Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TREMULOUS

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: Tremulous shares a root with tremble, tremor, and even tremendous, which literally means "causing trembling." If you're tremulous, you're shaking with physical weakness or with some strong emotion, like fear, nervousness, or excitement. Tremulous is a synonym of a word we've checked out before: timorous. But tremulous is more general; timorous, more specific. If you're timorous, you may or may not actually be shaking, but you are definitely experiencing one specific emotion--what is it? make your point with... "TREMULOUS" Tremulous people and things are shaky (usually because of fear, weakness, or nervousness). Pronunciation: TREM yuh luss 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 tremulous thing" or "a tremulous person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was tremulous" or "He was tremulous.") Other forms: Tremulously & tremulousness. There's also a verb, but it's rare: tremulate, tremulated, tremulating, tremulation. (I say, just use "tremble" instead.) How to use it: When you want a sophisticated, delicate little alternative to "shaky" and "trembling," pick "tremulous." Talk about tremulous people (or tremulous animals) and their tremulous hands, handwriting, drawings, steps, voices, moods, speeches, performances, etc. You can also say someone is tremulous with some emotion: he's tremulous with anxiety, she's tremulous with excitement. You can even say that an emotion itself is tremulous: tremulous fear, tremulous anxiety, tremulous enthusiasm, tremulous energy.  And get even more abstract by talking about tremulous qualities (like tremulous beauty, delicacy, or poignancy). Or, talk about tremulous support, or a tremulous juncture, balance, combination, relationship, connection, understanding, state or stage, and so on. But in those cases, you might be better off picking the word tenuous instead. Tenuous things are shaky because they're thin and insubstantial, not because they're nervous or fearful. examples: Her nana had just flown back to the mainland and missed it: Taylor standing up, then taking her first few tremulous steps. When a surge of tremulous energy suddenly gave way to exhaustion, I knew I'd finally discovered how much Diet Coke is too much Diet Coke. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "tremulous" means when you can explain it without saying "wobbly" or "quivering." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(Someone's) voice grows tremulous as _____." Example: "Mrs. Barnett's voice grows tremulous as she recounts her mother's decline into Alzheimer's." 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 "Game of Games!" Guess the one-word title of each board game, using your knowledge of vocabulary. From our previous issue:  Designed by Matt Leacock, this game has players working together to treat and cure diseases that are quickly spreading across the world. Board Game Geek reports, "If one or more diseases spreads beyond recovery or if too much time elapses, the players all lose." The game's title means "a disease that has spread all over a large area" OR "extremely widespread, in a bad way." It's pictured below, with the title blurred out. What game is this? Answer: Pandemic. Check out the game here and the word here. Try this today:  Designed by Anthony Howgego, Fiona Jackson, and Mark Stockton-Pitt, this game has players taking on the role of Dissidents or Moderators, then fighting for control in a dystopian society in which reality itself is in flux. Board Game Geek reports, "As the Dissidents progress in their mission to 'hack' as many locations as possible, the Moderators strike back with increasing numbers of surveillance outposts." The game's title means "language that's fake or vague in a creepy, controlling way." It's pictured below, with the title blurred out. What game is this? review today's word: 1. One opposite of TREMULOUS is A. FLAGITIOUS. B. FOURSQUARE. C. FRACTIOUS. 2. In music, a "tremolo" is a tremulous effect in the voice or the instrument: a _____ the piece's emotion. A. flatness that detracts from B. vibration that heightens C. playfulness that tempers 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. B