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Your urbane friends are the polished, sophisticated ones: the ones with plenty of sa____-f____, or knowledge of exactly what to say and what to do in social situations.
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"URBANE"
Someone or something urbane is elegant and sophisticated, with smooth, polished manners.
Pronunciation:
ur BANE
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 "an urbane thing" or "an urbane person."
2. After a linking verb, as in "It was urbane" or "He was urbane.")
Other forms:
urbanely, urbaneness/urbanity
Why it looks like "urban:"
"Urbane" originally described things from cities and people living in cities, rather than out in the country. Apparently talking about "urbane life," "urbane magnificence," and "urbane citizens" so often called attention to the suave, sophisticated, and well-mannered that the word "urbane" eventually took on these secondary meanings.
How to use it:
Talk about urbane people with urbane personalities, urbane taste(s), urbane manners, urbane behaviors, and urbane speech. An event or place might be called urbane, and something might have an urbane setting, an urbane tone, or an urbane polish.
examples:
We met one of my husband's associates in the city, at one of those urbane restaurants where they compliment you on your choice of wine.
Mac and cheese: does it transform into an urbane dish when you add bacon? Or use fancy cheese?
study it now:
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "urbane" means when you can explain it without saying "classy" or "with polished manners."
try it out:
Think of someone you know who always speaks or dresses in a sophisticated way, and fill in the blanks: "(Person), an urbane (speaker/dresser), always _____."
Example: "Rachel, an urbane dresser, always wears heels. Even with jeans."
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.
Language Techniques:
When language sounds beautiful or memorable, often there’s some particular technique responsible for that effect. Each day this month, I’ll give you a specific stylistic technique or quality, and I’d like you to recreate (as closely as you can) the quote that I’ve botched by removing it. We’ll work our way from the easiest to the hardest techniques. Enjoy!
From yesterday:
The active voice is what you're using when you let your subjects take action, as in "She made mistakes." It's often more powerful and direct than the passive voice, which is when you just say that the action was done, as in "Mistakes were made" or "Mistakes were made by her." Some English teachers hate the passive voice so much that they ban it, but still, there's a time and a place for it! Many proverbs, for instance, make excellent use of the passive voice. Some that we often repeat don't go like this: "Someone makes marriages in heaven." "Nobody built Rome in a day." And, Caesar didn't say, "Somebody cast the die." How do these phrases usually appear? (Restore these active-voice versions to the more graceful passive voice in which they are usually said.)
Answer: "Marriages are made in heaven," "Rome wasn't built in a day," and "The die is cast."
Try this one today:
In a periodic sentence, the main point comes at the very end, and the rest of the sentence is a bunch of extra information that leads up to that main point. Used well, periodic sentences build suspense and interest. For example, Edward Gibbon wrote, "Unprovided with original learning, uninformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved -- to write a book." Cicero didn't say, "You'll always remain a child if you remain ignorant of what occurred before you were born." How did he express this thought instead?
review today's word:
1. The opposite of URBANE is
A. GLOBAL
B. COARSE
C. COLD
2. There's a fine line between an urbane tone and _____ one, and this speech crossed it.
A. a snobby
B. an urgent
C. an anxious
Answers are below.
a final word:
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, 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. A
Your urbane friends are the polished, sophisticated ones: the ones with plenty of sa____-f____, or knowledge of exactly what to say and what to do in social situations.
"URBANE" Someone or something urbane is elegant and sophisticated, with smooth, polished manners. Pronunciation: Part of speech: Other forms:
We met one of my husband's associates in the city, at one of those urbane restaurants where they compliment you on your choice of wine.
Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "urbane" means when you can explain it without saying "classy" or "with polished manners."
Think of someone you know who always speaks or dresses in a sophisticated way, and fill in the blanks: "(Person), an urbane (speaker/dresser), always _____."
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. The opposite of URBANE is
To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
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