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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EUPHORIC

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connect today's word to others:

To be euphoric is to be bursting with happiness, often in an overly confident, overly optimistic way.


Euphoric comes from Greek roots meaning "well" and "bearing or carrying," so it's related to several other words we've studied.

These also come from the Greek eu, meaning "well:"

1. Eu____y is beauty of sound.

2. Something eu____istic is polite, gentle, vague, and often watered-down.

3. To eu___ize things is to speak or write words of praise for them when they're not around anymore (because they're no longer popular, available, or acceptable).

And this last one also comes from the Greek pherein, meaning "to bear or carry:"

4. Something ____pheral is only indirectly related to something else, or only slightly connected or slightly important.

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

make your point with...

"EUPHORIC"

Greek for "well bearing," the word "euphoria" (or "euphory") first meant the feeling of comfort and well-being that a sick person experienced despite actually being sick.

More generally, euphoria is a strong feeling of cheerfulness or happiness, especially in an unrealistically confident way. ("Euphoria" is also the word we use to describe the feeling of happiness or pleasure you get from using certain drugs.)

So, someone or something euphoric is extremely cheerful or happy, especially in an unrealistically confident way.

Pronunciation:
you FOR ick

Part of speech:
Adjective.
(Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late."
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in "a euphoric smile" or "a euphoric person."
2. After a linking verb, as in "Her smile was euphoric" or "He was euphoric.")

Other forms:
Euphoria, euphorically.
The opposites are "dysphoria" and "dysphoric," which describe a state of discomfort, of feeling ill at ease.

How to use it:

Although we associate this word with the highs brought on by both drugs and illnesses, it doesn't always carry such a negative tone: to feel euphoric can simply mean to feel amazingly, incredibly happy or excited, as if you're disconnected from reality.

Talk about euphoric people, moods, attitudes, sensations, emotions, effects, events, music, literature, time periods, etc.

examples:

In stark contrast with her usual dark and somber tunes, Fiona Apple's "Hot Knife" is euphoric, bouncing with energy and fluttering into high notes: "He excites me, must be like the genesis of rhythm. I get feisty whenever I'm with him."

"Then Benjamin Pavard...struck a piercing volley to equalise against Argentina. He careered into a group embrace with his teammates in a state of euphoric disbelief."
   — Amy Lawrence, The Guardian, 30 September 1018

study it:

Explain the meaning of "euphoric" without saying "ecstatic" or "exhilarated."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "For me, _____ is contentment; adding _____ is euphoria."

Example: "For me, a quiet evening by the fireplace is contentment; adding the purr of a lap cat is euphoria."

before you review, play:

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.

Our game is "TV Tropes!"

This month, we're playing with tropes from TVTropes.org. TV tropes are storytelling devices, which can come from any source of fiction—TV, movies, books, you name it. They're the archetypes, the story patterns, the plot devices, the cheap tricks, the situational clichés that we see over and over throughout fiction. 

Examples of TV tropes include "Skyward Scream," "Banister Slide," "Caught on the Jumbotron," "Burp of Finality," "City People Eat Sushi," "Dance Party Ending," "Clean Pretty Childbirth," "Come Back to Bed, Honey," "Even the Subtitler is Stumped," and tens of thousands more.

Naming a trope can be a straightforward business, as in the "Skyward Scream." But often it demands precision, inviting the use of humorously sophisticated terms. Enter our Make Your Point words. 

In each issue this month, consider the name of a TV trope, and try to define it or even give an example from a TV show or other work of fiction.

From the previous issue:

In fiction, what is the trope known as the Cross-Cultural Kerfuffle?

Answer:

It's when some hapless gesture, remark, or translation turns out to be offensive in another language or culture. Whoops! Here's a family-friendly example: in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, a zebra paws the ground to search for water, but the gesture is interpreted as a threat by the ponies.

Try this today:

In fiction, what is the trope known as Clifftop Caterwauling?

review today's word:

1. The exact opposite of EUPHORIC is DYSPHORIC,
but a close opposite of EUPHORIC is

A. WIZENED.
B. CHAPFALLEN.
C. FREE-SPOKEN.

2. He grew euphoric as he told the joke, _____.

A. keeping a straight face and a serious tone
B. grinning and rocking forward on his feet as if he would fly away
C. imitating the wild gesticulations of the guy who made his wishes last

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. B

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