Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DELUGE

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explore the archives: A deluge is a dramatic flood--of water, or of anything. It's a useful figurative term for talking about what overwhelms you. "W________," meaning "a turning point, a point at which everything changes," is another interesting figurative term that draws on the image of the natural movement of water across the earth. Could you recall that word, and explain how it's different, physically and figuratively, from a deluge? make your point with... "DELUGE" A deluge is a destructive flood, specifically the one from the Bible story that destroyed everything on earth that wasn't in the ark. So, a deluge is any powerful flood, and to deluge things is to drown them in a powerful flood. Pronunciation: DELL yooj Part of speech: Both a noun ("a deluge," "the deluge") and a verb ("to deluge people," "to deluge things"). Other forms: deluges, deluged, deluging How to use it: "Deluge" is the word you want when "flood" or "overwhelm" isn't dramatic enough. To use the noun, you usually talk about a deluge of things, and to use the verb, talk about being deluged with something, or describe how something or someone deluges someone else with something (as in "the manual deluged us with confusing details"). For example, talk about a deluge of assignments or demands (or being deluged with assignments or demands). You can suffer through a deluge of political rhetoric, or a neighborhood might experience a deluge of robberies. (Again, if you prefer the verb to the noun, you'd be deluged with political rhetoric, and the neighborhood would be deluged with robberies.) As you can tell, this word usually has a negative tone. If you use "deluge" to talk about an onslaught of good or welcome things, be sure your idea is dramatic enough to warrant this word: "a deluge of fascinating clues," "they were deluged with requests for autographs." examples: On the playground, what if my little girl falls? What if the bigger kids knock her over? This is just a trickle of worries now; it used to be a deluge. My inbox would be deluged with junk if Gmail's spam sensors weren't so powerful. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "deluge" means when you can explain it without saying "torrent" or "inundate." try it out: Think of something that you receive or experience way too much, and fill in the blank: "I've been deluged lately with _____." Example: "I've been deluged lately with junk phone calls." 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. When it comes to word roots, everybody knows what some of them mean, like “ambi/amphi” (“both”) and “circum” (“around”) and “hetero” (“different”). This knowledge helps you explain why words like “automobile” and “autobiography” look similar—in this case, it’s because they both involve the concept of “self.” But what about some of the less obvious roots? Could you explain, for example, why “contain” looks so much like “sustain” by defining “tain”? This month, we're exploring the meanings underlying common words you know. You can usually figure these out by looking for an extremely basic concept common to all the words in each group. We’ll start with easier, more obvious roots and move on to trickier ones as the month goes on! Yesterday's question:  In appreciate, depreciate, and precious, what does “prec” mean?  Answer: Value. Try this one today: In afflict, conflict, and inflict, what does “flict” mean?   review today's word: 1. One opposite of DELUGE is A. IMPROVEMENT B. MAELSTROM C. DEARTH 2.  We find ourselves _____ in a deluge of information. A. awash B. frozen C. secluded Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. A