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Both vitiate and the three-letter word m__ mean "to blemish something: to mess it up by doing something bad to it or adding something bad to it." Pick m__ when you need a common, short word. And pick vitiate when you need a more formal, biting word.
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"VITIATE"
To vitiate something is to mess it up and make it impure or ineffective.
Pronunciation:
VISH ee ate
Part of speech:
Transitive verb.
(Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object.
You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone.
Likewise, you vitiate something.)
Other forms:
vitiated, vitiating, vitiation
How to use it:
Pick "vitiate" instead of "corrupt," "damage," "devalue," "spoil," "ruin," etc., when you need a formal word and you need to emphasize that something got worse because something bad was added to it.
In general, talk about how one bad thing vitiates another thing that used to be good or neutral.
Your meaning might be concrete: smoke vitiates the air, a rotten tomato vitiates the entire batch of salsa.
But more often, your meaning will be abstract. Low-quality entertainment can vitiate the public's taste; ill-advised changes can vitiate a document, a process, or a system; a sloppy translation can vitiate a piece of literature or its style; lies or exaggeration can vitiate an argument; our strong opinions and feelings can vitiate our perception or our logical thinking; a desperate desire can vitiate our morals or principles, etc.
Less commonly, things can vitiate people, and we might be vitiated by or with something: "Lazy habits and low expectations vitiated these students." "The team was vitiated by overconfidence." "She was vitiated with prejudice."
examples:
Her angry tone and threats vitiated what could have been a persuasive argument.
Once, the blog was hilarious and counterculture, a rallying point for classroom teachers exhausted by helicopter parents and the culture of over-testing; now, the posts are vitiated by ad content and paid links in every paragraph.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "vitiate" means when you can explain it without saying "make impure" or "cause to be defective."
try it out:
When was the last time you thought, "Well, that totally ruins it"? Fill in the blanks: "_____ was vitiated by _____."
Example: "The study was vitiated by the investigator's desperation to prove her hunch."
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 KWIKORD, an addictive, challenging new word game for solo or group play, created by Wayne Ellice.
We're dipping our toes into the game this month, trying some simple challenges first and working our way toward harder tasks. (Check out my interview with the game's creator here, and order your own copy of the full version of KWIKORD here.) You'll see a sample answer to each puzzle the following day. Enjoy!
Yesterday, you took the letters BRGAEO and arranged them into words to completely fill a 3x3 grid. Many solutions were possible. Here are two:
Let's switch things up! We'll expand our grid from 3x3 to 4x4. Try to fill the perimeter of that bigger grid with 4-letter words. For example, using the letters SPNTAEO, we can fill the perimeter with the words SPAN, TEST, SPOT and NEST:
Try that today with the letters DFSTAEO. Draw three vertical and three horizontal lines on some scrap paper, and go for it!
review today's word:
1. The opposite of VITIATE is
A. APOLOGIZE
B. ASSIST
C. PURIFY
2. When kids ask questions about complex matters, we try to answer with the least vitiation of _____.
A. the truth
B. bluntness
C. sugarcoating
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. C
2. A
Both vitiate and the three-letter word m__ mean "to blemish something: to mess it up by doing something bad to it or adding something bad to it." Pick m__ when you need a common, short word. And pick vitiate when you need a more formal, biting word.
"VITIATE" To vitiate something is to mess it up and make it impure or ineffective. Part of speech:
Her angry tone and threats vitiated what could have been a persuasive argument.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "vitiate" means when you can explain it without saying "make impure" or "cause to be defective."
When was the last time you thought, "Well, that totally ruins it"? Fill in the blanks: "_____ was vitiated by _____."
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.
1. The opposite of VITIATE is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
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