Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MIEN

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connect today's word to others: Today's word, mien, pronounced just like the word mean, is a poetic synonym of manner, behavior, bearing, demeanor, attitude and so on. I'll show you what I mean about mien being poetic. Here it is in "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe: "In there stepped a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore;     Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;     But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door—" Recently, I was listening to an audio recording of that poem and heard the speaker mispronounce mien, saying "mine" instead of the correct "mean." It's an easy mistake to make--it's hard to decode mien phonetically, and we hardly ever hear it spoken aloud anyway; mostly we see it written down. I mention this so we can focus on the right pronunciation: rhyme mien with bean, lien, and seen. And pick it when you need to be serious, even poetic. See if you can recall these other highly poetic words: 1. Something un___ant either moves in waves or has a wavelike pattern. 2. Something la___nt is softly bright, flickering, or glowing gently; or, it's graceful and light, or playful in an intelligent way. 3. Something s__e is all dried-up and withered, or it just seems that way because it's old and doesn't have much energy left. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "MIEN" Someone's mien is that person's overall appearance or attitude. Usually, someone's mien reveals their mood or even their whole personality. Pronunciation: MEAN Part of speech: Noun, the countable kind: a mien, the mien, someone's mien. Other forms: None are common. How to use it: This word is poetic and literary, so it's best to use it with a serious or mock-serious tone. Write about a person's (or an animal's) specific kind of mien: "his downcast mien," "her humble mien," "he had the mien of nobility," "she's cultivating an authoritative mien," "endless complaints won't change his troll-like mien," "he tried to adopt the mien of a stern teacher." examples: As the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, she dismisses society's demand that a woman in power ought to cultivate a warm, nurturing mien. Judging by her haughty mien, her resistance to being petted, and her many attempts to flee out an open window, Chloe resents her status as a pet. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "mien" means when you can explain it without saying "demeanor" or "way of behaving." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Compared to (one person), (another person) has a more (adjective) mien." Example: "Compared to Jane, the younger sister, Elizabeth, has a more lively mien." 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: To postvide against something is to get ready for it only after it’s already happened. What’s the opposite? Answer: Provide. Try this today: Jamais vu, French for "never seen," is the feeling that you’re seeing something for the first time, even though you know you’ve seen it before. What’s the opposite? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of MIEN is A. PASSING FAD. B. INNER FEELING. C. OUTWARD INDICATION. 2. Starting in November, children across the city line up to meet "Legendary Santa," so called for his authentic beard and _____ mien. A. jolly B. twinkling C. hand-stitched 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. A