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"EGREGIOUS" Meaning: Something egregious is wrong or bad in a very obvious way or an offensive way. Egregious things stick out and are easy to notice because they're so bad or so wrong. Pronunciation: ih GREE jus 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 “an egregious miscalculation.” 2. After a linking verb, as in "Their miscalculation was egregious.”) Other forms: egregiously, egregiousness How to use it: Call anything egregious when it's outrageously bad or extremely wrong. You might talk about egregious errors or egregious mistakes, egregious behavior, egregious abuse or egregious misuse of something, egregious insults, egregious crimes, egregious bullying, egregious tactics, egregious accusations or egregious mud-slinging, egregious rule-breaking or law-breaking, egregious lies or egregious lying, and so on.  The key to using "egregious" correctly is to make sure you're using it to describe something that's already at least mildly bad or mildly wrong on its own. It makes sense to talk about an egregious error, but not an egregious dream, for example, because an error is bad on its own, but a dream is neutral. My sisters and I made an egregious omission in one of our first attempts to bake cookies without our parents' help. Just FYI, cookies made without flour aren't really cookies at all. The packaging on hair products always make egregiously inaccurate claims. No, your hair will absolutely not look salon-styled after you used this shampoo. It will be clean, and that's it. Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "egregious" means when you can explain it without saying "flagrantly bad" or "completely wrong." Think of a rule that you always follow because you think it's important, and fill in the blanks: "I would never _____, because that would be an egregious breach of my rule about _____." Example: "I would never get angry at a kid for doing a bad job on her homework, because that would be an egregious breach of my rule about respecting any amount of effort they put in at all." 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: Our October game references some material that may be protected by copyright. I appreciate your understanding as I err on the side of caution by not publishing it here! A Point Well Made: William James: “The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” 1. One opposite of EGREGIOUS is A. STIFF B. CRUDE C. MINOR 2. She's widely thought of as an egregious _____. A. benefactor B. shopper C. hypocrite 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. C Exploring the archives: Today's word has that prefix "e-" that means "out," like in "exit." We've already looked at a bunch of others with the same prefix. #4 is the easiest to figure out, and it'll be awesome if you can recall one or more of the others, too: 1. "Eb_______" AND "ef_______" ;literally mean "bubbling out" or "bubbling over." These two words describe enthusiastic, lively people. 2. "Ec__________" literally means "out of the center." It describes bizarre people. 3. "Ed___" literally means "to lead out." It often describes drawing a conclusion. 4. "Ef___" literally means "to take out the face." It describes getting rid of something completely. 5. "Ef__________" literally means "blossoming out." It describes things that flourish. 6. "Ef_______" literally means "stuff that flows out." It describes nasty junk, and one Make Your Point reader recently identified it as a least favorite word. 7. "Ef________" literally means "out of the forehead" (weird!) and it describes in-your-face rudeness.