Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AGGREGATE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: To aggregate things is to gather them up into one group, or flock. The "greg" inside aggregate is from the Latin for "flock or herd." Could you recall these related words? - Someone friendly and sociable who loves to hang out in a group is greg______. - Something easy to notice because it's so bad--it sticks out from the surrounding group--is _greg____. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "AGGREGATE" To aggregate things is to gather them into one group, so that they can be analyzed or understood all together. "Aggregate" has special meanings in many fields: law, math, botany, grammar, construction, insurance, and more. But we'll stick to the general meaning. Pronunciation: AG ruh gate Part of speech: Verb. Most often, the transitive kind. (Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object. You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone. Likewise, you aggregate things.) Other common forms: aggregated, aggregating, aggregation How to use it: Talk about people who aggregate data, effects, news, comments, suggestions, information, digital content, and so on. Or, talk about tools, programs, or formulas that aggregate things. You can also use "aggregate" as an adjective, meaning "overall" or "made up of many individual pieces." Pronounce it "AG ruh gut," and talk about aggregate data, aggregate demand for a product, aggregate effects, aggregate value, aggregate costs or expenses, aggregate harm to consumers, aggregate lethality, and so on. In sports, an aggregate win or an aggregate victory (or an aggregate loss) involves combining the results from multiple games. We can also use "aggregate" as a noun. Pronounce it just like the adjective: "AG ruh gut." Use the phrase "in the aggregate" to talk about data and other information gathered into a large group: "they analyzed her speeches in the aggregate," "individual results varied, but results were excellent in the aggregate."     Or, drop "the" and just say "in aggregate," if you prefer, to mean "overall" or "on the whole:" "you see these patterns in aggregate," "let's consider these trends in aggregate," "these few groups accept it, but society in aggregate isn't ready for it." examples: Some of these clickbait articles do nothing more than steal--I mean, aggregate--jokes, facts, and stories from Reddit discussions. The government compelled for-profit schools to shut down if their graduates failed, in the aggregate, to find jobs. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "aggregate" means when you can explain it without saying "collective" or "amass." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(A particular study, group, or web site) aggregates (or aggregated) (some type of information), revealing _____." Example: "Rotten Tomatoes aggregates movie reviews, revealing the percentage of critics who approved of each movie. For example, Baby Driver thrilled the critics, earning a 97%, while The Mummy earned a 15%---yikes." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is Banishing Bland Adjectives. In each issue, we're strengthening our word-finding skills as we take aim at a vague little adjective and think up three ways to make it more specific. Resist the urge to sneak off to the thesaurus! From yesterday: FUN. 1. When something is FUN because everyone there is in a good mood and is making a lot of noise, then instead of FUN, call it _____. 2. When something is FUN because it gives you waves of strong emotions or waves of strong physical sensations, then instead of FUN, call it _____. 3. When something is FUN because it holds your attention for a long time and even makes you laugh, then instead of FUN, call it _____. Suggested answers: 1, boisterous; 2, thrilling; 3, amusing. (Your answers might be different but just as precise.) Today: BORING. 1. When something is BORING because it's always the same, again and again or over and over, then instead of BORING, call it _____. 2. When something is BORING because it's just like everything else and not special in any way, then instead of BORING, call it _____. 3. When something is BORING because it other people have already done it before, lots and lots of times, then instead of BORING, call it _____. review today's word: 1. The opposite of AGGREGATE is A. GARNER B. WITHDRAW C. SEGREGATE 2. Rather than allowing _____, it's better to consider your customers' feedback in the aggregate. A. so much time to pass that their comments lose relevance B. individual views to blur into an average C. a single rebuke to sway you Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. 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. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C