Make Your Point: BESOTTED

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pronounce BESOTTED:

be SOT ed

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

As we check out the amusing word besotted, see if you can recall a very close synonym: to be in___icated is to be so stupidly, obsessively excited about something that you appear drunk, or drugged.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

We don't often use the word "sot" anymore, but it means "a stupid person, or a drunk person."

We do occasionally use the word "besot," meaning "to make someone stupid, to drug someone, or to fill someone with a stupid, unthinking kind of love or devotion."

That leads us to "besotted," which is a funny, kind of old-fashioned word meaning "stupidly obsessed, drunk in love, or made blind or stupid by your love for something."

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Most often a past participle adjective: "these besotted fans;" "those besotted admirers;" "She's besotted with you;" "He's besotted by you;" "They're besotted by that idea."

Other forms:

sot(s), besot, besotting, besottedly, besottedness

how to use it:

When you want to emphasize how silly or foolish someone acts when they're obsessed with someone or something, pick the funny, somewhat rare, sloppy-sounding, slightly old-fashioned, slightly insulting word "besotted."

You can just call someone besotted: "He's another besotted fanboy;" "She's another besotted follower hoping for a reply to her comment."

Or, say that someone is besotted with or by whatever they adore so stupidly: "Now you know my secret; I'm besotted with flat-faced cats." "I guess their ideal customers are Karens besotted by shiplap and pumpkin spice."

examples:

"[Dr. Clive Wynne, author of Dog Is Love] thinks [dogs] have a unique capacity for interspecies love, a word that he has decided to use, throwing aside decades of immersion in scientific jargon... By using the L word, Dr. Wynne may well appeal to the many besotted dog owners."
— James Gorman, New York Times, 22 November 2019

"[Lower Decks] is the least 'Star Trek'-like but perhaps the most 'Star Trek'-besotted show of the bunch... At nearly every moment, reference is made to the larger 'Trek' universe in the amusingly earnest manner of toons who know they'll never get to make a crossover episode with the live-action shows."
— Mike Hale, New York Times, 26 August 2022

has this page helped you understand "besotted"?

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 "besotted" without saying "infatuated" or "spellbound."

try it out:

We could draw a distinction between love and besottedness.

Maybe when you truly love things or people, you understand and appreciate them deeply, and your affection is ongoing and unconditional. But when you're besotted by things, you understand them in a shallow way, and your obsession soon fizzles out.

With that in mind, fill in the blanks: "(Someone) doesn't really love (something, or someone else): (he or she) is besotted by (him, her, or it)."

Example 1: "I didn't really love the game Chord Crush: I was besotted by it. I kept playing it obsessively, ruthlessly, wanting to conquer it and own it, but I was frustrated the whole time."

Example 2: "He doesn't really love her: he's besotted by her. I like this word besotted, suggestive as it is of sogginess, soppiness, flies drunk on syrup."
— Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye, 1988

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 "The Words are Hard, the Titles are Silly, and the Points Don't Matter!"

In each issue, try matching a given term to a silly title. For example, match the term “desultory” to the video game title “If It Moves, Shoot It!” because desultory methods are random, disorganized, and unmethodical.

If you need a definition for a term, give it a click. Scroll all the way down to see my suggested matches. Give yourself a point for each match you make that matches my match! And give yourself two points for any match that mismatches mine, as long as you can make up some reason for your match, no matter how half-baked.

Try these today:

Terms:
A. cagey
B. Damoclean
C. facetious

Titles of tabletop games:
1. Don't Get Got
2. Don't Get Stabbed!
3. Joking Hazard

review this word:

1. Near opposites of BESOTTED include

A. SICKENED and POISONED.
B. UNIFORM and MONOCHROME.
C. SOBERED and DISILLUSIONED.

2. Besotted, the new parents _____.

A. safety-proofed the house
B. gazed dreamily at their baby's fingers
C. fell asleep face-first in their spaghetti

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:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A 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.

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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BESOTTED

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