Make Your Point > Archived Issues > COMMODIOUS

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pronounce COMMODIOUS: Say it "kuh MO dee yus." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: I can't help but giggle at the word commodious. Probably because my grandmother always calls a toilet a commode. Commode comes from a Latin word, commodus, meaning "convenient," which makes sense when you think of just how inconvenient it is when there's no commode nearby. But that Latin commodus also meant "proper, appropriate, or satisfactory," which is how we ended up with words like commodity ("a thing you can buy or sell"), accommodate ("to have room for, or to provide someone with a thing they need"), and the one we're checking out today, commodious, meaning "conveniently spacious, appropriately and pleasantly c_p__ious." Can you recall that word with the blanks? It's a synonym of commodious, and it means "able to hold a lot of stuff, or able to take in a lot of stuff."  (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) definition: "Commodious" has Latin roots that literally mean "very fitting, very convenient, very appropriate." That's what it meant in English for hundreds of years. But the meaning drifted here and there, and today, "commodious" most often describes things (like rooms or buildings) that are generously roomy: so roomy that whatever you're doing there is easy and pleasant. In other words, something commodious is spacious in a comfortable, convenient way. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "a commodious office," "The office is commodious." Other forms:  Commodiously, commodiousness. how to use it: The formal, semi-common word "commodious" most often describes rooms and buildings. But it can describe anything with plenty of room, like boxes, suitcases, cabinets, car interiors, booths at a restaurant, pages of text and photos, those JNCO jeans we all wore in the 90s, etc. Although you might get figurative and talk about a commodious mind or memory, you're more likely to stick to the literal application. "It's a commodious stadium." "Dorm life is a blast, but the rooms are hardly commodious." examples: "Her commodious studio... houses her costumes, props and equipment."     — Carol Vogel, New York Times, 16 February 2012 "The plane was meant to be larger, more commodious, faster, more efficient, more profitable, and with a longer range than anything ever built."    — Brett Berk, The Verge, 1 January 2018 has this page helped you understand "commodious"? 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 "commodious" without saying "roomy" or "spacious." try it out: Talk about a commodious room or building that you enjoy spending time in. What activities do you enjoy there? Or, describe how you would design a wonderfully commodious closet, workspace, playroom, classroom, family room, or hobby room. If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) 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 April is "Netflix and Anagram." Check out the anagrammed title of a series or movie you can watch on Netflix, along with a descriptive sentence or two about it from Google. See if you can come up with the real title. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Here's an example. IF CRUEL: "After abandoning his throne and retiring to Los Angeles, he indulges in his favorite things (women, wine and song) -- until a murder takes place outside of his upscale nightclub." The answer is LUCIFER. Try this one today: RODENT BRIG: "During the Regency era in England, eight close-knit siblings of [a powerful family] attempt to find love.” review this word: 1. Some opposites of COMMODIOUS include A. CRAMPED and SCANTY. B. ROUGH and OUTDOORSY. C. UNIVERSAL and ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL. 2. On HGTV, they're always _____ to make the living space more commodious. A. adding a laundry chute B. demolishing an interior wall C. slapping up shiplap and decorative letters Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. B Answer to the game question: BRIDGERTON. 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:    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.