Followers

Top Arts Sites

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

XXXII: LET'S BE CALM

ALLEVIATE’, we saw in an earlier post, is from LEVITY, lightness of the heart. To ALLEVIATE is to LESSEN the severity, to reduce the seriousness. The following words are similar in meaning to ALLEVIATE. ASSUAGE AMELIORATE (improve) SOOTHE CONSOLE MOLLIFY PACIFY PLACATE PALLIATE SEDATE BECALM All these words can appear as the ANTONYMS of ‘AGGRAVATE’ and its various forms. We can see that, from SEDATE we get SEDATIVE. A SEDATIVE is SEDATING (pacifying) agent, just as an ASTRINGENT is a PUCKERING (contracting agent). From PALLIATE we get PALLIATIVE. A PALLIATIVE is a PALLIATING (soothing) agent, just as an ANESTHETIC is a NUMBING (making insensitive) agent. We can also see that from MOLLIFY, we get EMOLLIENT. An EMOLLIENT (balm) is a MOLLIFYING (soothing) agent, just as A TONIC (stimulant) is an agent of INVIGORATION (energizing). Based on the above ideas, we get a common ANALOGY type in GRE, in which one is the agent\factor\cause of the other. Here follow a few old ANALOGIES: {The pair in upper case was the QUESTION and the pair in lower case the ANSWER} 1. SEDATIVE: DROWSINESS anesthetic: numbness 2. FRICTION: ABRASION heat: vaporization 3. ASTRINGENT: CONTRACTION anesthetic: insensibility (numbness) 4. COAGULANT: CLOTTING emollient: consoling 5. STIMULANT: ENERGIZE analgesic: numb 6. BACTERIA: DECOMPOSITION yeast: fermentation 7. SEDATIVE: PACIFY antiseptic: sterilize 8. SPONGE: ABSORB caulk: seal 9. FOOD: NOURISH antibodies: protect 10. ASTRINGENT: PUCKER (contraction) spark: ignition 11. PIGMENT: COLOR spice: flavor 12. JUGGERNAUT( crushing machine): CRUSH quisling (an agent of treason): betray 13. EMOLLIENT: SOOTHE dynamo: generate 14. CATALYST: PRECIPITATION inhibitor: prevention

No comments: