Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TREPIDATION

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connect today's word to others: If you've ever been skydiving, then you recall vividly what trepidation feels like: just before you jumped from the plane, trying to look like an intrepid (fearless) adventurer, you had those flutters, jitters, anxiety, worry, and fear. Now, don't get the impression that I've been skydiving. Oh gosh, nope. The very thought makes me trem____s: shaky with fear. Trem____s comes from the Latin word tremere, "to tremble," while intrepid and trepidation come from the Latin trepidus, "scared or alarmed." (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "TREPIDATION" Trepidation is a scared, nervous, worried feeling. Pronunciation: TREP ih DAY shun 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 trepidation," "this trepidation," "their trepidation," "such trepidation," "no trepidation," and so on, but don’t say "a trepidation," "one trepidation," or "trepidations.") Other forms: trepidatious, trepidatiously How to use it: "Trepidation" is a formal word you can pick instead of "fear," "anxiety," "worry," "nervousness," "uneasiness," and so on. Talk about people having, feeling, or experiencing trepidation, often about or over something: "her trepidation about applying to schools abroad," "his trepidation over the shrinking budget." You can share, voice, or express your trepidation. And you can approach something with trepidation, agree to something with trepidation, begin a task with trepidation, watch or monitor something with trepidation, or greet a change, an event, or a situation with trepidation. The adjective is rare, but people will easily understand it, so go for it: talk about trepidatious people, trepidatious movements, trepidatious comments and questions, a trepidatious attempt or offer, a trepidatious silence, etc. examples: He voiced his trepidation about letting so many preschoolers play in our unfenced yard. I remember the trepidatious excitement of mailing off my application for graduate school. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "trepidation" means when you can explain it without saying "apprehension" or "consternation." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "Despite some trepidation, (someone) (decided to do something, or accomplished something)." Example 1: "Despite some trepidation, we decided to purchase the house." Example 2: "Despite some trepidation, he impressed the interviewers and received the job offer." 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 called "Quirky Keepers."  We’ll play with a bunch of bizarre, oddly specific words—words that deserve a place in our vocabulary, even though they're too wacky and rare to explore in full issues of Make Your Point. (I found most of these words in Charles Harrington Elster’s outrageously entertaining book, There’s A Word For It: A Grandiloquent Guide to Life.) Our goal as we play is to squirrel the words away in our memories. So, in each issue, we’ll check out a word; in the following issue, I’ll give you a new example of that word, and you see if you can recall it. We’ll start with short words and work our way up to the six-, seven-, and eight-syllable doozies. See if you can recall the word from the previous issue: My sister and I have our mom's eyes and hair as well as her independence and her love of music. What adjective describes my sister and me? (It's four syllables.) See the answer by scrolling all the way down. Today, let’s check out the word "galligantous." From a fairy tale about a giant, as told by Joseph Jacobs, a galligantous is a person who's tall, gangly, and awkward. Remember, in the next issue I’ll give you an example of a galligantous, without mentioning the word—and you’ll try to recall it. That'll help you keep it in your memory. review today's word: 1. A close opposite of TREPIDATION is A. CAUTION. B. FIDELITY. C. PLUCK. 2. I approached _____ with trepidation. A. the podium B. the buffet of appetizers C. the final book in a thrilling series 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. Answer to the game question: We're matroclinous: we resemble our mother. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A