Make Your Point > Archived Issues > TORPID
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connect today's word to others:
To be torpid is to be still, inactive, or numb, as if you can't move and you can't feel anything. Like when we're vegging in front of the TV.
We've checked out four synonyms of torpid, listed below. See if you can match them to their exact definitions, which follow in random order. Click on the words if you'd like to check your answers:
1. Something saturnine...
2. Something sedentary...
3. Something languid...
4. Something laggardly...
A. ...is gloomy, cold, and sluggish.
B. ...is very weak or very inactive, or lazy and slow, as if it's sick or exhausted.
C. ...involves sitting down for a long time.
D. ...is slow and sluggish, as if it can't keep up.
make your point with...
"TORPID"
"Torpid" comes from a Latin word meaning "stiff, numb."
Someone or something torpid is, literally or figuratively, still and numb or dull and sluggish.
Pronunciation:
TORE pid
Part of speech:
Adjective.
(Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late."
They can be used in two ways:
1. Right before a noun, as in "a torpid thing" or "a torpid person."
2. After a linking verb, as in "It was torpid" or "He was torpid.")
Other forms:
The adverb is "torpidly."
For the noun, we've got four different forms. I recommend the two more common ones: "torpidity" (tore PID ih tee) and "torpor" (TORE pur). Pick one of those and stick with it, I say. Also acceptable, but less common, are "torpidness" and "torpitude."
How to use it:
To be literal, talk about torpid people or groups, torpid plants or animals; torpid bodies or body parts (such as a torpid tongue or brain), and so on.
To be figurative, talk about torpid minds, torpid personalities, torpid audiences or populations, torpid heat or humidity, torpid monotony, torpid places ("this torpid little town"), torpid periods of time ("these torpid summer months"), torpid performances or presentations, torpid works of art or literature, and so on.
You might also say that something is in a torpid state or that it's proceeding at a torpid pace.
examples:
Reading comprehension is a skill we never fully master--we all stumble when the text is too hard. Tax codes render me torpid.
Cogsworth the clock loses control of his hands; Madame Garderobe the wardrobe struggles to stay conscious. In the new live-action Beauty and the Beast, we see a more realistic, more desperate clan of cursed castle inhabitants terrified by their own increasing torpidity.
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "torpid" means when you can explain it without saying "biologically inactive" or "like a slug."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "_____ was a torpid place where all we ever did was _____."
Example: "The typing classroom was a torpid place where all we ever did was stare at workbooks and tap out A S D F."
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 Felicitous Names.
A felicitous name for a fictional character is a highly appropriate name, a name that fits that character so perfectly that you just know the writer picked it on purpose. This month, draw on your knowledge of both vocabulary and fiction to pick out the right name for the character described. Enjoy!
From our previous issue: What's the most felicitous name for a character who can shape-shift into a dog? Is it Arachne, Sirius, or Ursus? Why?
Answer: Sirius! He's Harry Potter's godfather, with a name straight from Latin meaning "the dog star," part of the constellation Canis Major.
Try this today: Would the most felicitous name for a character who is air-headed and insubstantial be Emma Bovary, Effie Trinket, or Judy Green? Why?
review today's word:
1. One opposite of TORPID is
A. INTELLIGENT
B. ANIMATED
C. FUNNY
2. He was expecting a torpid audience, not these _____.
A. stares of incomprehension
B. little waves of tepid applause
C. fireballs with equally loud signage
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. B
2. C
To be torpid is to be still, inactive, or numb, as if you can't move and you can't feel anything. Like when we're vegging in front of the TV.
"TORPID" "Torpid" comes from a Latin word meaning "stiff, numb." Part of speech: Other forms:
Reading comprehension is a skill we never fully master--we all stumble when the text is too hard. Tax codes render me torpid.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "torpid" means when you can explain it without saying "biologically inactive" or "like a slug."
Fill in the blanks: "_____ was a torpid place where all we ever did was _____."
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.
1. One opposite of TORPID is
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com
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