Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INDUSTRIOUS

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: I'm sure you already know the word industrious, but are you using it enough? It's such a wonderful little workhorse. Let's check it out. If you think of the words industry, industrial, and industrious, you might think of dust on a factory floor--but these words don't really have anything to do with dust. They're from the Latin words indu ("in" or "within") and struere ("to build"). So, they're related to words like structure, construct, instruct, and destruction. If you're industrious, whether or not you're literally building something, you're hard at work. And you're likely to also be...    enter____ing: bold, creative, risk-taking, and eager to start new projects;    sed__ous: working carefully on things for a long time;    met____ous: very careful about all the details;    and oper___: busy and hardworking. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "INDUSTRIOUS" When "industry" means "work, trade, commerce, or manufacturing," we use the adjective "industrial." But "industry" can also mean "effort" or "hard work." When we use that meaning, the adjective is "industrious." Someone or something industrious is eager and hardworking, usually for a long time. Pronunciation: in DUSS tree us 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 industrious thing" or "an industrious person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was industrious" or "He was industrious.") Other forms: industriously, industry, industriousness How to use it: Talk about industrious people and animals and their industrious habits, behaviors, and personalities. The people we call industrious are often farmers, settlers, immigrants, and other people who rise to the demands of difficult situations. You can also talk about industrious sounds and movements, as well as industrious places, like districts, cities, and nations. To get more abstract and imaginative, talk about industrious energy, science, altruism, speculation, etc. examples: Looking back on her days as a young, industrious, and unpaid intern, she felt taken advantage of. I asked the students to revise their essays, but I think they're just over there making industrious typing sounds. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "industrious" means when you can explain it without saying "hardworking" or "persevering." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I had an industrious (friend, grandmother or grandfather, teacher, coach, boss, coworker, colleague, employee, etc.) who would always _____." Example: "I had an industrious fifth grade teacher who, before giving us a homework assignment, would ensure that it was appropriate for us by setting a timer, completing the assignment himself, and estimating how much longer it would take us." 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. Subject Line Redux! You know how I fill the subject line of each Make Your Point email with a little comment about the word? Let's revisit some of those subject lines; they make a good study tool. That is, you'll improve your chances of recalling our words when you need them later if you do this now: look at the little comment from the subject line and use that to recall the word, its meaning, and how it connects to the little comment. (For more on active recall and how you can employ it to strengthen your vocabulary, please go here.) In each issue this month, I'll share a puzzle or other activity that prompts you to recall 5 previous words based on their subject lines. (To make your own activities like these, check out the fun and useful Vocabulary Worksheet Factory.) And I'll share the answers in the following issue. From our previous issue:  Answers: Try this today: review today's word: 1. A close opposite of INDUSTRIOUS is A. RELAXED. B. UNSPOKEN. C. SHIFTLESS. 2. The article tells the story of an industrious New Yorker who ____. A. wakes up by 6:00 each day to start chopping veggies and browning meat B. learns to navigate the city's laws governing food and beverage sales C. helps end a particularly unpleasant turf war between vendors 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. C 2. A