Make Your Point > Archived Issues > ZEITGEIST
Send Make Your Point issues straight to your inbox.
connect this word to others:
Sometimes, maybe when you're craving bratwurst or a foamy hefeweizen, you want a good sturdy German word like zeitgeist, literally "time-spirit." (It looks a bit like poltergeist, literally "noisy spirit" or "noisy ghost.")
But when the mood calls for a synonym that's light and graceful, like a French delicacy, you want mil___ (meaning "the specific social environment," or literally "middle place") or even mise en s____ ("the setting or background of any event in time and/or space," or literally "a setting on stage").
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"ZEITGEIST"
This is German for "time spirit," or less literally, "spirit of the age."
A zeitgeist is the mood or spirit of a particular time in history.
In other words, it's how a large group of people in some culture (or subculture) were thinking, feeling, and believing--at a specific point in time.
Pronunciation:
ZITE GUYST
(Hear it.)
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "the zeitgeist," "a new kind of zeitgeist," "two very different zeitgeists."
Other forms:
The plural is "zeitgeists."
There's also a very casual-sounding adjective, "zeitgeisty." Here's Politico: "a zeitgeisty swirl of podcasts, GIFs, tweets and memes." Yes, "zeitgeisty" is recognized in the Oxford English Dictionary--but it sounds a bit childish, doesn't it?
Is it "the Zeitgeist" or just "the zeitgeist"?:
You'll notice that some writers and publications still capitalize this word, treating it like the foreign borrowing that it is. I'll keep using a lowercase, though, like many other English speakers, because we've been using "zeitgeist" in English for a good long time: since about 1848.
How to use it:
This word is fun and zesty.
Use it to talk about both the past and the present: "the zeitgeist of the 1970s," "the Cold War zeitgeist," "this zeitgeist of environmental awareness."
You can talk about how certain trends, ideas, beliefs, attitudes, films, novels, newspapers, works of art and so on capture or reflect the zeitgeist, how they express, reveal, or encapsulate the zeitgeist; how they fit in with (or clash with) the zeitgeist; how they determine, control, or shift the zeitgeist, etc.
examples:
"Over the weekend, an organization in Brooklyn called the Interference Archive gave away about five thousand stickers, three thousand printed posters, [and] a thousand buttons...in the form of mottoes like 'Don’t Mourn, Organize.' MacPhee, [speaking for the organization], is a believer in the ability of political images to send ripples through the Zeitgeist."
— Colin Moynihan, The New Yorker, 18 January 2017
"[John Vasconcellos] is probably best known for his creation of a commission to study the importance of self-esteem in childhood development. Always a few steps ahead of the Zeitgeist, Vasconcellos, who was 82, was first to pose questions others hadn't thought to ask."
— Kathleen Parker, The Washington Post, 6 June 2014
has this page helped you understand "zeitgeist"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "zeitgeist" without saying "spirit of the times" or "mood of the period."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Read, watch, or listen to) _____, and you'll sense the zeitgeist of (a particular time period)."
Example: "Watch Clueless, and you'll sense the zeitgeist of the 90's."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
This month, we're playing Name Those Synonyms!
We're enjoying the gracefully written, ultra-authoritative explanations in Funk & Wagnalls Standard Handbook of Synonyms, Antonyms, and Prepositions. In each issue, check out the passage from the book, and see if you can figure out which synonyms are being distinguished.
From the previous issue: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below? (They are distinguished first from each other, then distinguished from "dream" and "vision.")
"A <1> is purposeless drifting of the mind when awake, abstract or fanciful musing; a <2> that which passes before the mind in such condition.
A dream is strictly a train of thoughts, fantasies, and images passing through the mind during sleep; a vision may occur when one is awake, and exercising the senses and mental powers clearly; vision is often applied to something seen by the mind through supernatural agency, whether in sleep or wakefulness, conceived as more real and authoritative than a dream."
Answers:
<1> is "reverie."
<2> is "daydream."
Try this today: What two synonyms (<1> and <2>) does the Handbook distinguish below? (They are distinguished first from each other, then distinguished from "inclination.")
"<1> is an earnest longing or <2>ing for something. Its range is from the highest objects to the lowest; for an object near at hand, or near in thought, and viewed as attainable; a <2> may be for what is remote or uncertain, or even for what is recognized as impossible. Inclination is the mildest of these terms; it is a quiet, or even a vague or unconscious, tendency. Even when we speak of a strong or decided inclination we do not express the intensity of <1>."
Bonus challenge: Recall the fine differences between "appetite" and "passion." You can view the answer in this issue.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of ZEITGEIST is
A. ANACHRONISM.
B. LYRICISM.
C. MAGNETISM.
2. Google's Zeitgeist conference each year takes a _____ look at _____.
A. sharp .. a public health issue
B. sweeping .. media and culture
C. hyper-focused .. advertising revenue
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:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
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.
Sometimes, maybe when you're craving bratwurst or a foamy hefeweizen, you want a good sturdy German word like zeitgeist, literally "time-spirit." (It looks a bit like poltergeist, literally "noisy spirit" or "noisy ghost.")
"ZEITGEIST" This is German for "time spirit," or less literally, "spirit of the age."
"Over the weekend, an organization in Brooklyn called the Interference Archive gave away about five thousand stickers, three thousand printed posters, [and] a thousand buttons...in the form of mottoes like 'Don’t Mourn, Organize.' MacPhee, [speaking for the organization], is a believer in the ability of political images to send ripples through the Zeitgeist."
Explain the meaning of "zeitgeist" without saying "spirit of the times" or "mood of the period."
Fill in the blanks: "(Read, watch, or listen to) _____, and you'll sense the zeitgeist of (a particular time period)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of ZEITGEIST is
|