Make Your Point > Archived Issues > VICISSITUDES

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

explore the archives: Vicissitudes are the changes that naturally happen in life: the ups and downs. Other words useful for describing changes include vac_____te, meaning to go back and forth randomly or to change your mind a bunch of times, and kal________pic, meaning constantly changing, very quickly, again and again. Could you recall both? make your point with... "VICISSITUDES" From the Latin word for "turn/change," vicissitudes are the unpredictable changes that just always happen. In other words, vicissitudes are the unavoidable ups and downs that we should all expect to experience because, well, that's life! Pronunciation: vih SIS ih toods Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one vicissitude or multiple vicissitudes.) Other forms: vicissitude, vicissitudinous How to use it: You usually talk about the vicissitudes of something: the vicissitudes of life, the vicissitudes of social affairs, the vicissitudes of a celebrity's life, the vicissitudes of the seasons, the vicissitudes of hopes and fears or of joys and sorrows, the vicissitudes of the stock market, the vicissitudes of fashion, etc. Or, add an adjective: atmospheric vicissitudes, climatic vicissitudes, tidal vicissitudes, emotional vicissitudes, financial vicissitudes, and so on. Although this word is usually plural, you can talk about a single vicissitude ("this death in the family is just another vicissitude") or discuss vicissitude as a general idea: no one is safe from vicissitude, everything is subject to vicissitude, you must guard against vicissitude, and some things naturally come and go in vicissitude. examples: Beauty magazines try to impose these contrived vicissitudes of fashion on women. I think most of us know that WHAT'S HOT NOW is whatever you feel like wearing. Though plenty of us would like to, there's no way to guard the English language against vicissitudes. Errors get accepted. Meanings morph. It just happens. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "vicissitudes" means when you can explain it without saying "changes in fortune" or "changes in circumstances." try it out: Think of an unpredictable situation that you've learned to deal with, and fill in the blanks: "Before I learned to handle the vicissitudes of _____, (something in particular was difficult or surprising)." Example: "Before I learned to handle the vicissitudes of monthly expenses, I'd be frustrated when, say, the electricity bill was $30 higher than I'd budgeted." 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. Well-Named Creatures: Some names for animals and other creatures define themselves instantly or after a brief moment’s thought: anteater, grasshopper, hummingbird, seahorse, octopus (eight-foot). But other names deserve some exploration; they hold hidden clues about what the animals look like or what they do. And sometimes the names reveal how baffled people were when they first caught a glimpse of the creatures and tried to name them. This month, I’ll give you the literal meaning of a creature's name, and you come up with what it is. Answers will appear in alphabetical order this month. (Oh, and the answers might be animals, birds, insects, or even extinct creatures.) Enjoy! From yesterday: A "water creature" is an o______. Answer: It's an otter, from a Proto-Germanic root with lots of cognates in other languages. Try this one today: A "flat foot" is a p______. review today's word: 1. The opposite of VICISSITUDE is A. EASE B. CONSTANCY C. DEPRAVITY 2. What would sitcom writers do without the vicissitudes of _____? A. reusable tropes B. young love C. the laugh track Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, 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. B 2. B