Make Your Point > Archived Issues > AMENABLE
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connect today's word to others:
If you're amenable to something, you're open to it, or responsive to it: you're easily won over by it. In other words, you're tr___able, or m____able, or acq_____ent.
Amenable literally means "lead to," and it comes from a Latin root meaning "shouting at cattle to drive them." That root is closely related to minari, which means "to threaten, or to jut out."
And that means amenable is a relative of our words eminent, imminent, and minatory. Could you explain why all three of those have something to do with threats or with things jutting out?
(And although amenable is unrelated to amen, you might take advantage of their similarity anyway, thinking of the amenable person as the one who, when asked if they'll go along with some plan, always says "Amen, sister!" or "Amen, brother!")
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"AMENABLE"
Formed from roots that literally mean "leading to," the word "amenable" originally described people who had to answer to the law, that is, people who had to be lead to a certain court or other authority to face judgment.
But the meaning has evolved, and today, to be amenable to something means to be very open to it: to be willing to accept it and go along with it. In other words, "amenable" means "responding quickly and willingly to influences or suggestions."
Pronunciation:
Either "uh MEAN uh bull"
or my preference, "uh MEN uh bull."
Part of speech:
Adjective.
(Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late."
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in "an amenable person."
2. After a linking verb, as in "He was amenable.")
Other common forms:
amenably, amenability/amenableness
How to use it:
You might say that someone is amenable in general, or that someone has an amenable personality, meaning that person is easy to persuade because they go along with whatever is suggested.
More often, though, you say that someone is amenable to something: she's amenable to that suggestion, he's amenable to a compromise, she's amenable to speech therapy, we're amenable to that new plan, they're amenable to bribes and threats, we're amenable to alternate approaches and propositions.
It can be individuals who are amenable to things, or it can be groups, corporations, political parties, bodies of lawmakers, etc.
So far we've talked about amenable people. You might also talk about things amenable to other things: a problem or disagreement amenable to multiple solutions, a situation or environment amenable to manipulation, a question amenable (or unamenable) to scientific research, etc.
examples:
I laugh now, remembering how I thought it'd be a snap to find two hundred amenable survey participants.
"Also amenable to compromise are some of the automakers, who favor a more moderate approach to a regulatory rollback than the one favored by Mr. Pruitt."
— Hiroko Tabuchi, New York Times, 5 April 2018
study it now:
Look away from the screen to define "amenable" without saying "willing" or "susceptible."
try it out:
Fill in the blank: "I wouldn't suggest it myself, but I suppose I'm amenable to (doing something)."
Example: "I wouldn't suggest it myself, but I suppose I'm amenable to seeing The Nutcracker and the Four Realms."
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.
Complete the Limerick!
In each issue this month, finish off the last line of the poem with a word or phrase we've checked out before.
From the previous issue:
Repairing a house makes you way tense.
All those stray dollars and stray cents
Slip-sliding away,
Making you want to say,
"Let’s hold this whole thing in abeyance."
Try this one today:
She’d travel as far as Morocco
To get just the right avocado.
She serves guacamole
As if it were holy:
A true guac __________.
review today's word:
1. The exact opposite of AMENABLE is UNAMENABLE.
But a close opposite of AMENABLE is
A. OBSTINATE.
B. HIGH-STRUNG.
C. MISCELLANEOUS.
2. One thing I _____ about him is his amenability to reasoned arguments, even those that contradict his opinions.
A. despise
B. appreciate
C. find baffling
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. A
2. B
If you're amenable to something, you're open to it, or responsive to it: you're easily won over by it. In other words, you're tr___able, or m____able, or acq_____ent.
"AMENABLE" Formed from roots that literally mean "leading to," the word "amenable" originally described people who had to answer to the law, that is, people who had to be lead to a certain court or other authority to face judgment.
I laugh now, remembering how I thought it'd be a snap to find two hundred amenable survey participants.
Look away from the screen to define "amenable" without saying "willing" or "susceptible."
Fill in the blank: "I wouldn't suggest it myself, but I suppose I'm amenable to (doing something)."
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.
1. The exact opposite of AMENABLE is UNAMENABLE.
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. |