Make Your Point > Archived Issues > INVINCIBLE

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pronounce INVINCIBLE: Say it "in VIN sih bull." To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: You'll probably recall that the words vincible and invincible resemble victor, victory, victorious, and even evict and convince because they all trace back to the Latin vincere, meaning "to fight, to conquer, or to overcome." Here's another cousin from the vincere family. See if you can recall it: Originally, to e_____ things meant to beat them, to overcome them; later, it meant to force things via persuasion or argument. The meaning weakened, and today, to e_____ things means to prove them or reveal them.  (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)     definition: "Invincible" has Latin bits that mean "not able to be conquered," and that's exactly what it still means today. We first used "invincible" to describe knights, soldiers, fortresses, fleets of warships and so on who could not be defeated in battle. Today, we mostly use it to describe people who can't be defeated by anything life throws at them. In other words, to be invincible is to be unbeatable: so strong that nothing, or no one, can beat you in a competition, or kill you, or make you give up. grammatical bits: Part of speech: Adjective: "her invincible spirit;" "On the basketball court, he was invincible." Other forms:  Invincibly, invincibility. how to use it: The word "invincible" is fun, lofty, exciting, formal, and common. It calls to mind caped heroes and superstar athletes. Of course, it names a condition that's nearly impossible. We humans are delicate creatures, far from invincible. So we like to create stories about invincible heroes, about magical objects that make people invincible, and about people who are invincible to or against certain dangers. And we exaggerate and get figurative: we talk about feeling invincible, or about a person's invincible pride, spirit, imagination, determination and so on. examples: "I could not see a counselor. To see one would be to ask for help, and I believed myself invincible."    — Tara Westover, Educated: A Memoir, 2018 "These breakthrough cases, though quite rare, are a sharp reminder that vaccinated people are not invincible, especially when the virus continues to circulate widely."    — Denise Grady, New York Times, 23 March 2021 has this page helped you understand "invincible"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "invincible" without saying "indestructible" or "indomitable." try it out: Stories and songs let us fantasize about being invincible, both physically and emotionally. Here's Edith Hamilton: "When [the charm] was sprinkled on his weapons it would make them as well as himself invincible for a day." And here's Sia: "You shoot me down, but I won't fall. I am titanium." And La Roux: "I'll never let you sweep me off my feet... This time, baby, I'll be bulletproof." Imagine that you could have either superpower: physical invincibility, or emotional invincibility. Which would you pick? Or, would you reject both powers? Why? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) 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 Oddball Recall! Given some abbreviated definitions and a few letters, try to recall some of the kookiest terms we've studied. To see the answers, scroll all the way down. Try this set today: I Wasn't Expecting That One. 1. Outdated: ___-fang__d. 2. Scarf down: __gurg_____. 3. One instance of defacement: graff___. 4. Popular but mistaken belief: m___-inf____tion. 5. When the familiar seems eerily unfamiliar: ja___ vu. review this word: 1. The precise opposite of INVINCIBLE is VINCIBLE. But some pretty close opposites of INVINCIBLE are A. VISIBLE and TANGIBLE. B. BEATABLE and VULNERABLE. C. SUGGESTIBLE and PERSUADABLE. 2. Like you'd expect, the animated series Invincible features _____. A. spies with gadgets B. heroes with superpowers C. teenagers with attitudes Answers to the review questions: 1. B 2. B Answers to the game questions: 1. Outdated: old-fangled. 2. Scarf down: ingurgitate. 3. One instance of defacement: graffito. 4. Popular but mistaken belief: myth-information. 5. When the familiar seems eerily unfamiliar: jamais vu. 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.