probably would have gone the same way as Veríssimo and assumed it meant something a little more vulgar. Maybe I could have made a more accurate guess if I had a better grasp of French, as the root of fenêtre (“window”) is embedded in this word; at least, that’s how my mom got it right. The word “defenestration” is comprised of the Latin roots de– “from, out of” and fenestra “window”, and was coined around 1618 in reference to the incident in Prague that precipitated the Thirty Years’ War (yes, one of the very same incidents mentioned in the last paragraph).

So how can you use this word in your own writing? Well, that’s the fun part: it’s all about context. “Defenestration” has been used as much in formal writing as in humorous accounts, to equal effect. It could be used to narrate a historical act of political dispute or the climactic end of a struggle in an action scene. It’s even become a comical neologism for the removal of a computer’s Microsoft Windows OS in place of an alternative (as explained in this 2004 article from Linux Insider). The possibilities are numerous; it’s up to your own imagination to shape it into the sense you want. Have fun!

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

Word of the Week: Opaque

by Naomi L. | June 10, 2013 | Blog, Word of the Week | 3 comments

Source: Oxford Dictionaries

“Opaque”, like “pedestrian“, is a simple word with at least two distinct meanings: one concrete and one abstract. Unlike “pedestrian”, however, it’s easier to see a connection between the two definitions. When describing a physical object as “opaque”, you’re affirming that no light can pass through it, and thus it cannot be seen through (as opposed to a transparent sheet of glass or a translucent plastic bag). Similarly, when something abstract (like language or an idea) is “opaque”, it’s difficult to see through it to understand its deeper meaning.

His car was so filthy, even the windows were starting to become opaque.

The slang the teenager used with her friends was completely opaque to her parents.

The original spelling of the word in late Middle English was opake, which was eventually influenced by the French form to become the modern spelling. The definition comes from the Latin adjective opacus (feminine opaca, neuter opacum), meaning “dark” or “shaded”. The first time I heard the word “opaque” was in my seventh grade science class, where it simply meant the opposite of transparent, but I’ve since come to learn and appreciate the word’s more abstract meaning through literature. As far as using this word in my own writing, I often prefer the figurative definition, as it can help to illustrate elements of the story intended to be more mysterious, though it also works well when trying to establish that an object’s lack of transparency is important to the scene in some way.

On a side note, this word can also be used as a noun to mean something that’s opaque, although I myself have rarely heard it used in this way. In terms of photography, the word refers to a substance used for producing opaque areas on negatives, which might be handy to know if you’re looking to create a detailed profile for a character who’s a photographer. I know I’ll find that useful someday…

I like the word “opaque” for the same reasons I like the word “pedestrian”: its differing meanings that can be used in both literal and figurative contexts, as well as the unique sound of the word itself. Overall, “opaque” is a good word for any writer to know, and in my opinion, it can make for some interesting descriptions. Have fun with it!

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