Shades of Adjectives
Adjectives are weird. This week I started thinking about adjectives when a vague phrase popped into my head. The words mostly disappeared before I could write them down. When I finally got out a paper and pen I could recall all of the words - except one. Guess which part of speech it was?
Here is the phrase, reproduced:
Blankets: the most flexible item of clothing.
I crossed out the adjective because it just wasn't the right one. Of course blankets are flexible material; many things made of linen or wool or synthetic fibers can move, twist, and bend easily. However, the adjective I meant to use focused less on the physical properties of movement and more on the ...
There lay the problem. I had to use and adjective in order to try and find the adjective that I needed to make my intended meaning clear. My immediate attempt included a list of adjectives of both near and distant meanings to what I wanted. Below, I have reproduced each listed adjective with a reason why I considered it:
repurposed -- A blanket can be one thing, like a cover for a bed, and then become another thing, such as a dress or a skirt. In that sense it can be "repurposed".
repurposable -- Like the above, but emphasizing the inherent properties of a blanket, as in "able to be repurposed."
ambiguous -- A blanket is an unadorned square of fabric, therefore its use is ambiguous until it actually is taken and it begins to be used.
morphable -- Not an actual word, but an adjective emphasizing the ability to change form or shape.
nebulous -- Meaning "cloudy" or "unclear", this word is similar to both "ambiguous" and the non-word "morphable". I have thought of this word every other time I think of the word "ambiguous" because of a story I wrote one time where I was looking for synonyms for it.
useful -- If a blanket can be used it many different ways, it is very "useful." Even if it was just used as a cover, it would have a lot of use in making or keeping a body warm.
general -- A very broad scope of a word. I tried to encompass all of the other adjectives to find what they had in common, and found that I was looking for a word that had a "general purpose" attitude. This word, however, was much too broad for my intentions.
purposeful -- A blanket has a purpose. However, this adjective would have given a blanket a will and an agenda. I was not trying to personify the blanket, so I left this adjective alone.
ubiquitous -- I thought this word referred to a blanket's common occurrence in daily life, but if a blanket were to be "ubiquitous", it would be omnipresent. Can anyone say "Super Blanket"? It might also be the star antagonist of a horror movie involving Mr. Linus van Pelt, formerly of the Peanuts comic strip.
transferable -- I knew immediately this was the wrong word, but my brain kept bugging me until I wrote it down.
malleable -- Again, a blanket is easily manipulated, but that was not my meaning.
widespread -- Along the line of the "ubiquitous" nightmare, I did not mean to say that blankets are everywhere.
essential -- Ah, here was a gem. Blankets have been and are "essential" to the survival of civilization. It was also the beginning of another shade of meaning I had intended,
basic -- The meaning I was looking for, but not quite specific enough.
cellular -- Too scientific of a word, but part of "essential" and "basic".
elemental -- I tried to search my mind for a synonym for basic that was flashy and bold. How much more flashy can you get with a word evoking images of storms and lightning?
I finally settled on the best word match to my vague inner musings.
versatile -- Combines the best of "basic" and "repurposed". It also answers how a blanket can be "useful": a blanket can be useful because it can be used for many different purposes, due to its inherent quality of being a basic form of fabric.
Therefore the phrase I was looking for becomes
Blankets: the most versatile item of clothing
my intended meaning for the phrase. My choice of the best adjective for my purposes took some time, but shows how complicated but important finding just the right adjective can be.
Sometimes I run across this problem of finding just the right word when I am writing a story. I have learned to just put down a placeholder word that will remind me of some shade of meaning related to my intended meaning. If that is not enough to remind me to return to the word I will draw a circle around the word. Then in my first editing sweep - what I sometimes think of as my second writing attempt - I go back and think over such word choices.
Finding the right thing to say is part of a writer's task.
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