Make Your Point: REVEL

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pronounce REVEL:

REV ull

Hear it.

connect this word to others:

Here's a cool fact about the word revel: it's is a doublet of rebel!

That is, like cloak and clock, and like complacent and complaisant, the words revel and rebel trace back to the same root in Latin—despite having evolved their own separate meanings.

With that in mind, I give you two challenges:

1. Explain why cloak and clock are doublets. What's the basic idea that unites them?

2. Explain the difference in meaning between complacent and complaisant.

If you're not sure, follow the links!

definition:

The word "revel" comes from a French word meaning, approximately, "to party hard: to have such a great, noisy time that you make the neighbors wonder if you're overthrowing the government." (And that's why "revel" and "rebel" are doublets!)

Today, to revel can still mean to celebrate in a loud, crazy, happy, exuberant way, especially while drunk.

And more generally, to revel in something is to take lots of joy in it: to let it fill you with exuberant happiness.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Verb, the intransitive kind: "We reveled past midnight;" "They reveled in the freshness of the autumn air."

Other forms:

Reveler(s), revelry.

Occasionally, "revel" is a countable noun, meaning "a celebration." "The revel continued through the night." "The painting is a revel of color."

For the other verb forms, you can choose to spell them with either a single or double L. Both ways are correct: "reveled/revelled" and "reveling/revelling." I think I'll stick with the single L: "reveled" and "reveling." It looks nicer to me, and it's the way the New York Times usually does it.

how to use it:

"Revel" is a common, sophisticated word. Its tone is often positive.

To use the first meaning ("to party, to celebrate, to carouse, to make merry"), talk about people reveling, often in a certain place or for a certain amount of time. "When the war ended, people reveled in the streets." "As the bell rang, ending the last day of school, kids reveled in the halls." "We reveled in our dorm rooms until three or four o'clock in the morning."

And to use the second meaning ("to bask, to savor, to delight, to rejoice"), talk about people reveling in things, often in certain sights, sounds, tastes, smells, feelings, situations, activities, abilities, etc. "He reveled in the sweet, sharp taste of the fresh pineapple." "I love this ballet workout; it gives me a sense of strength and lets me revel in it."

examples:

"There were people everywhere, reveling as if it were New Year's Eve."
— Neal Shusterman, Scythe, 2016

"In a lot of ways, living with Charlie was like having my own place, and I found myself reveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely."
— Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, 2005

has this page helped you understand "revel"?

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 "revel" without saying "party on, Wayne" or "take delight."

try it out:

Can you list five things you like to revel in?

I like to revel in silence, solitude, the joy of discovering a new word, the warm sweetness of caramel tea, and the sound of my daughter's laughter.

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 "The Words are Hard, the Titles are Silly, and the Points Don't Matter!"

In each issue, try matching a given term to a silly title. For example, match the term “desultory” to the video game title “If It Moves, Shoot It!” because desultory methods are random, disorganized, and unmethodical.

If you need a definition for a term, give it a click. Scroll all the way down to see my suggested matches. Give yourself a point for each match you make that matches my match! And give yourself two points for any match that mismatches mine, as long as you can make up some reason for your match, no matter how half-baked.

Try these today:

Terms:
A. coalesce
B. non sequitur
C. sportive

Titles of video games:
1. Do Not Buy This Game
2. Extreme Sports with the Berenstain Bears
3. Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together

review this word:

1. Opposites of REVEL include

A. CHILL OUT and SOBER UP.
B. EXPLORE and WANDER OFF.
C. DECAMP and HIGHTAIL IT OUT OF THERE.

2. True to their name, ShopRevelry.com sells _____.

A. snazzy dresses for wild parties
B. basketball jerseys with misspelled names
C. tapestries of famous pieces of art recreated entirely from small images of cartoon pugs

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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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > REVEL

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