chapter-15

HOW TO TALK ABOUT WHAT GOES ON

(Sessions 42–44)

TEASER PREVIEW

What verb, ending in -ate, means:

to exhaust?

to scold severely?

to deny oneself?

to repeat the main points?

to be a victim of mental or intellectual stagnation?

to pretend?

to hint?

to make (something) easier to bear?

to show sympathy?

to waver indecisively?

SESSION 42

WORDS are symbols of ideas—and we have been learning,

discussing, and working with words as they revolve around certain

basic concepts.

Starting with an idea (personality types, doctors, occupations,

science, lying, actions, speech, insults, compliments, etc.), we have

explored the meanings and uses of ten basic words; then, working

from each word, we have wandered off toward any ideas and

additional words that a basic word might suggest, or toward any

other words built on the same Latin or Greek roots.

By this natural and logical method, you have been able to make

meaningful and lasting contact with fifty to a hundred or more

words in each chapter. And you have discovered, I think, that while

five isolated words may be difficult to learn in one day, fifty to a

hundred or more related words are easy to learn in a few sessions.

In this session we learn words that tell what’s going on, what’s

happening, what people do to each other or to themselves, or what

others do to them.

IDEAS

1. complete exhaustion

You have stayed up all night. And what were you doing? Playing

poker, a very pleasant way of whiling away time? No. Engaging in

some creative activity, like writing a short story, planning a political

campaign, discussing fascinating questions with friends? No.

The examples I have offered are exciting or stimulating—as

psychologists have discovered, it is not work or effort that causes

fatigue, but boredom, frustration, or a similar feeling.

You have stayed up all night with a very sick husband, wife,

child, or dear friend. And despite all your ministrations, the patient

is sinking. You can see how this long vigil contains all the elements

of frustration that contribute to mental, physical, and nervous

fatigue.

And so you are bushed—but completely bushed. Your exhaustion

is mental, it is physiological, it is emotional.

What verb expresses the effect of the night’s frustrations on you?

to enervate

2. tongue-lashing

You suddenly see the flashing red light as you glance in your rear-

view mirror. It’s the middle of the night, yet the police flasher is

clear as day—and then you hear the low growl of the siren. So you

pull over, knowing you were speeding along at 70 on the 55-mile-

an-hour-limit freeway—after all, there was not another car in sight

on the deserted stretch of road you were traveling.

The cop is pleasant, courteous, smiling; merely asks for your

driver’s license and registration; even says “Please.”

Feeling guilty and stupid, you become irritated. So what do you

do?

You lash out at the officer with all the verbal vituperation welling

up in you from your self-anger. You scold him harshly for not

spending his time looking for violent criminals instead of harassing

innocent motorists; you call into question his honesty, his ambition,

his fairness, even his ancestry. To no avail, of course—you stare at

the traffic ticket morosely as the police cruiser pulls away.

What verb describes how you reacted?

to castigate

3. altruistic

Phyllis is selfless and self-sacrificing. Her husband’s needs and

desires come first—even when they conflict with her own. Clothes

for her two daughters are her main concern—even if she has to wear

a seven-year-old coat and outmoded dresses so that Paula and

Evelyn can look smart and trim. At the dinner table, she heaps

everyone’s plate—while she herself often goes without. Phyllis will

deny herself, will scrimp and save—all to the end that she may offer

her husband and children the luxuries that her low self-esteem does

not permit her to give herself.

What verb expresses what Phyllis does?

to self-abnegate

4. repetition

You have delivered a long, complicated lecture to your class, and

now, to make sure that they will remember the important points,

you restate the key ideas, the main thoughts. You offer, in short, a

kind of brief summary, step by step, omitting all extraneous details.

What verb best describes what you do?

to recapitulate

5. no joie de vivre

Perhaps you wake up some gloomy Monday morning (why is it

that Monday is always the worst day of the week?) and begin to

think of the waste of the last five years. Intellectually, there has

been no progress—you’ve read scarcely half a dozen books, haven’t

made one new, exciting friend, haven’t had a startling or unusual

thought. Economically, things are no better—same old debts to

meet, same old hundred dollars in the bank, same old job, same old

routine of the eight-to-five workdays, the tuna fish or chicken salad

sandwich for lunch, the same dreary ride home. What a life! No

change, nothing but routine, sameness, monotony—and for what?

(By now you’d better get up—this type of thinking never leads

anywhere, as you’ve long since learned.)

What verb describes how you think you live?

to vegetate

6. pretense

Your neighbor, Mrs. Brown, pops in without invitation to tell you

of her latest troubles with (a) her therapist, (b) her hairdresser, (c)

her husband, (d) her children, and/or (e) her gynecologist.

Since Florence Brown is dull to the point of ennui, and anyway

you have a desk piled high with work you were planning to light

into, you find it difficult to concentrate on what she is saying.

However, you do not wish to offend her by sending her packing, or

even by appearing to be uninterested, so you pretend rapt attention,

nodding wisely at what you hope are the right places.

What verb describes this feigning of interest?

to simulate

7. slight hint, no more

You are an author and are discussing with your editor the possible

avenues of publicity and advertising for your new book. At one

point in the conversation the editor makes several statements which

might—or might not—be construed to mean that the company is

going to promote the book heavily. For example, “If we put some

real money behind this, we might sell a few copies,” or “I wonder if

it would be a good idea to get you on a few talk shows …” No

unequivocal commitments, no clear-cut promises, only the slight

and oblique mention of possibilities.

What verb expresses what the editor is doing?

to intimate

8. helpful

Aspirin doesn’t cure any diseases. Yet this popular and

inexpensive drug is universally used to lighten and relieve various

unpleasant

symptoms

disease:

aches

and

pains,

fever,

inflammations, etc.

What verb expresses the action of aspirin?

to alleviate

9. when the bell tolls

John Donne’s lines (made famous by Ernest Hemingway):

No man is an Iland, intire of it selfe; every man is a peece of the

Continent, a part of the maine; if a Clod bee washed away by the

Sea, Europe is the lesse, as well as if a Promontorie were, as well

as if a Mannor of thy friends or of thine owne were; any mans

death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankinde; And

therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for

thee.

are truer than you may think; any person who views another’s pain

with complete detachment or indifference is shutting off important

feelings.

When people have suffered a bereavement (as through death);

when they have been wounded by life or by friends; then is the time

they most need to feel that they are not alone, that you share their

misery with them even if you cannot directly alleviate their sorrow.

Your sympathy and compassion are, of course, alleviation enough.

What verb signifies this vicarious sharing of sorrow with someone

who directly suffers?

to commiserate

10. when two men propose

Should you marry John or George? (You’re strongly and equally

attracted to both.) John is handsome, virile, tender; George is stable,

reliable, dependable, always there when you need him. George loves

you deeply; John is more exciting. You decide on John, naturally.

But wait—marrying John would mean giving up George, and with

George you always know where you stand; he’s like the Rock of

Gibraltar (and sometimes almost as dull). So you change your mind

—it’s George, on more mature reflection.

But how happy can you be with a husband who is not exciting?

Maybe John would be best after all.…

The pendulum swings back and forth—you cannot make up your

mind and stick to it. (You fail to realize that your indecision proves

that you don’t want to marry either one, or perhaps don’t want to

give either one up, or possibly don’t even want to get married.) First

it’s John, then it’s George, then back to John, then George again.

Which is it, which is it?

What verb describes your pendulum-like indecision?

to vacillate

USING THE WORDS

Can you pronounce the words?

1. enervate

EN′-Ər-vayt′

2. castigate

KAS′-tƏ-gayt′

3. self-abnegate

self-AB′-nƏ-gayt′

4. recapitulate

ree′-kƏ-PICH′-Ə-layt′

5. vegetate

VEJ′-Ə-tayt′

6. simulate

SIM′-yƏ-layt′

7. intimate

IN′-tƏ-mayt′

8. alleviate

Ə-LEE′-vee-ayt′

9. commiserate

kƏ-MIZ′-Ə-rayt

10. vacillate

VAS′-Ə-layt

Can you work with the words?

1. enervate

a. deny oneself

2. castigate

b. stagnate

3. self-abnegate

c. suggest; hint

4. recapitulate

d. sympathize

5. vegetate

e. waver

6. simulate

f. exhaust

7. intimate

g. lessen; lighten

8. alleviate

h. summarize

9. commiserate

i. pretend

10. vacillate

j. censure; scold; slash at verbally

KEY: 1–f, 2–j, 3–a, 4–h, 5–b, 6–i, 7–c, 8–g, 9–d, 10–e

Do you understand the words? (I)

1. Should you feel enervated after a good night’s sleep?

YES NO

2. Do motorists who have been caught speeding sometimes start

castigating the traffic officer?

YES NO

3. Do people who are completely self-abnegating say “No!” to their

needs and desires?

YES NO

4. When you recapitulate, do you cover new material?

YES NO

5. Do people possessed of joie de vivre usually feel that they are

vegetating?

YES NO

6. When you simulate alertness, do you purposely act somnolent?

YES NO

7. When you intimate, do you make a direct statement?

YES NO

8. Does aspirin often have an alleviating effect on pain?

YES NO

9. Do we naturally commiserate with people who have suffered a

bereavement?

YES NO

10. Do decisive people often vacillate?

YES NO

KEY: 1–no, 2–yes, 3–yes, 4–no, 5–no, 6–no, 7–no, 8–yes, 9–yes, 10–

Do you understand the words? (II)

1. enervated—exhilarated

SAME OPPOSITE

2. castigate—praise

SAME OPPOSITE

3. self-abnegate—deny oneself

SAME OPPOSITE

4. recapitulate—summarize

SAME OPPOSITE

5. vegetate—stagnate

SAME OPPOSITE

6. simulate—pretend

SAME OPPOSITE

7. intimate—hint

SAME OPPOSITE

8. alleviate—make worse

SAME OPPOSITE

9. commiserate—sympathize

SAME OPPOSITE

10. vacillate—decide

SAME OPPOSITE

KEY: 1–O, 2–O, 3–S, 4–S, 5–S, 6–S, 7–S, 8–O, 9–S, 10–O

Can you recall the words?

1. pretend

1. S__________________

2. scold

2. C__________________

3. sacrifice one’s desires

3. S__________________

4. waver

4. V__________________

5. exhaust

5. E__________________

6. sympathize

6. C__________________

7. summarize

7. R__________________

8. lighten

8. A__________________

9. hint

9. I__________________

10. stagnate

10. V__________________

SESSION 43

ORIGINS AND RELATED WORDS

1. more than fatigue

When you are enervated, you feel as if your nerves have been

ripped out—or so the etymology of the word indicates.

Enervate is derived from e- (ex-), out, and Latin nervus, nerve.

Enervation (en′-Ər-VAY′-shƏn) is not just fatigue, but complete

devitalization—physical, emotional, mental—as if every ounce of

the life force has been sapped out, as if the last particle of energy

has been drained away.

Despite its similar appearance to the word energy, enervation is

almost a direct antonym. Energy is derived from the Greek prefix en-,

in, plus the root ergon, work; erg is the term used in physics for a

unit of work or energy. Synergism (SIN′-Ər-jiz-Əm)—the prefix syn-,

together or with, plus ergon—is the process by which two or more

substances or drugs, by working together, produce a greater effect in

combination than the sum total of their individual effects.

Alcohol, for example, is a depressant. So are barbiturates and

other soporifics. Alcohol and barbiturates work synergistically (sin′-

Ər-JIS′-tik′-lee)—the effect of each is increased by the other if the

two are taken together.

So if you’re drinking, don’t take a sleeping pill—or if you must

take a pill for your insomnia, don’t drink—the combination, if not

lethal, will do more to you than you may want done!

Synergy (SIN′-Ər-jee), by the way, is an alternate form of synergism.

2. verbal punishment

Castigate is derived from a Latin verb meaning to punish; in

present-day usage, the verb generally refers to verbal punishment,

usually harsh and severe. It is somewhat synonymous with scold,

criticize, rebuke, censure, reprimand, or berate, but much stronger than

any of these—rail at, rant at, slash at, lash out at, or tongue-lash is a

much closer synonym. When candidates for office castigate their

opponents, they do not mince words.

Can you construct the noun form of castigate? __________________.

3. saying “No!” to oneself

Abnegate is derived from Latin ab-, away (as in absent), plus nego,

to deny—self-abnegation (ab′-nƏ-GAY′-shƏn), then, is self-denial.

Nego itself is a contraction of Latin neg-, not, no, and aio, I say; to be

self-abnegating is to say “No!” to what you want, as if some inner

censor were at work whispering, “No, you can’t have that, you can’t

do that, you don’t deserve that, you’re not good enough for that.…”

To negate (nƏ-GAYT′) is to deny the truth or existence of, as in

“The atheist negates God”; or, by extension, to destroy by working

against, as in, “His indulgence in expensive hobbies negates all his

wife’s attempts to keep the family solvent.” Can you write the noun

form of the verb negate? __________________.

Negative and negativity obviously spring from the same source as

negate.

4. heads and headings

Latin caput, capitis means head. The captain is the head of any

group; the capital is the “head city” of a state or nation; and to

decapitate (dee-KAP′-Ə-tayt′) is to chop off someone’s head, a popular

activity during the French Revolution after the guillotine was

invented. Write the noun form of decapitate: __________________.

Latin capitulum is a little head, or, by extension, the heading, or

title, of a chapter. So when you recapitulate, you go through the

chapter headings again (re-), etymologically speaking, or you

summarize or review the main points.

Remembering how the noun and adjective forms are derived from

adulate (Chapter 9), can you write the required forms of recapitulate?

NOUN:

__________________.

ADJECTIVE:

__________________.

When you capitulate (kƏ-PICH′-Ə-layt′), etymologically you

arrange in headings, or, as the meaning of the verb naturally

evolved, you arrange conditions of surrender, as when an army

capitulates to the enemy forces under prearranged conditions; or, by

further natural extension, you stop resisting and give up, as in, “He

realized there was no longer any point in resisting her advances, so

he reluctantly capitulated.” Can you write the noun form of

capitulate? __________________.

5. mere vegetables

Vegetable is from Latin vegeto, to live and grow, which is what

vegetables do—but that’s all they do, so to vegetate, is, by

implication, to do no more than stay alive, stuck in a rut, leading an

inactive, unstimulating, emotionally and intellectually stagnant

existence. Vegetation (vej′-Ə-TAY′-shƏn) is any dull, passive, stagnant

existence; also any plant life, as the thick vegetation of a jungle.

REVIEW OF ETYMOLOGY

PREFIX, ROOT, SUFFIX

MEANING

1. e- (ex-)

out

ENGLISH WORD _____________

2. nervus

nerve

ENGLISH WORD _____________

3. en-

ENGLISH WORD _____________

4. ergon

work

ENGLISH WORD _____________

5. syn-

with, together

ENGLISH WORD _____________

6. -ic

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

7. -ion

noun suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

8. ab-

away

ENGLISH WORD _____________

9. nego

to deny

ENGLISH WORD _____________

10. caput, capitis

head

ENGLISH WORD _____________

11. de-

negative prefix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

12. capitulum

little head, chapter heading

ENGLISH WORD _____________

13. re-

again

ENGLISH WORD _____________

14. -ory

adjective suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

15. vegeto

to live and grow

ENGLISH WORD _____________

USING THE WORDS

Can you pronounce the words?

1. enervation

en′-Ər-VAY′-shƏn

2. synergism

SIN′-Ər-jiz-Əm

3. synergy

SIN′-Ər-jee

4. synergistic

sin′-Ər-JIS′-tik

5. castigation

kas′-tƏ-GAY′-shƏn

6. self-abnegation

self-ab′-nƏ-GAY′-shƏn

7. negate

nƏ-GAYT′

8. negation

nƏ-GAY′-shƏn

9. decapitate

dee-KAP′-Ə-tayt′

10. decapitation

dee-kap′-Ə-TAY′-shƏn

11. recapitulation

ree-kƏ-pich′-Ə-LAY′-shƏn

12. recapitulatory

ree-kƏ-PICH′-Ə-lƏ-tawr′-ee

13. capitulate

kƏ-PICH′-Ə-layt′

14. capitulation

kƏ-pich′-Ə-LAY′-shƏn

Can you work with the words?

1. enervation

a. tongue-lashing

2. synergism, synergy

b. denial; destruction

3. castigation

c. a lopping off of one’s head

4. self-abnegation

d. summary; review of main

points

5. negation

e. self-denial

6. decapitation

f. utter exhaustion; mental,

emotional, and physical drain

7. recapitulation

g. a working together for greater

effect

8. capitulation

h. surrender

KEY: 1–f, 2–h, 3–a, 4–e, 5–b, 6–c, 7–d, 8–g

Do you understand the words?

1. enervating—refreshing

SAME OPPOSITE

2. synergistic—neutralizing

SAME OPPOSITE

3. castigation—scolding

SAME OPPOSITE

4. self-abnegation—egoism

SAME OPPOSITE

5. negate—accept

SAME OPPOSITE

6. decapitate—behead

SAME OPPOSITE

7. recapitulatory—summarizing

SAME OPPOSITE

8. capitulate—resist

SAME OPPOSITE

KEY: 1–O, 2–O, 3–S, 4–O, 5–O, 6–S, 7–S, 8–O

Can you recall the words?

1. to give in

1. C__________________

2. working together for greater effect (adj.)

2. S__________________

3. total fatigue

3. E__________________

4. for the purpose of summarizing or review (adj.)

4. R__________________

5. self-denial

5. S__________________-A__________________

6. deny; render ineffective; nullify

6. N__________________

7. process by which two or more substances produce a greater

effect than the sum of the individual effects

7. S__________________

or S__________________

8. to cut off the head of

8. D__________________

9. strong censure

9. C__________________

10. to surrender

10. C__________________

SESSION 44

ORIGINS AND RELATED WORDS

1. not the real McCoy

Simulate is from Latin simulo, to copy; and simulo itself derives

from the Latin adjectives similis, like or similar.

Simulation (sim′-yƏ-LAY′-shƏn), then, is copying the real thing,

pretending to be the genuine article by taking on a similar

appearance. The simulation of joy is quite a feat when you really feel

depressed.

Genuine pearls grow inside oysters; simulated pearls are synthetic,

but look like the ones from oysters. (Rub a pearl against your teeth

to tell the difference—the natural pearl feels gritty.) So the frequent

advertisement of an inexpensive necklace made of “genuine

simulated pearls” can fool you if you don’t know the word—you’re

being offered a genuine fake.

Dissimulation (dƏ-sim′-yƏ-LAY′-shƏn) is something else! When you

dissimulate (dƏ-SIM′-yƏ-layt′), you hide your true feelings by making

a pretense of opposite feelings. (Then again, maybe it’s not

something completely else!)

Sycophants are great dissimulators—they may feel contempt, but

show admiration; they may feel negative, but express absolutely

positive agreement.

A close synonym of dissimulate is dissemble (dƏ-SEM′-bƏl), which

also is to hide true feelings by pretending the opposite; or,

additionally, to conceal facts, or one’s true intentions, by deception;

or, still further additionally, to pretend ignorance of facts you’d

rather not admit, when, indeed, you’re fully aware of them.

The noun is dissemblance (dƏ-SEM′-blƏns).

In dissimulate and dissemble, the negative prefix dis- acts largely to

make both words pejorative.

2. hints and helps

The verb intimate is from Latin intimus, innermost, the same root

from which the adjective intimate (IN′-tƏ-mƏt) and its noun intimacy

(IN′-tƏ-mƏ-see) are derived; but the relationship is only in

etymology, not in meaning. An intimation (in′-tƏ-MAY′-shƏn)

contains a significance buried deep in the innermost core, only a

hint showing. As you grow older, you begin to have intimations that

you are mortal; when someone aims a .45 at you, or when a truck

comes roaring down at you as you drive absent-mindedly against a

red light through an intersection, you are suddenly very sure that

you are mortal.

Alleviate is a combination of Latin levis, light (not heavy), the

prefix ad-, to, and the verb suffix. (Ad- changes to al- before a root

starting with l-.)

If something alleviates your pain, it makes your pain lighter for

you; if I alleviate your sadness, I make it lighter to bear; and if you

need some alleviation (Ə-lee′-vee-AY′-shƏn) of your problems, you

need them made lighter and less burdensome. To alleviate is to

relieve only temporarily, not to cure or do away with. (Relieve is

also from levis, plus re-, again—to make light or easy again.) The

adjective form of alleviate is alleviative (Ə-LEE′-vee-ay′-tiv)—aspirin

is an alleviative drug.

Anything light will rise—so from the prefix e- (ex-), out, plus levis,

we can construct the verb elevate, etymologically, to raise out, or,

actually, raise up, as to elevate one’s spirits, raise them up, make

them lighter; or elevate someone to a higher position, which is what

an elevator does.

Have you ever seen a performance of magic in which a person or

an object apparently rises in the air as if floating? That’s levitation

(lev′-Ə-TAY′-shƏn)—rising through no visible means. (I’ve watched it

a dozen times and never could figure it out!) The verb, to so rise, is

levitate (LEV′-Ə-tayt′).

And how about levity (LEV′-Ə-tee)? That’s lightness too, but of a

different sort—lightness in the sense of frivolity, flippancy, joking,

or lack of seriousness, especially when solemnity, dignity, or

formality is required or more appropriate, as in “tones of levity,” or

as in, “Levity is out of place at a funeral, in a house of worship, at

the swearing-in ceremonies of a President or Supreme Court

Justice,” or as in, “Okay, enough levity—now let’s get down to

business!”

3. sharing someone’s misery

Latin miser, wretched, the prefix con- (which, as you know,

becomes com- before a root beginning with m-), together or with,

and the verb suffix -ate are the building blocks from which

commiserate is constructed. “I commiserate with you,” then, means, “I

am wretched together with you—I share your misery.” The noun

form? __________________.

Miser, miserly, miserable, misery all come from the same root.

4. swing and sway

Vacillate—note the single c, double l—derives from Latin vacillo,

to swing back and forth. The noun form? __________________.

People who swing back and forth in indecision, who are

irresolute, who can, unfortunately, see both, or even three or four,

sides of every question, and so have difficulty making up their

minds, are vacillatory (VAS′-Ə-lƏ-tawr′-ee). They are also, usually,

ambivalent (am-BIV′-Ə-lƏnt)—they have conflicting and simultaneous

emotions about the same person or thing; or they want to go but

they also want to stay; or they love something, but they hate it too.

The noun is ambivalence (am-BIV′-Ə-lƏns)—from ambi both.

(Remember ambivert and ambidextrous from Chapter 3?)

Ambivalence has best been defined (perhaps by Henny Youngman

—if he didn’t say it first, he should have) as watching your mother-

in-law drive over a cliff in your new Cadillac.

To vacillate is to swing mentally or emotionally. To sway back and

forth physically is oscillate—again note the double l—(OS′-Ə-layt′),

from Latin oscillum, a swing. A pendulum oscillates, the arm of a

metronome oscillates, and people who’ve had much too much to

drink oscillate when they try to walk. The noun? __________________.

REVIEW OF ETYMOLOGY

PREFIX, ROOT, SUFFIX

MEANING

1. simulo

to copy

ENGLISH WORD _____________

2. similis

like, similar

ENGLISH WORD _____________

3. dis-

pejorative prefix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

4. ad- (al-)

to, toward

ENGLISH WORD _____________

5. levis

light

ENGLISH WORD _____________

6. -ate

verb suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

7. -ion

noun suffix

ENGLISH WORD _____________

8. e- (ex-)

out

ENGLISH WORD _____________

9. intimus

innermost

ENGLISH WORD _____________

10. miser

wretched

ENGLISH WORD _____________

11. vacillo

to swing back and forth

ENGLISH WORD _____________

12. ambi-

both

ENGLISH WORD _____________

13. oscillum

a swing

ENGLISH WORD _____________

USING THE WORDS

Can you pronounce the words?

1. simulation

sim′-yƏ-LAY′-shƏn

2. dissimulate

dƏ-SIM′-yƏ-layt′

3. dissimulation

dƏ-sim′-yƏ-LAY′-shƏn

4. dissemble

dƏ-SEM′-bƏl

5. dissemblance

dƏ-SEM′-blƏns

6. intimation

in′-tƏ-MAY′-shƏn

7. alleviation

Ə-lee′-vee-AY′-shƏn

8. alleviative

Ə-LEE′-vee-ay′-tiv

9. levitate

LEV′-Ə-tayt′

10. levitation

lev′-Ə-TAY′-shƏn

11. levity

LEV′-Ə-tee

12. commiseration

kƏ-miz′-Ə-RAY′-shƏn

13. vacillation

vas′-Ə-LAY′-shƏn

14. vacillatory

VAS′-Ə-lƏ-tawr′-ee

15. ambivalent

am-BIV′-Ə-lƏnt

16. ambivalence

am-BIV′-Ə-lƏns

17. oscillate

OS′-Ə-layt′

18. oscillation

os′-Ə-LAY′-shƏn

Can you work with the words? (I)

1. simulation

a. hint

2. dissemble

b. flippancy or joking when

seriousness is required

3. intimation

c. a sharing of grief

4. alleviation

d. physical swaying; swinging

action, as of a pendulum

5. levitate

e. a swinging back and forth in

indecision

6. levity

f. pretense

7. commiseration

g. conflicted and contrary

feelings

8. vacillation

h. rise in the air (as by magic or

illusion)

9. ambivalence

i. pretend

10. oscillation

j. a lightening; a making less

severe

KEY: 1–f, 2–i, 3–a, 4–j, 5–h, 6–b, 7–c, 8–e, 9–g, 10–d

Can you work with the words? (II)

1. dissimulate

a. pretense of ignorance

2. dissemblance

b. a rising and floating in air

3. alleviative

c. having simultaneous and

contrary feelings

4. levitation

d. tending to swing back and

forth in indecision

5. vacillatory

e. to swing back and forth like a

pendulum

6. ambivalent

f. to hide real feelings by

pretending opposite feelings

7. oscillate

g. tending to ease (pain, burdens,

suffering, etc.)

KEY: 1–f, 2–a, 3–g, 4–b, 5–d, 6–c, 7–e

Do you understand the words?

1. simulated—genuine

SAME OPPOSITE

2. dissimulate—pretend

SAME OPPOSITE

3. dissemble—be truthful

SAME OPPOSITE

4. intimation—hint

SAME OPPOSITE

5. alleviation—reduction

SAME OPPOSITE

6. levitate—sink

SAME OPPOSITE

7. levity—flippancy

SAME OPPOSITE

8. vacillation—decisiveness

SAME OPPOSITE

9. ambivalent—confused

SAME OPPOSITE

10. oscillate—sway

SAME OPPOSITE

KEY: 1–O, 2–S, 3–O, 4–S, 5–S, 6–O, 7–S, 8–O, 9–S, 10–S

Can you recall the words?

1. to swing back and forth

1. O__________________

2. feeling both ways at the same time (adj.)

2. A__________________

3. to conceal real feelings

3. D__________________

or D__________________

4. pretense

4. S__________________

5. to pretend ignorance though knowing the facts

5. D__________________

6. joking; frivolity; flippancy

6. L__________________

7. indecisive

7. V__________________

or V__________________

8. to rise in the air, as by illusion

8. L__________________

9. tending to ease (pain, etc.) (adj.)

9. A__________________

or A__________________

10. a sharing of another’s grief

10. C__________________

KEY: 1–oscillate, 2–ambivalent, 3–dissimulate or dissemble, 4–

simulation, 5–dissemble, 6–levity, 7–vacillatory or vacillating,

8–levitate, 9–alleviative or alleviating, 10–commiseration

CHAPTER REVIEW

A. Do you recognize the words?

1. Complete exhaustion:

(a) synergism, (b) enervation, (c) negation

2. Co-operation in producing effects:

(a) synergy, (b) castigation, (c) capitulation

3. Lop off the head of:

(a) castigate, (b) capitulate, (c) decapitate

4. deny; render ineffective:

(a) castigate, (b) negate, (c) recapitulate

5. stagnate:

(a) intimate, (b) simulate, (c) vegetate

6. concealment of true feelings:

(a) simulation, (b) dissimulation, (c) dissemblance

7. sympathy:

(a) levity, (b) ambivalence, (c) commiseration

8. indecisiveness:

(a) vacillation, (b) oscillation, (c) dissimulation

9. aware of contrary feelings:

(a) alleviative, (b) dissimulating, (c) ambivalent

KEY: 1–b, 2–a, 3–c, 4–b, 5–c, 6–b and c, 7–c, 8–a, 9–c

B. Can you recognize roots?

ROOT

MEANING

1. nervus

_________________

EXAMPLE enervate

2. ergon

_________________

EXAMPLE energy

3. nego

_________________

EXAMPLE self-abnegation

4. caput, capitis

_________________

EXAMPLE decapitate

5. capitulum

_________________

EXAMPLE recapitulate

6. vegeto

_________________

EXAMPLE vegetate

7. simulo

_________________

EXAMPLE dissimulate

8. similis

_________________

EXAMPLE similarity

9. levis

_________________

EXAMPLE levity

10. intimus

_________________

EXAMPLE intimation

11. miser

_________________

EXAMPLE commiserate

12. vacillo

_________________

EXAMPLE vacillate

13. ambi-

_________________

EXAMPLE ambivalent

14. oscillum

_________________

EXAMPLE oscillate

KEY: 1–nerve, 2–work, 3–deny, 4–head, 5–little head, chapter

heading, 6–live and grow, 7–to copy, 8–like, similar, 9–light,

10–innermost, 11–wretched, 12–swing back and forth, 13–

both, 14–a swing

TEASER QUESTIONS FOR THE AMATEUR

ETYMOLOGIST

We have previously met the Greek prefix syn-, together or with, in

synonym (“names together”) and sympathy (“feeling with”), and

again in this chapter in synergism (“working together”).

Syn- is a most useful prefix to know. Like Latin con-, (together or

with) and ad- (to, toward), the final letter changes depending on the

first letter of the root to which it is attached. Syn- becomes sym-

before b, m, and p.

Can you construct some words using syn-, or sym-?

1. Etymologically, Jews are “led together” in a house of worship

(agogos, leading). Can you construct the word for this temple or

place of worship? __________________.

2. There is a process by which dissimilar organisms live together

(bios, life) in close association, each in some way helping, and

getting help from, the other (like the shark and the pilot fish). What

word, ending in -sis, designates such a process? __________________.

What would the adjective form be? __________________.

3. Using Greek phone, sound, write the word that etymologically

refers to a musical composition in which the sounds of all

instruments are in harmony together __________________. Using the suffix

-ic, write the adjective form of this word: __________________.

4. Combine sym- with metron, measurement, to construct a word

designating similarity of shape on both sides (i.e., “measurement

together”): __________________.

Write the adjective form of this word: __________________.

5. Syn- plus dromos, a running, are the building blocks of a

medical word designating a group of symptoms that occur (i.e., run)

together in certain diseases. Can you figure out the word?

__________________

6. The same dromos, a running, combines with Greek hippos,

horse, to form a word referring to a place in ancient Greece in

which horse and chariot races were run. The word? __________________.

7. Hippos, horse, plus Greek potamos, river, combine to form a

word designating one of the three pachyderms we discussed in an

earlier chapter. The word? __________________.

(Answers in Chapter 18.)

PICKING YOUR FRIENDS’ BRAINS

You can build your vocabulary, I have said, by increasing your

familiarity with new ideas and by becoming alert to the new words

you meet in your reading of magazines and books.

There is still another productive method, one that will be

particularly applicable in view of all the new words you are learning

from your study of these pages.

That method is picking your friends’ brains.

Intelligent people are interested in words because words are

symbols of ideas, and the person with an alert mind is always

interested in ideas.

You may be amazed, if you have never tried it, to find that you

can stir up an animated discussion by asking, in a social group that

you attend, “What does __________________ mean?” (Use any word that

particularly fascinates you.) Someone in the group is likely to know,

and almost everyone will be willing to make a guess. From that

point on, others in the group will ask questions about their own

favorite words (most people do have favorites), or about words that

they themselves have in some manner recently learned. As the

discussion continues along these lines, you will be introduced to

new words yourself, and if your friends have fairly good

vocabularies you may strike a rich vein of pay dirt and come away

with a large number of words to add to your vocabulary.

This method of picking your friends’ brains is particularly fruitful

because you will be learning not from a page of print (as in this

book or as in your other reading) but from real live persons—the

same sources that children use to increase their vocabularies at such

prodigious rates. No learning is quite as effective as the learning

that comes from other people—no information in print can ever be

as vivid as information that comes from another human being. And

so the words you pick up from your friends will have an amazingly

strong appeal, will make a lasting impression on your mind.

Needless to say, your own rich vocabulary, now that you have

come this far in the book, will make it possible for you to contribute

to your friends’ vocabulary as much as, if not more than, you take

away—but since giving to others is one of the greatest sources of a

feeling of self-worth, you can hardly complain about this extra

dividend.

(End of Session 44)