Make Your Point: APPROPRIATE

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pronounce APPROPRIATE:

The adjective, as in "Please wear appropriate shoes," is "uh PRO pre ut."

The verb, as in "She appropriated their wages," is "uh PRO pre yate."

And the noun ("appropriation") is "uh PRO pre YAY shun."

Hear these.

connect this word to others:

When you use the word appropriate, whether you mean "correct for the situation" or "to steal from someone else," you're using a word that traces back to the Latin privus, meaning "one's own."

This privus also gave us the words proper, property, and private.

And it gave us the cool French phrase am___ propre, which is a person's extreme sense of pride or love for themselves, especially the kind that makes them easily offended whenever they feel someone is questioning how great they are. Can you recall that phrase?

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

When you think about how the words "proper" and "appropriate" mean "fitting for a specific situation," and when you notice that they have Latin bits that mean, more or less, "to take for yourself," then the words make a lot of sense: proper, appropriate things seem to have been taken into a specific situation, or taken or adapted for a specific person.

Go back to the word "appropriate," then, and see it as a verb: a verb with Latin bits meaning "to take for yourself."

That's what it means in English.

To appropriate money is to take it and use it for your own specific purpose. And to appropriate things is to take them for yourself, even though they aren't yours.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Most often an adjective: "The whole point of swearing is that it ain't appropriate."

But we'll focus on the verb. It's the transitive kind: "They appropriated this culture;" "The US government appropriated land from the Native Americans."

Other forms:

appropriated, appropriating, appropriation(s), appropriator(s)

how to use it:

As a verb, "appropriate" is very formal.

The tone can be neutral or even positive, if you're talking about people or groups of lawmakers appropriating money or funds for specific purposes.

Otherwise, the tone is negative. We talk about people or groups appropriating wages that aren't theirs, or land that isn't theirs, or cultures that aren't theirs, or artistic works or other intellectual properties that aren't theirs. With this word "appropriate," we're basically saying that people acted like they had the right, or the authority, to take what they took—yet they didn't.

Despite its seriousness, you can use this word lightly! See both examples below.

examples:

"There was some one-inch-wide aluminum tubing under the back porch that Dad had brought home from the mine to make a stand for Mom’s bird feeders. I appropriated it with a clear conscience since it looked as if he were never going to get around to it."
— Homer Hickam, Rocket Boys, 1998

"I am outraged that your company chose to profit through the appropriation of my image... The figurine in question was part of a Beatles-themed 'Yellow Submarine' Lego set, and your company disingenuously contended this one represented a likeness of John Lennon. It is instantly apparent that this is, in fact, not Mr. Lennon at all but a near perfect representation of me."
— Gene Weingarten, Washington Post, 9 July 2020

has this page helped you understand "appropriate," the verb?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of the verb "appropriate" without saying "assume ownership" or "inappropriately swipe."

try it out:

In Lisa Graff's book A Tangle of Knots, people's talents are kept in jars, and, apparently, easily appropriated. Check it out:

"This was his collection of Talents. Talents for origami and dog-training and computer-repair and whistling, and dozens of others he'd managed to nab over the years. The Owner had always believed that there was really only one Talent you needed in this world: The Talent for appropriating other people's Talents."

Imagine you could appropriate anyone's talent in real life. Keep in mind that the person you appropriate it from would lose it!

Would you do it? Why or why not? Even if you said no, if you had to pick one person's talent that tempts you, what would it be?

before you review, play:

Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.

Our game for January: "Is That a Real Word?"

In each issue, I’ll give you three, um, written phenomena. You decide if each is a real word—and most importantly—why or why not. If someone were to dispute your judgment, how would you defend it? For fun, try comparing your responses with a companion’s. And if you like, you can compare yours with mine, which I’ll list at the bottom of the issue.

Try these today: Out of "fishes," "mansplaining," and "supposably," which, if any, are real words?

review this word:

1. A near opposite of APPROPRIATE, the verb, is

A. TABULATE.
B. STAND OUT.
C. RELINQUISH.

2. As the OED explains it, people appropriate art in order to "_____."

A. assign it a monetary value
B. challenge notions of individual creativity and authenticity
C. demonstrate skill in the practical application of principles

a final word:

I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.

From my blog:
On vocabulary...
  36 ways to study words.
  Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
  How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.

From my heart: a profound thanks to the generous patrons, donors, and sponsors that make it possible for me to write these emails. If you'd like to be a patron or a donor, please click here. If you'd like to be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

A 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.

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