Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FLAGITIOUS
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pronounce
FLAGITIOUS:
Say it "fluh JISH us."
It rhymes with "delicious."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Flagitious people are shockingly wicked or brutally cruel.
They're villainous.
They're m_l_f_c_nt, like an evil sorceress from Sleeping Beauty.
They're n_f_r___s, like a quirky old inventor from Despicable Me. Actually, in spite of his name, that guy is less n_f_r___s and more ecc____ic (odd). Less about Time Twister Machines and more about cookie robots.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
This word comes from the Latin flagitium, meaning "an act or deed that's disgraceful, or just passionate."
Flagitious people and things are extremely bad, wicked, or criminal.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: adjective: "these flagitious criminals," "his reputation remains flagitious."
Other forms: flagitiously, flagitiousness.
how to use it:
Compared to more common words like "atrocious," "heinous," and "villainous," the rare "flagitious" is perfect when you need a shocking, sharp-sounding word for people and deeds that are just the absolute worst. Hear how it sounds like spitting? Flagitious!
In fact, "flagitious" is rare enough to still sound literary, since it makes few, if any, appearances in popular culture or the news media. So enjoy it: it's still fresh and startling. (Can you see it going viral, though, if some pundit adopts it as a pet word? If that happens, y'all, you knew it before it was famous.)
Talk about flagitious criminals and their flagitious crimes, behavior, manners, careers, and lives.
Or, talk about flagitious lies, flagitious cruelty, flagitious ingratitude, and so on.
To use the adverb, talk about people acting, behaving, talking, or living flagitiously; or, talk about things that are flagitiously bad, wrong, cruel, or unjust.
examples:
"Caligula's insane thirst for blood arose, and he determined to glut it out of the ranks of his own army...Four months more brought him to the end of his flagitious career."
— Charles Morris, "An Imperial Monster," Historic Tales, Volume 11, 1896
"Nowhere in other historians is there a shred of evidence to support the story of Theodora's flagitious life [of immorality and pleasure-seeking]. Orthodox ecclesiastics violently attack Theodora's heresy, and speak of her as an enemy of the Church, but write not a word against her private reputation."
— Alfred Brittain and Mitchell Carroll, Woman: In All Ages and in All Countries, Volume 3, 1908
has this page helped you understand "flagitious"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "flagitious" without saying "heinous" or "atrocious."
try it out:
The philosopher Baron d'Holbach wrote, "The saints of Christianity were either the most useless or most flagitious of men." Oh, snap!
That was around 1813. How about now? In your opinion, who are the most flagitious of men (and/or women)? Why?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is "Subject Line Crosswords."
We'll revisit some of the email subject lines from 2019 issues, using them as a tool for recall.
Each day this month, see if you can complete the mini-crossword with words we studied last year. If you need extra clues, look below the puzzle to view definitions and parts of speech. And I'll share the answers in the following issue. Enjoy!
From the previous issue:
Extra clues:
ACROSS
2. verb meaning "to scatter something all around, as if to help it grow, spread, and develop everywhere"
3. noun meaning "too much growth, or too much development"
DOWN
1. adjective meaning "alone, cut off from other groups, and too focused on narrow, limited ideas"
Answers:
If you like, you can review the words disseminate, hypertrophy, and insular.
Try this last one today:
Extra clues:
ACROSS
2. noun meaning "something that's irregular or unusual"
3. noun meaning "an odd, weird thing that someone does, usually by habit"
DOWN
1. verb meaning "to abuse or humiliate people publicly"
review this word:
1. A near opposite of FLAGITIOUS is
A. ALOOF.
B. ADROIT.
C. ANGELIC.
2. She's old-fashioned. She ranks _____ among the most flagitious of _____.
A. gentlemen callers .. guests
B. high collars and pearl necklaces .. garb
C. proposing without the father's blessing .. deeds
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my 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.
Flagitious people are shockingly wicked or brutally cruel. This word comes from the Latin flagitium, meaning "an act or deed that's disgraceful, or just passionate."
Part of speech: adjective: "these flagitious criminals," "his reputation remains flagitious."
Compared to more common words like "atrocious," "heinous," and "villainous," the rare "flagitious" is perfect when you need a shocking, sharp-sounding word for people and deeds that are just the absolute worst. Hear how it sounds like spitting? Flagitious!
"Caligula's insane thirst for blood arose, and he determined to glut it out of the ranks of his own army...Four months more brought him to the end of his flagitious career."
Explain the meaning of "flagitious" without saying "heinous" or "atrocious."
The philosopher Baron d'Holbach wrote, "The saints of Christianity were either the most useless or most flagitious of men." Oh, snap!
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1. A near opposite of FLAGITIOUS is
|