Make Your Point > Archived Issues > RESONATE

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: Our word resonate is basically Latin for "sound again," and when we use it figuratively, we're imagining that an idea touching us deeply seems to enter us and sound again within us, or echo. For example, the movement to prevent gun violence in our schools resonates with the entire public: it touches us, echoing inside us. That's an example of a p_nh_m_n issue. It resonates with absolutely everybody. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "RESONATE" "Resonate" literally means "to sound again." When things resonate, or when things resonate with people, they echo, or they affect people emotionally (as if they're echoing in the people's minds or hearts). And, when things resonate with something, they're filled with that thing, as if that thing is echoing inside it, as in "The room resonates with music" or "The movie resonates with wisdom."     Pronunciation: REZ uh nate Part of speech: Intransitive verb: "That story really resonates;" "That story resonates with me." Other forms: resonated, resonating, resonance/resonancy, resonant, resonantly How to use it: This word is formal, serious, and often positive. When you want to say that something touches people deeply, as if setting off an echo within them, say that it resonates with them. For example, a certain poem resonates with you, a senator's sensitive apology resonates with the public, or a poorly planned ad campaign fails to resonate with consumers. Things that often resonate include ideas, themes, messages, warnings, images, stories, poems, songs, actions, and gestures. That's most often how we use that word: pointing out the ideas and creations that resonate with people. But we can also say that something resonates with a certain quality, meaning it's pleasantly full of it, as if that quality is swirling around, echoing again and again. You might talk about about, for example, an auditorium that resonates with delighted laughter, a living room that resonates with cheer, a wine that resonates with flavor, or a novel that resonates with tender beauty. examples: Which Dr. Seuss story resonates the most deeply with you? For me it might be Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!, for its reminder of how powerful the imagination is, and how content we can be inside our own minds. When it comes on the radio even now, Lenny Kravitz's "Again" still resonates with memories of high school. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "resonate" means when you can explain it without saying "strike a chord" or "resound." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "_____ resonates with (truth, hope, faith, wisdom, kindness, beauty, glamor, or meaning)." Example: "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood resonates with kindness." 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 "The Meanings of Maladies." I'll share a tidbit about the word for a particular symptom, disease, or condition, and you try to name it. We'll start with common maladies and work our way toward the rare and strange. From our previous issue: The word for this condition that affects hair probably comes from the Greek alopex, meaning "fox." But why? Here’s William S. Haubrich, M.D.: "Is the allusion to the observation that mangy foxes lose their hair? Is it because the urine of a fox was said to make grass disappear, thus rendering turf barren in patches?" We don't know. What's the condition? Answer: Alopecia. Try this today: The word for this condition was coined by a Swiss psychiatrist from Greek roots meaning "a splitting of the mind." Contrary to popular view, this condition is not multiple personality disorder--it's a break with reality. What's the condition? review today's word: 1. A close opposite of RESONANT is A. BROMIDIC: common and forgettable. B. KNELLING: foretelling doom, like a funeral bell. C. BOWDLERIZED: purged of all the potentially offensive bits. 2. The image of Emma Bovary gazing out her window, life passing her by, resonates _____. A. with modern readers B. like a symbol throughout the novel C. against her development as a character 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. A 2. A