Make Your Point: AUTUMNAL

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pronounce AUTUMNAL:

aw TUM null

connect this word to others:

To my ears, the adjective autumnal is beautiful. I love how that silent N at the end of the base word, autumn, suddenly gets a voice in autumnal ("aw TUM null"), and I love how the word suggests cool breezes, cozy sweaters, swirls of red and orange leaves, and pumpkin pie.

See if you can recall an equally beautiful word, one whose base word ends in silent T but suddenly gets a voice in its adjective form, suggesting satin shoes, majestic music, dancing that defies gravity, and sugar plums. That word is b____t__.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

The word "autumn" traces back through Old French to the Latin autumnus, meaning "the fall, the autumn." Beyond that, the word's history is contested; it's a bit mysterious. It might be related to "Vertumnus," the name of a Roman god who symbolized change, gardening, and the turning of the seasons.

Going back to the 1500s and maybe even earlier, we've used "autumnal" in English to describe things that happen during autumn, belong to the autumn, or remind us of the autumn.

And in a figurative sense, autumnal things and people are mature, older, no longer in their youth: they're in the autumn of their lives.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "autumnal colors;" "The colors were autumnal."

Other forms:

The base word, "autumn," is often a noun but also works as a simpler adjective, as in "autumn colors."

The adverb is "autumnally." Here's the Washington Post: "With visible planets in the evening and morning, October becomes autumnally awesome." And here's Salon: "the autumnally trendy Pumpkin Spice Latte."

how to use it:

Pick the formal, graceful, easily-understood word "autumnal" when you want to strike a positive tone.

You might talk about autumnal air, breezes, and temperatures; autumnal skies, trees, and leaves; autumnal colors and tones; autumnal crops, foods, dishes, scents, and spices; and autumnal holidays and traditions.

To get figurative, you could talk about autumnal moods or atmospheres, or about people of an autumnal age or autumnal beauty, or about an autumnal dimness or gloom in, for example, a poem or a song.

examples:

"His dæmon, a large cat with fur of a thousand beautiful autumnal colors, stalked the corners of the study before leaping gracefully to Coram's lap."
— Philip Pullman, The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage, 2017

"The branches were mostly bare of leaves now, and the squirrels were in full-fledged autumnal hysteria, frantically seeking nuts and burying them everywhere their tiny one-track minds could think of.''
— Maryrose Wood, The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling, 2009

has this page helped you understand "autumnal"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

study it:

Explain the literal and figurative meanings of "autumnal" without saying "having to do with fall" or "past one's prime."

try it out:

Fill in the blank: "I enjoy an autumnal ritual of (doing something)."

Example 1: "I enjoy an autumnal ritual of opening the kitchen windows and letting in the crisp, cool air."

Example 2: "Early this Sunday morning, Americans will engage in the annual autumnal ritual of 'falling back' — setting their clocks back one hour to conform with standard time."
— Dan Diamond, Washington Post, 4 November 2022

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 this month is "Coaxed into a Haiku!"

I'll give you the basics of a news story, and you boil the story down into a haiku. You can check out some examples here.

Feel free to take full creative license, omitting or warping the facts, adding dialogue, using slang, cursing, and/or burying the lede. Just do your best to fit the story into a three-line poem of 5, 7, and 5 syllables, respectively.

Try this one today...

"Spain's controversial plan for the world's first octopus farm has been abandoned. As the project folds, several nations and US states are banning octopus farming before it even begins... These plans posed 'a serious moral issue', according to Lindsay Hamilton, professor of animal organisation studies at the University of York in the UK. A growing body of research shows that octopuses feel pain and distress, and have the basics of sentience, says Hamilton."
— Charlotte Lytton, BBC, 31 July 2026

To see one possible haiku, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. One opposite of AUTUMNAL is

A. SERENE: calm and clear, like a cloudless sky.
B. IRIDESCENT: shimmering in a rainbow of colors.
C. VERNAL: fresh, mild, or youthful, like the springtime.

2. From Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Ode to the West Wind:"

Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:
What if my leaves are _____ like its own!
The tumult of thy mighty harmonies
Will take from both a deep, autumnal tone.

A. falling
B. slender
C. crowning

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.

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