Say It Plainly

Eight words for stating your case, and every way to know them.

Meet each word one at a time, then take the quiz to lock them in.

1. 1 dictation noun
2. 2 verdict noun
3. 3 dictate verb
4. 4 contradict verb
5. 5 credible adjective
6. 6 authentic adjective
7. 7 evidently adverb
8. 8 distinctly adverb

Nelson's word

noun

Dictation. A noun. I file it under the act of speaking words aloud so that another person can write them down exactly. When a lawyer speaks and a clerk writes every word, that is dictation. Listen for the root at its heart, dict, which means to speak or to say; you will meet that root again in this very unit. Dictation is speaking made into a record, and I keep the record. State it precisely: dictation is spoken words, taken down for keeping.

The secretary took dictation while the judge spoke.

Nelson's word

noun

Verdict. A noun, and a weighty one. I file it under the decision a jury or a judge reaches at the end of a trial: guilty or not guilty, and nothing in between. Look closely and you will find that same root, dict, to speak, joined to ver, which means true; a verdict is, at heart, a thing spoken truly. When the foreman rises and states the verdict, the whole room falls silent, because a decision has just been said aloud and made final. File it near decision and judgment.

The jury delivered its verdict after two long days.

Vinny's word

verb

Dictate! To speak your words aloud so another can write them down, or to lay down a command that others must follow! When the general dictates the orders, his words go straight into action. That is the verb, and it is mine, and it shares its root with dictation and verdict; dict means to speak, and a hero speaks with force. But beware, because this word has a secret identity. Say a harsh dictate, and suddenly it is a noun, a command itself, sitting there to be named. Same spelling, different job. We sort those hats in Practice.

The general dictates the orders to his officers.

Vinny's word

verb

Contradict! To stand up and say the OPPOSITE of what another person just claimed! When the new witness contradicts the first, two stories collide, and only one can stand. That is the verb, and it takes courage, which suits a hero. Break it open and you find our root again, dict, to speak, with contra in front, which means against; to contradict is, quite simply, to speak against. Learn the parts, and the word can never confuse you: contra, against, plus dict, speak.

The new witness contradicts the story the first one told.

Jake's word

adjective

Credible. Oh, this is a useful one, and it is mine. As an adjective, credible describes a claim or a person you can believe, one worthy of your trust: a credible witness, a credible story. Its Frown is doubtful, the tale that does not quite add up. Could we be more specific than saying a story seemed true? We could say it was credible, which tells the reader you had reason to trust it. Same picture, sharper edges. Magnifique.

Her account was credible, so the officer wrote it down as fact.

Jake's word

adjective

Authentic. A rich one, and mine. As an adjective, authentic describes a thing that is genuine, the real article rather than a fake or a copy: an authentic painting, an authentic signature, an authentic account of what happened. Its Frown is fake, the imitation dressed up to fool you. Could we be more specific than saying a thing was real? We could call it authentic, and mean that it is the true original, not a copy. Say it, and you have vouched for it.

The museum proved the painting was authentic, not a clever copy.

Benny's word

adverb

Evidently. Now here is a sharp one, and I want you to reach for it. As an adverb, evidently tells how you know a thing: not because someone told you outright, but because the signs make it plain. The lights are off, so evidently no one is home. You did not see them leave; the evidence said so. Hear the word evidence hiding inside it? That is your clue. When you write evidently, you tell your reader you read the signs and drew the conclusion. That is a strong play, and you can make it every time. Make it sharper, and say evidently.

The lights were off, so evidently no one was home.

Benny's word

adverb

Distinctly. This is the adverb of certainty, and I coach you to use it when you mean it. Distinctly tells how clearly a thing came through: not fuzzy, not maybe, but sharp and unmistakable. I distinctly heard the door close; there is no doubt in that sentence, and the word carries the doubt away. Its faint cousin is barely, the thing you almost missed. When you remember something with no fog around it, you remember it distinctly, and that word tells your reader to trust the memory. Sharpen the vague, and say distinctly.

I distinctly heard the door close behind me.