L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2025 www.italoamericano.org 22 L'Italo-Americano T he adverb malv- olentieri (mahl- v o h - l e n t - e e - a i - ree) may be subtle in meaning but it is strong in intent, as it means y o u d o s o m e t h i n g a g a i n s t your will. Some of its syn- onyms can help understand its meaning even better: con- trovoglia, a malincuore, in other words, something you accept or carry out reluctantly, with some disinclination or inner resistance. T h o u g h r a r e l y u s e d i n everyday casual speech, malv- olentieri appears often in lit- erature, formal writing, and expressive contexts precisely because it conveys a shade of reluctance that simpler words l i k e m a l e o r c o n t r o v o g l i a don't fully give. For example, if someone agrees to take on a task but does so without enthusiasm, they might say Accettò l'incar- i c o m a l v o l e n t i e r i , w h i c h i m p l i e s m o r e t h a n j u s t " a c c e p t e d u n w i l l i n g l y , " b e c a u s e i t s h o w s i n t e r n a l reluctance, absence of joy or commitment. I n E n g l i s h t h e c l o s e s t equivalents are "reluctantly," "unwillingly," "begrudgingly," or "under protest," but trans- lation often depends on the tone: if a sentence expresses mild hesitation, "reluctantly" might be suitable; if the resis- tance is stronger, "begrudg- 1 (feminine of) healthy 3 (I) pay 7 (you/tu) eat 8 (you/tu) go 9 (he/she) chooses 13 in the 14 beginnings; (you/tu) start 16 hatred 17 date, that specifies the time Using the provided meanings as clues, search for the appropriate Italian word in the grid 1 seed 2 not; no, not any 4 (you/tu) start 5 (he/she) hates 6 rain 10 kicks 11 year 12 life; waist 15 anger i n g l y " m a y b e b e t t e r . F o r instance: Fece quel lavoro malvolentieri could be ren- dered as "He did that work reluctantly," or "He did that work unwillingly," depending on context. The word, in any case, retains a sense of inter- n a l f r i c t i o n : t h e a c t i o n i s done, but with a weight of inner "no." Other examples in Italian might include Partecipava malvolentieri alle riunioni (He participated in the meet- ings unwillingly) or Hanno malvolentieri accettato le condizioni (They accepted the terms with reluctance), where malvolentieri is used to paint a clearer picture of the atti- tude of the subject towards the action. Critics of the word might argue it sounds a bit formal or archaic in everyday speech, but this very quality makes it useful in journalistic or liter- ary registers when the tone calls for precision. Quando fu sollevato dal- l'incarico, accettò malvolen- tieri il commiato dai colleghi When he was relieved of the assignment, he accepted t h e f a r e w e l l f r o m h i s c o l - leagues unwillingly Ripose il libro sullo scaf- fale malvolentieri, odiando separarsene He put the book back on the shelf reluctantly, hating to part with it LA VITA ITALIANA TRADITIONS HISTORY CULTURE Malvolentieri: when you do something but you really don't want to! (Photo: Dean Bertoncelj/Dreamstime) 1 car 2 shirt 3 light 4 face 5 boy 6 door 7 to run 8 mother 9 to talk 10 one 11 father 12 two 13 son 14 to drink 15 to listen 16 three 17 hand A C R O S S D O W N ITALIAN WORD SEARCH The solution to these word games will be available on the next edition. Games courtesy of Lexis Rex

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