Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ABDICATE

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pronounce ABDICATE: Say it "ABB duh kate." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: In Latin, dicare and dicere mean "to talk, to say something," and they pop up in words like dedication, indicator, prediction, abdication ("the act of stepping down from power"), and b___dict___ ("a prayer, or a kind wish for someone else's success or happiness--or more literally, a 'speaking well' of someone"). Could you recall that last one? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: "Abdicate" has Latin bits that literally mean "to proclaim off, or to proclaim away." In English, starting around 1532, to abdicate your children was to disown them: to kick them out of your family, to cut them off, to not let them get whatever money or property they would have gotten when you die. The meaning of "abdicate" loosened up over time: to abdicate anything was to cast it off, to reject it, to formally claim that it's not yours anymore. These days, most often, to abdicate (or to abdicate a position) is to officially give up a position of power. And sometimes, to abdicate something--usually some specific duty or responsibility--is to officially give that thing up, or to act as if that's what you've done. When you say that someone has abdicated some duty, you're hinting that the duty was a serious, authoritative one, and the person has stepped away from it or abandoned it. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Verb, both the transitive kind ("He abdicated the throne") and the intransitive kind ("That was the year he abdicated"). Other forms:  The common ones are "abdicated," "abdicating," and "abdication." All the other forms, below, may sound hideously formal or awkward, so I recommend avoiding them or at least confining them to your writing (rather than your speech). A role or a duty can be "abdicable." People who abdicate are "abdicators," or even more formally, "abdicants." "Abdicant" also works as an adjective: "the abdicant king." An alternate adjective is "abdicative:" "her abdicative exit," "this abdicative role." how to use it: "Abdicate" is a common word that's especially formal. Its tone is often official, historical, and scholarly. You might talk about powerful people abdicating their positions, their authority, their titles, or their thrones--or just plain abdicating. Here's Rolling Stone: "Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will abdicate their royal titles." And here's National Geographic: "Is Prince Harry abdicating?" Because the word "abdicate" often connotes royalty, it's not a great choice for talking about elected officials who step down, like US governors or presidents. But "abdicate" is a great choice for talking about anyone with authority (including elected officials) who abdicate their responsibility for something--meaning they act as if they've regally or officially set aside some important role, duty, or obligation. When you use the word in this way, you might talk about governors, presidents, journalists, professors, researchers, parents, or anyone else who should be taking their responsibilities seriously. examples: "Emperor Naruhito, 59, acceded to the throne in May after his father, Akihito, became the first monarch to abdicate in two centuries."    — Staff, Reuters, 15 October 2019 "He wanted to lie down in this redolent field, curl up in the green womb in the dazzling aura of these mountains, growing warm and drowsy under the sun, abdicating all responsibilities—and sleep."     — John Nichols, The Milagro Beanfield War, 1974 has this page helped you understand "abdicate"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain both meanings of "abdicate" without saying "step down" or "ignore a responsibility." try it out: A few years back, a celebrity appeared on Ellen DeGeneres's popular talk show, defending himself after taking heat for making insensitive jokes. Ellen supported and encouraged him, no questions asked. In response, in The New Yorker, Carrie Battan argued that Ellen had "abdicated her responsibility to her audience" when she supported and defended this celebrity "without any sort of thoughtful inquiry." Talk about what Battan means. What is a talk show host's responsibility to her audience? What does it mean to abdicate that responsibility? Do you agree, in this case, that Ellen abdicated a responsibility? Can you think of another (perhaps more clear-cut) example of a public figure abdicating his or her responsibility? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out. Our game for September is "Four Quick Ways to Wreck a Sentence: From Professionally Polished to Strategically Sabotaged." In each issue this month, compare two versions of a description of a popular movie. See if you can determine which is the real one (the professionally polished version from IMDB.com) and which is the fake one (the strategically sabotaged version from yours truly). The fake one will demonstrate one of the four quick ways to wreck a sentence, listed below. So, for an extra challenge, see if you can identify which of these four has been employed in the act of sabotage. Here are the four quick ways to wreck a sentence: 1. Make the details fuzzier or fewer. 2. Jumble the order of information, forcing the reader to slow down or back up. 3. Ruin the rhythm by breaking a pattern in a pair or list. 4. Make the whole thing a chore to read by swapping in a subject that's long or abstract, and/or a verb that's vague or passive. Make it even worse by pushing the subject and the verb really far away from each other. (Naturally, if you invert each item above, you get Four Quick Ways to Strengthen a Sentence.) Here's an example: Version A: "The Shawshank Redemption: Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding solace and eventual redemption through acts of common decency." Version B: "The Shawshank Redemption: Two imprisoned men bond over a number of years, finding eventual redemption and solace through acts of common decency." Which is real, and which is fake? And in the fake one, which of the four quick ways to wreck a sentence have I employed? Answer: A is real; B is fake. The fake was created with #2, "Jumble the order of information." Readers find it easier to process information when it's in a logical or chronological order, and when they can start with the shorter, simpler words and phrases before moving on to the longer, more complex ones. Here, it's better to write "solace and eventual redemption" instead of "eventual redemption and solace," for three reasons. One, the characters in the story probably achieve solace before they achieve redemption; two, solace as a concept is less intense and less abstract than redemption; and three, "solace" is many syllables shorter than "eventual redemption." Try this one today: Version A: "The Dark Knight: When the Joker, known as a menace, wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice." Version B: "The Dark Knight: When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice." Which is real, and which is fake? And in the fake one, which of the four quick ways to wreck a sentence have I employed? To see the answers, scroll all the way down. review this word: 1. Some near opposites of ABDICATE include A. ASCEND (to power) and EMBRACE (a task). B. SOAR (to heights) and EMBARK (on a journey). C. MOUNT (an obstacle) and DECLARE (a victory). 2. A playful writer for the Guardian reported that "_____ will not abdicate just yet," having been extended for one more season. A. the glitzy reality series 12 Dates of Christmas B. the critically acclaimed royal drama The Crown C. the awkward and hilarious comedy Never Have I Ever Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. B Answers to the game question: A is fake; B is real. The fake was created (again!) with #2, "Jumble the order of information." It's easier on the reader to start with general information before moving on to specifics, and so it's better to start by referring to "the menace" instead of "the Joker" by name. (Here we have to acknowledge that although the Joker is an extremely well-known character, not every reader knows who he is.) a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.