Make Your Point > Archived Issues > APOPLECTIC
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pronounce
APOPLECTIC:
Say it "APP uh PLECK tick."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
If you're so angry that your face looks like lead, you're _i__d.
And if you're so angry that your brain might be bleeding? You're apoplectic.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
You can trace the word "apoplectic" back to Greet roots that literally mean something like "totally hit" or "completely struck down."
If you imagine what life was like many hundreds of years ago, before modern medicine, you can see why some God-fearing people would use words like "stroke" or "apoplexy" (literally "a striking down") to label a sudden terrible fit or illness.
In English, for hundreds of years, "apoplexy" has meant "a sudden illness that starts with bleeding in the brain that totally (or almost totally) takes away the person's control of speech, senses, and movement."
Now, a couple of disclaimers are important here! First, I'm not a doctor, so I'm not qualified to write a medically precise definition of "apoplexy" or "apoplectic," or even to explain the difference between a "stroke" and "apoplexy." What I can do, though, is show you how we apply the words figuratively. And second, you and I both know that strokes aren't funny. So if the word "apoplectic" seems to you like an insensitive one to use figuratively, then please don't use it.
That said, figuratively speaking, someone apoplectic is so outrageously angry that they seem to have lost control of their own body.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "an apoplectic critic; "The fans were apoplectic when they heard the show had been cancelled."
Other forms:
apoplexy, apoplectically
how to use it:
The word "apoplectic" is semi-common and highly dramatic.
Most often, we talk about apoplectic people, or about people going or turning apoplectic, or becoming apoplectic with rage.
We might also talk about apoplectic behavior, like an apoplectic fight or outburst. Or apoplectic speech or writing, like an apoplectic reaction or hate letter.
examples:
"He was supposed to be taking it easy, but he looked apoplectic."
— Tara Westover, Educated: A Memoir, 2018
"[The word 'pretentious'] is ammunition for apoplectic one-star Yelp.com restaurant reviews and is a character trait strenuously denied in online dating profiles."
— Dan Fox, The Guardian, 9 February 2016
has this page helped you understand "apoplectic"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "apoplectic" without saying "enraged" or "beside yourself."
try it out:
There's a character in The Hunger Games, Cato, who goes absolutely apoplectic when he sees that Katniss, the narrator, has blown up all of his food. She says:
"There's Cato, barreling onto the plain... His rage is so extreme it might be comical — so people really do tear out their hair and beat the ground with their fists — if I didn't know that it was aimed at me, at what I have done to him."
With Cato's tantrum in mind as an example, talk about another person (real or fictional) who went absolutely apoplectic with rage.
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 April is "Netflix and Anagram."
Check out the anagrammed title of a series or movie you can watch on Netflix, along with a descriptive sentence or two about it from Google. See if you can come up with the real title. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Here's an example. IF CRUEL: "After abandoning his throne and retiring to Los Angeles, he indulges in his favorite things (women, wine and song) -- until a murder takes place outside of his upscale nightclub." The answer is LUCIFER.
Try this one today:
PITA CLAY: "This heartfelt comedy follows Sam, a teenager on the autism spectrum, who has decided he is ready for romance."
review this word:
A. SILKY.
B. SERENE.
C. SMOOTH.
2.
You're likely to read the word "apoplectic" in sentences that also include words like _____
A. "rage" and "assault."
B. "fizz" and "carbonation."
C. "create" and "improvisation."
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.
If you're so angry that your face looks like lead, you're _i__d.
You can trace the word "apoplectic" back to Greet roots that literally mean something like "totally hit" or "completely struck down."
Part of speech:
The word "apoplectic" is semi-common and highly dramatic.
"He was supposed to be taking it easy, but he looked apoplectic."
Explain the meaning of "apoplectic" without saying "enraged" or "beside yourself."
There's a character in The Hunger Games, Cato, who goes absolutely apoplectic when he sees that Katniss, the narrator, has blown up all of his food. She says:
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.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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