Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MODUS VIVENDI
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connect this word to others:
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg wrote:
"In order to protect ourselves from being disliked, [women] question our abilities and downplay our achievements, especially in the presence of others. We put ourselves down before others can."
And in Time, Judith Warner adds:
"I don’t know a single woman who doesn't do this. Nor a teenage girl, for that matter. It's not just a career strategy for those poised to race to the top. It's a universal modus vivendi, a means of emotional survival."
I don't know about this, ladies. (And gentlemen.) I'm not convinced that most women do this--can we get some hefty support from well-designed studies?
Skepticism is my modus vivendi.
How about yours? When it comes to your career, your relationships, the way your mind works, what's your modus vivendi: your way of living, your method for maintaining success and fulfillment, your strategy for strengthening relationships, your how-you-roll, your how-you-do-you?
Notice how your modus vivendi may be broader, more general, and more applicable to every situation, compared to your more specific modus _p__an__, Latin for "way of operating." (Can you recall that term?)
But the two terms overlap a lot. They're almost interchangeable. So I say, when you need extra emphasis, pick the rarer of the two: modus vivendi.
As we'll see in just a moment, you also want to pick modus vivendi when you mean "a way of living together, despite wanting to kill each other."
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make your point with...
"MODUS VIVENDI"
This is Latin for "way of living."
A modus vivendi can simply be a lifestyle, a manner of living, or a way that someone approaches or deals with major things in life.
More specifically, it can also be a compromise that allows two people or groups to keep existing together or keep working together even though they have serious disagreements.
Pronunciation:
MO diss vih VEN dee
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "that's his modus vivendi," "they reached a modus vivendi."
Other forms:
Just the plural noun, which we hardly ever use: "modi vivendi," pronounced "MO dee vih VEN dee."
How to use it:
This term is fancy and formal, but it's easily understood, either alone or in context: it looks like, and pretty much means, "mode of vitality."
To use the first meaning ("a lifestyle, a way of living"), talk about someone's modus vivendi, or the modus vivendi of some group or entity. Here's Reuters: "Patronage remains the modus vivendi of Yemen politics."
Here's how to use the second meaning, "a temporary compromise about how to operate together."
Talk about the modus vivendi of or between two people or groups, or about one group's modus vivendi with another group.
Or, talk about two people or groups seeking, finding, discussing, reaching, creating, arranging, or establishing a modus vivendi.
examples:
"The first fortnight of life in a great caravan like the Wanderer is just a little upsetting; even my coachman felt this. The constant hum of the waggon-wheels, and the jolting—for with the best of springs a two-ton waggon will jolt—shakes the system. It is like living in a mill; but after this you harden up to it, and would not change your modus vivendi for life in a royal palace."
— Gordon Stables, The Cruise of the Land-Yacht Wanderer, 1886
"Congolese officials, militias and the ordinary people who dig for and trade minerals reached a fragile modus vivendi where all sides were able to agree on sharing the profits and risks."
— Theodore Trefon, BBC News, 20 November 2020
has this page helped you understand "modus vivendi"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "modus vivendi" without saying "temporary compromise" or "way of life."
try it out:
In a review of a book called Man Meets Dog, Scientific American wrote, "Animals of different species rarely become friends, but they can and often do find a modus vivendi."
Talk about whether you agree or disagree with that statement. Have you and your pets been true friends, or just members of different species who managed to forge a modus vivendi? And in your view, what's the difference?
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.
This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
From the previous issue: What four synonyms (<1>, <2>, <3>, and <4>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
Choose from the following word bank, which also includes words you won't use: considerable, critical, decisive, essential, grave, important, momentous, serious, weighty.
"That is <1> which means much with reference to some desired result; <1> is thus a stronger word than <2>. <3> is stronger still, signifying of such weight or consequence as to make other matters seem trivial by comparison. The Old English <4> applies to statements or decisions which have power by and of themselves, with less reference to an effect upon the result than <1> matters; many <4> reasons may be overmatched by one <3> consideration."
Answers:
<1> is "important."
<2> is "considerable."
<3> is "momentous."
<4> is "weighty."
Try this today: What four synonyms (<1>, <2>, <3>, and <4>) does the Handbook distinguish below?
Choose from the following word bank, which also includes words you won't use: cognition, comprehension, experience, information, intelligence, knowledge, learning, lore, science, wisdom.
"<1> is all that the mind knows, from whatever source derived or obtained, or by whatever process; the aggregate of facts, truths, or principles acquired or retained by the mind, including alike the intuitions native to the mind and all that has been learned respecting phenomena, causes, laws, principles, literature, etc. There is a tendency to regard <1> as accurate and systematic, and to a certain degree complete; and in this it approaches the meaning of <2>. <3> is <1> of fact, real or supposed, derived from persons, books, or observation, and is regarded as casual and haphazard. We say of a studious man that he has a great store of <1>, or of an intelligent man of the world, that he has a fund of varied <3>. <4> is used in poetic or elevated style, for accumulated <1>, as of a people or age, or in a more limited sense for 'learning' or 'erudition.'"
Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences among "delicious," "luscious," "savory," and "delightful." You can view the answer in this issue.
review this word:
1. Some near opposites of MODUS VIVENDI include
A. MANNER OF COURSE and MODE OF ENTRY.
B. MANNER OF DEATH and MODE OF WARFARE.
C. MANNER OF SPEAKING and MODE OF EXPRESSION.
2. Finding no modus vivendi, they _____.
A. reexamined the map
B. went their separate ways
C. found the defendant not guilty
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:
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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.
In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg wrote:
"MODUS VIVENDI" This is Latin for "way of living."
"The first fortnight of life in a great caravan like the Wanderer is just a little upsetting; even my coachman felt this. The constant hum of the waggon-wheels, and the jolting—for with the best of springs a two-ton waggon will jolt—shakes the system. It is like living in a mill; but after this you harden up to it, and would not change your modus vivendi for life in a royal palace."
Explain the meaning of "modus vivendi" without saying "temporary compromise" or "way of life."
In a review of a book called Man Meets Dog, Scientific American wrote, "Animals of different species rarely become friends, but they can and often do find a modus vivendi."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. Some near opposites of MODUS VIVENDI include
|