Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ANGUINE
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This issue is about snakes. However, for all my fellow snake-phobes, or ophidiophobics, I promise it includes no pictures of snakes.
To borrow a Redditor's words, only three kinds of snakes scare me: big snakes, little snakes, and things that look like snakes. I used to live in Texas, where you can't swing a cowboy hat without hitting a snake. Now, a state that's famous for being snake-free is Hawaii, and when my family and I moved there, I was jazzed. It's true, there are no snakes there. But there are giant centipedes that slither, all anguine and terrifying, right into your bathroom. I'm not saying that's the only reason we moved back to the mainland, but...
Anyway, today we're checking out the word anguine, the more formal alternative to "snaky" and "snakelike." It comes from the Latin word for "snake," anguis, which, in an interesting coincidence, looks quite a bit like the Latin one for "throttle, torment," anguere, which gave us the word anguish. (My centipede-in-the-bathroom nightmare: anguine anguish.) (Anguis doesn't appear in that word for "fear of snakes," ophidiophobia, because it's formed from Greek elements instead of Latin ones.)
Anguine has that cold, scientific tone that makes you think of cages and laboratories. When you need a synonym with a warm, exciting tone, one that makes you think of swords and dark forests, pick ser___tine.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"ANGUINE"
Something anguine looks like a snake, or reminds you of a snake.
Pronunciation:
ANG win
(Try saying "penguin" in a Southern drawl. That's what "anguine" rhymes with.)
Part of speech:
Adjective: "anguine curves," "the anguine lizard."
Other forms:
None, but here are some similar, interchangeable words: "anguineal" and "anguineous." I'm sticking with "anguine," as it's shorter.
How to use it:
We see this word most often in talks of the "anguine lizard," which, if you look it up on Google images, is a creature that absolutely should count as a snake; it's basically a snake with hilarious little toothpicks for legs. (Did you look it up? Close your tab. You're welcome.)
But in general use, when you need a formal adjective meaning "snakelike," use "anguine." It can describe anything that reminds you of a snake, maybe because it coils, it slithers, it moves by wiggling from side to side, it stares unblinkingly, or it just generally appears sneaky and terrifying.
Now, I'm showing my bias against snakes. Sorry! If you like snakes, you might call something anguine when it appears calm, cool, smooth, slender, graceful, rippling, etc.
Either way, note that "anguine" tends to suggest the literal, physical qualities we associate with a snake, rather than the deeper, mythical, religious, figurative, literary ones, like deception or fertility.
examples:
Bob Woodward recalls interviewing Bill Clinton, being transfixed by the president's anguine stare, the way he leaned forward and never blinked or broke eye contact.
"Her colour had returned more brilliantly, her large eyes gleamed, and her beautiful eyebrow wore that anguine curve, which is the only approach to a scowl which painters accord to angels."
— Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu, The Tenants of Malory, Volume 1, 1867
has this page helped you understand "anguine"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "anguine" without saying "curved" or "serpent-like."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something)'s anguine (grace or slither) (transfixed me, gave me the chills, or sent me running)."
Example: "The centipede's anguine slither gave me the chills."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Big Bang Thicket."
In each issue, hack your way through the polysyllabic title of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer the question about what happens in that episode.
From the previous issue:
In "The Long Distance Dissonance," as Amy and Sheldon spend a summer apart, does the distance add excitement or a sour note to their romance?
Answer:
The sour note. A dissonance, as we noted while studying the word "disconsonant," is literally a "sounding apart," or a lack of harmony.
Try this last one today:
In "The Confidence Erosion," does Raj's self-confidence falter or multiply?
review this word:
1. A few near opposites of ANGUINE could be
A. CUDDLY and CLUMSY.
B. MIRED and PERPLEXED.
C. DOUR and PESSIMISTIC.
2. Out on the water, the creatures' anguine _____ terrifies the Mariner before he recognizes their beauty, realizing in a moment of redemption that every creature is made with, and deserves, love.
A. diving
B. soaring
C. writhing
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:
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.
This issue is about snakes. However, for all my fellow snake-phobes, or ophidiophobics, I promise it includes no pictures of snakes.
"ANGUINE" Something anguine looks like a snake, or reminds you of a snake.
Bob Woodward recalls interviewing Bill Clinton, being transfixed by the president's anguine stare, the way he leaned forward and never blinked or broke eye contact.
Explain the meaning of "anguine" without saying "curved" or "serpent-like."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone or something)'s anguine (grace or slither) (transfixed me, gave me the chills, or sent me running)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A few near opposites of ANGUINE could be
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