Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISILLUSION

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connect today's word to others: You know that Twenty One Pilots song, "Stressed Out"?      "We would build a rocket ship and then we'd fly it far away.      Used to dream of outer space, but now they're laughing at our face,      Saying, 'Wake up, you need to make money.'" That singer is disillusioned. If you've been disillusioned, you've been stripped of your illusions: your false ideas, incorrect beliefs, childish dreams, and faulty assumptions that toyed with your thinking.  That's what an illusion is today--a false understanding of reality--but originally, an illusion was the act of mocking or making fun of something. So you can see why at the heart of words like illusion and disillusion is the Latin ludere, "to play"--and why they resemble other words about play or trickery, like elude, delude, ludicrous, and collusion. Now, if you've gone through a period of disillusionment, you have a clear mind but a heavy heart. You might feel ja__d (weary, worn down, and no longer capable of caring), or you might suffer from enn___ (a feeling of sad, dull boredom and dissatisfaction with life). And if so, I recommend The Week in Good News. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "DISILLUSION" An illusion can simply be an image you think you see that isn't really there, like the illusion of a face on the moon, or like the illusion of clear, smooth skin that we achieve only by applying makeup. More abstractly, an illusion is a mistaken understanding. In other words, it's a wrong idea about what's real. Let's see some typical examples of illusions: 1. "She's under the illusion that the world owes her something. It doesn't." 2. "He's under the illusion that he can drive like a maniac and never get pulled over. He can't." 3. "With all those cheery posts, they're creating the illusion that they're always one big happy family. They aren't." 4. "She still suffers from the illusion that public schools are designed to serve students. They're not." As you can see, illusions tend to be nice, sweet, happy, simple, pleasant, and idealistic--but they're wrong. So, to disillusion people is to take away their illusions: to show them the truth, to teach them how things really are. Pronunciation: DISS ih LOOZE yun Part of speech: Usually a verb, the transitive kind: "the experience disillusioned us," "we were disillusioned by the experienced." Other forms: Disillusioned, disillusioning, disillusionment. You might talk about a person or an experience illuding someone: giving them illusions, or false hopes. "Illude" and its other forms, "illuded" and "illuding," are rare. How to use it: Talk about things, events, situations, and experiences that disillusion people, or about people being disillusioned by those things. People can also become disillusioned with an entire sphere, system, or situation: "they're disillusioned with the state's public schools," "they're disillusioned with the restaurant industry." And we often use "disillusioned" as an adjective for people as a group: disillusioned voters, disillusioned churchgoers, disillusioned music lovers realizing how fakeness and tedium have replaced talent and originality. examples: Most teens can identify with Holden and his disillusionment, his realization that so many people are phony, and that society rewards, even requires, phoniness. "Asahara founded [the cult known as] Aum Shinrikyo, or Supreme Truth, in the mid-1980s. It attracted young people disillusioned with the modern materialistic way of life."    — Mari Yamaguchi, The Washington Times, 5 July 2018 study it: Explain the meaning of "disillusion" without saying "enlighten" or "burst your bubble." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I had imagined _____ would be _____, but now I'm disillusioned. It's _____." Example: "I had imagined teaching high school would be an intellectual adventure, but now I'm disillusioned. It's mostly crowd control and record-keeping." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "Inspired by, but in no way associated with, Jeopardy!" In each issue, I'll create three "answers" for you, and you supply the "questions." (That is, you'll respond in the form of a question, like "What is...?" or "Who is...?") From the previous issue: 1. Category: Bombastic Bywords. Answer: It's exultant as a bivalve shell-fish at a period of marinal zenith. Question: What is "happy as a clam at high tide"? 2. Category: Same Name. Answer: Deciduous hardwood tree popular for making affordable furniture, monthly subscription service for this "box" of beauty samples, actor Paul, actress Thora. Question: What is Birch? 3. Category: Before & After. Answer: Enjoyed on the slide and the monkey bars, it's minced red meat. Question: What is playground beef? Try these today: 1. Category: Same Name. Answer: City in Ohio and Texas, town in England, energy corporation, plumbing manufacturer, writer Katherine. 2. Category: Before & After. Answer: "Chuck Berry?" "Here!" "Elvis Presley?" "Here!" "Little Richard?" "Here!" 3. Category: Alliterative Appellations in Athletics. Answer: Known as the Big Bam, the Sultan of Swat, the Titan of Terror and more, this baseballer scored 714 home runs. review today's word: 1. A close opposite of DISILLUSION is A. HOODWINK. B. JUXTAPOSE. C. PERMEATE. 2. Disillusioned by _____, the main character seeks _____. A. her quiet rural life .. adventure B. the long commute .. a job close to home C. rampant racism on campus .. a way to curtail it 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. A 2. C