Make Your Point: DRAGOON

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pronounce DRAGOON:

drag OON

connect this word to others:

Today we're checking out the rare and amusing word dragoon, a relative of the words dragon, Dracula, and Drac___an ("extremely harsh or punishing, as if dealt by a certain ancient Greek ruler").

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

definition:

(Source 1) (Source 2)

Going back to the 1600s, "dragoons" or "dragons" were a certain type of firearm, possibly named for their seeming ability to breathe fire like a dragon, or possibly just because they were decorated with images of dragons.

Armed with these weapons, soldiers on horseback in France and other European nations were also called dragoons. They were known for being rough and fierce.

So, in English, you can talk about people dragooning others into something, meaning they're forcing them into it, as if with highly trained and lethally armed cavalry soldiers.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Most often a verb: "They dragooned her into it;" "She let herself be dragooned into that."

Also a noun, the countable kind: "They behaved like dragoons."

Other forms:

The other verb forms are "dragooned" and "dragooning."

how to use it:

"Dragoon" is rare but easily understood in context.

It's perfect when you want to sound academic or amusingly specific, compared to more familiar terms like "rope," "draft," "railroad," "coerce," "bulldoze," and "twist their arm."

Talk about people dragooning other people, often into things, or into doing things.

Your tone can be quite serious: "They dragooned me into this godawful trip." Or not: "They dragooned me into watching Hot Tub Time Machine."

examples:

"That is largely how our electoral system works – voters are mainly dragooned into casting their ballots for the lesser of two evils."
— George Leef, Forbes, 28 October 2014

"This [mailer] contains two figurines that you are invited to decorate with feathers and pipe cleaners — I dragooned my children for this part — and a number of cunning packages."
— Alexis Soloski, New York Times 3 May 2021

has this page helped you understand "dragoon"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

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

study it:

Explain the meaning of "dragoon" without saying "bulldoze" or "harass."

try it out:

Fill in the blanks: "(Someone) was dragooned (into something, or into doing something)."

Example 1: "I was dragooned into that first year of summer camp, but after that I went willingly."

Example 2: "[Hiroshi Yamauchi] was dragooned into becoming Nintendo's president in 1949, aged 21, and getting into the home games market was a happy accident."
— Jack Schofield, The Guardian, 19 September 2013

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 this month is Confounding Contronyms!

In each issue, I'll give you two quotes, each with a blank. The same word goes in both blanks—but it means opposite things. Your job is to come up with that word: that slippery little contronym. To see the hints, highlight the hidden white text. To see the answer, scroll to the bottom.

Try this today:

Quote 1: "The plane, which was flying along in otherwise unremarkable fashion, _____ fell out of the clear blue sky and crashed to the ground."
— Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures, 2016

Quote 2: "I cock my head, trying to imagine Mom as a dorky kid with a bowl haircut and pimples. But I can't. It is _____ impossible to see her as anything other than beautiful."
— Ali Standish, How to Disappear Completely, 2020

Hint 1: This word starts with the letter... L.

Hint 2: This word means both... "truly" and "not truly."

review this word:

1. A near opposite of DRAGOON could be

A. OFFER or ALLOW.
B. NARROW or REFINE.
C. OVERTAX or ABUSE.

2. A writer for the Seattle Times described The Hobbit, somewhat redundantly, as "a children's adventure tale about a short fellow with hairy feet who is dragooned, _____, into a grand adventure."

A. headfirst
B. much against his will
C. to the envy of his neighbors

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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