Make Your Point > Archived Issues > BEGUILE
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connect today's word to others:
When you're beguiled, you've been charmed or won over, as if someone has tricked you or put a spell on you. Here's Edgar Allan Poe:
Then this ebony bird beguiling my sad fancy into smiling,
By the grave and stern decorum of the countenance it wore...
In other words, the bird's serious face makes him laugh.
Considering that guile means trickery, what does John Keats mean when says that love is guileless?
make your point with...
"BEGUILE"
Guile is cunning, deceit, trickery, or craftiness.
To beguile people can mean to trick them, but more often, it means to charm them or entertain them, in a way that seems tricky or magical.
Pronunciation:
be GUY ull
(rhymes with "denial")
Part of speech:
Verb. Most often, the transitive kind.
(Like "eat," "try," and "want," all transitive verbs do something to an object.
You eat a banana, try a game, and want a new phone.
Likewise, you beguile people.)
Other forms:
beguiled, beguiling, beguilingly, beguiler(s), beguilement
How to use it:
Talk about people and things that beguile us (or beguile us with something): the beauty of the gardens beguiles its visitors, the charming speaker beguiled his listeners, the child beguiled us with his breathless stories about his day, etc.
Use the passive voice instead, if you like: visitors were beguiled by the garden's beauty; listeners remained still, beguiled by the charming speaker; his grandparents were beguiled by the child's stories.
Use "beguiling" to describe things and people who enchant us: beguiling wonder and beauty, beguiling stories and storytellers, beguiling music and art, beguiling facts and theories and lies, beguiling images and performances, etc.
examples:
Taylor likes to read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus over and over; she's beguiled by the determined pigeon and the sweet, simple illustrations.
"I had to go to a birthday party" isn't exactly the most beguiling excuse for not having your homework.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "beguile" means when you can explain it without saying "bewitch" or "enchant."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is a beguiling blend of _____."
Example: "The Oatmeal, a webcomic, is a beguiling blend of cuteness and profanity."
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 Banishing Bland Adjectives.
In each issue, we're strengthening our word-finding skills as we take aim at a vague little adjective and think up three ways to make it more specific. Resist the urge to sneak off to the thesaurus!
From yesterday: BORING.
1. When something is BORING because it's always the same, again and again or over and over, then instead of BORING, call it _____.
2. When something is BORING because it's just like everything else and not special in any way, then instead of BORING, call it _____.
3. When something is BORING because it other people have already done it before, lots and lots of times, then instead of BORING, call it _____.
Suggested answers: 1, monotonous; 2, commonplace; 3, trite. (Your answers might be different but just as precise.)
Today: HELPFUL.
1. When something is HELPFUL because it shows you how you can improve something, then instead of HELPFUL, call it _____.
2. When something is HELPFUL because it gives you a way to do things better than before (or better than others), then instead of HELPFUL, call it _____.
3. When something is HELPFUL because it gives you exactly what you need when you need it, then instead of HELPFUL, call it _____.
review today's word:
1. A close opposite of BEGUILE is
A. REPULSE
B. MYSTIFY
C. APPLY
2. In The Beguiled, a wounded officer _____.
A. struggles to overcome his post-traumatic stress
B. captivates and manipulates the women who have taken him in
C. traverses a nightmare world of hallucinations to regain consciousness
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. B
When you're beguiled, you've been charmed or won over, as if someone has tricked you or put a spell on you. Here's Edgar Allan Poe:
"BEGUILE" Guile is cunning, deceit, trickery, or craftiness. Part of speech: Other forms:
Taylor likes to read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus over and over; she's beguiled by the determined pigeon and the sweet, simple illustrations.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "beguile" means when you can explain it without saying "bewitch" or "enchant."
Fill in the blanks: "_____ is a beguiling blend of _____."
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.
1. A close opposite of BEGUILE is
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. |