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Make Your Point > Archived Issues > UNFLAPPABLE

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pronounce UNFLAPPABLE:

un FLAP uh bull
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connect this word to others:

Let's add unflappable to our collection of words for people who take it easy.

They're calm, chill, relaxed, composed, unruffled, unfazed ("not worried or embarrassed"), bl__e ("not worried or concerned"), equ____ous ("calm in thought and spirit"), and, if you like to get really fancy, dé___é ("not upset or emotional").

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

definition:

"Flap" has lots of meanings, with a slangy one being "to make a fuss, to get stressed out: to get confused or nervous during difficult situations."

Around the late 1950s, the word "unflappable" first made an appearance as a description for people who keep calm in times when other people tend to freak out.

In other words, if you're unflappable, you don't get stressed out, confused, or nervous in difficult situations.

grammatical bits:

Part of speech:

Adjective: "The reporters remained unflappable as he hurled insults at them."

Other forms: 

The adverb is "unflappably," as in "He's unflappably calm" and "Her voice remained unflappably gentle."

how to use it:

Pick the happy, positive, semi-common word "unflappable" to describe people who keep their cool.

Although it's most often people that we call unflappable, we also talk about people's unflappable personalities and attitudes, their unflappable reactions and expressions, and their unflappable emotions and beliefs.

examples:

"Despite random, incoherent shouting from the audience, [Charlie Sheen] was unflappable."   
  — Hugo Kugiya, Seattle Times, 4 May 2011

"He... calmly assessed the damage from his travels. He discovered a broken stupa top and a cracked corner, but the busted bits didn't rattle the unflappable Mongolian. 'In nomadic life, you are always losing or breaking something,' he said." 
   — Andrea Sachs, quoting Gankhuyag “Ganna” Natsag, Washington Post, 30 April 2015

has this page helped you understand "unflappable"?

   

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 "unflappable" without saying "self-possessed" or "even-keeled."

try it out:

A writer for the New York Times reported that on a certain reality TV show, many hopeful but untested athletes "expressed an unflappable conviction that they would one day win an Olympic medal."

With that in mind as an example, talk about an unflappable hope or belief of your own. You might need to think back to your younger, more hopeful, more optimistic days!




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 "Literally That."

I’ll give you a gif and several synonyms that describe it, and you figure out which of these synonyms is most literally illustrated in the gif.

For example, if I give you…

(Source)

A. upheaval
B. pandemonium
C. Sturm und Drang

... then you’d figure out that gif most literally illustrates C, “Sturm und Drang,” a phrase we borrowed from German that means "storm and stress." A literal gif of "upheaval" would have to show something being heaved upwards, and a literal gif of "pandemonium" would have to show lots of demons.

Try this one today:

(Source)

A. vain
B. overweening
C. narcissistic

To see the answer, scroll all the way down. 

review this word:

1. The opposite of UNFLAPPABLE is FLAPPABLE, which means

A. EASILY FLOWN.
B. EASILY UPSET.
C. EASILY FLATTENED.

2. From We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss: "Even the normally unflappable Toby seemed momentarily _____."

A. bored
B. panicked
C. blissed out




Answers to the review questions:
1. B
2. B

From the game:

I was thinking of "narcissistic," from the myth about the guy who dies because he can't stop looking at his own gorgeous reflection.


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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