Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BARRAGE

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pronounce BARRAGE: Say it "buh RAJ." That's the American pronunciation. It rhymes with "garage." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: A barrage is a barrier of bullets--or anything that seems like one. And a s___o is a ceremonial firing of many weapons, as if in greeting--or anything that seems like one. Can you recall that word? Hint: it's related to the word salutations. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: "Barrage" comes to us through French and traces back to a Latin word meaning "bar" or "barrier." Literally speaking, a barrage can be a type of dam: a thing that bars a river. Here's a drawing of the Nile Barrage. (Thanks for the picture, Wikipedia!) Less literally, since 1916 or so, a barrage has often been a "bar" or "barrier" of gunfire. It's the kind of broad, continuous firing that blocks, or bars, the enemy from getting closer to you--or getting away. A real barrage is deadly; a barrage of snowballs, perhaps less so. Even more figuratively, a barrage of things (like a barrage of tests, or a barrage of insults) is a fast, fierce group of them that seems to attack you and block you from going anywhere. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: "a barrage of questions," "the barrage of their complaints." Other forms:  The plural is "barrages," but we hardly ever need it. We can also use "barrage" as a verb: "Please stop barraging me with demands." how to use it: Pick the common, formal word "barrage" to label any outpouring of things that seems fast and violent. Most often we talk about a barrage of things: "They let loose a barrage of questions;" "The server kept a smile plastered on her face as she withstood a barrage of demands." We can also talk about people barraging others with things: "It stresses me out to get barraged with emails;" "They're barraging that company with complaints on Twitter." examples: "Hideo is standing before a podium and facing a barrage of flashing lights."     — Marie Lu, Warcross, 2017 "In poker... you build mental models about each opponent and situation, with the added twist that the data are actively trying to deceive. 'Why did his nostrils flare when that King hit?' 'Why did he bet 80% of the pot instead of the usual 50%?' 'Is he smiling because he’s happy, or just pretending to be?' Each hand provides a barrage of information."    — Liv Boeree, Nature, 23 June 2020 has this page helped you understand "barrage"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "barrage" without saying "onslaught" or "bombardment." try it out: Fill in the blank: "There's an incessant barrage of (some kind of thing that annoys or overwhelms you)." Example 1: "There's an incessant barrage of robocalls these days." Example 2: "Perhaps you haven't heard the incessant barrage of pop-revival Christmas carols blasting from every retail loudspeaker for the past month and a half." — The Guardian If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) 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 this month is Crossword Clues: Movie Titles!  Use the movie title as a clue to come up with a word we've studied. For example, if the clue is "The Great Escape. 6 letters. _ E C _ M _," then the answer is "DECAMP," a word meaning "to get the heck out of there." To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy! Try this one today: The Lion King. 7 letters. _ _ O _ _ N E. review this word: 1. A near opposite of BARRAGE is A. TIE. B. TACKLE. C. TRICKLE. 2. Reductress joked, "In a totally shocking turn of events, the friend who was just _____ you with a barrage of compliments out of nowhere does, in fact, want something from you now." A. drowning B. slathering C. assaulting Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C Answer to the game question:  LEONINE. 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.