Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FROWSY

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connect today's word to others: Picture yourself the last time you got really dressed up, maybe for an interview or a formal dance. Your clothes were sharp and well-chosen; your hair was carefully styled. You were dressed f__t_d_ously, or m_t_c__ously (with careful attention to every detail). And now picture the last time you were a hot mess, maybe because of the flu or an all-nighter. Your clothes were sloppy and needed a wash; your hair was a wreck. You were dressed frowsily.  No offense. We all look a bit frowsy from time to time. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "FROWSY" Frowsy things and people smell stale or musty or look messy, dirty, sloppy, or unwashed. Pronunciation: FROW zee (rhymes with "drowsy") 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 frowsy thing" or "a frowsy person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was frowsy." or "He's frowsy.") Other forms: You can spell it "frowzy," with a "z," if you prefer. (It's more common to spell it "frowsy," with an "s.") You can talk about things that are "frowsier" (or "frowzier") and the "frowziest." The adverb is "frowsily" and the noun is "frowsiness" (or "frowziness"). How to use it: Frowsy things and people haven't been properly cleaned or groomed in a long while; they are not pleasant to smell or to look at. So when you call something frowsy, you're being mildly insulting or just descriptively honest. We most often talk about frowsy hair and clothing, as well as frowsy people and appearances. Occasionally we talk about frowsy objects and places, like frowsy papers, furniture, rooms, and buildings. To get figurative, we talk about frowsy writing and speech, or maybe even frowsy thinking. examples: Although the cough is clearing up, I'm too tired to put my hair in anything but this frowsy braid. In the den was a single sofa, frowsy and lopsided, graying but still blue in some patches, and I edged awkwardly away from its most noticeable stain. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "frowsy" means when you can explain it without saying "untidy" or "unkempt." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "What should have been a finely polished (e-mail, letter, resume, story, novel, speech, ad campaign, script, or scene) was frowsy, riddled with _____." Example 1: "What should have been a finely polished form letter was frowsy, riddled with typos." Example 2: "What should have been a finely polished speech was frowsy, riddled with flat jokes and wildly inaccurate statistics." 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. Uncommon Opposites! In each issue this month, I'll give you a rare word and its definition, and you come up with its more familiar opposite. For example, if I say, "To exfiltrate is to secretly withdraw people from a dangerous situation," then you come up with the opposite: "infiltrate." Or if I say, "An allograph is something written by someone other than the person concerned," then you come up with "autograph." We'll take these in order from easy to hard as the month goes on. Ready? From our previous issue: A passéist is someone who looks backward in time: someone who appreciates the values and traditions of the past. What’s the opposite? Answer: A futurist. Try this today: Someone gruntled is happy or pleased with a situation. What’s the opposite? review today's word: 1. Some opposites of FROWSY are A. NEAT, CLEAN, and FRESH. B. SMART, SHARP, and ADAPTIVE. C. DEFT, SKILLFUL, and PRODUCTIVE. 2. As the semester is wearing on, he's looking frowsier, his _____ more _____ than ever. A. face and posture .. determined B. backpack .. cumbersome C. sweat pants .. frayed 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