Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DETRIMENT

Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.

explore the archives: Made up of two roots, de ("away") and terere ("to rub, to wear"), detriment looks like it should have a precise opposite: something like "attriment." Sadly, that's not a word. The closest opposites of detriment are improvement and benefit. (To review other meanings of that prefix de, refer to the top of our issue about detract.) Anyway, in one of its senses, a detriment is a penalty point--something you get for, say, running a stop sign or showing up late to class. Depending on local tradition, detriments are also called decrements and dem____s. Can you recall that last one? Its more general meaning is "things deserving blame or criticism." make your point with... "DETRIMENT" A detriment is something damaging to someone or something. Pronunciation: DET rim unt Part of speech: Countable noun. (Countable nouns, like "bottle," "piece," and "decision," are words for things that can be broken into exact units. You talk about "a bottle," "three pieces," and "many decisions." Likewise, talk about one detriment or multiple detriments.) Other forms: The adjective is more familiar to many of us: "detrimental" ("deh truh MEN tull"). You've also got "detrimentally" and "detrimentality." How to use it: "Detriment" is the word you need when "disadvantage" is too weak and "con" is too casual. Often, we talk about one thing being a detriment to something or someone else: "snacking between meals is a detriment to your diet," "the change was a detriment to the new hires but a benefit to the longtime employees." Just as often, we'll say one thing is done to the detriment of something or someone else: "Do you satisfy everyone else, to the detriment of your own happiness?" You can also do things without detriment to things and people (notice how "the" disappears from this phrase): "He can take criticism without detriment to his self-esteem." "She believes she can say and do whatever she wants without detriment to her public image." You don't have to stick to the phrases above, though: "His fear of conflict is his detriment." "Sometimes her perfectionism becomes a detriment." "They're struggling to address the product's detriments." examples: The artist Bob Ross reminded us we can slip up now and then, veering from our intentions, without detriment to our work: "We don't make mistakes, we just have happy accidents." They focused too hard on pure computational skills, to the detriment of word problems--of applying those skills to real life. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "detriment" means when you can explain it without saying "something that harms" or "something that hurts something." try it out: Think of something you love that holds your full attention for a long time. Fill in the blanks: "Sometimes, to the detriment of (some other important thing), I get totally caught up in _____." Example: "Sometimes, to the detriment of some art project I already started, I get totally caught up in a new one." 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 One-Word Titles! Rely on your cultural knowledge, your vocabulary, or both as we consider the power and simplicity of one-word titles. We'll recall movies, songs, books, television shows, and musicals with brief, meaningful, well-chosen titles of only one word each. Let's play! From yesterday: The one-syllable title of this Madonna song, released in 1990, is also the title of a popular magazine and means "fashionableness, popularity, or broad acceptance." The title is _____. Answer: Vogue. Try this today: The title of this 1981 song by The J. Geils Band means "the two middle pages of a publication, or a person who appeared on a large photo on those two middle pages," and the word suggests the full attention given to an image that's evocative, even vulgar. The title is __________. review today's word: 1. One opposite of DETRIMENT is A. INCLINATION B. RE-ATTEMPT C. ADVANCEMENT 2. The change was a blessing to her family, ____ a detriment to her career. A. and B. but C. even Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, 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. B