"Home is where my habits have a habitat."

I love that line from Fiona Apple's "Better Version of Me." It really sticks in my brain! It must be the alliteration. And the etymological sisterhood of the words habit and habitat.

We get words like habit, habitat, habituate, inhibit, and exhibit from the Latin habere, meaning, among other things, "to have, to keep, to think, to be situated." You'd think we could add have itself to that list, making Fiona's line an even more satisfying etymological family reunion, but nope: have is unrelated to habere. I know, it's bizarre. We'll just have to get used to. Get habituated to it.

See if you can recall a close synonym of habituate: To in___ someone is to put them into the habit of something, usually by making them do it or experience it over and over. For example, if you live in Florida, you've probably become in__ed to the heat, the humidity, and even the hurricanes. You're habituated to them.

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

From the Latin habere, "to have," a habit is something you do all the time, without thinking about it, as a matter of routine. You're so used to it that it comes naturally to you.

So, when you become habituated to something, or when you habituate yourself to a new place or to a new rule or behavior, you get used to it, or you get used to doing it all the time without having to think about it: it becomes natural, normal, routine, and unthinking.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb: "We were habituated to the gross fast food;" "He'd grown habituated to getting up before dawn;" "The squirrels on campus are habituated to us; they'll grab pizza crusts right out of our hands."

Other forms: 

habit(s), habitual, habitually; habituated, habituating, habituation

how to use it:

The word "habitutate" is formal and semi-common, with a scientific or psychological flavor.

To use it, talk about animals and humans who habituated to a certain food, situation, environment, or experience. Or, say that they've habituated themselves to something.

examples:

"By now the bear has become thoroughly habituated both to human beings and to their food."
   — Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, 1998

"You might want to get used to other kinds of bananas in preparation for the Cavendish’s demise... If we start to habituate ourselves now, perhaps our tastes will adapt to alternative bananas in time for its demise."
   — Keith A. Spencer, Salon, 15 September 2019

has this page helped you understand "habituate"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "habituate" without saying "get accustomed to" or "get comfortable with."

try it out:

Talk about something you've become habituated to: something that, at one time, would shock you, surprise you, scare you, worry you, bother you, or distract you. But now, it's normal to you.

Or, talk about something so weird, so surprising, or so irritating that, no matter how many times you're exposed to it, you'll never habituate to it.

If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.)

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 "Name that Sketchplanation!"

Check out the sketch below, created by Jono Hey at Sketchplanations.com.

Focus on the title, and see if you can come up with the word or phrase that belongs in the blurry spot. It'll be one we've studied before.

See the answer on the original Sketchplanation!

And if you like, review the word here.

review this word:

1. A near-opposite of HABITUATED is

A. UNFAMILIAR.
B. UNDERWHELMING.
C. UNDERPOPULATED.

2. A movie reviewer for the New York Times pointed out how "_____" a quiet movie can seem, "especially to ears habituated to the noise of American movies."

A. foreign
B. relaxing
C. indulgent

Answers to the review questions: 1. A 2. A

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: On vocabulary...       36 ways to study words.       Why we forget words, & how to remember them.       How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. On writing...       How to improve any sentence.       How to motivate our kids to write.       How to stop procrastinating and start writing.       How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count. From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. A 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.