Make Your Point > Archived Issues > LAUDABLE

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"LAUDABLE" Meaning: To laud something is to talk about how great it is: to celebrate and praise it with words. So, something laudable is really great and deserves to be praised. (Compare that to something laudatory, which expresses praise. For example, you might read a laudatory biography about somebody's laudable career.) Pronunciation: LAWD uh bull Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a laudable tradition." 2. After a linking verb, as in "The tradition was laudable.") Other forms: laudableness, laud, lauded, lauding, laudatory How to use it: Talk about laudable actions and accomplishments, laudable goals and ambitions, laudable motives and intentions, laudable plans and ideas, laudable gestures of respect and tolerance and so on, laudable efforts to do something, a laudable piece of literature or work of art, and so on. Taylor sorts her Fisher-Price shapes into their coordinating slots with laudable perseverance, even swatting my hand away if I try to help her. One of the most laudable aspects of east Hawaiian culture is the commitment to eating local and shopping local. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "laudable" means when you can explain it without saying "commendable" or "praiseworthy." Think of an accomplishment that amazes you, and fill in the blanks: "_____ was not only laudable in and of itself but also (had a certain good effect)." Example: "Cataloging the human genome was not only laudable in and of itself but also provided an invaluable tool for understanding the functions of genes." Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game and quote below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Playing With Words:  We're playing with clichés this month, examining the origins of some colorful ones. I’ll give you a cliché (some of which you might also call a proverb and/or an idiom) and pose a multiple-choice question about its origin. (I used this nifty book as a reference!) Yesterday's question: These days, a “false alarm” is any situation that seems scary but is actually okay. Back in the early 1800s, would you be mostly likely to find that cliché in a discussion about sailing disasters, military tactics, or political campaigns? Answer: Military tactics. It was a way of wearing down your enemy by making them constantly think you’re about to attack. Try this one today: If you “feel something in your bones,” you’ve got a gut feeling about it. Is this cliché from Beowulf, a Shakespearean play, or a Charles Dickens novel? A Point Well Made: Hannah Farnham Lee: "The knowledge of ourselves is a difficult study, and we must be willing to borrow the eyes of our enemies to assist the investigation." 1. The opposite of LAUDABLE is A. DEFENSIBLE B. DISPENSIBLE C. REPREHENSIBLE 2.  A "laudator temporis acti" is someone who tends to look back on the past and _____ it. A. revise B. idealize C. apologize for Answers are below. To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each day for free by Mrs. Liesl Johnson, M.Ed., a word lover, learning enthusiast, and private tutor of reading and writing in the verdant little town of Hilo, Hawaii. For writing tips, online learning, essay guidance, and more, please visit www.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. B Exploring the archives: Since today's "laudable" means "deserving praise," you might wonder if "laudable" is related to "applaud," since we tend to applaud whatever is laudable. Well, although it might aid the memory to think of "laudable" as "applaud-able," the "laud" in each word actually comes from a different root. "Laudable" comes from a Latin word for "praise," while "applaud" comes from another Latin word for "clap (the hands)." For word-lovers searching for meaningful connections among terms, this difference is kinda disappointing. Sorry! But here's a real connection among words you know: Something that's so easy to notice that it seems to sail right at you is s_____. ("Sail" and the word you're recalling share the same root meaning "to leap.")