Make Your Point > Archived Issues > NEGATE

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connect today's word to others: Negate. It's such a muscular verb, so compact and hardworking. No wonder we use it a lot. We might come across the word negate every single day if we read for an hour a day, along with similarly common verbs like denote, employ, and advocate. Speaking of word frequency, you can always browse through all the words we've explored in order of how frequently we come across them, which should help if you want to spend time reviewing the most commonly used words. Or skip straight to the kooky rarities. Getting back to our word negate, it comes from the Latin negare, "to deny" or "to say no." So do our words r_neg_ ("to fail to keep a promise or commitment") and _bneg_tion ("a formal denial or rejection of something"). Can you recall them? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "NEGATE" To negate something is to cancel it out or to make it ineffective. (Less commonly, to negate something is to say that it isn't true, or to make it be untrue.) Pronunciation: nuh GATE Part of speech: Verb, the transitive kind: "this negates it," "she negated that." Other forms: negated, negating; negater(s); negation, negational How to use it: When "nix" is too short or too casual, and when "eliminate," "invalidate," and "counterbalance" are too long or too clunky, pick "negate." Talk about people, events, actions, choices, or statements that negate things. What kinds of things get negated? Facts, conditions, circumstances, effects, powers, needs, rights, desires, points, ideas, arguments, orders, statements, gains, losses, benefits or advantages, drawbacks or disadvantages, etc. examples: Vaccines don't cause autism; that hypothesis has been thoroughly negated by science. "If the dollar keeps rising, it could simply negate much of the gains the president is now achieving from his tariff strategy."    — Michael Stumo, The Detroit News, 20 February 2019 study it: Explain the meaning of "negate" without saying "nullify" or "contradict." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "By (doing something), (someone) (gained something)--a gain ultimately negated by _____." Example: "By finding a coupon, we whittled a few dollars off the price--a gain ultimately negated by the shipping fee." 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. Tidbits and Titles! I provide the tidbits; you provide the title. From our previous issue: Here's a quote from a novel: "When your stomach is empty and your mind is full, it's always hard to sleep." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that novel: animals, barn cellar, buttermilk, egg sac, Fair, pail, pigpen, radiant, slops, spinnerets, terrific, worry, yard. What's the novel's title? Answer: Charlotte's Web. Try this today: Here's a quote from a novel: "The Bible did not fall magically from the clouds. Man created it as a historical record of tumultuous times, and it has evolved through countless translations, additions, and revisions. History has never had a definitive version of the book." And here are some terms and phrases that often appear in that novel: bank, Chateau Villette, cryptex, goddess, hidden, keystone, Leonardo, pagan, Pope, sacred feminine, stone, symbol, whispered. What's the novel's title? review today's word: 1. Some opposites of NEGATE are A. ENACT and AFFIRM. B. THINK and CONSIDER. C. PLAN and BRAINSTORM. 2. _____ negated the law's power. A. Clear wording B. Bipartisan support C. A lack of both awareness and funding 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. A 2. C