Make Your Point > Archived Issues > REITERATE

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connect today's word to others: Have you seen Bill Murray relive the same day over and over in Groundhog Day? That movie drives me bonkers, and yet I'm okay with the word reiterate, which literally means "to repeat again." Yes, not just "repeat" but "repeat again"--because by itself, "iterate" already means "repeat." See if you can recall this related word: something hackneyed or "reheated" is re______. (We took it from French.) make your point with... "REITERATE" To reiterate something is to say it again (or to write it again), usually because you want to show how important it is or you want to be more clear about it. "Reiterate" can also mean "to happen again" and "to do (something) again," but these days, we almost always use "reiterate" to mean "to say (or write) again." Pronunciation: ree IT ur ate Part of speech: Verb. It’s most often transitive (you reiterate something)  but can also be intransitive (you reiterate). Other forms: Common forms: reiterated, reiterating, reiteration(s). Uncommon forms that I don't recommend using: reiterative, reiteratedly. How to use it: Pick "reiterate" instead of "repeat" when you want to express how the speaker or writer is striving for clarity and/or emphasis. (That is, you probably wouldn't say "he reiterated the joke" or "we reiterated the chant as we marched," because in both cases that's just plain repeating with no striving for additional clarity or additional emphasis.) You can reiterate your beliefs and opinions, reiterate certain facts or claims, reiterate your ideas or suggestions, reiterate your choices or plans, reiterate your wishes or desires, reiterate your demands or rules, reiterate your concerns or objections, reiterate your support for something or your commitment to something, and so on.  We often follow "reiterate" with "that:" "She reiterated that teenagers need more sleep than we allow them." And, we can follow "reiterate" with dialogue, or use it as a tag after the dialogue:    She reiterated, "Teenagers need more sleep than we allow them."    "Teenagers need more sleep than we allow them," she reiterated. examples: Store employees always appreciate a firm manager who responds to aggressive customers by reiterating the return policy instead of caving to unreasonable demands. At the meeting, he reiterated the need for a statistician, emphasizing how much money the department could save by hiring one. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "reiterate" means when you can explain it without saying "repeat for emphasis" or "repeat for clarity." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(At a certain time, or in a certain place or situation), (someone) reiterated (his or her) commitment to _____." Example: "After the scandal, Wells Fargo reiterated its commitment to honesty in dealing with customers. Many were unconvinced." 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. Our game this month is called Felicitous Names.  A felicitous name for a fictional character is a highly appropriate name, a name that fits that character so perfectly that you just know the writer picked it on purpose. This month, draw on your knowledge of both vocabulary and fiction to pick out the right name for the character described. Enjoy! From our previous issue: Imagine a character who's a skilled liar: someone who tells bold, beautiful, entertaining, poetic, almost musical lies. Is the most felicitous name for this character Lydia, Lyra, or Liza? Why?  Answer: Lyra Belaqua, from Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, composes that kind of lie. Her name suggests the lyre, a stringed musical instrument that we associate with entertainment, recitation, and poetry. Try this today: You want a felicitous name for a pirate who, after death, returns to life as a skeletal figure. Is it Aubéry, Barbossa, or Corroboc? Why? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of REITERATE is A. IMPLY B. GATHER C. DISMANTLE 2. In the closing chapter of the novel, she reiterates _____. A. the promise she had made to her mother B. her quilt handed down from her grandmother C. a literary archetype, the heroine who has made great sacrifices to succeed 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. A