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AH020387 Posted 15 years ago
Vocabulary

Instrumentalize

What does 'instrumentalize' mean in the following sentence:

This is a theme that a number of Muslim actors have been willing to instrumentalize.

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Top answer

AH020387 This is a theme that a number of Muslim actors have been willing to instrumentalize. Sounds like a show biz metaphor. Very clever.

  • AH020387 This is a theme that a number of Muslim actors have been willing to instrumentalize.
  • Sounds like a show biz metaphor.
  • Very clever.
  • Composers write variations on a theme.
  • Arrangers provide orchestration for the theme and variations.
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3 Answers
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AH020387This is a theme that a number of Muslim actors have been willing to instrumentalize.
Sounds like a show biz metaphor. Very clever.
Composers write variations on a theme.
Arrangers provide orchestration for the theme and variations.

"Instrumentalize" is ambiguous. It can mean "to orchestrate" or "to implement."

To orchestrate
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By 'orchestrate' here do you mean 'plan', 'organise', or 'compose'?
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AH020387By 'orchestrate' here do you mean 'plan', 'organise', or 'compose'?
All of the above.
By using the the terms "theme" and "instrumentalize" together, the author is toying with a musical image, probably facetiously. Reporters and commentators love to play with words.

I don't know what the particular theme is to which he refers, but the "ins

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