Make Your Point > Archived Issues > REVENANT

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

connect today's word to others: A few years back, I asked you this trivia question: "In advent, adventure, avenue, event, intervene, invent, prevent, souvenir, and venue, what does 'ven' mean?" The answer? It means "come." Or "arrive." More loosely, it means "happen." We talked about 'ven' again when we checked out the word a_ven_____us, which describes things that arrived from elsewhere--things that aren't naturally a part of something. Could you recall that word? That brings us to today's revenant, which literally means "returner"--something that comes back, or someone who arrives again (like the main character in the movie The Revenant). That's why it looks like revenue, which also literally means "something that comes back"--in that case, money. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "REVENANT" "Revenant" is usually a noun. A revenant is a person or thing that's returning from the dead, or returning after being gone for a long time. But it can also be an adjective, meaning "returning from the dead, or returning after being gone for a long time." Pronunciation: REV uh nunt Part of speech: Both a noun ("he's a revenant") and an adjective ("a revenant thing," "she's revenant"). Other forms: revenants How to use it: Whether you're using it to be literal or figurative, "revenant" is a fun alternative to "ghost," "zombie," "spirit," "specter," "artifact," "vestige" and so on. Refer to some person as a revenant, or to some thing as a revenant, like a show, a style, an idea, a trend, a set of values, a technological development, a system of government, etc. You can also refer to people and things as revenants of something ("this revenant of the golden age of radio") or revenants from something ("that revenant from the sixteenth century"). examples: Pedro Paramo and Spoon River Anthology are stories told by revenants; they echo with regret. "[Top Chef Masters] will probably limp along for another season or two, a reality-show revenant, before giving up the ghost."    —Josh Ozersky, TIME, 13 April 2011 study it now: Look away from the screen to define "revenant" without saying "someone who makes a surprising return" or "back from the dead." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "With (his, her, or its) _____, (some person or thing) (is or was) a revenant from (a different time period)." Example: "With her beehive hairdo, Amy Winehouse was a revenant from the sixties." 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. Complete the Clichés! In each issue this month, I'll present a general theme and a handful of common expressions that apply to it--but only the first few words of each expression. See if you can complete them!  To keep things interesting, I've picked a mixture of phrases both new and familiar to me. I hope some will pique your curiosity and inspire you to Google them for their meanings and backstories. (Please try that first, and if your search turns up empty, email me for help.) If you're playing this game with the kids in your family or your class, you might enjoy talking together about what the phrases mean. Enjoy! In the previous issue, the theme was "human nature:" A. The bigger they come... B. You can catch more flies... C. Distance lends... D. Hide your light... E. Old habits... F. A rotten apple... Answers: A. The bigger they come, the harder they fall B. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar C. Distance lends enchantment D. Hide your light under a bushel E. Old habits die hard F. A rotten apple spoils the barrel Try these today. The theme is "dilemmas:" A. Between the devil... B. Out of the frying... C. God and... D. On the horns... E. Lesser of... F. Between a... review today's word: 1. A close opposite of REVENANT is A. UNFASHIONABLE. B. EXTINCT. C. COLD. 2. Jacob Brogan called them revenants: _____. A. print comics that inspire us and transcend the boundaries of their own medium B. screen savers from the nineties, available on his current MacBook C. heat waves in the winter and blizzards in the spring 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. B 2. B