Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ERADICATE

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connect today's word to others: To eradicate something is to destroy it, as if you're ripping it out by the roots. The first "e" in eradicate means "out," and the rest is from the Latin radix, meaning "root."  (Radix also gave us the word radish--that very rooty-looking plant--and radical, which originally meant "related to the roots" or "vital" and didn't start meaning "innovative" until about 1869.) So again, if you're uprooting something, rooting it out, or destroying it, you're eradicating it. Or you can say you're de___ating it (destroying much of it: originally, ten percent of it), or e__cing it (destroying it, as if with an eraser). (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "ERADICATE" To eradicate something is to get rid of it completely, as if you've ripped it all the way out, even its roots. Pronunciation: ih RAD ih kate 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 eradicate something.) Other forms worth knowing: eradicated, eradicating; eradication; eradicable, ineradicable, ineradicably How to use it: The cool thing about "eradicate" is that it gives us the image of a plant being ripped violently from the ground. That is, "eradicate" lets you compare a bad thing (like a problem or a disease) to a plant that's growing in the ground--the "ground" being your population, your situation, your body, etc.--and then you rip out that plant, even the roots. You've eradicated it. We talk about eradicating things that are complex, that are deeply connected to other things, as if they have roots. Eradication often takes force, effort, or violence, and it's rarely fast, easy, or simple. Yet it's often a positive thing, because we tend to talk about eradicating bad things, often from a place or group: eradicating problems and diseases from societies and populations, eradicating hatred and systemic racism, eradicating hunger and poverty, eradicating crime and violence from a city, eradicating vermin or invasive weeds, etc. However, we can also talk about eradicating good or neutral things: eradicating species from their habitats, eradicating rebellions and other social movements, eradicating laws and programs and systems, and, yes, eradicating human populations. examples: FeedMore works to eradicate hunger among the needy in Central Virginia. Lord of the Flies suggests that we can never eradicate evil, that evil is too deep-rooted in human behavior. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "eradicate" means when you can explain it without saying "uproot" or "wipe out." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Though we've fought against _____ for (a certain length of time), we still haven't eradicated (it/them)." Example: "Though we've fought against grammatical pseudo-rules for decades, we still haven't eradicated them." 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. Subject Line Redux! You know how I fill the subject line of each Make Your Point email with a little comment about the word? Let's revisit some of those subject lines; they make a good study tool. That is, you'll improve your chances of recalling our words when you need them later if you do this now: look at the little comment from the subject line and use that to recall the word, its meaning, and how it connects to the little comment. (For more on active recall and how you can employ it to strengthen your vocabulary, please go here.) In each issue this month, I'll share a puzzle or other activity that prompts you to recall 5 previous words based on their subject lines. (To make your own activities like these, check out the fun and useful Vocabulary Worksheet Factory.) And I'll share the answers in the following issue. From our previous issue:  Answers: Try this today: review today's word: 1. The opposite of ERADICATE is A. SCORCH. B. PROPAGATE. C. CIRCUMSCRIBE. 2. Since eradicating it is impossible, we'll settle for _____. A. preserving its essence in poems and paintings B. focusing on its most important themes C. managing its symptoms 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. B 2. C