Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BECLOUD

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"BECLOUD" Meaning: To literally becloud something is to cover it up with clouds, or to cover it up with anything that reminds you of clouds. To figuratively becloud something is to cover it or hide it as if you're using clouds to do that. Pronunciation: bick LOUD Part of speech: Transitive verb. (Like “eat,” “try,” and “want,” all transitive verbs do something to an object. You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone. Likewise, you becloud something.) Other forms: beclouded, beclouding How to use it: You can certainly just say "cloud" instead of "becloud" if you want something simpler: "Alcohol clouds judgment," "Worries clouded his face." But "becloud" has a more formal, serious tone. So, you can talk about a literal beclouding: the dirt beclouded the water, the dark spots beclouded my vision, etc. More often, you'll talk about a figurative beclouding: a beclouded understanding or perception of something (or beclouded vision, or a beclouded state of mind,) a beclouded fact or idea or aspect, a beclouded topic or subject, and so on. A particularly useful phrase is "something beclouded by something else:" a life beclouded by depression, an expression beclouded by concern, an understanding beclouded by a refusal to consider the opposing view, etc. Or just use "beclouded" as an adjective: beclouded judgment, beclouded minds, a beclouded memory, and so on. Used as a vehicle for sharing information, the meme is notorious for oversimplifying and beclouding issues. In theory, I totally understand how being in love beclouds your common sense. In reality, I'm likely to be critical when I see it happening. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "becloud" means when you can explain it without saying "fog over" or "make unclear." Think of a time you or someone you know had trouble expressing an idea, and fill in the blanks: "(Someone) is trying to (express a particular idea,) but (something) is beclouding the (sentiment/message/idea.)" Example: "He's trying to apologize, but his foul language is beclouding the sentiment." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words: This month, we're playing New Word Order! It's a card game that I recently created; it involves figuring out the order in which certain words and phrases entered our language. I'll give you several words and/or phrases, and you'll use your knowledge of history, slang, technology, popular culture, fashion, psychology, etc. to put them into chronological order. I'll post the right answer to each question on the following day. If you like this game, you can download and print it to play with your family and friends. (It's free.) When you play New Word Order on hard mode with a group of friends, you make one big timeline together, which can get pretty long—and that makes it challenging to place new terms on it! For about the final third of this month, we’re building one big timeline. (And we’ll finish out the month—the 28th through the 30th— with three unique and highly challenging questions.) Yesterday's task was to add "neuroimaging" to this timeline: Brainwashing, 1950 Inner child, 1955 Body art, 1960 Parallel parking, 1962 Smokey Bear, 1969 Pimped-out, 1988 Fauxhawk, 2000 Answer: Brainwashing, 1950 Inner child, 1955 Body art, 1960 Parallel parking, 1962 Smokey Bear, 1969 Neuroimaging, 1981 Pimped-out, 1988 Fauxhawk, 2000 For the last three days of this month, I’ll use New Word Order cards to throw some very challenging tasks your way. These types of questions aren’t part of the official game instructions, but you can use your creativity to do whatever you want with the cards… and there are 500 of them, so have fun!  Today's task: Sort the following words into two groups: those that entered the language before the year 2000, and those that entered after. Your groups will each have 3 words:   Bridezilla   Defriend   Dubstep   Muggle   Retweet   Wi-Fi Special preview of next month's game: In December, we'll be sampling questions from Orijinz, an awesome series of games about the origins of words, phrases, and quotes. Click here or on the logo below if you want to go ahead and check them out! A Point Well Made: Voltaire: “Life is thickly sown with thorns, and I know no other remedy than to pass quickly through them. The longer we dwell on our misfortunes, the greater is their power to harm us.” 1. The opposite of BECLOUD is A. EXPATRIATE B. RECIPROCATE C. ILLUMINATE 2. _____ tends to becloud our objectivity. A. A chart with pros and cons B. A strong emotional investment C. The need to step back and view the big picture Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B Exploring the archives: Our word today, "becloud," is super-easy to understand, and yet it's good to remind yourself of words like these because they tend to go underutilized. You'll probably select "becloud" when you want a more easily understood alternative to "obfuscate." "Obfuscate" is more about making things darker, while "becloud" is, obviously, more about making things cloudy. But the figurative power of the words is basically the same. Could you think of a lovely word for something that has not darkened, figuratively? (It starts with "u," and you can see it here.) And could you think of another beautiful word for people or things that remind you of a bright, sparkling light? (That one starts with "i.")