Word: engender (verb)

Associations

The word "engender" means to cause or bring about something, especially feelings, situations, or conditions.

• "The new policy engendered a lot of debate." — The policy caused many people to discuss and argue.
• "His kindness engendered trust among the team." — His kindness created or made people trust him.
• "Poor communication can engender misunderstandings." — Bad communication leads to confusion or wrong ideas.

Synonym: "cause" — Both mean to make something happen. But "engender" is often used in more formal or emotional contexts, especially for feelings or abstract things, while "cause" is more general.

Substitution

You can replace "engender" with words like:

• cause (more general)
• create (focuses on making something new)
• provoke (often used when something negative or strong is caused)
• generate (often used for producing something)

Example: "The speech provoked strong reactions." — This shows the speech caused strong feelings, similar to "engendered."

Deconstruction

"Engender" comes from Old French "engendrer," which means "to beget" or "to produce." It has the prefix "en-" meaning "to cause to be," and "gender," related to "gen-" meaning "to produce" or "to give birth." So, "engender" literally means "to cause to be born" or "to produce."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a situation where your actions might engender positive feelings in others?
• How is "engender" different from just "cause" in emotional situations?
• Have you ever seen a decision or event engender a big change in your life or community? What was it?