Make Your Point > Archived Issues > QUIESCENT
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pronounce
QUIESCENT:
Say it "kwy ESS unt."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
You might ask, "If quiescent basically means quiet, then why the heck do I want quiescent in my vocabulary?"
I'd say, "Touché. But quiescent does add a bit of elegance, emphasis, and seriousness."
Still, I agree it's a bad idea to plop in fancier, more elegant words just because. For no reason. Or to show off. I would cringe to see someone trot out the word quiescent when quiet would have been fine.
I'm reminded of this time Chad and I were watching Downton Abbey, when we busted up laughing because Rosamund told Edith, "You seem so préoccupé lately." We were like, "Man, if only there was some word in English that she could have used."
And of course, Rosamund there is showing off her education, as well as her noble status. It's a snobby thing to do. And you wouldn't want to follow suit.
So, let's explore when and why quiescent might be better than quiet.
Before we jump into that, see if you can recall a verb that's closely related to quiescent: it's __quiesce, meaning "to quietly accept things: to cave, to yield, to relent, to just go along with things."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
Our word "quiescent" is closely related to the word "quiet." It comes from the Latin quies, meaning "quiet, or rest."
In English, we've used "quiescent" for several hundred years. Like you'd expect, it means "quiet, still, or not active."
In other words, quiescent things seem to be peacefully resting or inactive, but are still real or still alive.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Adjective: "a quiescent period," "these quiescent shadows," "a quiescent disease;" "They keep the populace fed, busy, entertained, and quiescent."
Other forms:
Quiescently, quiescence (or, if you prefer, "quiescency").
"Quiesce," the verb, is rare. It means "to become silent, to become peacefully resting or inactive," as in "The scandal quiesced over the summer."
how to use it:
"Quiescent" is a formal, serious, elegant word. Even though it's pretty common, it doesn't really belong in casual talk, but rather in serious discussions.
You might use the word "quiescent" rather literally and poetically to describe animals or other living things, shadows, stretches of land, etc.
Or, talk about quiescent inflation within the economy, quiescent problems and diseases (those that exist but don't show themselves), or quiescent groups of people (those who don't fight back or rise up, or those who don't reveal their beliefs).
examples:
"Tony Blair's muted second triumph reflected a quiescent country sleepwalking through a long economic boom."
— John Harris, The Guardian, 6 May 2017
"Up from the quiescent, waiting land a faint mist rose, silver as moonlight, and clung about the tree trunks."
— Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth, 1931
has this page helped you understand "quiescent"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "quiescent" without saying "dormant" or "tranquil."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "My (interest in, love of, or pursuit of) _____ fell into quiescence (during a certain period of time)."
Example: "His love of books fell into quiescence in middle school."
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.
Our game this month is Crossword Clues: Movie Titles!
Use the movie title as a clue to come up with a word we've studied. For example, if the clue is "The Great Escape. 6 letters. _ E C _ M _," then the answer is "DECAMP," a word meaning "to get the heck out of there." To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
Try this one today:
Rocky.
8 letters.
L _ _ _ D _ R _.
review this word:
1.
A few near opposites of QUIESCENT are
A. ROWDY and YOUTHFUL.
B. ASTIR and TURBULENT.
C. CREATIVE and ENERGETIC.
2.
In an op-ed about why people in poverty today generally _____, Thomas Edsall began by asking, "Why are today's working poor so quiescent?"
A. give priority to short-term goals and needs
B. keep their heads down rather than demand income equality
C. band together to storm the barricades of social privilege
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.
Say it "kwy ESS unt."
You might ask, "If quiescent basically means quiet, then why the heck do I want quiescent in my vocabulary?"
Our word "quiescent" is closely related to the word "quiet." It comes from the Latin quies, meaning "quiet, or rest."
Part of speech:
"Quiescent" is a formal, serious, elegant word. Even though it's pretty common, it doesn't really belong in casual talk, but rather in serious discussions.
"Tony Blair's muted second triumph reflected a quiescent country sleepwalking through a long economic boom."
Explain the meaning of "quiescent" without saying "dormant" or "tranquil."
Fill in the blanks: "My (interest in, love of, or pursuit of) _____ fell into quiescence (during a certain period of time)."
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.
A few near opposites of QUIESCENT are
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
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