Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RENEGE

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connect today's word to others: Let's add today's word, renege, to a category that includes aboveboard, bilk, kibitz, and vie. Why? What idea unites these words? make your point with... "RENEGE" This word is Latin for "to strongly refuse," which explains why it looks like the words "negative" and "negate." In card games, a renege is a failure to follow suit: if you were supposed to play a card to match the suit of the card that was just played, but you didn't, then that's a renege. Another specific meaning of "renege" is "to turn your back on your religion." That explains why "renege" looks so much like "renegade:" originally, renegades were people who gave up their religion. Here's the general meaning we'll focus on. To renege on something, like to renege on a promise or a commitment, is to fail to keep that promise or commitment. In other words, to renege on something is to change your mind and go back on it. Pronunciation: You'll hear people say this word in many different ways. I recommend sticking with either of the US pronunciations recognized by the Oxford English Dictionary: say either "ruh NEG" or "ree NEG." Part of speech: Intransitive verb. (Say that someone reneges on something.) Other forms: reneged, reneging, reneger(s) How to use it: "Renege" is a formal word. Talk about people (or groups, companies, countries, etc.) who renege on their deals, renege on their agreements, renege on their promises, renege on their assurances, renege on their commitments, etc. When it's already clear that you're talking about a specific deal or promise or whatever, you can simply say that someone reneges: "The contract tells us what will happen if either of us reneges." It's less common, but instead of saying that a person reneges on something, we can say that a thing--like a plan, an action, or a decision--reneges on something: "The law reneged on the promise of equality." "To remove those legal protections would renege on our commitment to equality." examples: His support dwindles further every time he reneges on a campaign promise. To have made such a generous offer only to renege on it at the last moment was a shame and an embarrassment. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "renege" means when you can explain it without saying "abandon" or "fail to carry out." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) reneged on the promise of _____ to (a certain group of people)." Example: "Wells Fargo reneged on the promise of decency to millions of customers, opening unauthorized credit cards and deposit accounts in their names." 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 some beautifully worded passages from the Bible as we recall words we've studied before. From our previous issue: "When a king sits on his throne to judge, he w_____s out all evil with his eyes." (New International Version, Proverbs, chapter 20, verse 8.) What's the missing word? It means "gets rid of the undesired parts of something in order to keep only the desired parts." Answer: winnows. Try this today: "A gift given in secret soothes anger, and a bribe concealed in the cloak p______s great wrath." (New International Version, Proverbs, chapter 21, verse 14.) What's the missing word? It means "settles something down and makes it peaceful." review today's word: 1. The opposite of RENEGE is A. MAKE FUN OF B. MAKE GOOD ON C. MAKE AN ISSUE OF 2. We should, I think, be willing to renege on rather than _____ the plans we made in our youth. A. romanticize B. utterly disregard C. hold ourselves prisoner to 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. B 2. C