Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BLIGHT

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explore the archives: A blight is a disease: a withering influence, like an ul___ or sore that ruins something more and more. (Blight is a sad word, but it's worth knowing. Still, I hope today's issue doesn't bring you down. If it does, go here for a hearty dose of cute animals!) make your point with... "BLIGHT" A blight is a disease that plants get. Figuratively, a blight is anything that hurts a place or situation, making it hopeless, unsuccessful, ugly, and/or dull. Pronunciation: BLITE Part of speech: Both a noun (the countable kind: "a blight, one blight, this blight, these blights") and a verb (the transitive kind: "to blight something"). Other common forms: blights, blighted, blighting How to use it: When you pick "blight" over other words (like "ruin," "mar," or "vitiate"), you're comparing whatever bad influence or force you're talking about to a disease that makes plants wither or stop growing. Talk about the blight of something ("the blight of authoritarian rule"), or talk about how something puts or places a blight on something else ("authoritarian rule puts a blight on the common people"). For the verb, talk about one person or thing that blights something: "hunger blighted their childhood," "a city blighted by drug use." "Blighted" is especially useful as an adjective: blighted neighborhoods, blighted properties, blighted lives.  examples: Divisiveness has put a blight on our nation. His teen years were blighted by anxiety, by the knot of dread that formed in his stomach weeks before each class presentation. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "blight" means when you can explain it without saying "plague" or "malignant influence." try it out: Think of a very run-down place. Fill in the blanks: "At/in/on the blighted (specific place), (something was happening)." Example: "On the blighted city block, thick weeds grew out of the sidewalk's deep cracks, and skinny dogs ran loose." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. This month, we're playing with KWIKORD, an addictive, challenging new word game for solo or group play, created by Wayne Ellice.  We're dipping our toes into the game this month, trying some simple challenges first and working our way toward harder tasks. (Check out my interview with the game's creator here, and order your own copy of the full version of KWIKORD here.) You'll see a sample answer to each puzzle the following day. Enjoy! Yesterday, you took the letters DGLPEIO and arranged them into words to fill the perimeter of a 4x4 grid. Many solutions were possible. Here are two: Try that again today with the letters FRKTAEI. Draw three vertical and three horizontal lines on some scrap paper, and go for it! review today's word: 1. A close opposite of BLIGHT is A. CHANGE B. DULLNESS C. PROSPERITY 2. She vowed to quit: to _____ the blight that smoking had _____ her life. A. heal .. taken from B. remove .. placed on C. demolish .. constructed against Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@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