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I love the word penchant. I've got a penchant for it. It's based on the Latin pendere, meaning "to hang," and if you always hang onto something or lean towards something, out of preference or fascination or habit or love, you've got a penchant for it.
Some of us have a penchant for travelling, but some of us have only a vell____ for it: we do hope to travel, and we want to, but we haven't made any real effort to do it. Could you recall that v-word?
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"PENCHANT"
A penchant is a strong liking for something, or a strong tendency to do something. In other words, a penchant is a strong preference for something.
Pronunciation:
PENCH unt
Part of speech:
Countable noun.
(Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions."
Likewise, talk about one penchant or multiple penchants.)
Other forms:
Just the plural, "penchants."
How to use it:
Talk about people who have a penchant for something: her penchant for pink and purple, his penchant for pineapple pizza, Geordi's penchant for colorful analogies; they have a penchant for pageantry and showmanship, my friend has a penchant for fluffy little dogs, he has a penchant for ill-advised and poorly-edited tweets.
People can also have a penchant for doing something: she has a penchant for taking long solitary walks, he has a penchant for pointing out logical fallacies.
Though we most often simply have penchants, we can also take a penchant for something, display or demonstrate our penchant for something, share our penchant for something, indulge our penchant for something, hide or rein in our penchant for something, etc.
examples:
I've never had a penchant for expensive purses or quite understood their appeal.
We headed to the diner to indulge our little girl's penchant for chocolate pancakes with powdered sugar.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "penchant" means when you can explain it without saying "fondness" or "inclination."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has a penchant for _____."
Example: "Taylor has a penchant for drama and flamboyant hats."
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.
This month, we're playing with lines of poetry that include words we've checked out together in previous issues. I’ll give you a few lines from the poem, with a blank where our word appears, along with its definition. See if you can come up with it. Each answer will appear in the next day's issue. Enjoy!
From yesterday:
From David Shapiro's poem "Gratuitous Oranges:"
"Orange replies: I’m drunk from my last bar-binge
Half-rhymes like hangovers suddenly _______.
But nothing rhymes in English with an orange."
Definition: to strike with force or energy.
Answer: impinge.
Try this today:
From Phillip B. Williams's poem "Speak:"
"A boy ______s
through the pile
of shards for the sharpest parts
from the blown-apart
glass."
Definition: to get rid of the parts of something you don't want so that you're left only with the parts you do want.
review today's word:
1. One opposite of PENCHANT is
A. AVERSION
B. CESSATION
C. EXCITATION
2. At the elementary school, the principal's penchant for practical jokes _____.
A. sent him into a private but bitter rage whenever the kids pulled one off
B. meant automatic expulsion for anyone caught planning one
C. made him a legend among both the kids and the staff
Answers are below.
a final word:
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes.
Answers to review questions:
1. A
2. C
I love the word penchant. I've got a penchant for it. It's based on the Latin pendere, meaning "to hang," and if you always hang onto something or lean towards something, out of preference or fascination or habit or love, you've got a penchant for it.
"PENCHANT" A penchant is a strong liking for something, or a strong tendency to do something. In other words, a penchant is a strong preference for something. Part of speech:
I've never had a penchant for expensive purses or quite understood their appeal.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "penchant" means when you can explain it without saying "fondness" or "inclination."
Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) has a penchant for _____."
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.
1. One opposite of PENCHANT is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
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