Word: divine (adjective, verb)

Associations

"Divine" is often connected with something related to gods, heaven, or something very good and perfect.

• As an adjective, it means something like "godly" or "holy." For example, "divine power" means the power of a god.
• As an adjective, it can also mean "excellent" or "wonderful," like "a divine meal" means a very delicious meal.
• As a verb, "to divine" means to discover or guess something, often in a mysterious or clever way, like "to divine the truth."

Examples:

• Adjective: "She has a divine voice." (Her voice is very beautiful.)
• Adjective: "The temple is a divine place." (The temple is holy or sacred.)
• Verb: "He tried to divine the future by reading the stars." (He tried to guess the future.)

Synonym:

• For the adjective meaning "godly," a synonym is "holy," but "divine" often sounds more formal or poetic.
• For the adjective meaning "wonderful," a synonym is "excellent," but "divine" adds a feeling of something special or rare.
• For the verb meaning "guess," a synonym is "infer," but "divine" suggests a more mysterious or intuitive guessing.

Substitution

• Instead of "divine" (adjective, godly), you can say "holy," "sacred," or "spiritual."
• Instead of "divine" (adjective, excellent), you can say "wonderful," "amazing," or "delicious" (for food).
• Instead of "divine" (verb), you can say "guess," "infer," or "predict," but these are less mysterious.

Deconstruction

• Root: "Divine" comes from the Latin word "divinus," which means "of a god."
• Prefix: None.
• Suffix: None. The word has a long history connected to religion and the idea of gods or something very special.

Inquiry

• Can you think of something in your life that you would describe as "divine"? Why?
• How would you use "divine" to describe a very good experience?
• Have you heard about "divining" water or answers? What do you think that means?