Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INVECTIVE
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
pronounce
INVECTIVE:
Say it "in VECK tiv."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
In Latin, vehere means "to bear, to carry, to draw, or to bring."
We see vehere's shadow in English words like today's invective, along with vex, vehicle, vector, convex, convection, and veh____ce, that quality of getting carried away by anger, eagerness, or intensity. Could you recall it?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "inveigh" has Latin roots that literally mean "to carry against," and less literally, "to attack, to assault." (Pronounce "inveigh" as "in VAY.")
To inveigh against people or things is to speak very harshly about how bad they are.
Invective is that kind of talk: it's words that harshly criticize or even abuse people or things.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, usually the uncountable kind: "The speech was full of invective;" "They hurled invective at us."
Sometimes the countable kind: "The speech was full of invectives;" "They hurled invectives at us."
Other forms we use today:
Inveigh, inveighed, inveighing.
"Invective" actually started out as an adjective. You can use it that way today, but it's rare.
how to use it:
Pick the formal, semi-common word "invective" to describe speech or writing that's deeply critical and even hateful or abusive.
You might talk about people spitting or hurling invective at other people. Or, talk about people muttering, writing, publishing, or posting invective.
To use the verb, "inveigh," talk about people inveighing against things or other people. "She inveighed against that cruel policy." "Beauty influencers keep inveighing against any ingredient they deem 'unclean.'" "Mr. Miller tore up a magazine while inveighing against Hollywood's influence in comics" (New York Times).
examples:
"She was spitting invectives via thousands of social media posts."
— Randall Roberts, Los Angeles Times, 11 November 2014
"Cicero's gift for invective was as important then as it is to speakers today... In one speech, for instance, he accused an enemy in short order of being a 'monster,' 'funeral pyre of the commonwealth,' 'butcher,' 'scoundrel,' 'most foul and inhuman monster,' and 'gelded pig.' He further attacked his mark's forehead, eyebrows, cheeks (hairy), and teeth (stained)."
— Sam Leith, Words Like Loaded Pistols: Rhetoric from Aristotle to Obama, 2016
has this page helped you understand "invective"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "invective" without saying "a tirade" or "a tongue-lashing."
try it out:
In the Guardian, Paul MacInnes wrote about two British comedians, Russell Kane and Andrew Lawrence, who "share a penchant for soaring flights of invective." MacInnes "enjoyed Kane's show more than Lawrence's. The latter's material often seemed flat and he fell back too often on the aforementioned invective."
In other words, invective can be hilarious, but if a comedy routine has too much of it, it gets old.
Do you agree? Why or why not? Could you think of another comedian who delivers hilarious invective? Or, could you think of one who avoids invective but still makes you laugh?
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 this month is Subject Line Matching!
Try matching each capitalized term below with the email subject line that introduced it. You can check your answers by scrolling all the way down. For an extra challenge, try recalling what each term means and how the subject line connects to it. Have fun!
BALLETIC: _____
DISSUADE: _____
JAMAIS VU: _____
LACUNA: _____
QUINCUNX: _____
Happy 5/12! Sooo many Scrabble points...
I got the moves like Dowell
Phase 1: Collect Underpants. Phase 3: Profit
Unattended Children Will be Given An Espresso and a Free Puppy
what the French is this?
review this word:
A. PANACHE (grand style).
B. PANEGYRIC (high praise).
C. PLATITUDES (bland remarks).
2.
A writer for the New Yorker noted that the book "The Giving Tree" is "the subject of many online invectives," and that even she finds it "_____."
A. timeless
B. peerless
C. charmless
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.
In Latin, vehere means "to bear, to carry, to draw, or to bring."
The word "inveigh" has Latin roots that literally mean "to carry against," and less literally, "to attack, to assault." (Pronounce "inveigh" as "in VAY.")
Part of speech:
Pick the formal, semi-common word "invective" to describe speech or writing that's deeply critical and even hateful or abusive.
"She was spitting invectives via thousands of social media posts."
Explain the meaning of "invective" without saying "a tirade" or "a tongue-lashing."
In the Guardian, Paul MacInnes wrote about two British comedians, Russell Kane and Andrew Lawrence, who "share a penchant for soaring flights of invective." MacInnes "enjoyed Kane's show more than Lawrence's. The latter's material often seemed flat and he fell back too often on the aforementioned invective."
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.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
|