Make Your Point: STRATOSPHERIC

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pronounce STRATOSPHERIC:

STRAT us FEAR ick

connect this word to others:

See if you can recall a word that's closely related to stratospheric:

To take the shape of many layers or levels is to strat___.

(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)

definition:

(Modified from this source)

"Stratosphere" dates back to the early 1900s. It came into English through French, and it has Latin and Greek bits that literally mean "sphere of layers."

The stratosphere is the part of a planet's atmosphere where the temperature increases the higher you go, as if the increasing temperatures are stacked there in layers. In the image below, the stratosphere is the blue part, which helps you see the layers:

(Source)

Something literally stratospheric, then, has to do with the stratosphere.

And something figuratively stratospheric is extremely high.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "stratospheric expectations;" "Her expectations were stratospheric."

Other forms:

The noun is "stratosphere," as in "Her expectations are somewhere off in the stratosphere."

And the adverb is "stratospherically." "Her expectations are stratospherically unhinged."

If you prefer an even longer adjective than "stratospheric," there's also "stratospherical."

how to use it:

"Stratospheric" is a semi-common, scientific-sounding word, a little more dramatic than "sky-high," and a little less intense than "astronomical" and "exorbitant."

Of course, you could use it literally to talk about stratospheric air, temperatures, jets, flights, and so on.

But "stratospheric" is great fun when used figuratively. You can talk hyperbolically about stratospheric prices, hopes, expectations, successes and so on. Or talk about things reaching (or falling from) stratospheric levels.

examples:

"C.E.O. Pay Remains Stratospheric, Even at Companies Battered by Pandemic"
— David Gelles, New York Times, 24 April 2021

"'High treason,' Her Majesty said with satisfaction and fire in her voice.
'Very high treason,' Malone said. 'Extremely high.'
'Stratospheric,' Boyd agreed."
— Mark Phillips, Occasion... For Disaster, 1960

has this page helped you understand "stratospheric"?

Awesome, I'm glad it helped!

Thanks for letting me know!
If you have any questions about this term, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.

study it:

Explain the meaning of "stratospheric" without saying "through the roof" or "extreme."

try it out:

In their novel Dry, Neal and Jarrod Shusterman playfully extend the metaphor of a business "taking off:"

"My new hydration business has taken off, launched through the roof, and shot into the stratosphere."

Following this example, see if you can describe something exciting or successful from your own life, or from your observations, that seems to have "taken off, launched through the roof, and shot into the stratosphere."

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 "Recapitate the Headlines."

I'll give you some real but decapitated headlines, along with a selection of heads, and you try to reassemble them as they were originally published. (Or, feel free to play in "wrong answers only" mode, assembling the headlines in whatever way you find funniest.) You can check out some examples here.

Try these today:

__________ after fishing with US vice president
__________ for asking questions
__________ for failed rocket launch

Cockatoo blamed
David Lammy refers himself to watchdog
Doctor's office surprise: new fee

To see the correct versions, scroll all the way down.

review this word:

1. The opposite of STRATOSPHERIC could be

A. ROUND or ROTUND.
B. MONOLITHIC or WHOPPING.
C. ROCK-BOTTOM or GROUND-LEVEL.

2. "Animal Crossing _____ Nintendo to stratospheric earnings," according to a headline from The Verge; apparently the game is _____.

A. catapults .. wildly profitable
B. levels .. underwhelming to its target audience
C. plummets .. mocked as worse than 1982's flop "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial"

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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