Make Your Point > Archived Issues > QUANTIFIABLE & UNQUANTIFIABLE
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pronounce
QUANTIFIABLE:
Say it "KWON tuh FIE uh bull."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Que paso? What is up? Y'all ready to explore some words that seem to ask questions? Etymologically, that is?
1. Quando is Latin for "when," and it may have given us our word quand___, meaning "a predicament, perhaps one that makes you freeze up while asking yourself, 'Huh? What? When?'"
2. Qui is Latin for "who," "which," or "what."
Qui gave us the weird word quiddity, literally "whatness" or "the true essence of something."
And it gave us the term qui v___, literally "Who should live?," and meaning "a state of being alert, as if asking people 'Who lives?' to check if they're on your side, which they are if they respond, Long live the king!'" Weird, I know.
And, qui gave us part of the French term j________quoi, literally "I know not what," and meaning "some attractive aspect that's hard to explain or understand."
3. Quotus is Latin for "which" or "how many," and it gave us words like quota, quote (which originally meant "to mark up a book with numbers"), and quot___an, literally "How many, and which stuff, in order for today?" and meaning "dull, ordinary, and everyday."
4. Then there's quantus, meaning "How much?" And with quantus, we're ready to talk about quantities, quantifying, and the quantifiable.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definitions:
The word "quantity" comes from the Latin quantus, which means "'How much?,' 'What amount?,' or 'What size?'"
A quantity is a certain amount of stuff.
If you quantify something, you count it or measure it.
Something quantifiable can be quantified: it can be counted or measured.
And something unquantifiable can't be counted or measured: it's too large, too complicated, or both.
(In this issue, we'll focus on both "quantifiable" and "unquantifiable.")
grammatical bits:
Part of speech: adjectives: "a quantifiable benefit," "unquantifiable harm."
Other common forms: quantifiably, quantifiability, quantification; unquantifiably, unquantifiability.
how to use them:
"Quantifiable" and "unquantifiable" are the words we need to emphasize what can and can't be counted in units, like points scored or lost, pounds gained or shed, dollars or minutes saved or spent, and people or groups helped or hurt.
With their Latin sound and their long, clunky syllables, these words have a tone that seems scientific or mathematical.
We can talk about good things that are quantifiable and unquantifiable, like benefits, advantages, and progress. And bad things, like risks, tolls, and damages. And neutral or mixed things, like costs, effects, impacts, outcomes, evidence, and performances.
examples:
"Facebook's evils...are quantifiable...Facebook basically became the vector for the [Myanmar] military's anti-Muslim propaganda campaign as it engaged in ethnic cleansing that led to the displacement of 700,000 people. It got to the point where Reuters reporters found 1,000 different posts advocating violence or dehumanizing Muslims there, and brought them to Facebook, and only then did the company take them down."
— Ashley Feinberg and Jordan Weissman, Slate, 15 January 2020
"The setback from SARS was acute... The impact went beyond metrics such as lost working hours, mortality rates, treatment costs, consumer spending and aborted travel; there's the unquantifiable toll of generally avoiding social contact, too."
— Daniel Moss, Bloomberg, 18 February 2020
has this page helped you understand "quantifiable" & "unquantifiable"?
study them:
Explain the meaning of "quantifiable" without saying "countable" or "tangible."
And, explain the meaning of "unquantifiable" without saying "uncountable" or "inappreciable."
try them out:
As I've mentioned before, we can set the best possible goals for ourselves by making sure they're quantified. You might be familiar with the acronym SMART, which reminds us to set goals that are "specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely."
For example, I won't do well with an unquantified goal like "Be less lazy," but I'll do pretty well with a quantified one like "Every day, try to get to 6,000 steps on my pedometer app." When I do hit that 6,000 mark, I feel happy in a quantifiable way ("I hit 6K today, woo!") and an unquantifiable way ("I'm not lazy today, woo!").
Talk about a goal you've set for yourself. How have you quantified that goal? What are the quantifiable and/or unquantifiable ways in which you feel happy when you reach it?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
This month, our game is called "Fix the Grand Spell which was Cast by Short Words."
(Or, in monstrously inflated terms, the game is called "Rewrite the Extraordinary Incantation which was Executed by Monosyllabic Vocables.")
In each issue, I'll offer a familiar quote that I've heartlessly hypertrophied with polysyllabic transplants. You'll restore the quote to its original version, with each word just one syllable long.
That is to say, I'll share a fat, fake draft of a famed quote; you'll say the trim real one.
For example, if I say "Exploit an opportunity while the situation allows," then you say, "Make hay while the sun shines." If I say, "Durations remedy every laceration," then you say, "Time heals all wounds."
From the previous issue:
"People who associate with the despicable will contract despicability." --> "They that sleep with dogs shall rise with fleas."
Try this today: "I hold dominion over the cosmos!"
Say that, but in words of one beat each.
Clues:
Where it's from: a movie.
The year we first heard it: 1997.
review these words:
1. The precise opposite of QUANTIFIABLE is UNQUANTIFIABLE.
But, a near opposite of QUANTIFIABLE is
A. IMMOBILE.
B. IMMEASURABLE.
C. UNMANIPULABLE.
2. Rachel Monroe lists wine's quantifiable aspects: "_____."
A. marketing and yogurt-like feminization
B. pH, total acidity, months of barrel aging
C. taste, cachet, the beauty of the label, the feel of the bottle
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:
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.
Que paso? What is up? Y'all ready to explore some words that seem to ask questions? Etymologically, that is? The word "quantity" comes from the Latin quantus, which means "'How much?,' 'What amount?,' or 'What size?'"
Part of speech: adjectives: "a quantifiable benefit," "unquantifiable harm."
"Quantifiable" and "unquantifiable" are the words we need to emphasize what can and can't be counted in units, like points scored or lost, pounds gained or shed, dollars or minutes saved or spent, and people or groups helped or hurt.
"Facebook's evils...are quantifiable...Facebook basically became the vector for the [Myanmar] military's anti-Muslim propaganda campaign as it engaged in ethnic cleansing that led to the displacement of 700,000 people. It got to the point where Reuters reporters found 1,000 different posts advocating violence or dehumanizing Muslims there, and brought them to Facebook, and only then did the company take them down."
Explain the meaning of "quantifiable" without saying "countable" or "tangible."
As I've mentioned before, we can set the best possible goals for ourselves by making sure they're quantified. You might be familiar with the acronym SMART, which reminds us to set goals that are "specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
1. The precise opposite of QUANTIFIABLE is UNQUANTIFIABLE.
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