Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AMELIORATE

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connect today's word to others: In Latin, melior means "better." That explains why m______m means "the belief that if we try, we can improve people's lives and make the world a better place." And why ameliorate means "to make things better." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "AMELIORATE" To ameliorate things is to improve them, to make them better. Pronunciation: Either "uh MEEL yuh rate" or "uh ME lee uh rate."  (I prefer the second way because it matches the spelling.) Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "this ameliorated the pain," "they ameliorated the impact of the disaster." Other forms: ameliorated, ameliorating, amelioration, ameliorable, ameliorative, ameliorator(s) How to use it: When you need to be formal, and when you need to call more attention to your idea than you could with the words "help," "improve," "relieve," and "lighten," pick the word "ameliorate." Talk about people, statements, actions, events, programs, results and other things that ameliorate bad things, like shock, anguish, burdens, disappointment, suffering, injustice, the effects of a hangover, the impact of an economic recession, etc. examples: Trying to ameliorate bias in scoring, Professor Wolters asked us to label our work not with our names but with our student ID numbers. "A new paper shows how effective America’s welfare programmes are at ameliorating the effects of poverty on children."    — The Economist, 31 May 2018 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "ameliorate" without saying "ease" or "improve." try it out: Fill in the blank: "(A certain serious problem) is beyond amelioration." OR, more optimistically: "(A certain serious problem exists), but amelioration is within our grasp." Example 1: "Her heartache is beyond amelioration." Example 2: "The American prison system perpetuates racial inequality, but amelioration is within our grasp." 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 "A Doodad Named After a Thingamajig." If I give you two categories, X and Y, can you think of an X that was named after a Y? We'll start off easy--these first few questions will have lots of correct answers each that you might think up--and we'll work our way toward harder questions that, as far as I know, have only one correct answer each. From the previous issue: Can you think of a piece of furniture named after a mountain? The only answer I know of is the Adirondack chair. (If you know more, please share them!) Try this one today: Can you think of a soda named after a card game? review today's word: 1. One opposite of AMELIORATE is A. COMPLICATE. B. AGGRAVATE. C. EXCITE. 2. In linguistics, "pejoration" happens when a word takes on a less _____ meaning, like when _____. The opposite process is "amelioration." A. pleasant .. "attitude" grew to mean "a bad attitude" B. offensive .. "nice" changed from meaning "stupid" to "kind" C. vague .. "tryst" changed from meaning "encounter" to "sly encounter" 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. B 2. A