Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BROWBEAT

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connect today's word to others: Today we're checking out an interesting synonym of nag, harp, bully, threaten, harass, and intimidate. It's browbeat. If you're like me, you imagine that a browbeater seems to beat you on the forehead or the eyebrows. But etymologists say that's not quite right--that the browbeater is the one who seems to be beating you down with his own angry-eyebrowed forehead. Either way, it's an interesting image, and unpleasant! Browbeating can make you feel tim_____: afraid, with no confidence or courage. Or maybe--speaking of foreheads--it breaks you, making you give in and just ko____, that is, figuratively kneel down so low that the ground meets your forehead. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "BROWBEAT" To browbeat people is to speak harshly to them, often to make them afraid or to boss them around, as if you're staring down at them with mean eyebrows. Pronunciation: BROW beat 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 browbeat someone.) Other common forms: Browbeaten, browbeating, browbeater(s). (Notice that, similar to the word "beat," the simple past tense of "browbeat" is just "browbeat" and not "browbeated:" "Yesterday, she browbeat him.") How to use it: Talk about people browbeating other people: "She browbeat the host for his insulting questions." And of course, browbeaters (and browbeatees) can be not just individual people but also groups, companies, governments, and so on. (I'm just kidding with "browbeatees." That's not really a word. But people will know what you mean if you use it, so, why not go for it? And "beatee" is a real word already. I think we can start something here, y'all.) You can browbeat someone to do something, browbeat someone into something, and browbeat someone into doing something. To get figurative, talk about things browbeating people, or people browbeating things: "the SAT and ACT exams have always browbeaten students," "this impossibly long to-do list is browbeating me right now," "maybe if I just browbeat it some more, the printer will work." examples: I'd like him to write longer paragraphs, so I'll keep at it--teaching, modeling, helping, cheerleading, maybe bribing, but never browbeating. The hospital staff may be admirably committed to helping new mothers nurse their babies, but they go too far when they deny supplemental food to the baby and browbeat the struggling mother into trying harder. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "browbeat" means when you can explain it without saying "overbear" or "coerce." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Browbeaten by (someone), (someone else) (copes in a certain way)." Example: "Browbeaten by his angry constituents, Dave Brat no longer accepts spoken questions at town halls. He has us write them down--and he chooses which ones to answer." 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. "Bits & Pieces." This month, we're playing with affixes and combining forms, the bits and pieces of our language, matching them to their meanings. The more of these bits and pieces you know, the better you are at decoding unfamiliar words, which is sooo satisfying! I'll share the answers in each subsequent issue. Here are the answers from our previous issue: 1. "galacto-" means "milk." 2. "glyco-" means "sugar." 3. "oeno-" means "wine." 4. "oleo-" means "oil." 5. "xylo-" means "wood." Try this set today. It's about movement and direction: 1. "dextro-" means _____. 2. "gyro-" means _____. 3. "infra-" means _____. 4. "-kinesis" means _____. 5. "laevo-" means _____.    Answer bank:       A. change or motion       B. the left side       C. the right side       D. rotating or spiraling       E. beneath review today's word: 1. The opposite of BROWBEAT is A. HEAL. B. TREAT. C. ENCOURAGE. 2. During an interview, Sam Rubin was browbeaten by Samuel L. Jackson, whom Rubin had _____.  A. invited to discuss his latest film B. confused for another black actor C. established a friendly rapport with Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's 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. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B