Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INSIDIOUS
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Let's enjoy this snippet from one of my favorite poems, T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:"
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question...
You can hear how the word insidious nearly spits with dislike.
That tedious argument, the one with insidious intent, ensnares you in some huge question you weren't expecting: it's as if the argument trapped you, throwing the question on you like a net.
That's what all insidious things do. They're sly, sneaky, subtle, dangerous, and ensnaring. They seem to sit in wait, which explains why the word insidious is based on the Latin sedere, "to sit."
As I've mentioned before, sedere gave us tons of other words about literal and figurative sitting, like séance, siege, possess, and preside, as well as our word sed_____y, meaning "sitting down for a long time." Can you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"INSIDIOUS"
This word has Latin roots that mean "sitting in," as in "sitting in a hiding place, lying in wait, about to trap or attack someone."
Insidious people and things are secret, sneaky, and tricky, as if they're planning to trap things or other people.
Pronunciation:
in SID ee us
Part of speech:
Adjective: "their insidious glances," "that plan was insidious."
Other forms:
insidiously, insidiousness
How to use it:
Use this formal, sharply critical word to talk about insidious people and their insidious plots, plans, and intentions.
Or, talk about insidious diseases; insidious issues and problems; insidious power, reach, and influence; insidious greed, corruption, and racism; insidious lies, myths, rumors, and misconceptions, etc.
Something might play an insidious role, reveal an insidious side or aspect, or have an insidious impact, effect, outcome, or implication.
And feel free to get abstract: to exaggerate and personify. "With a crafty widening of her sapphire eyes and an insidious tilt of her furry head, Layla lures me in. Work can wait; she needs petting now."
examples:
"Especially insidious are electronic cigarettes, which are highly addictive and also lead teens toward traditional cigarette use."
— Editorial Board, Seattle Times, 30 December 2018
"But chemicals in the environment often enter skin in more insidious ways... Many airborne pollutants are so small that they enter pores in the skin like pebbles dropping into a cup... Others... can easily pass through the fat-filled spaces between skin cells. They then enter the circulatory system, where they can cause widespread effects."
— Elizabeth Svoboda, Nature, 21 November 2018
has this page helped you understand "insidious"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "insidious" without saying "stealthy" or "like a snake in the grass."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "Insidiously, (something bad) worked its way into (something or some place)."
Example: "Insidiously, targeted advertisements worked their way into our feeds."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Inspired by, but in no way associated with, the game show Chain Reaction."
In each issue, try filling in both puzzles—the easier one and the tougher one—by supplying the terms to complete the chains.
From the previous issue:
An easier puzzle:
Peripheral
V_____
Statement
A tougher puzzle:
Aggregate
D_____
C____
Ball
Answers:
Peripheral
Vision
Statement
Aggregate
Demand
Curve
Ball
Give these a try today:
An easier puzzle:
Advocate
F__
Rent
A tougher puzzle:
Manifest
D______
A_____
Judgment
review this word:
1. One opposite of INSIDIOUS is
A. OBLIVIOUS.
B. BAREFACED.
C. EXTRANEOUS.
2. It's an insidious illness, one that _____.
A. lurks for years
B. tends to run in families
C. affects nearly a quarter of us
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.
Let's enjoy this snippet from one of my favorite poems, T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock:"
"INSIDIOUS" This word has Latin roots that mean "sitting in," as in "sitting in a hiding place, lying in wait, about to trap or attack someone."
"Especially insidious are electronic cigarettes, which are highly addictive and also lead teens toward traditional cigarette use."
Explain the meaning of "insidious" without saying "stealthy" or "like a snake in the grass."
Fill in the blanks: "Insidiously, (something bad) worked its way into (something or some place)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. One opposite of INSIDIOUS is
|