Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INDEFENSIBLE

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connect today's word to others: Indefensible may be a five-syllable mouthful, but I love it because it wraps up almost an entire sentence in a single word. Say someone asks you, "What do you think of that plan?" You could be wordy and reply, "Well, it's bad, it makes no sense, and it can't possibly be excused." Or: "It's indefensible." Let's recall some other words that are well worth their length: 1. Something imp____able doesn't let things enter it and definitely doesn't let things spread all through it. 2. Something ina______able is so small or so unimportant that you can't even notice it. 3. Someone inde_____able has energy, devotion, and enthusiasm that lasts for a long time. I like to bring this word up because so many of you told me it's your favorite. :) (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "INDEFENSIBLE" Something defensible is able to be defended. More specifically, defensible things are so logical or so reasonable that you can defend them if people attack them by saying they're not good or not true. And something indefensible can't be defended. More specifically, indefensible things are so bad, so false, or so illogical or unreasonable that you can't defend them when people attack them for being not good or not true. Pronunciation: in dih FEN sih bull 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 "an indefensible thing." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was indefensible.") Other forms: indefensibly, indefensibility or indefensibleness How to use it: Talk about indefensible ideas, plans, approaches, and actions; indefensible comments, statements, labels, judgments, and slurs; indefensible views, beliefs, opinions, positions, theories, arguments, and predictions; indefensible hate, cruelty, and discrimination; indefensible laws, rules, and policies; and indefensible errors, mistakes, fallacies, crimes, and atrocities.  You can also say that it's indefensible to do something ("it's indefensible to fire him for no reason") or that it's indefensible that someone did something ("it's indefensible that they would fire him for no reason," or, flipped around, "that they would fire him for no reason is indefensible"). examples: It's slow, hard, and painful to shape an entire essay around an indefensible thesis. That's part of why we spend so much time with our students on developing strong thesis statements. I apologize for my earlier judgment. It was rude and indefensibly hasty. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "indefensible" means when you can explain it without saying "not justifiable" or "not excusable." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "We (lose, waste, or sacrifice) an indefensible (amount or number) of (something valuable, like lives, time, or money) because of (some problem)." Example: "We lose an indefensible number of human lives every year because of improperly secured firearms in people's homes." 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. Our game this month is "A Vocabulary of Movie Quotes." Jean Picker Firstenberg at the American Film Institute (AFI) says, "Great movie quotes become part of our cultural vocabulary." I believe it! I bet you can recall, verbatim, any of the AFI's "100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time" if all I give you is a single word from the quote. For example, if I give you the word KANSAS, I bet you can recite this: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," from The Wizard of Oz (1939). I'll share each answer in the following issue. And we’ll work our way forward in time, starting with the oldest movies. Let’s play! From the previous issue: From a 1950 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word CLOSE-UP? Answer: From Sunset Boulevard: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Try this today: From a 1954 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word CONTENDER? review today's word: 1. The exact opposite of INDEFENSIBLE is DEFENSIBLE. But a close opposite of INDEFENSIBLE is A. TERSE B. TENABLE C. TOPLOFTY 2. In her course called "Letter Writing for Change," Rhian invited us to write someone a letter of apology: to _____ what was indefensible, and by doing so to allow the bad karma to dissipate. A. skirt B. rationalize C. acknowledge 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