Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INVIDIOUS

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pronounce INVIDIOUS: Say it "in VID ee yus." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: The word we're checking out today, invidious, belongs to a family of words from the Latin videre, "to see." That family includes words like video, vision, revise, evidence, and vi___e, meaning "the look on someone's face." Can you recall it? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)  definition: There's Lady Tremaine, Cinderella's wicked stepmother. Check out her invidious stare. You can tell how much she hates (and envies) Cinderella. Just like the word "envious," "invidious" has Latin bits that literally mean "looking upon," or less literally, "hateful, envious." The idea here is that if you're looking at someone with an evil eye, it's because you're feeling hateful or envious. Maybe both. "Envious" traveled through French on its way to English, but "invidious" didn't. That's how we ended up with both words, spelled differently, and meaning slightly different things. If you're envious, you're jealous of what someone else has. If something is invidious, it's nasty and harmful, or it's causing envy or hatred. Most often, we talk about invidious distinctions or comparisons: the kind that stir up nasty or unnecessary judgments or prejudices. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "an invidious assumption;" "The comparison was invidious." Other forms:  Invidiously, invidiousness. how to use it: The word "invidious" is formal and semi-common, with a very negative tone. Like I mentioned above, we most often talk about some invidious distinction or comparison that doesn't need to be made--because it stirs up hatred, jealousy, or discrimination.  But we could also talk about invidious goals, plans, roles, choices, labels, campaigns, stereotypes, conspiracy theories, etc. examples: "I liked the new Nightmare, but I know that any new version of a revered text — a favorite old book, play or movie — invites invidious comparison."    — Richard Corliss, Time, 29 April 2010    "Our chief theater critics... proposed a list of the 25 best American plays since 1993. Some commenters wanted to recognize plays that did not make the cut, others wanted to cut plays that did. Still others objected to the idea of a list in the first place, noting its intrinsically arbitrary and invidious nature."    — Theater staff, New York Times, 22 June 2018 has this page helped you understand "invidious"? 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 "invidious" without saying "nasty" or "sowing nastiness." try it out: When we use the word "invidious," we're often pointing out how unnecessary and hateful it is to compare things or people, or to judge which is best. They can all be great. I think that was one of Taylor Swift's points in her song "You Need To Calm Down:"    "And we see you over there, on the Internet,    Comparing all the girls who are killing it.    But we figured you out.    We all know now: we all got crowns.    You need to calm down." She seems to be saying, "It's invidious to talk about who looked the most glamorous at a red-carpet event. We can all look glamorous." Try using this template for your own observation: "It's invidious to talk about (who or what) (is the best in some way)." 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 this month: MYP Anagrams! Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. For example, if I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. To see the answer, scroll all the way down. Try this one today: Rearrange the letters in BELACED to make a noun. To peek at the clues, highlight the hidden white text below.    The definition is… a sudden violent collapse, defeat, or failure of any kind.    The first letter is… D. review this word: 1. The precise opposite of INVIDIOUS is UNINVIDIOUS. But a pretty close opposite of INVIDIOUS is A. DEVIATING (changing direction). B. BLOVIATING (bragging self-importantly). C. CONCILIATORY (inspiring harmony or friendliness). 2. The aptly-named site "Invidious" was once a sort of _____ YouTube.com, allowing users to _____ YouTube content without all those ads and trackers. A. secret portal to .. travel through B. magical mirror of .. catch glimpses of C. envious stepsister of .. steal access to Answers to the review questions: 1. C 2. C Answer to the game question: Debacle. A debacle is a sudden violent collapse, defeat, or failure of any kind. 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.