Make Your Point > Archived Issues > JOUISSANCE

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connect today's word to others: I'm so excited to share jouissance with you, both the concept and the word. Saying it fills me with bliss. It's related to joy, enjoy, and of course, joi_ __ ____: the joy of living.  (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "JOUISSANCE" Just like you'd guess, this is French for "enjoyment" or "pleasure." In other words, jouissance is physical, mental, or emotional joy, glee, or delight. (Although not all English dictionaries acknowledge it as a loan word, many English speakers and writers do use it. Also, it does have some specific academic meanings, as well as one sexual meaning, but we'll keep our focus on general usage.) Pronunciation: ZHWEE sonce Part of speech: Uncountable noun. (Like "milk," "rice," and "advice," uncountable nouns are words for stuff that can’t be broken into exact units. You talk about "some milk," "the rice," and "a lot of advice," but you don’t say "a milk," "three rices," or "many advices." Likewise, talk about "the jouissance," "this jouissance," "her jouissance," "such jouissance," "no jouissance," and so on, but don’t say "a jouissance," "one jouissance," or "jouissances.") Other forms: none How to use it: The tone of "jouissance" is, of course, joyous, lighthearted, and often funny. But it's still showy, so pick it only when your idea demands more attention that it could get with a word like "pleasure," "happiness," "euphoria," or "exultation." Although "jouissance" is rare and probably brand new to many of your listeners, I wouldn't worry about them failing to understand it--your context will make the meaning clear. As Stephen Fry hinted, "jouissance" sounds like, and basically is, "juicy joy." No need to italicize it: even though "jouissance" is from a foreign language, most writers treat it as a regular English word. Talk about someone's jouissance, about the jouissance of a moment or experience (or about a moment or experience that inspires jouissance), about someone doing or saying something with jouissance, etc. examples: I'd be driving when the bouncy and bizarre "I'm an Albatraoz" would come on the radio, bringing me two and a half minutes of jouissance. "One race I went too early, taking the 'frontrunners' with me and the first five of us collapsed on the track in sight of the finish line. ...I can't remember the victories, but I remember the jouissance of that losing."    — Phil Smith, On Walking... and Stalking Sebald: A guide to going beyond wandering around looking at stuff, 2014 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "jouissance" without saying "delight" or "rhapsody." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "With all the jouissance of _____, (someone) (says or does something)." Example: "With all the jouissance of a kid in an arcade bearing a backpack full of quarters, J. Bryan Lowder, a writer for Slate, accepted the challenge to write an essay on The Great Gatsby, having only seen the movie, then submit it to an English teacher and pass it off as legitimate. He got a B minus." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "A Doodad Named After a Thingamajig." If I give you two categories, X and Y, can you think of an X that was named after a Y? We'll start off easy--these first few questions will have lots of correct answers each that you might think up--and we'll work our way toward harder questions that, as far as I know, have only one correct answer each. From the previous issue: Can you think of a scientific unit named after a person? Possible answers include the ampere, the decibel, the hertz, the tesla, the volt, and the watt. Try this one today: Can you think of a hat named after a city? (From today onward, each question has only one right answer--as far as I know! If you know of others, please write back to share them with me.) review today's word: 1. One opposite of JOUISSANCE is A. SENILITY. B. DROUGHT. C. MELANCHOLY. 2. We recalled her jouissance, the way she _____. A. campaigned relentlessly B. sang proudly, her arms wide C. sketched thoughtfully, her face still Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's 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. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. B