Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TRACTABLE & INTRACTABLE

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connect today's word to others: Do your friends love you for your tractability? That is, are you up for whatever, whenever: they suggest something, and you agree? Then you're tractable, a quality that's Latin for "(easy to) handle, (easy to) manage."  See if you can recall a synonym of tractable that starts with M and is Latin for "hammer-able." It's m____able. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "TRACTABLE" & "INTRACTABLE" Our words "tractable" and "intractable" trace back to the Latin tractare, meaning "to tug, to pull, to drag;" or less literally, "to handle, to manage." Tractable people and things are easy to manage, easy to persuade, or easy to keep in control. The opposite word is useful, too, so let's focus on it also. Intractable people and things are stubborn, hard to treat, hard to control, or hard to manipulate. Pronunciation: Tractable: "TRAK tuh bull" Intractable: "in TRAK tuh bull" Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a tractable thing" or "an intractable person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was intractable" or "She is tractable.") Other common forms: tractability, intractability How to use it: Talk about tractable and intractable animals, people, spirits, and personalities; tractable and intractable groups of people, such as a tractable work force or an intractable faction of voters; tractable and intractable problems; tractable and intractable bacterial colonies; tractable and intractable sets of data, etc. You might follow "tractable" with the word "to:" "He's tractable to persuasion." "The problem is tractable to our current method." We also use "tractable" to describe physical objects, like metals or the ground.  And we also use "intractable" to describe issues and matters, as well as medical conditions.  examples: Layla is a tractable spirit, all purrs and flopping feet when you pick her up. I couldn't blame those students for their intractability; they showed up, most days, hungry and exhausted. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definitions in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "tractable" means when you can explain it without saying "docile" or "easily governed." And you’ll know you understand what "intractable" means when you can explain it without saying "uncontrollable" or "resistant to treatment." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "I sometimes miss (a particular time in childhood), when the most intractable (crisis or problem) (on my mind, or in my life) was _____." Example: "I sometimes miss sixth grade, when the most intractable crisis on my mind was puffy hair." 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 The Devil’s Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. It's a collection of silly, sarcastic, satirical definitions of everyday words, and--lucky us!--it's in the public domain. In each issue this month, I'll give you one of Bierce's definitions and, if it's a tough one, I'll give you the word's first letter. And you try to come up with the word. From our previous issue: Bierce defines it as "a kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world’s worship. This Divine Being in some of his smaller and silkier incarnations takes, in the affection of Woman, the place to which there is no human male aspirant." It's a noun. What is it? Answer: Dog. Try this today: Bierce defines it as "to lay the foundation for a future offence." It's a verb. It starts with A. What is it? review today's word: 1. The exact opposite of TRACTABLE is INTRACTABLE. But a close opposite of TRACTABLE is A. OBSTINATE B. OUTSPOKEN C. INDEPENDENT 2. She's intractably _____, a _____. A. fierce .. shadow of herself B. wooden .. fireball C. wild .. free spirit 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. A 2. C