Explanation: Allude (Verb) and insinuate (Verb) means to make indirect reference.

Innuendo (Noun) means indirect reference. Insinuate (Verb) has second meaning also. It
also means to move gradually into a favorable position

Hint /indirect reference

1. Allude
2. Insinuate
3. Innuendo

ALLUDE (Verb)

Meaning: To make indirect reference

Use: When the reporter on TV news alluded to colorful displays, he was talking about the
fireworks that take place on the fourth of July in many parts of the U.S.A.

INNUENDO

Meaning: Indirect reference or hint

Use: I can defend myself against direct accusations; innuendoes and oblique attacks o my
character are what trouble me.

INSINUATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To suggest something bad indirectly

2) To move gradually into a favorable position.

Use: Gerald appeared to insinuate that the man was dishonest by questioning his integrity.

Understood but not directly stated

1. Implicit
2. Tacit

IMPLICIT (Adj.)

Meaning: Understood though not clearly or directly stated

Use: The children responded with implicit cooperation during the fire drill.

1
TACIT (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressed or understood without being directly stated

Use: Mary felt that she had her parents’ tacit consent to stay out late at her friend’s birthday
party.

Difficult task /demanding lot of efforts

1. Arduous
2. Exating
3. Taxing
4. Strenuous
5. Onerous
6. Laborious
7. Toilsome
8. Grueling
9. Painstaking

ARDUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very difficult
Use: There is a great deal of arduous work involved in compiling understandable
definitions and applicable sentences for the word entries in this lexicon.

EXACTING (Adj.)

Meaning: Very difficult or demanding

Use: Mark’s teacher made very exacting instructions regarding the contents of their essays

because she was expecting the very best writing results by all of her students.

TAXING (Adj.)

Meaning: Requiring a lot of efforts, energy etc.

Use: A very taxing workload that is taking a lot of time to finish.

STRENUOUS (Adj.)

2
Meaning: Requiring or using great effort
Use: The trainer at the fitness studio told Jim to avoid strenuous exercise because repetition
is better than overdoing it.

ONEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Difficult and unpleasant to do or deal with

Use: Sometimes Mr. Jan felt as if it were an onerous difficulty to survive during the
economic crisis.

LABORIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Requiring a lot of time and effort

Use: We spent many laborious hours on the project and it is still not completed.

TOILSOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Requiring hard work or great efforts

Use: Faced with the toilsome task of cleaning out her deceased father’ s homestead.

GRUELING (Adj.)

Meaning: Requiring great effort

Use: The marathon is a grueling race.

PAINSTAKING (Adj.)

Meaning: Done with great care and effort

Use: The new high-frequency word list is the result of painstaking efforts on the part of our
research staff

Present everywhere

1. Unbiquitous
2. Omnipresent

UBIQUITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Seeming to be seen everywhere

Uses: The ubiquitous spokesperson Dr. Sambhit Patra daily speaks on several different
television programs from 5 p.m to 8 p.m.

3
OMNIPRESENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Present in all places at all times

Use: On Christmas Eve, Santa Claus is omnipresent.

Different from each other

1. Divergent
2. Disparate

DIVERGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Diverging or different from each other

Use: Since graduating from an Engineering college, we have taken divergent paths, one
going on for M.S and I have joined a consulting firm.

DISPARATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Different from each other

Use: Unfortunately, Tony and Tina have disparate notions of marriage: Tony sees it as a
carefree extended love affair, while Tina sees it as a solemn commitment to build a family
and a home. .

Not active
1. Dormant
2. Inactive
3. Abeyant
4. Quiescent
5. Latent

DORMANT (Adj.)
Meaning: Not active but able to become active
Use: The cricket match picked up after a dormant start.

INACTIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not active or not currently being

Use: Inactive people suffer higher rates of heart disease.

4
ABEYANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Temporary suspended
Use: We have to keep our plan abeyant until we could get a weather forecast.

QUIESCENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not active
Use: “The family was quiescent as they watched the interesting film on TV.”

LATENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Describing something that exists but is not active or cannot be seen.

Use: She is also a very good actress but she hasn’ t had a chance to express her latent talent
yet.

Lazy

1. Lackadesical
2. Indolent
3. Sluggish
4. Listless
5. Slothful
6. Idle
7. Languid
8. Lethargic
9. Languorous

Explanation: Languor (Noun) means state of feeling tired and Lazy. Languorous(Adj.)

means lazy.

LACKADAISICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing a lack of interest or enthusiasm

Use: My teacher said that I am a lackadaisical pupil because it was a difficult task for me to
take interest in mundane studies.

5
INDOLENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not liking to work or not liking to be active

Use: Naina was annoyingly indolent because he hardly completes her homework and she
never cleans her room.

SLUGGISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Moving slowly or lazily

Use: After two nights without sleep, she felt sluggish and incapable of exertion.

LISTLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Lacking energy or spirit

Use: We had expected her to be full of enthusiasm and were surprised by her listless
attitude.

SLOTHFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Not liking to work or not liking to be active

Use: The heat made us slothful.

IDLE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Not working, active or being used

2) Not having much activity

Use: An Idle person is always a burden on any team.

LANGUID (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing very little energy or activity

Use: Our team proceeded at a languid pace and it is difficult to complete project on time.

LETHARGIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling a lack of energy or a lack of interest in doing things

Use: In class, she tried to stay alert and listen to the professor, but the stuffy room made
her lethargic.

LANGUOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Tired or lacking energy

6
Use: The drummer’ s languorous playing causing the rest of the band to keep missing the
beat.

State of feeling lazy

1. Languor
2. Lassitude
3. Lethargy
4. Torpor
5. Indolence
6. Sluggishness
7. Slothfulness
8. Idleness
9. Languidness

LANGUOR (Noun)

Meaning: A state of feeling tired and relaxed

Use: They enjoyed the languor brought on by a hot summer afternoon.

LASSITUDE (Noun)

Meaning: The condition of being tired or lack of energy

Use: After a massage and a long soak in the hot tub, I gave in to my growing lassitude and
lay down for a nap.

LETHARGY (Noun)

Meaning: A lack of energy or a lack of interest in doing things

Use: Symptoms of the disease include loss of appetite and lethargy.

TORPOR (Noun)

Meaning: A state of not being active and having little energy

Use: Where physical torpor leads, mental weakness is sure to follow.

INDOLENCE (Noun)

Meaning: Inclination to laziness
Use: I was planning to start my work but a feeling of indolence usually overtook me and I
had not started.

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SLUGGISHNESS (Noun)

Meaning: State of moving slowly or lazily

SLOTHFULNESS (Noun)

Meaning: Inclination to laziness

IDLENESS (Noun)

Meaning: State of not working, active or being used

LANGUIDNESS (Noun)

Meaning: State of having or showing very little energy, strength or activity.

Tired /lacking energy

1. Lackluster
2. Prostrate
3. Weary
4. Flagging

Explanation: Prostrate (Adj.) means tired and lacking energy. It has second meaning also.
It also means lying with the front of your body turned toward the ground to show respect.

LACKLUSTER (Adj.)

Meaning: Lacking excitement or interest

Use: Kermit’s lackluster performance on the stage was a disappointment to the audience.

PROSTRATE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Lying with the front of your body turned toward the ground
2) So tired, upset etc.

Use The huge global slowdown prostrated the nation’ s economic engine.

WEARY (Adj.)

8
Meaning: Lacking strength, energy or freshness
Use: I was weary from weeks of toiling in cottage industry.

FLAGGING (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing little energy or activity

Use: The illness left her too weak to stand up.

To dry up /to deprive someone of physical and mental energy

1) Desiccate
2) Wizen
3) Enervate
4) Devitalize

Explanation: Desiccate (Verb) and Wizen (Verb) suggest dry up or they may also suggest
depriving someone of physical and mental energy. But, Enervate (Verb) and Devitalize
(Verb) mean to deprive someone of physical and mental energy.

DESICCATE (Verb)

Meaning: suggest dry up or they may also suggest depriving someone of physical and
mental energy
Use: This movie revolves around the married life and desiccated romance after marriage.

WIZEN (Verb)

Meaning: suggest dry up or they may also suggest depriving someone of physical and
mental energy
Use: The wizened old man in the home for the aged was still active and energetic.

ENERVATE (Verb)

Meaning: to deprive someone of physical and mental energy

Use: She was slow to recover from her illness; even a short walk to the window enervated
her.
DEVITALIZE (Verb)

Meaning: to deprive someone of physical and mental energy

Use: She was devitalized by the infection.

9
Slow person

1) Laggard
2) Dilatory
3) Dawdler
4) Tardy
5) Leisurely
6) ponderous

Explanation: Ponder (Verb) means thinking carefully. Ponderous (Adj.) means acting

slowly. Leisure (Noun) means time for relaxation or enjoyment.

LAGGARD (Noun)

Meaning: Lagging or tending to lag

Use: Our start company failed because of being a laggard after receiving huge funds.

DILATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing a delay or tending to be late

Use: Your dilatory tactics may compel me to cancel the contract.

DAWDLER (Noun)

Meaning: Person moving or acting slowly

Use: Hurry up! There’ s no time to dawdle.

TARDY (Adj.)

Meaning: Slow to act or respond

Use: Thanks for the email and sorry for the tardy reply, just out of five weeks in
Afghanistan where I had no access to this email Address.

LEISURELY (Adj.)

Meaning: Slow and relaxed

Use:  We are proceeding in a leisurely fashion. we may not finish on time.

PONDEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Moving slowly and heavily

10
Use: We saw a group of lackadaisical gharials making their ponderous ways across the
pool.

To do something slowly

1) Dally
2) Tarry
3) Dawdle

DALLY (Verb)

Meaning: To do something slowly

Use: The company has been dallying with the idea of opening a new office.

TARRY (Verb)

Meaning: To be slow in going or to stay somewhere

Use: We can’ tarry if we want to get to the airport on time.

DAWDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To move or act too slowly

Use: We have to meet a deadline: don’ t dawdle; just get down to work.

Skilled

1) Virtuoso
2) Consummate
3) Savant
4) Connoisseur
5) Cognoscente

VIRTUOSO (Noun)

Meaning: Skillful especially a very skillful musician

Use: Johan becomes a virtuoso of classical music, a driving force who cannot be ignored.

CONSUMMATE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Complete
2) Very good or skillful

11
Use: Sam was able to consummate a profitable business transaction with the head of the
company.

SAVANT (Noun)

Meaning: One with detailed knowledge of specialized subject

Use: Our faculty includes many world-famous savants.

CONNOISSEUR (Noun)

Meaning: An expert in particular subject (such as art, wine, food etc.)

Use: My brother is considered to be a consummate vocabulary trainer having more than
ten years of experience.

COGNOSCENTE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who has expert knowledge of a subject

Use: She is a cognoscente of African Art.

1. To show respect
1) Venerate
2) Revere
3) Exalt
4) Hallow
5) Lionize

Explanation: Lionize (Verb) deviates slightly. Lionize means to treat someone as a very

important person.

VENERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To respect (someone or something) that is considered great, holy etc.

Use: In Tibet today, the common people still venerate their traditional spiritual leader, the
Dalai Lama.

REVERE (Verb)

Meaning: To have deep respect for (someone or something)

Use: The family reveres old traditions.

12
EXALT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) Praise highly

2) To raise (someone or something) to a higher level

Use: Bureaucrat’ s polite behavior and down to earth attitude has exalted the power and
prestige of his office.

HALLOW (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To deeply respect

2) To make something holy

Use: A writer hallowed by generations of admirers.

LIONIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To someone as very important and famous person

Use: She enjoyed being lionized and adored by the public.
 

2. Respect
1) Homage

HOMAGE (Noun)

Meaning: Respect
Use: This movie is homage to valorous king Alexander.
 

3. A way of behaving that shows respect

I. Deference

DEFERENCE (Noun)

Meaning: A way of behaving that shows respect for someone or something

Use: As an officer, I was always taught to show deference to old people who were as old as
my parents.
 

13
 4. Brief and direct in a way that seems rude and unfriendly
1) Brusque
2) Curt
3) Terse

BRUSQUE (Adj.)

Meaning: Talking or behaving in a very direct and unfriendly way

Use: She was offended by his brusque reply.

CURT (Adj.)

Meaning: Said or done in a quick and impolite way

Use: Our arrogant and rude teacher always gives a curt reply to the students.

TERSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Brief and direct in a way that may seem rude or unfriendly

Use: The board also issued a terse statement which was a big slap in the face for their
second-largest individual shareholder.
 

5. To confident in a way that shows lack of respect

1) Audacious
2) Impudent
3) Insolent
4) Impertinent
5) Presumptuous
6) AUDACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very bold

2) Very confident and daring

Use: Demonetisation was the most audacious decision taken by Indian Prime minister.

IMPUDENT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Failing to show proper respect

14
2) Very rude

Use: I was punished by my teacher for impudent behavior.

INSOLENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Rude or impolite
Use: Insolent behavior will not be tolerated.

IMPERTINENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Rude and showing a lack of respect

Use: Audacious reporters asked impertinent questions from the newly appointed
bureaucrat who was accused of embezzling funds.

PRESUMPTUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Too confident especially in a way that is rude

Use: My presumptuous teacher did not bother to clear my doubts before exam.
 

6. Mysterious /difficult to understand

1) Conundrum
2) Enigma
3) Cryptic
4) Indecipherable
5) Inscrutable
6) Murky
7) Arcane
8) Occult
9) Convoluted

Explanation: Murky (Adj.) means very dark or foggy. It also means not clearly expressed
or understood. Occult (Adj.) means mysterious or related to supernatural power. Occult
(Noun) means matter regarding supernatural power. Convoluted (Adj.) means containing
many twists and turns.

CONUNDRUM (Noun)

Meaning: A confusing or difficult problem

15
Use: Kashmir conundrum is a reason of animosity between India and Pakistan.

ENIGMA (Noun)

Meaning: Someone or something that is difficult to understand or explain

Use: The enigma of Bermuda triangle cannot be understood.

CRYPTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Difficult to understand
Use:  His cryptic remarks could not be interpreted.

INDECIPHERABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Impossible to read or understand.

2) Not decipherable

Use:  His handwriting is almost indecipherable.

INSCRUTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Difficult to understand
Use: An inscrutable and incomparably powerful force permeates the Universe and binds it
together.

MURKY (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very dark or foggy

2) Not clearly expressed or understood

Use: It’ s pretty murky smog outside, so be careful driving home.

ARCANE (Adj.)

Meaning: Secret or mysterious
Use: Rules on error correction seems arcane to students who were never taught grammar
in school.

OCCULT (Noun)

Meaning: Supernatural beliefs, practices or events

OCCULT (Adj.)

16
Meaning: 1) Of or related to supernatural powers or practices
2) Not easily understood

Use: He began to believe he had occult powers.

CONVOLUTED (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having many twists and turns.

2) Very complicated and difficult to understand

Use: Instead of giving a lucid lecture, our professor gave a convoluted lecture that left us
even more confused than we were before

Understand by few/difficult to understand

1) Obscure
2) Abstruse
3) Esoteric
4) Rarefied
5) Recondite

OBSCURE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not well-known or difficult to understand

Use: Some scientist may understand the Einstein’s theory of relativity, but for students, it is
an obscure collection of ideas.

ABSTRUSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Hard to understand
Use: The poetry of Harry Philips was often described as abstruse and so it was often
relegated to the bottom shelf of many libraries.

ESOTERIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Hard to understand
Use: Metaphysics is such an esoteric subject that most people are content to leave it to
philosophers.

RAREFIED (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Understood by only a small group of people

17
2) (of air) Of low pressure than usual

Use: It is difficult to breathe in the rarefied air near the mountain’ s   peak.

RECONDITE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not understood or known by many people

Use: He read many recondite books in order to obtain the material for his scholarly thesis.
 

To attract/hold the attention of someone (or something)

1) Captive
2) Allure
3) Bedazzle
4) Bewitch
5) Fascinate
6) Enthrall
7) Mesmerize
8) Enchant
9) Beguile

Explanation: Allure (Verb) means to attract. Allure (Noun) means the power to attract.
Bedazzle (Verb)    means to enchant someone or to thrill or excite someone. Bewitch (Verb)
means to attract someone in a way that seems magical. It has second meaning also. Bewitch
(Verb) also means to use magic to make someone do, think or say something. Beguile
(Verb) means to trick or deceive someone. It has second meaning also. It also means to
attract someone. We covered beguile (Verb) in series for to trick or deceive someone.

CAPTIVATE (Verb)

Meaning: To attract and hold the attention of (someone) by being interesting, pretty etc.
Use: Miss world Manushi Chillar captivated the audience with her attitude, beauty and
dramatic flair.

ALLURE (Verb)

Meaning: To attract by charm

Use: Was so allured by his sister’ s college roommate that before long he was asking her for
a roommate.

ALLURE (Noun)

18
Meaning: Attractiveness or charm
Use: These romantic fictions hold a special allure for the young generation.

BEDAZZLE (Verb)

Meaning: To enchant someone or to thrill or excite someone

Use: Fans bedazzled by movie stars.

BEWITCH (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to attract someone in a way that seems magical.

2) to use magic to make someone do, think or say something.

Use: According to the historians, Boyan was not a magician in the sense that he was able to
cast spells, bewitch people and transform into animals, but he was a learned man and a
poet.

FASCINATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to be very interested in something or someone

Use: Painting of M.F Hussain may fail to fascinate connoisseurs of art but they never fail to
create new controversy.

ENTHRALL (Verb)

Meaning: To hold the attention of (someone) by being very exciting, interesting or

beautiful
Use: He was starring her definitely enthralled by her beauty.

MESMERIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To hold the attention of (someone) entirely

Use: She had deep sea blue eyes that mesmerized most men they came across.

ENCHANT (Verb)

Meaning: To attract and hold the attention of (someone) by being interesting, pretty etc.
Use: Visitors will be enchanted, captivated, and charmed by the beauty of the place.

BEGUILE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To trick or deceive someone.

19
2) To attract someone.

Use: Her smile beguiled Paul, and for a very brief second he forgot what he was supposed
to do.
 

Delay/postpone
1) Adjourn
2) Protract
3) Procrastinate
4) Prorogue
5) Prorogate
6) Defer

Explanation: Defer means to delay. It has second meaning also. It also means to respect
someone. Deference (Noun) means a way of behaving that shows respect for someone or
something. We covered word Deference (Noun) in series for Respect.

ADJOURN (Verb)

Meaning: To end something (such as a meeting) for a period of time

Use: Speaker adjourned parliament because pandemonium was created by opposition
leaders demanding the resignation of Prime Minister.

PROTRACT (Verb)

Meaning: To delay
Use: Seeking to delay the union member’ s vote, the management team tried to protract the
negotiations endlessly.

PROCRASTINATE (Verb)

Meaning: To be slow or late about doing something that should be done

Use: when you are under too much emotional stress, you vacillate and procrastinate,
especially when it has something to do with money.

PROROGUE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) Postpone
2) To suspend a session of parliament without dissolving it.

Use: The chairman has prorogued the meeting.

20
PROROGATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) Postpone
2) To suspend a session of parliament without dissolving it.

Use: Parley was prorogated until the following morning.

DEFER (Verb)

Meaning: To postpone or delay

Use: Israeli gentleman wanted to defer joinning military but he was forced to join military.
 

Unintentionally
1) Inadvertent
2) Unwitting

INADVERTENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not intended or planned

Use: 

UNWITTING (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Unaware
2) Not intended or planned

Use: Sam made an unwitting mistake when he forgot his flat keys in his office; so, he had to
go into his garage for getting hidden duplicate keys.
 

Untrue statement meant to harm someone’s reputation /act of

harming someone’s repultation by making untrue statement
1) Aspersion
2) Calumny
3) Scurrility &scurrilous
4) Slander and slanderous

21
 5) Libel & libelous

ASPERSION (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Untrue statement meant to harm someone’ s reputation

2) Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: Shirley cast aspersions on Bill’s integrity and honesty as a reporter.

CALUMNY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Untrue statement meant to harm someone’ s reputation

2) Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: Accusations of abuse were pure extortive calumny about the higher prices being

charged by the store is a malicious effort to make more money.

SCURRILITY (Noun)

Meaning: Untrue statement meant to harm someone’ s reputation

Use: In a heated political debate, She unleashed a torrent of scurrility on her opponent.

SLANDER (Noun)

Meaning: The crime of making false statements that damage a person ‘s reputation

Use: It is inappropriate to utter such slander about a neighbor.

SLANDER (Verb)

Meaning: Make false and harmful statements about

Use: Not long ago, however, the vice president filed a slander suit against some members of
the Taiwan media.

LIBEL (Noun)

Meaning: Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: The angry statements in the newspaper appeared almost to be statements of libel.

LIBEL (Verb)

Meaning: To harm someone’ s reputation for making untrue statement

Use: The defeated candidate tried to libel his opponents after the election.
 

22
 

To harm someone,s reputation by making untrue statement

1) Asperse
2) Traduce
3) Libel
4) Slander
5) slur
Explanation: Libel (Noun), slander (Noun) and slur (Noun) mean act of harming someone’
s reputation by making an untrue statement. Asperse (Verb), Traduce (Verb), Libel (Verb),
Slander (Verb) and Slur (Verb) means to harm someone’ s reputation by making an untrue
statement. Asperse (Verb) has second meaning also. It means to sprinkle with holy water.
Slur (Verb) has second meaning also. It means to speak in an unclear way. Slur (Verb) has
third meaning also. It means to perform a group of musical notes in a flowing way

ASPERSE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To harm someone’ s reputation by making an untrue statement.

2) To sprinkle with holy water

Use: How dare you asperse my character.

TRADUCE (Verb)

Meaning: To harm someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: The newspaper columnist was obviously traducing, or defaming, the politician in her
newspaper column.

LIBEL (Verb)

Meaning: To harm someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: The defeated candidate tried to libel his opponents after the election.

LIBEL (Noun)

Meaning: Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: The angry statements in the newspaper appeared almost to be statements of libel.
SLANDER (Verb)

Meaning: To harm someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

23
Use: Not long ago, however, the vice president filed a slander suit against some members of
the Taiwan media.

SLANDER (Noun)

Meaning: Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

Use: It is inappropriate to utter such slander about a neighbor.

SLUR (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To harm someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement

2) To speak in an unclear way

3) To perform a group of musical notes in a flowing way

Use: Voters don’ t like political advertisements in which opponents slur one another.

SLUR (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Act of harming someone’ s reputation by making untrue statement.

2) A curved line indicating that musical notes are to be slurred.

Use: Polls revealed that the front-runner’ s standing had been damaged by the slurs and
innuendoes circulated by his opponent’ s staff.
 

Brave
1. Audacious
2. Dauntless
3. Undaunted
4. Fearless
5. Doughty
6. Intrepid
7. Valiant
8. Valorous
9. Gutsy
10.Stout
11.Stalwart

AUDACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very confident and daring

24
2) Very bold

Use: The soldier was an audacious warrior when he fought the enemy in order to save his
comrades.

DAUNTLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very brave
Use: The comic book hero was the most dauntless and brave character ever to be imagined.

UNDAUNTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Very brave
Use: The loss of the football game did not leave the coach undaunted in his determination
to have his team become the champions of his league.

FEARLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very brave
Use: Skydiving is one sport that tends to attract fearless types.

GALLANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing courage or very brave

Use: He was quite a gallant, primping more than either of his sisters.

DOUGHTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Brave, strong and determined

Use: The doughty heroes of old.

INTREPID (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bold or brave

Use:  In many fairy tales, the most courageous and intrepid young man, showing much
endurance and determination, was the one who was chosen to marry the princess.

VALIANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very brave or courageous

Use: Despite their valiant efforts, they lost the game.

25
VALOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very brave or courageous

Use:  Lizzie made the valorous decision to follow the trail of the Klondike Gold Rush, hiking
up the mountains, camping in the wild, etc.

GUTSY (Adj.)

Meaning: Brave and determined

Use: That was a very gutsy decision.

STOUT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Thick and strong

2) Brave and determined

Use: She was stout, middle-aged, and veiny in the cheeks and nose.

STALWART (Adj.)

Meaning: Very loyal and physically strong

Use: Jake was respected for being a stalwart who was not only a very good coach at his
university but also as a deacon in his church.

Courage
1. Pluck
2. Valor

Explanation: Pluck (Verb) means to pull (something) quickly to remove it. For example: –
<He was plucking flower>. It has second meaning also. Pluck (Noun) means courage.

PLUCK (Noun)

Meaning: 1) To pull something quickly to remove it

2) Courage and determination

Use: She showed pluck in getting up on stage.

VALOR (Noun)

Meaning: Courage or bravery

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Use:  Mike demonstrated great valor when he rushed to the burning car and pulled the
unconscious driver out after it had crashed into the back end of a big truck

Genuine
1. Authentic
2. Legitimate
3. Veritable

AUTHENTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Real or genuine
Use:  Authentic was something that had the authority of its original creator.
LEGITIMATE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Allowed according to rules or laws.

2)Real, accepted

Use: Legitimate means for achieving success.

VERITABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: True or real
Use: The early 1970s witnessed a veritable price explosion.

Genuineness/truth
1. Veracity
VERACITY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Truth or accuracy

2) Quality of being truthful or honest

27
Use: They had to question the veracity of his remarks regarding the accident.

Widespread
2. Pandemic
3. Epidemic
Explanation: Pandemic (or Epidemic) (Adj.) means occurring over a wide geographical
area and affecting an exceptionally high proportion of the population. Pandemic (or
Epidemic) (Noun) means an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly.
PANDEMIC (Adj.)

Meaning: occurring over a wide geographical area and affecting an exceptionally high

proportion of the population
Use: The pandemic outbreak of flu made it necessary for the medical profession to work
hard to contain it.
PANDEMIC (Noun)

Meaning: occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly

Use: The 1918 flu pandemic claimed millions of lives.

EPIDEMIC (Adj.)

Meaning: occurring over a wide geographical area and affecting an exceptionally high

proportion of the population
Use: The epidemic enthusiasm for soccer spread like a pandemic among the fans

EPIDEMIC (Noun)

Meaning: occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly

Use: The doctors were afraid of an epidemic of flu in the schools during the winter.
 

28
Unreal
1. Counterfeit
2. Factitious

COUNTERFEIT (Adj.)

Meaning: Made to look like an exact copy of something in order to trick people

Use: The concert ticket is counterfeit.
COUNTERFEIT (Noun)

Meaning: Something that is made to look like an exact copy of something else in order to
trick people
Use: The document turned out to counterfeit.
FACTITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not genuine
Use: Brokers have created a factitious demand for stocks.

Inborn/existing since birth

1. Intrinsic
2. innate
3. Inherent
4. Congenital

INTRINSIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Occurring as a natural part of something

Use: The intrinsic essence of their friendship could not be described.

29
INNATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Existing as part of the basic nature of something

Use: Shirley has an innate sense of dancing and is entertaining others in as many
performances as she can for practice and public approval.
INHERENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Belonging to the basic nature of someone or something

Use: Tom has an inherent, or deep-rooted, dislike of eating spinach ever since he was a
child!
CONGENITAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Existing since birth

Use: Tommy was diagnosed as being hard of hearing when he was born and this was
commented on by the doctors as being a congenital health problem.

To persuade/to influence /to convince

1. Cajole
2. Coax
3. Wheedle
4. Exhort
5. Urge
6. Woo
7. Cogent
Explanation: Cogent (Adj.) means convincing argument.
CAJOLE (Verb)

Meaning: To persuade someone to do something

Use: After praising her brother Jim for his fantastic grade in math, Mary tried to cajole him
into doing her next homework assignment on the same subject.
COAX (Verb)

30
Meaning: To persuade someone to do something
Use: The host tried to coax the author to make a speech after dinner.
WHEEDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To persuade someone to do something

Use: She knows she can wheedle almost anything she wants from her father.

EXHORT (Verb)

Meaning: To strongly urge someone to do something

Use: The coach was exhorting his football team to get a good night’s sleep before the game
the following day.

URGE (Verb)

Meaning: To try to persuade (someone) in a serious way to do something

Use: She was urged to restrain her eating habits.
WOO (Verb)

Meaning: To attempt to persuade (someone) to buy something from you, work for you etc.
Use: The store had a sale in an effort to woo new customers.

COGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Convincing
Use: Sharon presented a cogent argument for raising the prices for the scarce items.
 

Perfect example
1. Paragon
2. Epitome

31
 3. Apotheosis
4. Paradigm
5. Prototype
6. Archetype
7. Quintessence
PARAGON (Noun)

Meaning: Perfect example
Use: Harry was considered by his colleagues to be a paragon of honesty.

EPITOME (Noun)

Meaning: Perfect example
Use: The newspaper reporter wrote an epitome of the destructions that have been caused
by the hurricanes in various countries.

APOTHEOSIS (Noun)

Meaning: Perfect example
Use: The apotheosis of a Roman emperor was designed to ensure his eternal greatness:
people would worship at his altar forever.

PARADIGM (Noun)

Meaning: A model or pattern of something that may be copied

Use: The present campaign is a paradigm of Washington’ s pattern of accusing others of
doing what Washington is planning to do or has already done.

PROTOTYPE (Noun)

Meaning: An original or first model of something from which other forms are copied or
developed

32
Use: Ralph is developing a prototype for his new computer application.

ARCHETYPE (Noun)

Meaning: A perfect example of something

Use: Chrissy was an archetype of great singing, which attracted many devoted students to
her.
QUINTESSENCE (Noun)

Meaning: The perfect or most typical example

Use: He was the quintessence of political professionalism.

To be a perfect example of something

1. Embody
EMBODY (Noun)

Meaning: To be a symbol or perfect example of (something)

Use: Social hierarchy cannot and does not exist without being embodied in meaning and
expressed in communications

To beg (someone)

1. Beseech
2. Implore
3. Importune
4. Supplicate
5. Solicit
6. Entreaty
7.
Explanation: Entreaty (Noun) means a serious request for something.

BESEECH (Verb)

Meaning: To ask (someone) in a serious and emotional way to do something

33
Use: Falling to her knees, the princess cried, “Please, kind knight, I beseech you to let me
go.”
IMPLORE (Verb)

Meaning: To beg earnestly

Use: The tenants implored their landlord not to sell the house

IMPORTUNE (Verb)

Meaning: To ask (someone) for something or to do something in a repeated or annoying

way
Use: Despite the fact that Ira knew Pam’s feet were hurting her, he was importuning her to
go for a walk with him around the harbor.

SUPPLICATE (Verb)

Meaning: Humbly ask for something

Use: Sometimes, when a student hasn’t been able to complete a homework assignment on
time, he or she might supplicate the teacher for an extension of the deadline.

SOLICIT (Verb)

Meaning: To ask for (something, such as money or help) from people, companies etc.
Use: Although prostitution was not itself an offense, soliciting was

ENTREATY (Noun)

Meaning: A serious request for something

Use: Our entreaties to give us another few minutes to answer the test questions fell on deaf
ears.

To ruin the surface of something

1. Deface
2. Mar

DEFACE (Verb)

Meaning: To ruin the surface of (something) especially with writing or pictures

Use: The young man was caught defacing his father’s books.

MAR (Verb)

34
Meaning: To ruin the beauty or perfection of (something)
Use: The church is currently being repainted whilst construction to the front of the
secondary school mars its appearance somewhat.
 

Not interesting /dull/boring

1. Prosaic
2. Humdrum
3. Mundane
4. Banal
5. Hackneyed
6. Trite
7. Threadbare
8. Quotidian
9. Vapid
10.Insipid

PROSAIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or ordinary
Use: Jim was looking for another job because he thought the people at work were too
preoccupied with prosaic concerns of day-to-day routines.

HUMDRUM (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull, boring and ordinary

Use: I used to feel almost trapped by the normal, everyday, humdrum life.

MUNDANE (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull and ordinary

Use: The next day was as boring, mundane, unexciting, humdrum and monotonous as
usual.

BANAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Boring or ordinary
Use: There were no new ideas in the politician’s banal speech.

HACKNEYED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not fresh or original

35
Use: Sometimes people use hackneyed words, phrases, jokes, or topics to such a degree that
they are boring and of little interest for others who have to listen to them.

TRITE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not fresh or original

Use: The continuous trite announcements on TV about the famous person’s trial became
uninteresting and boring.

THREADBARE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not very effective, interesting etc. because of being used too often
Use: A novel filled with nothing but threadbare clichés.

QUOTIDIAN (Adj.)

Meaning: Ordinary or very common

Use: The orderly operation of the federal government depends upon this continuous and
quotidian cooperation.

VAPID (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or boring
Use: Goldie sang a song with vapid or lifeless and unexciting lyrics.

INSIPID (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or boring
Use: He was said to have an insipid personality.”
 

New/not known before

1. Novel
2. Groundbreaking
3. Unprecedented
4. Innovative

NOVEL (Adj.)

36
Meaning: New and different from what has been known before
Use: She has suggested a novel approach to the problem.

GROUNDBREAKING (Adj.)

Meaning: Introducing new ideas or methods

Use: She was honored for her groundbreaking work in nuclear physics.

UNPRECEDENTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not done or experienced before

Use: The government took the unprecedented step of releasing confidential
correspondence

INNOVATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Introducing new ideas or methods

Use: An innovative approach to the problem.

Active /speed up

1. Expediate
2. Catalyst

Explanation: Expedite (Noun) means to activate or speed up. Catalyst (Noun) means a

person or event that activates something.

EXPEDITE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (something) to happen faster

Use: Using postal codes on letters and packages expedites the delivery of mail and Mollie
was so glad that the envelope with her birthday greetings was sent the day before to her
mother and it was expedited via the mail service.

CATALYST (Noun)

Meaning: A person or event that quickly causes change or action

Use: The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001, was
the catalyst for U.S. attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

37
To stir up revolt
1. Incite
2. Instigate
3. Provoke
4. Foment

INCITE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (an angry, harmful or violent action or feeling)

Use: The news incited widespread fear and hatred between the two countries over the
killing of the boys.

INSTIGATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (something) to happen or begin

Use: The angry boy on the playground tried to instigate a fight with the others.
PROVOKE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (a person or animal) to become angry, violent etc.

Use: The noise made by Frank’s friends during his birthday party late in the
evening provoked his neighbors to complain about it the next day.

FOMENT (Verb)

Meaning: To cause or try to cause the growth of (something bad or harmful)

Use:  Lorna did as much as she could to foment a quarrel between the two politicians at the
political rally.
 

A person who incites revolt or takes part in a revolt

1. Incendiary
2. Agitator
3. Arsonist
4. Seditious
5. Demagogic
Explanation: Demagogic (Adj.) deviates slightly. It gives reference to someone who incites
revolt especially by appealing to prejudices or by making false claims.

INCENDIARY (Noun)

Meaning: A person who incites revolt or who takes part in revolt

38
Use: His speech in defense of abortion was highly incendiary to his mostly Catholic
audience.

AGITATOR (Noun)

Meaning: A person who tries to get people angry or upset so that they will support an
effort to change a government, company etc.
Use: The police arrested several antigovernment agitators.

ARSONIST (Noun)

Meaning: A person who deliberately sets fire to property

Use: The arsonist threw gasoline on a pile of old rags and tossed a lit match onto the pile,
hoping to destroy the building so he could collect an insurance payment that would be
worth more than the property.

SEDITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Disposed to arouse or taking part in sedition

Use: The seditious comments on television by the politician resulted in his being arrested
and his claim that he was only exercising his “right to free speech”.

DEMAGOGIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of, relating to, or characteristic of a demagogue or rabble-rouser

Use: People often experience the presentations of demagogic politicians who are running
for various offices in governments around the world!

 Revolution/violent attempt against government

1. Arson
2. Insurrection
3. Insurgency
4. Subversion
5. Sedition

Unsophisticated rural person

1. Bucolic
2. Pastoral
3. Rustic

39
 4. Bumpkin
5. Hillbilly
6. Yokel

BUCOLIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of or relating to the country or country life

Use: I love the idea of a bucolic agrarian business.

PASTORAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Of or relating to the countryside or to the lives of people who live in the country
Use: In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country
folk.

RUSTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of, relating to, or suitable for the country or people who live in the country
Use: The tug of war is still considered a rustic sport in the cities.

BUMPKIN (Noun)

Meaning: An awkward and unsophisticated rural person

Use: Met a fellow English bumpkin while traveling to Birmingham.

HILLBILLY (Noun)

Meaning: A person from a rural area who is often regarded as someone who lacks
education, who is stupid etc.
Use: In the skit, he was a shy hillbilly in love with a city girl.

YOKEL (Noun)

Meaning: An innocent inhabitant of a rural area or small town

Use: A lame comedy about the misadventures of yokels in the big city.
 

Remaining part
1. Remnant
2. Trace

40
 3. Vestige
4. Residual

REMNANT (Noun)
Meaning: Remaining part
Use: I suggest that you wait until the store places the remnants of these goods on sale.

TRACE (Noun)

Meaning: sign or mark of some past thing

Use: The killer left no traces.

VESTIGE (Noun)

Meaning: The last small part that remains of something that existed before
Use: The vestiges of the footprints in the sand gave the biologist hints that a large turtle had
crawled on the beach during the night.

RESIDUAL (Noun)

Meaning: The last small part that remains of something that existed before
Use: The fossilized residuals of dinosaurs.

RESIDUAL (Adj.)

Meaning: The remaining part after greater part has gone

Use: She is still dealing with the residual effects of the accident.
Self-satisfied
1. Complacent
2. Smug
3. Smirk
4. Gloat

Explanation: Smirk (or gloat) (Verb) means to be satisfied with yourself and to be happy
about someone’ s else trouble.

COMPLACENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Satisfied or unconcerned
Use: Ever since Cain received his raise, he has been the most complacent person in the
office and he doesn’t do as much work as he did before.

SMUG (Adj.)

41
Meaning: Highly self-satisfied
Use: “Samuel had a smug expression on his face because he was sure he had won the
competition.”

SMIRK (Verb)

Meaning: To be satisfied with yourself and to be happy about someone’ s else trouble
Use: The nasty minded youth seemed to smirk when making a comment that
would debase the reputation of his friend.

GLOAT (Verb)

Meaning: To be satisfied with yourself and to be happy about someone’ s else trouble
Use: As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have
defrauded?
 

To embarrass

1. Mortify
2. Abash
3. Discomfit
4. Disconcert
5. Discountenance

MORTIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to feel very embarrassed and foolish

Use: She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.

ABASH (Verb)

Meaning: To destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of

Use: The violinist was abashed when the string on her violin broke right in the middle of
her recital.

DISCOMFIT (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone uneasy or embarrassed

Use: The administer was discomfited by the decrease in sales of his company’s products.

DISCONCERT (Verb)

42
Meaning: To make (someone) upset or embarrassed
Use: The sudden change in the weather will disconcert our plans to hike up the mountain.

DISCOUNTENANCE (Verb)

Meaning: To destroy the self-confidence of someone or to embarrass someone

Use: The political party was discountenanced by the actions of a few of its overly zealous
members.
 

Rule /official order

1. Protocol
2. Caveat
3. Canon
4. Edict
5. Rescript
6. Decree
7. Fiat
8. Doctrine
9. Dictum

Explanation: Doctrine (Noun) means principle of law. It also means set of ideas or beliefs
that are taught or believed to be true. Therefore, we have covered this word in this series
and it has also been covered in series for Set of beliefs.
PROTOCOL (Noun)

Meaning: A system of rules that explain the correct conduct and procedures to be followed
Use: The administrative committee met last week to revise the protocol for future
meetings.

CAVEAT (Noun)

Meaning: An explanation or warning

Use: Manfred’s investment advice came with a caveat that the stock market is impossible to
forecast with complete accuracy.

CANON (Noun)

Meaning: A general rule or principle

Use: Anyone who disregards every canon of honesty, as this store manager has, should be
fired

EDICT (Noun)

43
Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government
Use: There were edicts of the Roman praetors, and later by the emperors, and then by
French monarchs.

RESCRIPT (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: Even though there was never an official rescript ordering mass genocide, that was
indeed the intent and effect of the government’ s policy.
DECREE (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: The decrees that abolished slavery were meant to establish the foundations of a nation
committed to equality for all people.

FIAT (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: The judge sent out judicial fiats requiring witnesses to show up for the trial.

DOCTRINE (Noun)

Meaning: A set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true

Use: Both groups continue to perpetuate the old and outworn doctrines of party politics.

DICTUM (Noun)

Meaning: A statement or well-known remark that expresses an important idea or rule

Use: Medical doctors are required to follow the dictum of “First, do no harm.”
 

Set of beliefs
1. Doctrine
2. Dogma
3. Tenet

Explanation: We have covered word Doctrine in this series and it has been also covered in
series for Rule/Official order. Tenet (Noun) means a belief or idea and Tenant (Noun)
means a person who rents a house, apartment etc. from a landlord.

DOCTRINE (Noun)

Meaning: A set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true

44
Use: The government was founded on a doctrine of equality for all people.

DOGMA (Noun)

Meaning: A belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without
being questioned or doubted
Use: These new findings challenge the current dogma in the field.

TENET (Noun)

Meaning: A belief or idea that is very important to a group

Use: “The basic tenet of my faith is to be kind to other people.”
 

Containing different varities

Of something
1. Assorted
2. Sundry
3. Motley
4. Multifarious
5. Eclectic

ASSORTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Including several kinds

Use: A box of assorted chocolates.

SUNDRY (Adj.)

Meaning: Made up of different things

Use: There were sundry items sitting on the shelf in the bathroom.

MULTIFARIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Of many and various kinds

Use: Some multifarious leaves are arranged in numerous vertical rows.

MOTLEY (Adj.)

Meaning: Made up of many different people or things

Use: A motley crew of discontents and zealots.

ECLECTIC (Adj.)
45
Meaning: Including things taken from many different sources
Use: He is very eclectic and his mix of abilities is so different from the common concept of
an artist.

Sweet sound /pleasant to ear

1. Harmonious
2. Symphonious
3. Euphonious
4. Melodious
5. Canorous
6. Mellifluous
7. Dulcet

HARMONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having a pleasing mixture or combination of notes

2) Not experiencing disagreement or fighting

Use: The room had such harmonious colors in its decor.

SYMPHONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Harmonious
Use: The composer is known for his symphonious orchestrations of instruments from
diverse musical traditions.

EUPHONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a pleasant sound

Use:  Sherry was glad that Dr. Davis, her family doctor, had a very euphonious voice which
quieted her down because she was always so nervous when she went to get her yearly
vaccination.

MELODIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a pleasing sound

Use: The melodious tones of his mother’s voice always reminded William of the wonderful
days he spent as a child.

CANOROUS (Adj.)

46
Meaning: Melodious
Use: A canorous chorus of birdsong filled the morning air

MELLIFLUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Melodious
Use: “She made a mellifluous speech with her mellifluous voice.”
DULCET (Adj.)

Meaning: Pleasant to hear
Use: Instead of the dulcet sounds of “Silent Night”, there are imprecations emanating from
the kitchen.

To support or help prove (a statement, theory etc)

1. Affirm
2. Clinch
3. Corroborate
4. Endorse
5. Substantiate
6. Validate

AFFIRM (Verb)

Meaning: To say that something is true in a confident way

Use: “The government affirmed its commitment to solve the financial problems.”

CLINCH (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) certain or final

Use:  The judge’s comments appeared to clinch the argument between the lawyers.

CORROBORATE (Verb)

Meaning: To support or help prove (a statement, theory etc.) by providing information or

evidence
Use: The independent research from the two scientists appeared to corroborate the cause
of the disease.

ENDORSE (Verb)

47
Meaning: To publicly or officially say that you support or approve of (someone or
something)
Use: There are people who are publicly endorsing one or the other candidates who are
running for President of the U.S.

SUBSTANTIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To prove the truth of (something)

Use: The officer asked the witness if she had the facts to substantiate the information she
was providing about the bank robbery.

VALIDATE (Verb)

Meaning: Prove or declare to be valid

Use: These estimates have been validated by periodic surveys
To make someone free from guilt
1. Exonerate
2. Exculpate
3. Absolve
4. Remit
5. Acquit
6. Pardon
7. Vindicate

Explanation: Remit (Verb) means to cancel or free someone from (a punishment, debt

etc.). It has second meaning also. It also means to send money as a payment. Pardon (Verb)
means to forgive. Pardon (Noun) means forgiveness. Vindicate (Adj.) differs slightly from
other words. Vindicate may refer to things as well as persons that have been subjected to
critical attack or imputation of guilt and implies a clearing effected by proving the
unfairness of such criticism or blame.

EXONERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To prove that someone is not guilty of a crime or responsible for a problem, bad
situation etc.
Use: Tamika’s attorney claims that the new evidence will completely exonerate her from
the charges made by her former employer.

EXCULPATE (Verb)

Meaning: To prove that someone is not guilty of doing something wrong

Use: She was exculpated of the crime when the criminal confessed.

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ABSOLVE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) free from guilt, responsibility etc.

Use: Mr. Johnson, the lawyer, could not get the court to absolve his client of responsibility
for the accident.

REMIT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To cancel or free someone from (a punishment, debt etc.)

2) To send money as a payment

Use: The excess of the sentence over 12 months were remitted.

REMIT (Noun)

Meaning: An area of responsibility and authority

Use: The committee was becoming caught up in issues that did not fall within its remit.

ACQUIT (Verb)

Meaning: To decide that someone is not guilty of a crime

Use: The jury acquitted Jerome of the charges of driving while intoxicated since he was
simply driving too slowly on the express way and had never drunk anything alcoholic.

PARDON (Verb)

Meaning: To forgive or to officially say that someone who is guilty of crime is allowed to go
free
Use: “When Roy arrived at the business meeting, he asked the chairman to pardon his
absence from the meeting this morning, because he had to go to the dentist for an
emergency replacement of a crown that had fallen off his tooth.”

PARDON (Noun)

Meaning: Forgiveness
Use: “The governor issued a pardon to the man who had been previously convicted of a
store robbery.”

VINDICATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) Clear of blame or suspicion

2) Show to be justified

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Use: The confession of the real criminal immediately vindicated Jasper who the police had
held for questioning about the break-in of the local jewelry store.

Criticise
1. Admonish
2. Assail
3. Berate
4. Castigate
5. Chastise
6. Chide
7. Excoriate
8. Fulminate
9. Lambaste
10.lampoon
11.Malign
12.Pan
13.Pillory
14.Rail
15.Reprove
16.Revile
17.Upbraid
18.Vilify
19.Censure
20.Reproach
21.Rebuke

Explanation: Malign (Adj.) means harmful or intended to cause harm. It has second

meaning also. Malign (Verb) means to criticize someone. Chide (verb) means to scold
gently. Lampoon (Verb) means to publicly criticize (someone or something) in a way that
causes laughter. Lampoon (Noun) means cartoon, writing etc. that makes fun of a well-
known person or thing.  Admonish (Verb), Reproach (Verb), Reprove (Verb), Reprimand
(Verb) and Rebuke (Verb) implies criticism but not harsh criticism. Lampoon (Noun &
Verb) has also been covered in series for To make fun/act of making fun.
ADMONISH (Verb)

Meaning: To speak to (someone) in a way that expresses disapproval or criticism

Use: The crossing guard at the busy intersection admonished the pedestrians to look both
ways before attempting to cross the street.

ASSAIL (Verb)

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Meaning: To attack or criticize (someone or something) in a violent or angry way
Use: As a politician, Thomas was always ready to assail his opponents with slander.
BERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone) in a loud and angry way

Use: The supervisor lost control when he was berating his construction crew for the
collapse of the building they were working on

CASTIGATE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone) harshly

Use: The president of the company was castigated in the local newspaper and television for
making millions of dollars while his business went bankrupt.

CHASTISE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone) harshly for doing something wrong

Use: Nina chastised her two children for playing ball in the living room, especially since
they broke a mirror on the wall!

CHIDE (Verb)

Meaning: To scold (someone) gently

Use: She chided him for not replying to her letters.

EXCORIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone or something) very harshly

Use: Critics excoriating him for other aspects of his film show an equal lack of sensitivity to
the challenges that come with highly structured storytelling.
FULMINATE (Verb)

Meaning: To protest strongly or to criticize

Use: Bicyclists often fulminate at some automobile drivers because they drive in the bike
lanes and create dangerous situations for those who are peddling there.

LAMBASTE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone or something) very harshly

Use: The Japanese Prime Minister has been lambasted for his handling of the crises in
Japan.
LAMPOON (Verb)

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Meaning: To criticize (someone or something) in a way that causes laughter
Use: The politician was lampooned in cartoons.

LAMPOON (Noun)

Meaning: Cartoon, writing etc. that makes fun of a well-known person or thing

Use: He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.

MALIGN (Adj.)

Meaning: Harmful or intended to cause harm

Use: We should not believe that this malign aspect of human nature which sleeps in all of
us has gone away or will ever go away.
MALIGN (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone or something) harshly or unfairly

Use: The school bully was always maligning other students on the playground by calling
them vulgar names.

PAN (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize severely

Use: The playwright was miserable when the critics panned it unanimously.

PILLORY (Verb)

Meaning: To publicly criticize (someone) in a very harsh way

Use: The mayor was pilloried by the press and the local citizens for his bad behavior and
the criticisms kept coming in for several days.

RAIL (Verb)

Meaning: To scold or complaint in harsh or abusive language

Use: A patient was railing against the medical staff because she had slipped and fallen on
the floor in her hospital room at night and she couldn’t get up or contact anyone to help
her.
REPROVE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize or correct (someone) usually in a gentle way

Use: He was reproved for obscenity.

REVILE (Verb)

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Meaning: To speak about (someone or something) in a very critical or insulting wat
Use: There is no excuse to revile the man since he is not here to explain what happened.

UPBRAID (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize severely

Use: His wife upbraided him for his irresponsible handling of the family finances.

VILIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To say or write very harsh and critical things about (someone or something)
Use: He has been vilified in the press.

CENSURE (Verb)

Meaning: To officially criticize (someone or something) strongly and publicly

Use: The judge will censure the local hockey coach when the coach appears in court.

CENSURE (Noun)

Meaning: Official strong criticism

Use: Verna was held up for public censure because of her radical views regarding birth
control.

REPROACH (Verb)

Meaning: To speak in an angry and critical way to (someone)

Use: Our neighbor loudly reproached us for tromping through his yard.

REPROACH (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of strong disapproval

Use: Accusations and reproaches from both parties made it difficult to pursue discussions.

REPRIMAND (Verb)

Meaning: To speak in an angry and critical way to (someone)

Use: She cleared her throat as a way of reproaching us for having our elbows on the table.

REPRIMAND (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of strong disapproval

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Use: Mr. Carsten, the butler, gave a reprimand to the servant who forgot his white gloves
which were deemed essential for working in the dining room.

REBUKE (Verb)

Meaning: To speak in an angry and critical way to (someone)

Use: she had rebuked him for drinking too much.

REBUKE (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of strong disapproval

Use: Delivering a stinging rebuke to the Congress, calling for an end to backstabbing and
arguing.
 

To praise someone highly

1. Acclaim
2. Exalt
3. Extol
4. Hail

ACCLAIM (Verb)

Meaning: To praise (someone or something) in a very strong and enthusiastic way

Use: Jim has been acclaimed as one of the best musicians in last night’s performance.

ACCLAIM (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of praise

Use: Marie received several positive acclaims for her performance in the ballet.

EXALT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To praise (someone or something) highly

2) To raise (someone or something) to a higher level

Use: Bertha’s behavior in her political position has exalted the power and prestige of her
office.

EXTOL (Verb)

Meaning: To praise (someone or something) highly

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Use: Professor Stanley extolled the wonderful contributions to the linguistics section of the
university that were made by his retiring colleague.

HAIL (Verb)

Meaning: To greet with enthusiastic approval

Use: She has been hailed by us for her realistic acting.

Expression of praise
1. Acclaim
2. Hail
3. Accolade
4. Plaudit
5. Panegyric
6. Paean
7. Encomium
8. Eulogy
9. Citation
10.Commendation
Explanation: Eulogy (Noun) deviates slightly. Eulogy (Noun) means formal expression for
praise at the time of a funeral. Accolade (Noun)means an award or expression of praise.
Citation (Noun) means a formal statement that praises a person. It has second meaning
also. It also means an official order to appear before a court of law.

ACCLAIM (Verb)

Meaning: To praise (someone or something) in a very strong and enthusiastic way

Use: Jim has been acclaimed as one of the best musicians in last night’s performance.

ACCLAIM (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of praise

Use: Marie received several positive acclaims for her performance in the ballet.

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HAIL (Noun)

Meaning: An exclamation of greeting or praise

Use: She deserves hail for all her charitable works.

ACCOLADE (Noun)

Meaning: An award or an expression of praise

Use: The novel received accolades from various reviewers including positive and critics.

PLAUDIT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) An act or round of applause

2) Enthusiastic approval

Use: The audience gave the pianist long plaudits because his musical performance was so
magnificent!

PANEGYRIC (Noun)

Meaning: Something (such as a speech or a piece of writing) that praises someone or

something
Use: Blushing at all the praise heaped upon him by the speakers, the modest hero said, “I
don’ t deserve such panegyrics”.

PAEAN (Noun)

Meaning: A song of joy, praise or victory

Use: On their tour of Greece, Cleo and Chuck attended a ceremony at which the actors sang
a paean to the gods and deities.

ENCOMIUM (Noun)

Meaning: Glowing and warmly enthusiastic praise

Use: An encomium is usually a formally spoken expression of high approval or admiration
and tribute to a person for his or her outstanding achievements.

EULOGY (Noun)

Meaning: A speech that praises someone who has died

Use: The speech was so full of praise for the president, it sounded like a eulogy instead of a
nomination speech.

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CITATION (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Formal statement that praises a person.

2) an official order to appear before a court of law.

Use: He received a citation for reckless driving.

COMMENDATION (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The act of praising or approving of someone or something

Use:  Little Susi was very courageous as she rode on her tricycle for the first time without
falling or injuring herself and so she received a lot of commendations from her parents.
 

Not showing seriousness

1. Facetious
2. Frivolous
3. Flippant
4. Levity

FACETIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Treating serious issues with inappropriate humor

Use: Hank was making facetious remarks which made everybody at the party laugh.

FRIVOLOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Not having any serious purpose or value

2) Not treating things seriously

Use: At least twice a year, Antonio bought something frivolous just to satisfy his ego.

FLIPPANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing proper seriousness or respect

Use: The young man shocked everyone by making flippant remarks while his father’s will
was being read.

LEVITY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A lack of seriousness

2) Humorous treatment of a serious matter

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Use: The teacher wouldn’t tolerate any levities by her students; especially, when she was
trying to explain important issues in her classroom.
 

To defeat
1. Pulverize
2. Rout
3. Subjugate
4. Vanquish

Explanation: Pulverize (Verb) means to crush to fine particles. It has second meaning also.
It also means to destroy or defeat. Rout (Verb) means to defeat. Rout (Noun) means
disastrous defeat or state of wild confusion. Subjugate (Verb) means to defeat and gain
control of someone or something by use of force.

PULVERIZE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To crush to fine particles

2) To destroy or defeat

Use: Frozen snake liver was pulverized into a fine powder in liquid nitrogen.

ROUT (Verb)

Meaning: To defeat
Use: The reinforcements were able to rout the enemy.

ROUT (Noun)

Meaning: Disastrous defeat or state of wild confusion

Use: From the hillside, the spectators watched the rout of the army after the battle.

SUBJUGATE (Verb)

Meaning: to defeat and gain control of someone or something by use of force

Use: The Roman armies were able to subjugate most of what is now known as Europe.

VANQUISH (Verb)

Meaning: To defeat (someone) completely in a war, battle etc.

Use: They were vanquished in battle.
Cautious /careful about possible risk

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 1. Chary
2. Circumspect
3. Gingerly
4. Heedful
5. Wary

Explanation: Heed (Verb) means to pay attention to (advice, a warning etc.). Therefore,

Heedful (Adj.) means to be careful about possible risk.

CHARY (Adj.)

Meaning: Cautious about doing something

Use: Blaine was chary about sharing his feelings regarding the progress of the project.

CIRCUMSPECT (Adj.)

Meaning: Thinking careful about possible risks before doing or saying something

Use:  These people are circumspect in all their business dealings.

GINGERLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Very cautious or careful

Use: To separate egg whites, first crack the egg gingerly.

HEEDFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Careful about possible risk

Use: Heedful of snakes, we watched our footing while walking through the tall grass to the
lake’ s edge.

WARY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing complete trust or careful about possible risk

Use: People should be wary of putting their money into questionable stocks.
 

GRE WORD GROUPS SIMILAR MEANING

Feeling or showing lack of trust

In someone or something

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 1. Leery
2. Skeptical
3. Suspicious
4. Untrusting
5. Wary

Explanation: Wary (Adj.)  means not showing complete trust or careful about possible
risk.
LEERY (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing a lack of trust in someone or something

Use: They were leery of their neighbors.

SKEPTICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or expressing doubt about something (such as a claim or statement)

Use: She’ s highly skeptical of the researcher’ s claims.

SUSPICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a feeling that something is wrong or that someone is

behaving wrongly
Use: The suspicious vehicle was reported to police.

UNTRUSTING (Adj.)

Meaning: Believing that someone or something is not reliable, good, honest etc.

Use: Naturally untrusting of politicians who claim to have all the answers.
WARY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing complete trust or careful about possible risk

Use: People should be wary of putting their money into questionable stocks.

Willing to do dangerous things /willing to take risk

1. Adventurous
2. Venturesome
3. Daredevil
4. Foolhardy
5. Rash
6. Reckless

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Explanation: Venture (Verb) means to do something that involves risk. Adventurous (Adj.)
& Venturesome (Adj.) originated from root word venture (Verb).

ADVENTUROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not afraid to do new and dangerous or exciting things

Use: the island attracts adventurous travelers.

VENTURESOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Doing things that are dangerous or risky

Use: A venturesome child tried to climb the huge tree.

DAREDEVIL (Adj.)

Meaning: Recklessly bold or daring especially in order to get attention

Use: His daredevil stunts are sure to end in disaster someday.

FOOLHARDY (Adj.)

Meaning: Foolishly doing things that are too dangerous or risky

Use: Hikers who were foolhardy enough to remain on the summit during a thunderstorm.

RASH (Adj.)

Meaning: Acting or done without considering the possible results

Use: Don’ t be rash about this decision. Take your time.

RECKLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing proper concern about the possible bad results of your actions
Use: He is a wild and reckless young man.

Noisy quarrel
1. Altercation
2. Bicker
3. Brawl
4. Row
5. Squabble
6. Tiff

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Explanation: Bicker (Verb), Brawl (Verb), Row (Verb), Squabble (Verb) and Tiff (Verb)
means to have a noisy quarrel. Bicker (Noun), Brawl (Noun), Row (Noun), Squabble (Noun)
and Tiff (Noun) means noisy quarrel.
Row (Noun) means number of people or things standing in a line. It has second meaning
also. It also means to move a boat. It has third meaning also. It also means noisy quarrel.

Tiff (Noun) means noisy quarrel or small fight. It has been covered in series for small fight
also.

ALTERCATION (Noun)

Meaning: A noisy or angry quarrel

Use:  The two youths got into an altercation on the playground while they were playing
soccer.
BICKER (Verb)

Meaning: To argue about things that are not important

Use: Every once in a while, Jim and his wife bicker about what they will have for dinner.

BICKER (Noun)

Meaning: A noisy or angry quarrel

Use: After a prolonged bicker, they finally managed to find a movie that both of them were
interested in seeing.

BRAWL (Verb)

Meaning: To fight noisily in usually a public place

Use: The soccer fans were brawling in the streets after the game.

BRAWL (Noun)

Meaning: A noisy quarrel or fight

Use: After a brawl in college during which James hit another student in the eye, he was
expelled and charged with aggravated assault.

ROW (Verb)

Meaning: To quarrel angrily

Use: Fans were rowing in the streets after the game.
ROW (Noun)

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Meaning: An angry quarrel
Use: The opposing forces had a row in the streets the other night.

SQUABBLE (Verb)

Meaning: To argue loudly about things that are not important

Use: Jim and his brother, Arthur, were squabbling over who would pay for the lunch this
time.

SQUABBLE (Noun)

Meaning: A noisy quarrel usually over petty matters

Use: During a family squabble, my parents told us exactly how ‘disappointed’ they were in
us.

TIFF (Verb)

Meaning: To have a small fight or petty quarrel

Use: There was minor tiff with police.

TIFF (Noun)

Meaning: A small fight or petty quarrel

Use: Got into a little tiff about what color sheets to buy for their bed.

Small fight
1. Tiff
2. Scuffle

Explanation: Tiff(Noun) means a petty quarrel or small fight. This word has been covered
in series for noisy quarrel.

TIFF (Verb)

Meaning: To have a small fight or petty quarrel

Use: There was minor tiff with police.

TIFF (Noun)

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Meaning: A small fight or petty quarrel
Use: Got into a little tiff about what color sheets to buy for their bed.

SCUFFLE (Noun)

Meaning: Short, confused fight or struggle

Use: Out of all the fights, all the scuffles, and tussles, this was the only one that mattered.

SCUFFLE (Verb)

Meaning: Take part in a short, confused fight or struggle

Use: The teacher noticed two students scuffling in the corridor.

To confuse
1. Befog
2. Bemuse
3. Bewilder
4. Befuddle
5. Flummox
6. Addle
7. Gravel
8. Perplex
9. Muddle
10.Nonplus
11.Obfuscate
12.Confound
13.Stupefy

Explanation: Nonplus (Noun) means a state of confusion. Confound (or Stupefy) means to

confuse or to surprise someone. Therefore, these words have been covered in this series
and they have been covered in series for to surprise also.

BEFOG (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse or to obscure

Use: The professor’ s convoluted explanation only befogged the textbook’ s presentation of
this scientific principle.

BEMUSE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse someone

Use: The news about his ex-wife getting married again bemused him.

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BEWILDER (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse someone

Use: The many choices of activities in the city served only to bewilder the traveler.

BAFFLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse (someone) completely

Use: The unexpected news of a tax increase by the governor baffled many of the citizens of
his state.

BEFUDDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only in befuddling her further.

FLUMMOX (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: An actor who ‘s flummoxed by any changes in the script.

ADDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: The problem is that if anyone tries to use logical explanations for some political
positions, it just addles the listeners and makes their understanding more confusing than
comprehensible.

ADDLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Confused
Use: My brain grew more and more addle as I made my way through the tax instructions.

GRAVEL (Noun)

Meaning: Small pieces of rock

GRAVEL (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: Managed to gravel his opponent in the debate by focusing on a typical example.

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PERPLEX (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse (someone) very much

Use: Willie was perplexing his mother very much because he refused to take a shower after
working out and having such strong body orders.

MUDDLE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To confuse someone

2) To mix up (something) in a confused way

Use: Manfred complained that getting too much advice can easily muddle his mind.

NONPLUS (Noun)

Meaning: A state of confusion

Use: The unexpected results of the test have created a nonplus for researchers.

NONPLUS (Verb)

Meaning: To cause confusion

Use: I was nonplussed by his openly expressed admiration of me.

OBFUSCATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make something difficult to understand

Use: Bill tried to obfuscate his drunken driving with extraneous information about taking
medication; however, the odor of alcohol on his breath was not obfuscating his real
condition.

CONFOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise or confuse someone

Use: The new tax system confounded the people because it seemed to be much more
complicated than in the previous years.

STUPEFY (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to become confused or unable to think properly

Use: The amount they spend on clothes would appall their parents and stupefy their
grandparents.
 

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To surprise
1. Astound
2. Astonish
3. Bedazzle
4. Flabbergast
5. Confound
6. Stagger
7. Startle
8. Stupefy

Explanation: Stagger (Verb) means to walk unsteadily or to hesitate. It has second

meaning also. It also means to astonish someone.

ASTOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To cause a feeling of great surprise or wonder in (someone)

Use: The juggler was astounding people with his entertaining skills.

ASTONISH (Verb)

Meaning: To cause a feeling of great wonder or surprise in (someone)

Use: Helena’s flower garden astonishes everyone who sees it.

BEDAZZLE (Verb)

Meaning: To thrill or excite (someone) very much

Use: Fans bedazzled by movie stars.

FLABBERGAST (Verb)

Meaning: To shock or surprise (someone) very much

Use: Your decision to suddenly quit your job flabbergasts me.

CONFOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise and confuse (someone or something)

Use: Trying to comprehend the complicated directions for operating his new
TV confounded the father too much.

STAGGER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To move or cause (someone) to move unsteadily from side to side

2) To shock or surprise someone

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3) To arrange (things) in a series of different positions or times

Use: “After he sprained his ankle, he was barely able to stagger back to the bench in the
park.”

STARTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise or frighten (someone) suddenly

Use:  I am sorry that I startled you.

STUPEFY (Verb)

Meaning: To shock or surprise (someone) very much

Use: The amount they spend on clothes would appall their parents and stupefy their
grandparents.
 

Damaging /harmful
1. Deleterious
2. Precarious
3. Pernicious
4. Detrimental
5. Blight
6. Noxious

Explanation: Blight (Noun) is a disease that makes plants dry up and die. Blight (Noun)
also means something damaging or harmful. Blight (Verb) means to cause damage. Noxious
(Adj.) deviates slightly. Noxious (Adj.) deviates slightly. Noxious (Adj.) means harmful to
living beings. For example: <Noxious fumes can seriously harm you>. <Noxious smog>.

DELETERIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Damaging or harmful
Use: Face it, there is obviously a deleterious effect from smoking.

PRECARIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not safe, strong or steady

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Use: The workers had precarious privileges provided by their company which could be
altered or terminated at any time.

PERNICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing great harm or damage often in a way that is not easily seen or noticed
Use: Tabitha is going to get revenge on the man who insulted her with a pernicious act that
will hurt him very much without him knowing who did it.

DETRIMENTAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing damage or injury

Use: At the meeting with parents and teachers, Mrs. Jackson, the school counselor, pointed
out that watching too much TV can be detrimental to a child’s social and intellectual
development.

BLIGHT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To damage (a thing or place)

2) To damage (plants) with a disease

Use: The scandal blighted the careers of several leading politicians.

BLIGHT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A disease that makes plants dry up and die

2) Something that causes harm or damage like a disease

Use: He has been credited with turning the country around after several severe economic
blights.

NOXIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Harmful to living things

Use: Depressions have made some people have noxious feelings that can result in serious
ailments.
 

Causing serious destruction or damage /evil

1. Baneful

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 2. Baleful
3. Malignant
4. Scourge
5. Sinister
6. Menace
7. Vicious
Explanation: Words covered in this series do not deviate much in meaning to words
covered in series for Damaging/Harmful.
Menace (Noun) and Minatory (Adj.) are Noun and adjective form of each other. Vicious
(Adj.) deviates in meaning slightly. Vicious (Adj.) means violent or cruel. It also means
dangerous.

Scourge (Noun) means something causing great trouble or suffering. It has second meaning
also. It means a whip.

Scourge (Verb) means to cause great trouble or suffering. It also means to hit (someone)
with a whip as a punishment.

BANEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing destruction or serious damage

Use: There are many baneful consequences for the people of Syria; including the deaths
and wounding of women, children, and men who have nothing to do with the uprising that
has been going on there.

BALEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Threatening harm or evil

Use: The use of drugs has had a baleful impact on many people around the world.

MALIGNANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very evil or harmful

Use: As a patient, Leroy was placed in the isolation ward as a result of the
extremely malignant nature of his lung infection.

SCOURGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To cause great trouble or suffering

2) To hit someone with a whip as a punishment

Use: “Bill suffered the scourge of asthma all his life,” he said.

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SCOURGE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Something causing great trouble or suffering

2) A whip

Use: A city ravaged by the scourge of unemployment.

SINISTER (Adj.)

Meaning: Looking likely to cause something bad, harmful, or dangerous to happen

Use: We must defeat the sinister forces that seek our downfall.

MENACE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A dangerous or possibly harmful person or thing

2) A dangerous or threatening quality

Use: The little boy was a menace in a shop full of crystal.

MINATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a menacing quality

Use: The Soviet Union undermined its own objectives by minatory behavior that produced
a palpable sense of threat in the Japanese public.

VICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very violent, cruel or dangerous

2) Having or showing very angry or cruel feelings

Use: Dina’s vicious dog was kept on a strong leash whenever he was taken out for a walk

To confuse
14.Befog
15.Bemuse
16.Bewilder
17.Befuddle
18.Flummox
19.Addle
20.Gravel
21.Perplex

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 22.Muddle
23.Nonplus
24.Obfuscate
25.Confound
26.Stupefy

Explanation: Nonplus (Noun) means a state of confusion. Confound (or Stupefy) means to

confuse or to surprise someone. Therefore, these words have been covered in this series
and they have been covered in series for to surprise also.

BEFOG (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse or to obscure

Use: The professor’ s convoluted explanation only befogged the textbook’ s presentation of
this scientific principle.

BEMUSE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse someone

Use: The news about his ex-wife getting married again bemused him.

BEWILDER (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse someone

Use: The many choices of activities in the city served only to bewilder the traveler.

BAFFLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse (someone) completely

Use: The unexpected news of a tax increase by the governor baffled many of the citizens of
his state.

BEFUDDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: His attempts to clarify the situation succeeded only in befuddling her further.

FLUMMOX (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: An actor who ‘s flummoxed by any changes in the script.

ADDLE (Verb)

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Meaning: To confuse
Use: The problem is that if anyone tries to use logical explanations for some political
positions, it just addles the listeners and makes their understanding more confusing than
comprehensible.

ADDLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Confused
Use: My brain grew more and more addle as I made my way through the tax instructions.

GRAVEL (Noun)

Meaning: Small pieces of rock

GRAVEL (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse
Use: Managed to gravel his opponent in the debate by focusing on a typical example.

PERPLEX (Verb)

Meaning: To confuse (someone) very much

Use: Willie was perplexing his mother very much because he refused to take a shower after
working out and having such strong body orders.

MUDDLE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To confuse someone

2) To mix up (something) in a confused way

Use: Manfred complained that getting too much advice can easily muddle his mind.

NONPLUS (Noun)

Meaning: A state of confusion

Use: The unexpected results of the test have created a nonplus for researchers.

NONPLUS (Verb)

Meaning: To cause confusion

Use: I was nonplussed by his openly expressed admiration of me.

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OBFUSCATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make something difficult to understand

Use: Bill tried to obfuscate his drunken driving with extraneous information about taking
medication; however, the odor of alcohol on his breath was not obfuscating his real
condition.

CONFOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise or confuse someone

Use: The new tax system confounded the people because it seemed to be much more
complicated than in the previous years.

STUPEFY (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to become confused or unable to think properly

Use: The amount they spend on clothes would appall their parents and stupefy their
grandparents.
 

To surprise
9. Astound
10.Astonish
11.Bedazzle
12.Flabbergast
13.Confound
14.Stagger
15.Startle
16.Stupefy

Explanation: Stagger (Verb) means to walk unsteadily or to hesitate. It has second

meaning also. It also means to astonish someone.

ASTOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To cause a feeling of great surprise or wonder in (someone)

Use: The juggler was astounding people with his entertaining skills.

ASTONISH (Verb)

Meaning: To cause a feeling of great wonder or surprise in (someone)

Use: Helena’s flower garden astonishes everyone who sees it.

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BEDAZZLE (Verb)

Meaning: To thrill or excite (someone) very much

Use: Fans bedazzled by movie stars.

FLABBERGAST (Verb)

Meaning: To shock or surprise (someone) very much

Use: Your decision to suddenly quit your job flabbergasts me.

CONFOUND (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise and confuse (someone or something)

Use: Trying to comprehend the complicated directions for operating his new
TV confounded the father too much.

STAGGER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To move or cause (someone) to move unsteadily from side to side

2) To shock or surprise someone

3) To arrange (things) in a series of different positions or times

Use: “After he sprained his ankle, he was barely able to stagger back to the bench in the
park.”

STARTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To surprise or frighten (someone) suddenly

Use:  I am sorry that I startled you.

STUPEFY (Verb)

Meaning: To shock or surprise (someone) very much

Use: The amount they spend on clothes would appall their parents and stupefy their
grandparents.
 

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Damaging /harmful
7. Deleterious
8. Precarious
9. Pernicious
10.Detrimental
11.Blight
12.Noxious

Explanation: Blight (Noun) is a disease that makes plants dry up and die. Blight (Noun)
also means something damaging or harmful. Blight (Verb) means to cause damage. Noxious
(Adj.) deviates slightly. Noxious (Adj.) deviates slightly. Noxious (Adj.) means harmful to
living beings. For example: <Noxious fumes can seriously harm you>. <Noxious smog>.

DELETERIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Damaging or harmful
Use: Face it, there is obviously a deleterious effect from smoking.

PRECARIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not safe, strong or steady

Use: The workers had precarious privileges provided by their company which could be
altered or terminated at any time.

PERNICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing great harm or damage often in a way that is not easily seen or noticed
Use: Tabitha is going to get revenge on the man who insulted her with a pernicious act that
will hurt him very much without him knowing who did it.

DETRIMENTAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing damage or injury

Use: At the meeting with parents and teachers, Mrs. Jackson, the school counselor, pointed
out that watching too much TV can be detrimental to a child’s social and intellectual
development.

BLIGHT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To damage (a thing or place)

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2) To damage (plants) with a disease

Use: The scandal blighted the careers of several leading politicians.

BLIGHT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A disease that makes plants dry up and die

2) Something that causes harm or damage like a disease

Use: He has been credited with turning the country around after several severe economic
blights.

NOXIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Harmful to living things

Use: Depressions have made some people have noxious feelings that can result in serious
ailments.
 

Causing serious destruction or damage /evil

8. Baneful
9. Baleful
10.Malignant
11.Scourge
12.Sinister
13.Menace
14.Vicious
Explanation: Words covered in this series do not deviate much in meaning to words
covered in series for Damaging/Harmful.
Menace (Noun) and Minatory (Adj.) are Noun and adjective form of each other. Vicious
(Adj.) deviates in meaning slightly. Vicious (Adj.) means violent or cruel. It also means
dangerous.

Scourge (Noun) means something causing great trouble or suffering. It has second meaning
also. It means a whip.

Scourge (Verb) means to cause great trouble or suffering. It also means to hit (someone)
with a whip as a punishment.

BANEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing destruction or serious damage

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Use: There are many baneful consequences for the people of Syria; including the deaths
and wounding of women, children, and men who have nothing to do with the uprising that
has been going on there.

BALEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Threatening harm or evil

Use: The use of drugs has had a baleful impact on many people around the world.

MALIGNANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very evil or harmful

Use: As a patient, Leroy was placed in the isolation ward as a result of the
extremely malignant nature of his lung infection.

SCOURGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To cause great trouble or suffering

2) To hit someone with a whip as a punishment

Use: “Bill suffered the scourge of asthma all his life,” he said.

SCOURGE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Something causing great trouble or suffering

2) A whip

Use: A city ravaged by the scourge of unemployment.

SINISTER (Adj.)

Meaning: Looking likely to cause something bad, harmful, or dangerous to happen

Use: We must defeat the sinister forces that seek our downfall.

MENACE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A dangerous or possibly harmful person or thing

2) A dangerous or threatening quality

Use: The little boy was a menace in a shop full of crystal.

MINATORY (Adj.)

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Meaning: Having a menacing quality
Use: The Soviet Union undermined its own objectives by minatory behavior that produced
a palpable sense of threat in the Japanese public.

VICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very violent, cruel or dangerous

2) Having or showing very angry or cruel feelings

Use: Dina’s vicious dog was kept on a strong leash whenever he was taken out for a walk

To insult /to defame

1. Denigrate
2. Belittle
3. Disparage
4. Deprecate
5. Decry
6. Derogate

DENIGRATE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize unfairly or to make (something) seem less important or valuable

Use: All attempts to denigrate the character of our late president have failed; the people
still love him and cherish his memory.

BELITTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To describe (someone or something) as little or unimportant

Use: Perhaps should not belittle their children’ s early attempts at drawing but should
encourage their efforts.

DISPARAGE (Verb)

Meaning: To describe (someone or something) as unimportant, weak, bad etc.

Use: When Sara was given less pay as a secretary, she disparaged her boss as an idiot who
didn’t deserve to be a supervisor.

DEPRECATE (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize or express disapproval of (someone or something)

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Use: The city spokesman deprecates the use of violence as done by some demonstrators.

DECRY (Verb)

Meaning: To express strong disapproval of

Use: Violence on TV is generally decried as being harmful to children.

DEROGATE (Verb)

Meaning: To insult (someone or something)

Use: Senator Johnson was warned that such a statement will derogate his reputation.
 
 

Insulting /defaming
1. Denigrative
2. Belittling
3. Contemptuous
4. Decrying
5. Disdainful
6. Deprecatory
7. Depreciatory
8. Demeaning
9. Derisory
10.Pejorative
11.Sarcastic
12.Sardonic
13.Satiric
14.Scornful
15.Uncomplimentary

Explanation: Scorn (Noun) means a feeling that someone or something is not worthy of

any respect or approval. Scornful (Adj.) is adjective form of word Scorn (Noun). Deride
(Verb) means to ridicule or to talk about something in an insulting way. Derision (Noun)
means scornful ridicule.
Satiric (Adj.) and Sarcastic (Adj.) deviates slightly. Satiric (Adj.) and Sarcastic (Adj.) means
insulting using irony.

DENIGRATIVE (Adj.)

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Meaning: Criticizing unfairly or making something less important or valuable

BELITTLING (Adj.)

Meaning: Describing (someone or something) as little or unimportant

CONTEMPTUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing deep hatred or disapproval

Use: Paulette’s contemptuous tone of voice was dripping with unkindness and disrespect
for the neighbor who would not keep his yard clean.

DECRYING (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressing strong disapproval of

DISDAINFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing strong dislike or disapproval of someone or something you think does

not deserve respect
Use: “When Janine was at the restaurant, she looked at the plate which the waiter brought
with a disdainful glare because it was not what she had ordered.”

DEPRECATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Criticizing or expressing disapproval of (someone or something)

Use: “Deprecatory remarks were made about the book.”

DEPRECIATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Causing (something) to have a lower price or value

2) Describing (something) as having little value

Use: These changes have greatly depreciated the value of the house.

DEMEANING (Adj.)

Meaning: Lowering the dignity of someone

Use: The political candidate was demeaning her opponent.

DERISORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressing a belief that someone or something is ridiculous or without value

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Use: The pawnbroker offered what I regarded as a derisory amount for the diamond ring.

PEJORATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Insulting to someone or something

Use: When Alisa used the pejorative “you’re an idiot” with the young man, and although
James was tempted to send stronger pejoratives back to her, much to his credit, he resisted
the temptation.

SARCASTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Using irony to defame or insult someone

Use Her sarcastic comments that my singing reminded her of the time her dog was sick.

SARDONIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing disrespect or scorn for someone or something

Use: Shirley had a sardonic smile when she was told what a wonderful dress she was
wearing.

SATIRIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Using humor or irony etc. to criticize or ridicule

Use: They soon acquired a satiric and disrespectful tone which made the authorities
uneasy.

SCORNFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing that someone is not worthy of any respect or approval

Use: He is scornful of anyone who disagrees with his political beliefs.

UNCOMPLIMENTARY (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressing a low opinion of someone or something

Use: An uncomplimentary description of the town in which the writer grew up.
 

Feeling of strong dislike or disapproval for someone

1. Disdain
2. Contempt

Explanation: Disdain (Verb) means to treat someone with disdain (Noun).

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Contempt (Noun) has second meaning also. Contempt (Noun) means speech or behavior
that does not show proper respect to a court or judge.

DISDAIN (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of strong dislike or disapproval of someone or something

Use: The mayor regarded the proposal for building a shopping center in the city park
with disdain.

DISDAIN (Verb)

Meaning: To strongly dislike or disapprove of (someone or something)

Use: They disdained him for being weak.

CONTEMPT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A feeling that someone or something is not worthy of any respect or approval
2) Speech or behavior that does not show proper respect to a court or judge

Use: She has displayed a profound contempt for her opponents.

Sad
1. Bereaved
2. Crestfallen
3. Dejected
4. Despondent
5. Disconsolate
6. Doleful
7. Dolorous
8. Forlorn
9. Glum
10.Lugubrious
11.Melancholic
12.Morose
13.Mournful
14.Plaintive
15.Plangent
16.Saturnine
17.Sepulchral
18.Woe

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 19.Woeful

Explanation: Bereaved (Adj.) means sad because a family member or friend has recently
died. Plangent (Adj.) and Plaintive (Adj.) means expressing sadness.

BEREAVED (Adj.)

Meaning: Sad, especially because a family member or friend, has recently died

Use: Many families have been bereaved following the deaths of men doing an honest day’ s
work.

CRESTFALLEN (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad and disappointed

Use: He came back empty-handed and crestfallen.

DEJECTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Sad and in low spirits because of failure, loss etc.

Use: The dejected players slowly made their way to the locker room, where they could
mourn their defeat in private.

DESPONDENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad and without hope

Use: Jeremiah was very despondent about losing his job after fifteen years with the
company; however, the business was having economic problems and laying off many of its
employees.

DISCONSOLATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very unhappy or sad

Use: Survivors of the tornadoes were even more disconsolate when they saw the
destruction that resulted.

DOLEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad
Use: Jimmy was in a state of doleful misery when his dog was run over by a car.

DOLOROUS (Adj.)

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Meaning: Marked by or expressing misery or grief
Use: After dinner, June had a dolorous feeling in her stomach and thought that she had
eaten too much ice cream for dessert!

FORLORN (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Sad and lonely

2) Hopeless

Use: Deserted by her big sisters and her friends, the forlorn child sat sadly on the steps
awaiting their return.

GLUM (Adj.)

Meaning: Sad or depressed
Use: There is no need to look so glum- things will get better soon.

LUGUBRIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Full of sadness or sorrow

Use: Danny wore lugubrious mourning clothing although he didn’t really feel sad about his
uncle’s death.

MELANCHOLIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad
Use: She becomes quite melancholic when she reflects on all the lost opportunities of her
life.

MOROSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad or unhappy

Use: Those morose job seekers who have grown accustomed to rejection.

MOURNFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad
Use: She had such a mournful expression that someone teasingly asked if her dog had died.

PLAINTIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressing suffering or sadness

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Use: Mark heard the plaintive cries from the woman who had just slipped on the icy
sidewalk and fallen; so, he rushed to help her and he used his cell phone to call for an
ambulance to come so she could receive medical aid.

PLANGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Loud and mournful

Use: A plangent, haunting song about a long-ago love.

SATURNINE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very serious and unhappy

Use: Do not be misled by his saturnine countenance; he is not as gloomy as he looks.

SEPULCHRAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad and serious

Use: She spoke in sepulchral whispers.

WOEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very sad
Use: He sounded so woeful, is expression so longing, that I had felt sympathy for him.

A situation in which no progress

Seems possible
1. Impasse
2. Stalemate
3. Deadlock

IMPASSE (Noun)

Meaning: A situation in which no progress seems possible

Use: An arbitrator was called in to break the impasse.

STALEMATE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A situation in chess in which a player cannot successfully move any of the
pieces and neither player can win.
2) A contest or dispute in which neither side can win

Use: The chess champion was astonished to find herself in a stalemate with her opponent.

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DEADLOCK (Noun)

Meaning: A situation in which an agreement cannot be made

Use: The U.S. Congress apparently is having more deadlocks about too many issues rather
than having mutual agreements.
 

Mutual agreement
1. Consensus
2. Unanimous

CONSENSUS (Noun)

Meaning: A general agreement about something

Use: The consensus of the voters was to defeat the new tax increase that was proposed by
the mayor.
UNANIMOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having the same opinion

Use: The doctors caring for Mark were unanimous in their diagnosis of his illness.
 

To blame /accuse /charge

1. Allege
2. Impeach
3. Impute
4. Incriminate
5. Recriminate
6. Implicate
7. Indict

Explanation: Impeach (Verb) means to charge a public official with a crime. Recriminate

(Verb) deviates slightly. Recriminate (Verb) means retaliatory accusation.
Implicate (Verb) and Indict (Verb) also deviates slightly. Implicate(Verb) means to show
that someone is closely connected to or involved in something (such as a crime). Indict
(Verb) means to formally decide that someone should be put on trial.

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ALLEGE (Verb)

Meaning: To state without proof that someone is guilty

Use: Jerome is alleged to have assaulted a man in the parking lot over a parking dispute.

IMPEACH (Verb)

Meaning: To charge (a public official) with a crime done while in office

Use: The angry congressman wanted to impeach the president for his misdeeds.

IMPUTE (Verb)

Meaning: To say or suggest that someone is guilty

Use: If I wished to impute blame to the officers in charge of this program, I would state my
feelings definitely and immediately.

INCRIMINATE (Verb)

Meaning: To charge with or show evidence of involvement in a crime

Use: The hidden cameras in the train station incriminated two teenagers by taking pictures
of them breaking into a candy machine and running off with several items.

RECRIMINATE (Verb)

Meaning: Retaliatory accusation
Use: Scornfully declaring that he was not the school’ s lone drug dealer, he immediately
began recriminating a host of confederates.

IMPLICATE (Verb)

Meaning: to show that someone is closely connected to or involved in something (such as a

crime)
Use: The politician was implicated in misappropriating government funds to support his
election.

INDICT (Verb)

Meaning: to formally decide that someone should be put on trial

Use: It is much easier to indict than to convict.
 

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Careful
1. Meticulous
2. Punctilious
3. Fastidious
4. Prudish
5. Priggish

Explanation: Prudish (Adj.) and Priggish (Adj.) deviates slightly. Prudish (or Priggish)
(Adj.) means extremely careful or giving so much attention to priorities.
Prudish (Adj.) has second meaning also. Prudish (Adj.) means easily shocked.

METICULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very careful about doing something

Use: Mac’s father was always a meticulous carpenter who was always focused on the
accuracy of his work.

PUNCTILIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very careful about doing something

Use: As the principal of the high school, Mr. Johnson had to be quite punctilious in
conducting the staff meetings by not skipping over important issues and not interrupting a
teacher whenever a question was asked.

FASTIDIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very careful about doing something

2) Wanting to always be clean, neat etc.

Use: James was a fastidious accountant who seemed to be destined to do well in the

financial department of his company.

PRUDISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Extremely careful or giving so much attention to priorities

Use: By the prudish standards of the 19th century, any depiction of the nude was
scandalous.

PRIGGISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Extremely careful or giving so much attention to priorities

Use: He is priggish about keeping accurate records.

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Strict concerning morals

1. Scrupulous
2. Conscientious
3. Puritanical
Explanation: Conscientious (or Scrupulous) (Adj.) means guided by inner conscience (or
Scruple).

SCRUPULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Guided by inner conscience (or Scruple) or Careful about doing what is honest
and morally right
Use: Though Alfred is scrupulous is fulfilling his duties at work, he is less conscientious
about his obligations to his family and friends.

CONSCIENTIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Guided by inner conscience (or Scruple) or Careful about doing what is honest
and morally right
Use: Lana was a conscientious reporter, always checking her facts before writing the story.

PURITANICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very strict especially concerning morals and religion

Use: Jim has puritanical parents in that they do not allow him to go to certain movies or
read immoral books, etc

Usefulness /productiveness
1. Efficacy
2. Effectiveness

EFFICACY (Noun)

Meaning: The power to produce a desired result or effect

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Use:  The vaccine that the doctor recommended had the efficacy of being safe and effective
in healing Mike’s illness.

EFFECTIVENESS (Noun)

Meaning: The power to produce a desired result or effect

To hinder /to restrict the movement, progress or action of (someone

or something)
1. Hamper
2. Trammel
3. Clog
4. Fetter
5. Shackle
6. Manacle
7. Constrain

Explanation: Hamper (Verb), Trammel (Verb), Clog (Verb), Fetter (Verb), Shackle (Verb),
Manacle (Verb) and Constrain (Verb) means to hinder or restrict the movement, progress
or action of (someone or something). Trammel and clog imply slowing by something
extraneous. Fetter implies a restraining so severe that freedom to move or progress is
almost lost. Shackle and manacle are stronger than fetter and suggest a total loss of
freedom.

HAMPER (Verb)

Meaning: To slow the movement, progress or action of (someone or something)

Use: Their work is hampered by lack of funds.

TRAMMEL (Noun)

Meaning: A net for catching birds or fish

Use: Students and parents who want to throw off the trammels of outdated school policies.

TRAMMEL (Verb)

Meaning: To prevent or restrict (someone or something)

Use: Some canons that trammel the artist’ s creativity.

CLOG (Noun)
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Meaning: Something that blocks something
Use: There is a clog in the kitchen sink.

CLOG (Verb)

Meaning: To slowly form a block in (something, such as a pipe or street)

Use: The drain clogs easily because the opening is so small.

FETTER (Noun)

Meaning: A pair of rings connected by a chain used to fasten a prisoner’ s wrists or ankles
Use: The police were moving the prisoners, all of whom were in fetters, to a new location.

FETTER (Verb)

Meaning: To prevent (someone or something) from moving or acting freely

Use: James found himself fettered by the responsibilities of completing the project.

SHACKLE (Noun)

Meaning: A pair of rings connected by a chain used to fasten a prisoner’ s wrists or ankles
Use: He placed shackles on the legs of the prisoners.

SHACKLE (Verb)

Meaning: To put a shackle on (someone or something)

Use: The criminal’ s ankles were shackled to prevent his escape.

MANACLE (Noun)

Meaning: A pair of rings connected by a chain used to fasten a prisoner’ s wrists or ankles
Use: The thief was finally caught at the scene of the crime and was taken away in manacles,
with his arms behind his back, which prevented him from fighting with the police.

MANACLE (Verb)

Meaning: To confine (the hands) with manacles

Use: The police officer manacled the prisoner with handcuffs.

CONSTRAIN (Verb)

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Meaning: To limit or restrict (something or someone)
Use: We felt constrained to object to the way he was treating the dog.
 

Person who hates or refuses to accept the members of a particular

group

1. Bigot
2. Xenophobic
3. Prejudiced

BIGOT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas etc.
2) A person who hates or refuses to accept the member of a particular group.

Use: Mark’s son was considered to be a bigot when he made some offensive remarks about
the religious beliefs of another student who was from Israel.

XENOPHOBIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Fearful of what is foreign and especially of people of foreign origin

Use: When Ray’s wife suggested that they should go on a trip to France and England to visit
friends, he rejected the idea because as a xenophobic person, he had a terrible fear of being
around so many strangers.

PREJUDICED (Adj.)

Meaning: A person who dislikes a person or group because of race, sex, religion etc.
Use: Much of the violence that was observed in the county was the result of
the prejudiced behavior of the residents.
 

Strongly supporting his feelings, opinion etc

1. Bigot
2. Rabid
3. Dogmatic

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 4. Fanatic

BIGOT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A person who strongly and unfairly dislikes other people, ideas etc.
2) A person who hates or refuses to accept the member of a particular group.

Use: Mark’s son was considered to be a bigot when he made some offensive remarks about
the religious beliefs of another student who was from Israel.

RABID (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or expressing a very strong opinion about or interest in something

Use: Fern was a politician with rabid supporters.

DOGMATIC (Noun)

Meaning: Expressing personal opinions or beliefs as if they are certainly true

Use: Pete made a dogmatic statement as to why he would not be going to work today.

FANATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Marked by excessive enthusiasm and often intense uncritical devotion.

Use: Because of her fanatical views, her friends know better than to discuss religion with
her.

Enjoying the company of others /social

1. Gregarious
2. Extrovert
3. Sociable
4. Convivial

GREGARIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Enjoying the company of other people

Use: As a gregarious individual, Samuel loves to be with large gatherings of people.

EXTROVERT (Adj.)

Meaning: Enjoying the company of other people

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Use: Mr. Jonas thought that James was the most extroverted, amicable, and open member
of his psychology class.

SOCIABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Enjoying the company of other people or liking to talk to people

Use: They are sociable people who enjoy having parties.

CONVIVIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Fond of feasting, drinking and a good company

Use: It was a lively, convivial atmosphere- gone but not forgotten.
 

 To feel afraid

1. Quail
2. Cower

QUAIL (Noun)

Meaning: A kind of small bird that is often hunted

Use: We had quail for dinner.

QUAIL (Verb)

Meaning: To feel afraid

Use: The unexpected sounds from the attic made Sally quail in fear of a ghost.

COWER (Verb)

Meaning: Crouch or shrink back in fear

Use: The frightened child cowered in the corner of the room.

Very bad
1. Notorious
2. Flagrant
3. Egregious
NOTORIOUS (Adj.)

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Meaning: Well known or famous especially for something bad.
Use: Tim’s supervisor has notorious outbursts when members of his staff don’t complete
the right results that they have been assigned to produce.

FLAGRANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad
Use: Henry made a flagrant error in his presentation to the voters.

EGREGIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad or easily noticed

Use: Ron made an egregious error in his financial report and so he was recognized as
an egregious liar.
 

Without preparation
1. Extemporaneous
2. Impromptu
3. Improvised
4. Adlib

EXTEMPORANEOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Made or done without special preparation

Use: After receiving so much applause after completing the recital, the pianist gave
an extemporaneous encore.

IMPROMPTU (Adj.)

Meaning: Made or done without preparation

Use: When two of Sandra’s former classmates dropped by unexpectedly, her sister had a
little impromptu party.

IMPROVISED (Adj.)

Meaning: Spoken or performed without preparation

Use: The conductor of the jazz band had improvised some special musical renditions which
the audience found very melodious and pleasant to hear.
AD-LIB (Verb)

Meaning: Speaking or performing without preparation

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AD-LIB (Adj.)

Meaning: Spoken or performed without preparation

 

Honesty /fairness

1. Probity
2. Equity
3. Integrity

PROBITY (Noun)

Meaning: Quality of being completely honest

Use: Everyone took his probity for granted; his defalcations, therefore, shocked us all.

EQUITY (Noun)

Meaning: Fairness or justice in the way people are treated

Use: Our courts guarantee equity to all.

INTEGRITY (Noun)

Meaning: Quality of being honest and fair

Use Those who doubted, and they were few, spoke of a man of integrity with a strong
commitment to republicanism.
 

Strong criticism
1. Vituperation
2. Obloquy
3. Opprobrium
4. Fulmination

VITUPERATION (Noun)

Meaning: Harsh and angry criticism

Use: The supervisor used vituperations to let Marsha know that she had really made some
serious blunders in her assignment.

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OBLOQUY (Noun)

Meaning: Harsh or critical statement about someone

Use: The head of the secret police resigned in obloquy because his department’s secrets had
been leaked to the press.

OPPROBRIUM (Noun)

Meaning: Strong disapproval or criticism

Use: The city council is going ahead with its plan to raise taxes despite the
people’s opprobrium that condemns such action.

FULMINATION (Noun)

Meaning: Criticism
Use: They are going ahead with the plan despite public opprobrium.
 

Difficult situation
1. Predicament
2. Dilemma
3. Quandary
4. Quagmire

PREDICAMENT (Noun)

Meaning: A difficult or unpleasant situation

Use: Sparky, the lively kitten, was always getting herself into predicaments; such as,
climbing a tree and not being able to get down.

DILEMMA (Noun)

Meaning: A situation in which you have to make a difficult choice

Use: Because of the bad weather, Lester and his family were in a dilemma as to when they
should plan to go on their vacation.
QUANDARY (Noun)

Meaning: A situation in which you are confused about what to do

Use: Mark was in a quandary as to which Presidential candidate he should vote for.

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QUAGMIRE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) An area of soft, wet ground.

2) A situation that is full of problems.

Use: The had trouble driving his tractor because it was stuck in the quagmire after the
heavy rains.
 

A person enjoying good food and drink or knowledge about food and
drink
1. Epicure
2. Connoisseur
3. Gourmet
4. Gastronomist
5. Bon vivant
6. Gustatory

Explanation: Gustatory (Adj.) deviates slightly. It means relating to taste or sense of taste

EPICURE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who appreciates fine food and drink

Use: Being an epicure is not only being a connoisseur of good edible products, but also a
person who has the money to pay for such exquisite meals!

CONNOISSEUR (Noun)

Meaning: A person who knows a lot about something (such as art, wine, food etc.)
Use: Mark and Madeline were connoisseurs of fine wines.
GOURMET (Noun)

Meaning: A person who enjoys and knows a lot about good food and wine.
Use: After years of study, Cleo became a gourmet and frequently entertained her friends.

GASTRONOMIST (Noun)

Meaning: A lover of good food especially one with interest in gastronomy (art of cooking)
Use: A gastronomist and food historian who is very knowledgeable about Spanish cuisine.

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BON VIVANT (Noun)

Meaning: A person who likes going to parties and who enjoys good food, wine etc.
Use: Mr. and Mrs. Smithson, known as bon vivants by their neighbors, went on a cruise
every year, had a first class veranda, or balcony, with deck chairs, and fantastic meals
served in a gorgeous dining room.

GUSTATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Relating to taste or the sense of taste

Use: Madison and his family were enjoying their gustatory meal as they celebrated his
birthday

Nick name /title

1. appellations
2. sobriquets

APPELLATIONS (Noun)

Meaning: Name or title
Use: The city fully justifies its appellation “the Pearl of the Orient.”

SOBRIQUETS (Noun)

Meaning: Nickname
Use: Tagged her with the sobriquet “peanut” because of her diminutive size.
 

Enthusiastic and passionate

1. Zealot
2. Ardent
3. Impassioned
4. Fanatic

ZEALOT (Adj.)

Meaning: Energetic or enthusiastic for a cause or pain

Use: Zealots on both sides of the issue resorted to name-calling and scare tactics.

ARDENT (Adj.)

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Meaning: Having or showing very strong feelings.
Use: I am an ardent science-fiction fan who has read virtually all of his favorite author’ s
many works.

IMPASSIONED (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing great warmth or intensity of feeling

Use: Her lawyer made an impassioned argument in her defense.

FANATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) A person who holds extreme political or religious opinions.

2) Enthusiastic

Use: Because of her fanatical views, her friends know better than to discuss religion with
her.
 

Nervous while dealing something

1. Timid
2. Timorous
3. Tremulous
4. Skittish

Explanation: Skittish (Adj.) means nervous while doing something. It has second meaning
also. Skittish (Noun) means capricious or changing often and quickly.

TIMID (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing a lack of courage or confidence

Use: She is very timid and shy when meeting strangers.

TIMOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing a lack of courage or confidence

Use: Her timorous personality was not evident in the fascinating mystery books which she
wrote under a pseudonym.

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TREMULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Shaking slightly especially because of weakness or nervousness

2) Feeling or showing a lack of confidence or courage

Use: Just remember as you hear the tremulous reporter, voice quaking in empathy, why the
farmer is crying.

SKITTISH (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Nervous or fearful about doing something

2) Tending to change often

Use: Some skittish children are afraid to meet strangers.

 

To spend money, resource carefully

1. Husband
2. Conserve
3. Steward

HUSBAND (Verb)

Meaning: To carefully use or manage (something, such as a resource)

Use: They have also argued that they are husbanding their energies and resources for the
next general election.

CONSERVE (Verb)

Meaning: To carefully use something

Use: With so little rain, everyone had to conserve water so there would be enough for the
essentials of life.”

STEWARD (Noun)

Meaning: 1) An attendant on a ship or aircraft.

2) A person employed to manage an estate

Use: We should teach our children to be good stewards of the land.

STEWARD (Verb)

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Meaning: To manage or to act as a steward
Use: He will steward the city’ s library programs.
 

Skillful and clever while dealing with situation

1. Adept
2. Adroit
3. Deft
4. Dexterous
5. Agile
6. Nimble
7. Ingenious

ADEPT (Noun)

Meaning: A highly skilled or well-trained person

Use: Milly is adept at organizational work while her husband is adept in needlecraft.

ADROIT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very clever or skillful

Use: Steve is an adroit mechanic when it comes to taking care of problems with motor
vehicles.

DEFT (Adj.)

Meaning: Skillful and clever

Use: Monroe was a deft writer as expressed by his witty descriptions and comments in the
newspaper articles.

DEXTEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing great skill or cleverness

Use: Mildred’s dexterous fingers moved effortlessly over the piano keys as she was
performing.

AGILE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Able to move, quickly and easily

2) Smart and clever

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Use: “Even though Ingrid was a centenarian, she still had an agile mind.”

NIMBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Able to move quickly and easily

2) Able to learn and understand things quickly and easily

Use: The magician does special exercises to keep his fingers nimble and body agile.

INGENIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very smart or clever

Use: Henry showed how nimble he was during the football game when he was able to avoid
all of the tacklers and make a touchdown.

Skill and cleverness while dealing with situation

1. Adeptness
2. Adroitness
3. Deftness
4. Dexterity
5. Agility
6. Nimbleness
7. Ingenuity
8. Legerdemain
9. Prestidigitation

Explanation: Legerdemain (or Prestidigitation) (Noun) deviates slightly. Legerdemain (or

Prestidigitation) (Noun) means skill in using hand to perform magic.

ADEPTNESS (Noun)

Meaning: Skill or cleverness

ADROITNESS (Noun)

Meaning: skill or cleverness
Use: “As a sculptor, Wayne’s adroitness was manifested by the beauty and creativity of the
shapes of his figures.”

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DEFTNESS (Noun)

Meaning: skill or cleverness
Use: The deftness of the surgeon saved Brenda’s life.
DEXTERITY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Ability to use your hands skillfully

2) Ability to think and act quickly and cleverly

Use: A surgeon must have dexterity in order to handle medical instruments properly.

AGILITY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Ability to move quickly and easily

2) Smartness and cleverness

Use: The agility of the famed hurdler was also an inspiration for younger runners.

NIMBLENESS (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Ability to move quickly and easily

2) Ability to learn and understand things quickly and easily

Use: Karin was talented with imagination and a nimbleness of wit.

INGENUITY (Noun)

Meaning: Skill or cleverness
Use: She showed amazing ingenuity in finding ways to cut costs.

LEGERDEMAIN (Noun)

Meaning: Skill in using hands to perform magic or using tricks

Use: Sharon performed a dazzling show of political legerdemain to be elected as a senator
of her state.

PRESTIDIGITATION (Noun)

Meaning: Skill in using hands to perform magic or using tricks

Use: Houdini’ s powers of prestidigitation remain legendary to this very day

Regret for sin or wrongdoing

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 1. Penitence
2. Contrition
3. Repentance
4. Compunction
5. Remorse

PENITENCE (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of deep sadness because you have done something wrong
Use: Forgiveness of any unacceptable action by a person requires penitence.

CONTRITION (Noun)

Meaning: The state of feeling sorry for bad behavior

Use: When Sally accidentally knocked over the bowl containing the goldfish in the living
room, her contrition was greatly expressed with loud sobbing and yelling her terrible
feelings.

REPENTANCE (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling or showing sorry for doing something wrong

Use: He preached that repentance was the first step on the path of rectification of mistake.

COMPUNCTION (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of guilt or regret

Use: Jack had a feeling of compunction when he couldn’t celebrate his mother’s 90th
birthday with her because he had to work late in order to complete a project that he was
working on.

REMORSE (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of being sorry for doing something bad or wrong

Use: I could forgive him for what he did if he showed some remorse.
 

Producing large amount of something /fruitful

1. Prolific
2. Fecund
3. Fruitful
4. Fructuous

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PROLIFIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Producing a large amount of something

Use: a prolific pair of rabbits.

FECUND (Adj.)

Meaning: fruitful or producing many babies or young animals

Use: A fecund breed of cattle.

FRUITFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Producing a good result or productive

Use: We had a fruitful discussion about the problems with the schedule.

FRUCTUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Producing a good result or productive

Use: Settlers gradually migrated from the rocky shores to more fructuous lands.
 

A person who does not agree with established belief

1. Heresiarch
2. Heretic
3. Iconoclast
4. Maverick
5. Heterodox

HERESIARCH (Noun)

Meaning: A person whose belief or opinion does not agree with the official belief or
opinion of a particular religion
Use: His about-face on welfare reform has led him to be seen as a heresiarch among his
party’ s faithful.

HERETIC (Noun)

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Meaning: Someone who believes or teaches something that goes against accepted or
official beliefs
Use: Martin Luther was a German theologian and leader of the Reformation who was
considered to be a heretic by the Catholic hierarchy because of his opposition to the wealth
and corruption of the papacy and his belief that salvation was granted on the basis of faith
in God and not by works or deeds.

ICONOCLAST (Noun)

Meaning: A person who criticizes or opposes beliefs and practices that are widely accepted
Use: Trudy is an iconoclast who will have nothing to do with organized religions.

MAVERICK (Noun)

Meaning: A person who refuses to follow the customs or rules of a group

Use: The mayor tended to be a maverick in terms of cooperating with the other members of
the city council.

HETERODOX (Adj.)

Meaning: Not agreeing with established beliefs or standards

Use: To those who upheld the belief that the earth did not move, Galileo’ s theory that the
earth circled the sun was disturbingly heterodox.
 

Deviating from normal

1. Aberrant
2. Anomalous
3. Unwanted

ABERRANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Deviating from usual or normal

Use: Timothy’s aberrant personality frequently got him into trouble with his employers.

ANOMALOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not expected or usual

Use: When on vacation in the tropics, Doreen’s brother watched in amazement as
an anomalous species of fish crawled out of the water and along the ground over to a
different pond.

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UNWONTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not normal, usual or expected

Use: No one ever thought Norton would be such an unwonted contributor of so much
money for the homeless people in his community.
 

Short lived /lasting a very short time

1. Ephemeral
2. Evanescent
3. Fleeting
4. Transitory
5. Fugitive

EPHEMERAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Lasting a very short time

Use: Many people enjoy the ephemeral beauty of spring.

EVANESCENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Lasting a very short time

Use: It was evanescent, fading just as quickly as it had appeared, and translucent to begin
with.

FLEETING (Adj.)

Meaning: Lasting a very short time

Use: I caught a fleeting glimpse of the comet.

TRANSITORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Lasting a very short time

Use: Suburban populations are often transitory for economic reasons; such as, when there
are not enough employment opportunities.

FUGITIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Running away to avoid being captured

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2) Lasting a very short time

Use: As he daydreamed, fugitive thoughts passed through his mind.

Hate

1. Abhor
2. Abominate
3. Despise
4. Detest
5. Execrate
6. Loathe
7. Odium

Explanation: Abhor (Verb), Abominate (Verb), Despise (Verb), Detest (Verb), Execrate

(Verb), Loathe (Verb) means to hate or dislike. Odium (Noun) deviates slightly. Odium
(Noun) means widespread hate or disgust.

ABHOR (Verb)

Meaning: To dislike (someone or something) very much

Use: Kay’s neighbor has always abhorred loud music because it causes him to have severe
headaches.

ABOMINATE (Verb)

Meaning: To feel great hatred for (someone or something)

Use: Allen has always abominated loud music and could not be tempted to attend a rock
concert in the local park.

DESPISE (Verb)

Meaning: To dislike (someone or something) very much

Use: Although it was despised by the critics, the movie attracted a large audience.

DETEST (Verb)

Meaning: To dislike (someone or something) very strongly

Use: James and Sara detest their landlord and so they are looking for another place to live.

EXECRATE (Verb)

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Meaning:  To hate (someone or something) very much
Use: Alison was execrating over the thought of having to complete the marathon during the
heat wave.

LOATHE (Verb)

Meaning: To hate (someone or something) very much

Use: Trina is loathed to get her feet wet in the winter.

ODIUM (Noun)

Meaning: Widespread hate or disgust

Use: His job had made him the target of public hostility and odium.

Bad and unpleasant /something deserved to be hated

1. Abhorrent
2. Abominable
3. Detestable
4. Egregious
5. Execrable
6. Horrendous
7. Loathsome
8. Obnoxious
9. Odious

ABHORRENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing or deserving strong dislike or hatred

Use: The abhorrent violence at the start of the film was so disgusting and loathsome that
the couple got up and walked out.

ABOMINABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad or unpleasant or deserving to be hatred

Use: Murder is considered to be one of the most abominable crimes committed by anyone.

DESPICABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad or unpleasant

Use: The soldier was considered by those who knew him to be a despicable traitor.

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DETESTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing or deserving strong dislike

Use: He is a detestable villain.

EGREGIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad and easily noticed

Use: The contractor committed an egregious error in the construction of Marian’s house
because when it rained, water leaked through the roof into the attic.

EXECRABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad
Use: Henrietta’s execrable behavior during the party was disgusting; probably, as a result
of drinking too much wine.

HORRENDOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bad and unpleasant

Use: The horrendous economic conditions around the world are causing all kinds of
demonstrations against governments and businesses.

LOATHSOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing feeling of hatred or disgust

Use: We traced the foul smell to a pile of loathsome garbage by the back wall.

OBNOXIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Unpleasant in a way that makes people feel offended, annoyed or disgusted

Use: Mary’s obnoxious behavior in the English class could be tolerated no longer; so, she
was sent to the principal’s office.

ODIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing hatred or strong dislike

Use: It was one of the most odious crimes in recent history.
 

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Event or situation in which many people are killed
1. Holocaust
2. Slaughter
3. Carnage
4. Butchery
5. Massacre
6. Conflagration
7. Inferno

Explanation: Conflagration (Noun) and Inferno (Noun) deviates slightly. Conflagration (or

Inferno) (Noun) means large fire.

HOLOCAUST (Noun)

Meaning: An event or situation in which many people are killed

Use: The eruption of the volcano caused a holocaust of the villages below its slopes.

SLAUGHTER (Noun)

Meaning: The violent killing of a large number of people

Use: I don’ t have moral dilemma ‘ s when it comes to slaughtering animals for food, just so
long as it is done humanely.

CARNAGE (Noun)

Meaning: The killing of many people

Use: For this day of carnage and tears there can be no justification or excuse.

BUTCHERY (Noun)

Meaning: The violent and cruel killing of many people

Use: The butchery of civilians during the war.

MASSACRE (Noun)

Meaning: The violent killing of many people

Use: Andrew massacred the German language as he tried to explain what happened.

CONFLAGRATION(Noun)

Meaning: A large destructive fire

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Use: After the conflagration of the brush fires, the Smiths found that their cabin in the
mountains had been completely destroyed and burned to the ground.

INFERNO (Noun)

Meaning: A very large and dangerous fire

Use: By the time help arrived, the fire had grown to a raging inferno.
 

Done in secret way

1. Furtive
2. Stealthy
3. Surreptitious
4. Clandestine
5. Underhand
6. Sneaky
7. Covert

FURTIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Done in a quiet and secret way to avoid being noticed

Use: Danny was sneaking furtive glances at his watch during the business conference to see
how much longer he would have to sit there before he could go home.

STEALTHY (Adj.)

Meaning: Quiet and secret in order to avoid being noticed

Use: The stealthy approach of the cat towards the bird on the window sill was sure to
surprise the bird.

SURREPTITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Done in a secret way

Use: Jacob made a surreptitious or a covert glance at a young woman.

CLANDESTINE (Adj.)

Meaning: Done secretly
Use: The spy carried clandestine messages in the rim of his hat and no one suspected what
he was doing.

UNDERHAND (Adj.)

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Meaning: 1) Acting or done secretly and dishonestly
2) Made with the hand brought forward and upward from below the shoulder

Use: 1) He has a surprisingly good motion, more sidearm than underhand.

2) He thrived with a peculiar underhand delivery, behind which there is another story,
perhaps true.

SNEAKY (Adj.)

Meaning: Done in a secret and dishonest manner

Use: It’ s a sneaky way of getting people to buy something they don’ t need.

COVERT (Adj.)

Meaning: Secret or hidden
Use: The covert operation by the army unit was a success; however, only a few people
would ever know its significance.

Easily seen or easily noticeable /undisguised

1. Transparent
2. Overt
3. Bald
4. Palpable

TRANSPARENT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Able to be seen through

2) Easy to notice or understand

Use: The new window in the sunroom was transparent and let all the sunshine in.

OVERT (Adj.)

Meaning: Easily seen
Use: Virgil had an overt dislike for his new supervisor.

BALD (Adj.)

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Meaning: 1) Having no hair on the head or not covered with trees
2) Undisguised or palpable

Use: That is a bald falsehood!

PALPABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Obvious and noticeable

Use: There is a palpable difference in the ages of the two brothers, one who is 10 years old
and the other one who is 16.
 

To steal money that you have been trusted with

1. Embezzle
2. Peculate
3. Defalcate
4. Malversation

EMBEZZLE (Verb)

Meaning: To steal money that you have been

Use: The banker was convicted of embezzling over $100,000 from his bank.

PECULATE (Verb)

Meaning: To steal money that you have been

Use: The president of the country was peculating several million dollars from the country’s
treasury so he could have a very fancy house to live in and even have his own private zoo.

DEFALCATE (Verb)

Meaning: To steal money that you have been

Use: The newspaper in Karan’s town revealed how the mayor was defalcating expenses
from the city’s resources to build himself a luxurious home.

MALVERSATION (Noun)

Meaning: Misbehavior and especially corruption in an office, trust or commission

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Feeling or state of great happiness
1. Ecstasy
2. Rapture
3. Euphoria
4. Exhilaration
5. Paradise

Explanation: Paradise (Noun) means a very beautiful or pleasant place. It has second

meaning also. It means a state of complete happiness.

ECSTASY (Noun)

Meaning: A state of very great happiness

Use: His performance sent the audience into ecstasies.

RAPTURE (Noun)

Meaning: A state or feeling of great happiness, pleasure or love

Use: There were raptures of joy when the residents of the community heard that the floods
had receded and would not cause any further damage or harm.

EUPHORIA (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of great happiness and excitement

Use: The relief and euphoria that Sandra felt following her successful operation was
noticed by her parents when they came to visit her.

EXHILARATION (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of great happiness and excitement

Use: I felt a kind of exhilaration when I reached the top of the mountain.

PARADISE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A very beautiful or pleasant place

2) A state of complete happiness

Use: Their marriage was very happy at first, but now there ‘ s trouble in paradise.

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To make someone happy

1. Elate
2. Exhilarate
3. Enrapture

ELATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) very happy and excited

Use: Linda’s agreement to marry Thomas elated and exhilarated his spirits!

EXHILARATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to feel very happy and excited

Use: Knowing that their daughter, Bernice, has passed her exam will
certainly exhilarate the parents.

ENRAPTURE (Verb)

Meaning: To feel (someone) with delight

Use: Kim’s wonderful voice enraptured the audience.
 

Showing good ability to understand and notice

1. Astute
2. Perspicacious
3. Sagacious
4. Sapient
5. Shrewd
6. Discerning
7. Perceptive
8. Sage
9. Insightful
10.Keen

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Explanation: Discern (Verb) means to detect or recognize or to discriminate. Discerning
(Verb) originates from word discern (Verb). Keen (Adj.) means quick to understand. It has
second meaning also. It also means excited and enthusiastic.

ASTUTE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an ability to notice and understand things clearly

Use: Bernhard was an astute administrator in that he was good at judging situations and
people and using such knowledge to make good decisions.

PERSPICACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an ability to notice and understand things clearly

Use: Mike always thought his mother was a perspicacious judge of character.

SAGACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an ability to notice and understand things and to make good
decisions
Use: The educational counselor gave the student sagacious counsel.

SAPIENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an ability to notice and understand things and to make good
decisions
Use: An uncle who is always good for valuable insights and some sapient advice.

SHREWD (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an ability to notice and understand things and to make good
decisions
Use: Someone has said that shrewd investors should hold their stocks until prices increase
again.

DISCERNING (Adj.)

Meaning: Able to see and understand people, things or situations clearly and intelligently
Use: A discerning mind is known to determine the best way of doing something.

PERCEPTIVE (Adj.)

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Meaning: Having or showing an ability to understand or notice something easily or quickly
Use: I felt he was a sensitive, poetic, perceptive and natural person.

SAGE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very wise
Use: Martha’s mother gave her some sage advice before she went to the university.

INSIGHTFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a very clear understanding of something

Use: I also appreciate the insightful comments received from the anonymous reviewers.

KEEN (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Quick to understand

2) Excited and enthusiastic about something

Use: Lawrence and his family were keen on going to the picnic this afternoon.

Not appropriate

1. Incongruous
2. Inappropriate
3. Infelicitous
4. Unapt
5. Unsuitable

INCONGRUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Strange because of not agreeing with what is usual or expected

Use: His outburst seemed incongruous to those who know him well.

INAPPROPRIATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not appropriate or suitable

Use: We won’ t tolerate such appropriate behavior.

INFELICITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not felicitous or not appropriate

Use: An infelicitous comment on the weight of the guest of honor at the banquet.

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UNAPT (Adj.)

Meaning: Inappropriate
Use: At this point, an admission of guilt from him would be most unapt.
 

Stubborn/determined not to change your mind

1. Adamant
2. Dogged
3. Obdurate
4. Obstinate
5. Pertinacious
6. Mulish
7. Inflexible
8. Intractable
9. Intransigent
10.Refractory
11.Tenacious

ADAMANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not willing to change an opinion or decision

Use: Tamika’s aunt is an adamant defender of women’s rights.

DOGGED (Adj.)

Meaning: Stubborn and determined

Use: Dogged devotion.

OBDURATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not willing to change your opinion or the way you do something

Use: Caroline responded with an obdurate refusal to arrive for work on Thanksgiving Day
when her supervisor told her to show up.

OBSTINATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Refusing to change your behavior or your ideas

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Use: Mark, the teacher, was trying to deal with an obstinate pupil who refused to put his
cell phone away during class; so, the boy was sent to the principal.

PERTINACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Persistent or adhering resolutely to an opinion

Use: She is bound to succeed because her pertinacious nature will not permit her to quit.

MULISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Very stubborn
Use: She approached the job with mulish determination.

INFLEXIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Not easily influenced or persuaded

2) Not easily bent or twisted

Use: An inflexible law.

INTRACTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not easily managed, controlled or solved

Use: Intractable people are very difficult to influence or to get along with.

INTRANSIGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Completely unwilling to change

Use: Max and Maxine were two married intransigents who could not agree on many issues
and argued almost constantly.

REFRACTORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Difficult to control or deal with

Use: The refractory horse was eliminated from the race when he refused to obey the
jockey.

TENACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very determined to do something

2) Continuing for a long time

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Use: Ken was making a tenacious effort to complete his assignments as a reporter despite
the dangers he was experiencing in the battle zone.
 

Refusing to obey /stubbornly disobedient

1. Recalcitrant
2. Contumacious
3. Defiant

RECALCITRANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Stubbornly refusing to obey rules

Use: Which animal do you think is more recalcitrant, a pig or a mule?

CONTUMACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Stubbornly disobedient
Use: Bruce’s contumacious conduct with his teacher, when she asked him to put his cell
phone away, resulted in him being sent to the principal’s office.

DEFIANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Refusing to obey something or someone

Use: There has been a lot of news about defiant people who have been protesting in
countries who are unhappy about their economic situations.
 

Hardworking

1. Diligent
2. Assiduous
3. Laborious
4. Industrious
5. Indefatigable
6. Tireless

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 7. Sedulous

DILIGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Characterized by steady, earnest and energetic effort

Use: Monroe was diligent in writing his short stories with literary accuracy and interesting
characters.

ASSIDUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing great care, attention, and effort

Use: Max was always doing assiduous researches for his chemistry projects so he could
have the best possible results.

LABORIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Requiring a lot of time and effort

Use: We spent many laborious hours on the project and it is still not completed.

INDUSTRIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Working very hard

Use: Sam is known as a very industrious worker by his fellow contractors.

INDEFATIGABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Able to work or continue for a long time without being tired

Use: An indefatigable laborer who can work from sunrise to sunset.

TIRELESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Working very hard with a lot of energy for a long time

Use: She has been a tireless advocate for human rights.

SEDULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Dedicated and careful

Use: The sedulous economists were in search of all of the latest facts and figures regarding
what to expect in the current monetary conditions.

Producing wealth /flourishing

1. Lucrative

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 2. Profitable
3. Thriving
4. Remunerative

LUCRATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Producing money or wealth

Use: He turned his hobby into a lucrative profession.

PROFITABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Making money or affording profits

Use: The movie was very profitable.

THRIVING (Adj.)

Meaning: Characterized by success or prosperity

Use: Our new landscaping business is thriving.

REMUNERATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Paying a lot of money

Use: I find my new work so remunerative that I may not return to my previous
employment.
 

Old and no longer useful

1. Obsolete
2. Outmoded
3. Antiquated
4. Archaic
5. Noachian

OBSOLETE (Adj.)

Meaning: No longer used by anyone or replaced by something newer

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Use: There are obsolete things which are replaced by something that is newer.
OUTMODED (Adj.)

Meaning: No longer useful or acceptable

Use: Leon was perfect to wear outmoded clothes as long as they were clean.

ANTIQUATED (Adj.)

Meaning: Very old and no longer useful or popular

Use: Accustomed to editing his papers on word processors, Philip thought typewriters
were too antiquated for him to use.

ARCHAIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Old and no longer used

Use: There are archaic manners and notions which are no longer acceptable in these
modern times.
 

Old fashioned

1. Antediluvian
2. Quaint

ANTEDILUVIAN (Adj.)

Meaning: Very old or old-fashioned

Use: Alfred appeared very frustrated, saying that his parents had antediluvian ideas
regarding their behavior expectations for him.

QUAINT (Adj.)

Meaning: Having an old-fashioned or unusual quality that is usually attractive or appealing

Use: During their trip, Mike and Karen enjoyed a village’s quaint customs.
 

Long journey

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 1. Odyssey
2. Voyage
3. Pilgrimage
4. Peregrination
5. Perambulation

Explanation: Pilgrimage (Noun) deviates slightly. Pilgrimage (Noun) means a journey to a

holy place. Peregrination (or Perambulation) (Noun) deviates slightly. Peregrination (or
Perambulation) deviates slightly.

ODYSSEY (Noun)

Meaning: A long journey full of adventures

Use: The refugee’ s journey from Cambodia was a terrifying odyssey.

VOYAGE (Noun)

Meaning: A long journey by sea or in space

Use: The Titanic sank on her maiden voyage.
PILGRIMAGE (Noun)

Meaning: A journey to a holy place

Use: Thousands of fans make a pilgrimage to Elvis Presley’s last home every year.

PEREGRINATION (Noun)

Meaning: A long journey especially on foot

Use: A couple of backpacking college students who decided to spend the summer
peregrinating around Ireland.

PERAMBULATION (Noun)

Meaning: A long journey especially on foot

Use:  Long summer evening spent perambulating up and down the tree-lined streets of the
quaint village.
 

To involve in something in unpleasant or annoying

1. Intrude
2. Obtrude

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 3. Meddle
4. Pry
5. Officious

Explanation: Officious (Adj.) deviates slightly. Officious (Adj.) means getting involved

where help is neither asked for nor desired.

INTRUDE (Verb)

Meaning: To become involved with something in an annoying way

Use: Jane’s friend intruded his opinion about how she should lose weight.

OBTRUDE (Verb)

Meaning: To become involved with something or to become noticeable in an annoying way

Use: Henry was always trying to obtrude his political opinions upon others.

MEDDLE (Verb)

Meaning: Interfere in something that is not your business

Use: Consuelo had a tendency to meddle in her sister’s family affairs and caused many
arguments.

PRY (Verb)

Meaning: Enquire too intrusively into a person’ s private affairs

Use: I am sick of you prying into my personal life.

OFFICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Getting involved where help is neither asked for nor desired

Use:  “Lenora had a very officious manner, always trying to intrude herself into other
people’s projects in the office.

Death notice
1. Obituary
2. Necrology
3. Obit

OBITUARY (Noun)

Meaning: An article about the life of someone who has died recently

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Use: Henry saw his friend’s obituary in the local newspaper that morning which revealed
his many achievements in the town before he passed away.

NECROLOGY (Noun)

Meaning: An article about the life of someone who has died recently
Use: The club’ s founder recently died, and this month’ s newsletter includes a lengthy
necrology.

OBIT (Noun)

Meaning: An article about the life of someone who has died recently
Use: She reads the obits as soon as she gets her morning paper.
 

Fat
1. Obese
2. Rotund
3. Corpulent
4. Stout
5. Plump

Explanation: Stout (Adj.) means fat. It has second meaning also. It means brave and
determined. It has third meaning also. It means a very dark and heavy beer.
Plump (Adj.) means slightly overweight or having a full rounded shape. For example – He
was a plump boy.

Plump (Verb) means to become fat. It has second meaning also. It also means to sit, lie
down or fall suddenly in an awkward way. For example – She plumped down on the bed. It
has third meaning also. It also means to favor or decide in favor of someone or something.

OBESE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very fat
Use: A neighbor told Karen that her obese, or corpulent, dog looked like a big sausage
walking on legs.

ROTUND (Adj.)

Meaning: Fat and round

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Use: The rotund woman compressed her lips, “Secrets must not be shared”.

CORPULENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Fat
Use: The doctor advised his corpulent patient to lose weight for the sake of his health.

STOUT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Fat
2) Brave and determined

Use: She was stout, middle-aged, and veiny in the cheeks and nose.

STOUT (Noun)

Meaning: A very dark and heavy bear

PLUMP (Adj.)

Meaning: Full and rounded in shape

Use: How do you make thin boys fat? You throw them up in the air and they come
down plump!

PLUMP (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To become plump

2) To drop or sink suddenly or heavily

3) To favor or decide in favor of someone or something strongly

Use: Consuelo came home tired and decided to plump on the couch in the living room.
 

Sign or warning of something that will happen in future

1. Omen
2. Augury
3. Portent
4. Prognostication
5. Harbinger
6. Herald

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 7. Presage
8. Bode
9. Portend
10.Forebode

Explanation: Omen (Noun), Augury (Noun), Portent (Noun), Prognostication (Noun),

Herald (Noun), Harbinger (Noun) and Presage (Noun) means sign or warning of something
that will happen in future. Herald (Noun) also means an official messenger in past.
Presage (Verb), Bode (Verb), Portend (Verb), Harbinger (Verb), Herald (Verb) means to be
a sign or warning of something that will happen in future. Forebode (Verb) means to be a
sign or warning of something that will happen in future especially something bad. Herald
(Verb) has second meaning also. It means to greet (someone or something) with
enthusiasm.

OMEN (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: An increase in exports might be an omen of economic recovery.

AUGURY (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: A yearbook augury that of all the graduates, he would be the most likely to succeed.

PORTENT (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: The arrival of the seagulls in the farmer’s field often is the portent that it will rain in
about two hours.

PROGNOSTICATION (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: The complete fulfillment of his prognostication surprised even him.

HARBINGER (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: It’s just that its call is the harbinger of spring- a signal to start chucking chlorine into
the swimming pool.

HARBINGER (Verb)

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Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future
Use: The warmer weather might be a harbinger that spring is finally coming.

HERALD (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: For eight centuries they have been the heralds of spring, as sure a sign of impending
blue skies and falling blossom as the song of swallows and the appearance of tulips.

HERALD (Verb)

Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: The speech heralded a change in policy.

PRESAGE (Noun)

Meaning: sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: The sight of the first robin is always a welcome presage of spring.

PRESAGE (Verb)

Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: Many investors are very worried that the current slowdown could presage another
recession.

BODE (Verb)

Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use:  The reading of the astrological signs bodes great happiness for the newlywed couple.

PORTEND (Verb)

Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future

Use: The thunder and lightning portended a storm was about to take place.

FOREBODE (Verb)

Meaning: to be a sign or warning of something that will happen in future especially

something bad
Use: Joe’s harsh words with his wife foreboded a bad relationship.
 

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Feeling or judgment something that will happen in future

1. Premonition
2. Prognosis

PREMONITION (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling or belief that something is going to happen

Use: Jack remembers that before the earthquake took place, his two dogs were restless and
greatly disturbed; as if, they had premonitions that the shaking of the area was about to
happen.

PROGNOSIS (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling or belief that something is going to happen especially of the likely
course of an illness
Use: The doctor’s prognosis for a full recovery pleased the patient very much.
 

Ability to judge what will happen in future

1. Clairvoyance
2. Foresight
3. Prescience

CLAIRVOYANCE (Noun)

Meaning: Power claiming to see into the future

Use: Joseph claimed to have clairvoyance which consisted of acute perceptions and
intuitive insights for people in their present existence and for the future.

FORESIGHT (Noun)

Meaning: The ability to see what will or might happen in future

Use: He had the foresight to check that his escape route was clear.

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PRESCIENCE (Noun)

Meaning: The ability to know what will or might happen in future

Use: Given the current wave of Japan-bashing, it does not take prescience for me to foresee
problems in our future trade relations with Japan
Foolish talk
1. Gibberish
2. Blather
3. Drivel
4. Jabber
5. Twaddle
6. Babble

Explanation: Gibberish (Noun), Blather (Noun), Drivel (Noun), Jabber (Noun), Prattle

(Noun) and Twaddle (Noun) means foolish talk. Blather (Verb), Drivel (Verb), Jabber
(Verb), Prattle (Verb), Twaddle (Verb) and Babble (Verb) means to talk foolishly.

GIBBERISH (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use: Did you hear that foolish boy spouting gibberish about monsters from outer space?

BLATHER (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use: Joe’s blathers lacked coherent meanings and was considered ridiculous as he was
talking to those around him.

BLATHER (Verb)

Meaning: To talk foolishly

Use: He will blather on about sports all night if you let him.

DRIVEL (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use: Tamika decided to quit wasting her time reading the drivel in her local newspaper; so,
she canceled her subscription.

DRIVEL (Verb)

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Meaning: To talk foolishly
Use: Janet was constantly driveling on about her trip to Paris during the summer which
absolutely bored her classmates.

JABBER (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use:  Mona’s endless jabber on her cell phone was infuriating the people sitting near her on
the bus.

JABBER (Verb)

Meaning: To talk foolishly

Use: Roger was jabbering on and on about nothing in particular and bored everyone during
the dinner.

PRATTLE (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use: Parents often claim to understand the prattle of their infant offspring.

PRATTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To talk foolishly

Use: The group in the corner of the auditorium continued to prattle even after they were
asked to stop.

TWADDLE (Noun)

Meaning: Foolish talk
Use: He burst into hysterical tears of confusion, speaking a line of nonsensical twaddles.

TWADDLE (Verb)

Meaning: To talk foolishly

Use: Pay no attention to her. She is just twaddling.

BABBLE (Verb)

Meaning: To talk foolishly

Use: Karl’s baby was babbling happily in his arms.
 

135
 

Having twists and turns

1. Circuitous
2. Sinuous
3. Tortuous
4. Serpentine
5. Roundabout
6. Meander
7. Convoluted
8. Labyrinth
Explanation: Meander (Verb) means to follow a winding course. Labyrinth (Noun)
deviates slightly. Labyrinth (Noun) means a complicated network of passages.

CIRCUITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not straight, short and direct

Use: The speaker spoke in a circuitous manner which ended in multitudinous arguments.

SINUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having many twists and turns

2) Moving and bending in a smooth and attractive way

Use: The dancer on TV had many sinuous movements during her performance.

TORTUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having many twists and turns

Use: We drove on a tortuous road through the mountains.

SERPENTINE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having many bends and turns

Use: The tourists were following the serpentine route of the river.

ROUNDABOUT (Noun)

Meaning: A circuitous route

ROUNDABOUT (Adj.)

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Meaning: Not direct, not simple and confusing
Use: He took a roundabout route to town.

MEANDER (Noun)

Meaning: A winding path or course

Use: The multitudes of meanders in the river make it difficult for Betty and Bob to sail their
boat.
MEANDER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) Follow a winding course

2) Wander aimlessly

Use: It takes a long time for the local river to meander to the sea.

CONVOLUTED (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having many twists and turns

2) Very complicated and difficult to understand

Use: “She wrote so many convoluted sentences that I could not understand what she was
trying to say.”

LABYRINTH (Noun)

Meaning: Complicated network of passages

Use: They tried to figure out a labyrinth of tax regulations.”

 Causing horror or shocking

1. Ghastly
2. Grisly
3. Macabre
4. Gruesome
5. Horrid
6. Aghast

Explanation: Aghast (Adj.) deviates slightly. It means shocked and upset.

GHASTLY (Adj.)

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Meaning: Very shocking or horrible
Use: When the car windows were opened, the passengers wanted to know what
the ghastly smell coming from outside was.

GRISLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing horror or fear

Use: The grisly scene of the mine explosion was carefully documented by the photographer.

MACABRE (Adj.)

Meaning: Involving death or violence in a way that is shocking or producing horror

Use: The macabre story shown on TV about headless ghosts frightened Irene’s children
very much.

GRUESOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing horror or disgust

Use: A most gruesome murder.

HORRID (Adj.)

Meaning: Very shocking or bad

Use: Mr. Jones, the radio reporter, presented some horrid reports about citizens being shot
by the military during their peaceful demonstrations.

AGHAST (Adj.)

Meaning: Shocked and upset

Use: Sabina was aghast at the thought of having to walk across the narrow bridge spanning
the deep chasm.
 

To make someone angry

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 1. Enrage
2. Incense
3. Infuriate
4. Nettle

Explanation: Incense (Noun) means a substance used in religious ceremonies to produce a

strong smell. Incense (Verb) means to perfume with incense. It has second meaning also.
Incense (Verb) means to make someone very angry. Nettle means to make someone angry
or to irritate someone. Nettle means a tall plant that has leaves with hairs that sting you if
you touch them. We also covered word Nettle (Verb and Noun) in series To irritate.
ENRAGE (Verb)

Meaning: Make very angry

Use: His thoughtless behavior enraged us.

INCENSE (Noun)

Meaning: A substance used in religious ceremonies to produce a strong smell

Use: In religious temples around the world, there are priests who often burn incense as
part of their religious services.

INCENSE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make someone angry

2) To perfume with incense

Use: The teacher, Mr. Smith, was incensed by the unruly behavior of one of his pupils.

INFURIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) very angry

Use: Shirley was infuriated by her husband’s arrogance.

NETTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone angry or to irritate someone

Use: The mayor’s recent actions have nettled some members of the community.

NETTLE (Noun)

Meaning: A tall plant that has leaves with hairs that sting you if you touch them.

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 Angry

1. Irate
2. Livid
3. Wrathful

IRATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very angry
Use: “The irate protesters were turning cars over and breaking the windows of the stores
on the street.”

LIVID (Adj.)

Meaning: Very angry
Use: Kendrick’s arm had a livid bruise where he fell against the tree.

WRATHFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very angry
Use: In a wrathful voice she demanded to know what had happened.
 

Anger
1. Wrath
2. Ire

WRATH (Noun)

Meaning: Extreme Anger
Use: She turned to him, full of wrath, and said, “What makes you think I will accept lower
pay for this job than you get?”

IRE (Noun)

Meaning: Intense anger
Use: He focused his ire on his coworkers who reported the mistake to higher officials.

Bitter feeling or feeling of hatred toward other people

1. Malice
2. Malevolence

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 3. Grudge
4. Spleen
5. Rancor
6. Antipathy
7. Enmity
8. Acrimony
9. Hostility
10.Resentment
11.Vindictiveness

Explanation: Grudge (Noun) means bitter feeling or feeling of hatred toward other people.
Grudge (Verb) means to feel hatred toward other people. Grudge (Verb) has second
meaning also. It also means to be unwilling to give or allow.
Vindictiveness (Noun) means bitter feeling or feeling of hatred toward someone who has
hurt or caused problems for you.

MALICE (Noun)

Meaning: A desire to cause harm to another person

Use:  There was a report that three teenagers shot and killed a man out of pure malice as he
was jogging by the road for exercise in Duncan, Oklahoma, on Friday, August 16, 2013.

MALEVOLENCE (Noun)

Meaning: A desire to cause harm to others

Use: The queen’s benevolence, or kindness and generosity, was known throughout the
kingdom.

GRUDGE (Noun)

Meaning: A bitter feeling or feeling of hatred toward other people

Use: She held a grudge against her former boss.

GRUDGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To feel hatred toward other people.

2) To be unwilling to give or allow.

Use: I don’ t grudge paying my share.

SPLEEN (Noun)

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Meaning: Feeling of anger
Use: The bill’ s failure to pass in the legislature was due to nothing more than partisan
spleen.

RANCOR (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of hatred or dislike

Use: Thirty years after the war, she could not let go of the past but was still consumed with
rancor against the foe.

ANTIPATHY (Noun)

Meaning: A strong feeling of dislike

Use: Mike’s aunt felt a strong antipathy towards snakes and she could not tolerate even
looking at a picture of one.

ANIMOSITY (Noun)

Meaning: A strong feeling of dislike or hatred

Use: Only one kind of passion is represented in animosity and that is the fervor of
repugnance or revulsion.

ENMITY (Noun)

Meaning: A very deep unfriendly

Use: There is a long history of enmity between Howard and his fellow workers because of
his comments against the labor union.

ACRIMONY(Noun)

Meaning: Angry and bitter filling

Use: Ina expresses her acrimonies with her neighbors with shouting and the stomping of
her feet.

HOSTILITY (Noun)

Meaning: Dislike or opposition
Use: Such was the anger and hostility among the callers that one official refused to take any
more calls.
RESENTMENT (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of anger or displeasure

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Use:  All the confusion at the airport caused considerable resentments among the
passengers whose flights were delayed so long or canceled.

VINDICTIVENESS (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling or desire to hurt someone who has hurt or caused problems for you
Use: Karen’s husband showed a vindictiveness towards her during the divorce proceedings
because of her accusations that he was unfaithful, which he strongly denied.
 

Feeling angry or hatred toward other people

1. Virulent
2. Vitriolic
3. Rancorous

Explanation: Virulent (Adj.) means full of hate or anger. It has second meaning also. It also
means very harmful.

VIRULENT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Full of hate or anger

2) Very harmful

Use: He received virulent criticism from his supervisor.

VITRIOLIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Full of hatred and anger

Use: He hurled vitriolic criticism at her performance.

RANCOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Full of hatred and anger

Use: A rancorous autobiography in which the author heaps blame on just about everyone
who had the misfortune of knowing him.
 

Danger

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 1. Jeopardy
2. Pitfall
3. Snare
4. Peril
5. Endangerment
6. Imperilment

Explanation: Snare (Noun and Verb) deviates slightly.

JEOPARDY (Noun)

Meaning: Danger
Use: The city’ s firefighters routinely put their lives in jeopardy by executing daring
rescues.

PITFALL (Noun)

Meaning: A hidden danger or difficulty

Use: Well anyways, it was caught in a trap, a pitfall.

SNARE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A trap with a loop of wire that pulls tight

2) A dangerous position or situation from which it is difficult to escape

Use: People caught in the snare of drug addiction.

SNARE (Verb)

Meaning: Catch or trap
Use: The young runaway gradually became snared in a web of lies.

PERIL (Noun)

Meaning: Serious danger
Use: The preacher warned his flock to beware the peril of excessive pride, for pride
brought on the angels’ fall.

ENDANGERMENT (Noun)

Meaning: Danger

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Use: No matter how often you have done this job before there are still hidden
endangerments along the way.

IMPERILMENT (Noun)

Meaning: Danger
Use: How do you deal with difficult grandchildren while avoiding the imperilments of
interfering or being critical?
 

To put someone or something in dangerous situation

1. Imperil
2. Endanger
3. Jeopardize

IMPERIL (Verb)

Meaning: To put (someone or something) in a dangerous situation

Use: The toxic fumes imperiled the lives of the trapped miners.

ENDANGER (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone or something) to be in a dangerous place or situation

Use: The severe drought has endangered crops throughout the area.

JEOPARDIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To put (someone or something) in danger

Use: You can’ t give me a D in chemistry; you will jeopardize my chances of being admitted
to MIT.
 

Cheerful and happy

1. Vivacious
2. Blithesome
3. Ebullient
4. Mirthful
5. Winsome
6. Canty
7. Jocose
8. Jocund

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 9. Jovial
10.Jolly
11.Gleeful
12.Eupeptic

VIVACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Happy and lively in a way that is attractive

Use: Kathy had the most vivacious personality of all the girls in the class, being very lively,
cheerful, and full of life!

BLITHESOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful and happy

Use: A blithesome girl who never seems to be sad or angry.

EBULLIENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful and full of energy

Use: His mood was ebullient, and he had every reason to be satisfied.

MIRTHFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Happy and cheerful

Use: The father of the mirthful baby had a picture taken to show his friends and relatives
how sweet and lovable his little boy is.

WINSOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful, pleasant and appealing

Use: The students joined in a winsome pose for the photographer at their summer picnic.

CANTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful and full of energy

Use: He has a canty outlook on life.

JOCOSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very cheerful

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Use: Peter often covered his embarrassment by indulging in jocose comments.

JOCUND (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful
Use: Harry’s aunt had a jocund personality that endeared her to her friends and colleagues.

JOVIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: full of happiness and joy

Use: A frown seemed out of place on his invariably jovial face.

JOLLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Happy and cheerful

Use: Our boss was a very jolly man, always laughing.

GLEEFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful and happy

Use The gleeful atmosphere that envelops the host city of the Super Bowl.

EUPEPTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Cheerful
Use: Our eupeptic colleague was unfazed by our gloomy expressions and dire predictions.

To make fun/act of making fun

1. Ridicule
2. Mockery
3. Derision
4. Caricature
5. Parody
6. Travesty
7. Lampoon

Explanation: Deride (Verb) means to ridicule. Derision (Noun) is noun form of deride

(Verb).
Caricature (Noun) deviates slightly. Caricature (Noun) means cartoon character. Caricature
(Verb) means to draw cartoon character of someone.

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Lampoon (Verb) means to mock at someone. It has second meaning also. Lampoon (Verb)
also means to criticize someone. It was also covered in series To criticize.
Burlesque (Verb), Parody (Verb) and Caricature (Verb) mean to imitate humorously.

RIDICULE (Noun)

Meaning: The act of making fun of someone or something

Use: The early efforts to obtain voting rights for women were met with ridicule.

RIDICULE (Verb)

Meaning: To laugh at and make jokes about (someone or something)

Use: The other kids ridiculed him for the way he dressed.

MOCKERY (Noun)

Meaning: Behavior or speech that makes fun of someone or something

Use: Mockery was the only outlet for Ben’s jealousy when Iva left him for another guy.

DERISION (Noun)

Meaning: Scornful ridicule
Use: There was a lot of derision and sneering going on when the teacher entered the
classroom and found out that the new boy was the object of all of the laughter.

CARICATURE (Noun)

Meaning: A portrayal in which a person’ s characteristics are comically exaggerated

Use: It is often the case that caricatures are presented in cartoons on pages in newspapers
depicting a politician in a very amusing and witty way.

CARICATURE (Verb)

Meaning: To draw or describe (someone or something) in a funny or exaggerated way

Use: The press caricatured him as clumsy and forgetful.

BURLESQUE (Noun)

Meaning: Comically exaggerated cartoon sketch

Use: “The antics of the defense attorneys turned the trial into a burlesque of justice.”

BURLESQUE (Verb)

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Meaning: To mock or to imitate in a derisive manner
Use: She struck a ridiculous pose that burlesqued her own vanity.

PARODY (Noun)

Meaning: A piece of writing etc. that imitates the style of another so as to be amusing
Use: Any procedure or activity that has been done so badly that it is considered to be
nothing but trash is called a parody.

PARODY (Verb)

Meaning: To imitate (someone or something) in an amusing way

Use: She parodied her brother’ s poetry.

TRAVESTY (Noun)

Meaning: Something that is shocking, upsetting or ridiculous because it is not what it is

supposed to be
Use: The comedian’s travesty of a senator making a speech was very funny.

LAMPOON (Verb)

Meaning: To criticize (someone or something) in a way that causes laughter

Use: The politician was lampooned in cartoons.

LAMPOON (Noun)

Meaning: Cartoon, writing etc. that makes fun of a well-known person or thing

Use: He said such ridiculous things that he was often the target of lampoons in the press.
 

To scorn at something /to insult someone in a way that shows feeling

of disrespect or disapproval
1. Sneer
2. Scoff
3. Jeer
4. Taunt
5. Fleer
6. Snicker
7. Snigger
8. Gibe

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Explanation: Snicker (or Snigger) (Verb & Noun) deviates slightly. It means to laugh at
someone in a way that shows disrespect.

SNEER (Noun)

Meaning: A scornful smile or remark

Use: She looked at me with a sneer of disgust.

SNEER (Verb)

Meaning: Smile or speak scornfully

Use: “You obviously don’ t know what you are talking about,” she sneered.

SCOFF (Noun)

Meaning: An expression of scorn or derision

Use: Shaking his head with a scoff, he answered, “Fine.”

SCOFF (Verb)

Meaning: Speak about scornfully

Use: He scoffed at dentists until he had his first toothache.

JEER (Noun)

Meaning: A loud insulting sound or remark

Use: Ignored the jeers of the other team’ s fans and just focused on making her free throw
shot.

JEER (Verb)

Meaning: To shout insulting words at someone

Use: He tried to ignore the jeering crowd.

TAUNT (Noun)

Meaning: Mocking or insulting remark

Use: “The taunt uttered by the crowd did not upset the police who were monitoring the
parade.”

TAUNT (Verb)

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Meaning: To say insulting things to (someone) in order to make that person angry
Use: “The gang members tried to taunt the dignified man who was walking down the
street.”

FLEER (Noun)

Meaning: A scornful smile or remark

Use: She looked at me with a fleer of disgust.

FLEER (Verb)

Meaning: Smile or speak carefully

Use: ”You obviously don’ t know what you are talking about,” she fleered.

SNICKER (Verb)

Meaning: To make a short, quiet laugh at someone in a way that shows disrespect
Use: The prisoner was snickered by an angry mob.

SNICKER (Noun)

Meaning: Act of snickering
Use: “They are paranoid,” he said with a snicker.

SNIGGER (Verb)

Meaning: To make a short, quiet laugh at someone in a way that shows disrespect
Use: Ten years ago, I would have sniggered at anybody who dared to speak such
blasphemy.

SNIGGER (Noun)

Meaning: Act of sniggering
Use: Teammates sniggering each other when one fouls up an important play.

GIBE (Verb)

Meaning: To make insulting remark

Use: Joshua attempted to gibe the speaker, which resulted in his being led away by the
ushers.
 

Argumentative /tending to fight

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 1. Bellicose
2. Belligerent
3. Contentious
4. Fractious
5. Pugnacious
6. Truculent
7. Confrontational
8. Fiesty
9. Brawly
10.Quarrelsome
11.Combative
12.Polemical

Explanation: Confront (Verb) means to meet an opponent face to face. Brawl (Verb) means
to fight noisily. We covered this word in series for Noisy quarrel. Polemic (Noun) means
strong verbal or written attack. Polemical (Adj.) comes from word polemic (Noun).
Feisty (Adj.) deviates slightly. Feisty (Noun) means lively and spirited or not afraid to fight.

ARGUMENTATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a tendency to argue or disagree with other people in an angry

way

BELLICOSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a tendency to argue or fight

Use: Cara’s bellicose attitude when she was concentrating on a project was a signal to her
fellow workers to leave her alone.

BELLIGERENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing readiness to fight

Use: The Arab nations refused to approve a non-belligerency clause in any agreement with
Israel and so, there are still some very belligerent Arab countries.

CONTENTIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Liking to cause people to argue or disagree

Use: Edward was a very contentious boy because he often disagreed and argued with his
parents about many things.

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FRACTIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Bad-tempered
2) Ready to fight or argue

Use: A fractious person is quarrelsome and difficult to get along with; so,

Samuel’s fractious nature made him an unsuitable person for a career in customer service
for the department store where he worked.

PUGNACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing a readiness or desire to fight or argue

Use: Susan was behaving in a pugnacious way when her mother asked her to do some
household chores, like taking out the garbage.

TRUCULENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Quick to argue or fight

Use: The truculent customer glared at the salesman when he told her how much the winter
coat would cost.

CONFRONTATIONAL (Noun)

Meaning: Meeting an opponent face to face

Use: He became more confrontational during the debate.

FEISTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Lively and spirited or not afraid to fight

Use: The novel features a feisty heroine.

BRAWLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Taking part in a noisy fight or quarrel

Use: A brawly student who has always being sent to the principals’ s office for starting
fights in the halls.

QUARRELSOME (Adj.)

Meaning: Ready or likely to argue or disagree

Use:  Since her divorce from her husband, Kayla has become more and
more quarrelsome with her parents because they blamed her for causing the split.

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COMBATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a willingness to fight or argue

Use: Steven has a combative attitude that makes it very difficult for others to work with
him.

POLEMICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Taking part in a strong verbal or written attack against someone else’ s opinions,
beliefs etc.
Use: Joseph said he resented the polemical attacks of the candidate who was running for
mayor of the city.

To prevent something from happening /to make something no longer necessary

1. Avert
2. Forestall
3. Preclude
4. Obviate

AVERT (Verb)

Meaning: To prevent (something bad) from happening

Use: The quick arrival of firefighters would avert a major forest fire

FORESTALL (Verb)

Meaning: To stop (something) from happening or to cause (something) to happen at a

later time
Use: Some health specialists claim that vitamins can forestall many illnesses caused by
aging.

PRECLUDE (Verb)

Meaning: To prevent something from happening or to prevent someone from doing

something
Use: The judge stated that insufficiency of the evidence precludes a conviction of the
defendant.

OBVIATE (Verb)

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Meaning: To make (something) no longer necessary
Use:  Because Joe and his family were going on their vacation the following day, he decided
to obviate the possibility of running out of gas by going to the station and getting as much
fuel as possible for his car before leaving.
 

To make something worse/to make (an injury, problematic) more

serious or more severe
1. Fester
2. Exacerbate
3. Worsen
4. Aggravate

Explanation: Aggravate (Verb) means to make (an injury, problem etc.) more serious or
severe. It has second meaning also. It means to annoy or bother someone.

FESTER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To become painful and infected

2) To become worse as time passes

Use: Joe’ s insult festered in my mind for days, and made her too angry to speak to him.

EXACERBATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (a bad situation, a problem etc.) worse

Use: When Steven was bitten by a mosquito, he scratched his skin at that spot and doing
this exacerbated the itchiness of it even more and caused it to bleed.

WORSEN (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) worse or to become worse

Use: Spending more money is only going to worsen the problem.

AGGRAVATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make (an injury, problem etc.) more serious or severe.

2) To annoy or bother (someone).

Use: Don’t scratch because you will only aggravate the itch.

 

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To calm down someone /to satisfy someone
1. Appease
2. Assuage
3. Conciliate
4. Soothe
5. Mollify
6. Pacify
7. Placate
8. Propitiate
9. Reconcile

Explanation: Reconcile (Verb) deviates slightly. Reconcile (Verb) means to restore friendly

relation or to resolve the difference.

APPEASE (Verb)

Meaning: To calm down someone by agreeing to their demands

Use:  The romantic film on TV in the evening helped to appease Becky after a long and hard
day’s work at the office.

ASSUAGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make (something, such as an unpleasant feeling) less painful, severe etc.
2) To satisfy someone.

Use:  During the economic crisis, Ted tried to assuage the investor’s fears with guarantees
that his company was still doing well.

CONCILIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) friendlier or less angry

Use: The company’ s attempts to conciliate the strikers have failed.

SOOTHE (Verb)

Meaning: to cause (someone) to be calmer, less angry etc.

Use: The waiter tried to soothe the angry customer.

MOLLIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) less angry

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Use: The airline customer service representative tried to mollify the angry passenger by
offering her a seat in first class.

PACIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone who is angry or upset) to become calm or quiet

Use: The king pacified the mob with promises of reform.

PLACATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to feel less angry about something

Use: The administrators placated the customers by agreeing to consider a reduction in
prices for the items when they became available again.

PROPITIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) pleased or less angry

Use: When Jerome told Sara that he didn’t agree with her political view, she responded to
his comment by being very loud until he tried to propitiate her by saying that she certainly
had a right to her opinion even if it disagreed with his.

RECONCILE (Verb)

Meaning: to restore friendly relations or to resolve differences

Use: She wanted to be reconciled with her father.

To reduce the effect of something /to make something such as injury,

problem less severe
1. Mitigate
2. Palliate
3. Assuage
4. Alleviate
5. Ameliorate

Explanation:  Ameliorate (Verb) means to make (something, such as problem better, less

painful) etc. It also means to make something better. Assuage (Verb) means to make
(something, such as an unpleasant feeling) less painful, severe etc. It also means to satisfy
someone. Therefore, this word has also been covered in series for To make something
(such as an injury, problem etc.) less serious or severe.

MITIGATE (Verb)

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Meaning: To make (something) less severe, harmful or painful
Use: Bill’s inexperience will militate against him getting an early promotion.

PALLIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make the effects of (something, such as an illness) less painful, harmful or
harsh
Use: To palliate a disease or its symptoms is to make them less severe or unpleasant
without removing the causes of them.

ASSUAGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make (something, such as an unpleasant feeling) less painful, severe etc.
2) To satisfy someone.

Use: During the economic crisis, Ted tried to assuage the investor’s fears with guarantees
that his company was still doing well.

ALLEVIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) less painful, difficult or severe

Use: The injection the doctor gave Susan was intended to alleviate the pain caused by her
infected tooth.

AMELIORATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make (something, such as problem better, less painful) etc.

2) To make something better or to improve something.

Use: Although Becky had a new computer, which was supposed to ameliorate her work and
save her time, she became quite confused and impatient trying to make it do what she
wanted it to do!

Cure-all
1. Panacea
2. Elixir

PANACEA

Meaning: A remedy for all ills or difficulties

158
Use: There is no easy panacea that will solve our complicated international situation.

ELIXIR

Meaning: A magical liquid that can cure illness or cure life

Use: The news of her chance to go abroad acted on her like an elixir.

Stupid /foolish /absurd

1. Inane
2. Fatuous
3. Imbecilic
4. Moronic
5. Asinine
6. Lunatic
7. Ludicrous
8. Preposterous
9. Farcical

INANE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very silly or stupid

Use: Because of his nonsensical behavior, Hank was considered to be an inane person.
INSANE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Seriously mentally ill

2) Very foolish

Use: The murderer was found to be criminally insane.

FATUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Foolish or stupid
Use: He had a habit of making fatuous remarks even during a serious conversation.

IMBECILIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Stupid or idiot
Use: He drank too much and started acting like an imbecilic person.

MORONIC (Adj.)

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Meaning: Foolish or stupid
Use: She made some very moronic suggestions.

ASININE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very stupid and silly

Use: Marge thought that the radio host asked his caller the most asinine questions that she
had ever heard.

LUNATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Mentally ill

2) Wildly foolish

Use: He would be asked to acquiesce in some lunatic scheme.

LUDICROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very foolish
Use: When she was nervous or under stress, Lucinda often told the most ludicrous jokes.

PREPOSTEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very foolish or silly

Use A preposterous suggestion.

FARCICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Michael’s failure to get up in time for school is more farcical than tragic.

Use: The farcical routine that a person has to go through to get a refund from that
company.
 

Narrow minded

1. Parochial
2. Myopic
3. Provincial
4. Insular

PAROCHIAL (Adj.)

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Meaning: Having a narrow outlook
Use: This worldview seems incredibly naïve and preposterous.

MYOPIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Shortsighted
Use: The government still has a myopic attitude to public spending.

PROVINCIAL (Noun)

Meaning: A person who lives in the provinces

Use: The confidence man figured that fleecing these provincials would be easy.

PROVINCIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Unsophisticated and narrow-minded

2) Related to a province.

Use: As provincial governor, Sir Henry administered the Queen’ s law in his remote corner
of Canada, caught up in local problems, out of touch with London news, he became sadly
provincial.

INSULAR (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Narrow-minded
2) Not knowing or interested in new or different ideas.

Use: An insular community that is not receptive to new ideas, especially from outsiders.
 

Excessively flattering /overly obedient

1. Fawning
2. Fulsome
3. Obsequious
4. Sycophant
5. Servile
6. Slavish
7. Subservient

161
 8. Adulatory
9. Truckling
10.Bootlicker
11.Cringing
12.Groveling

Explanation: Adulate (Verb), Bootlick (Verb), Fawn (Verb), Truckle (Verb) means to flatter
around. Cringe (Verb) and grovel (Verb) means fawning and fearing in front of a superior.

FAWNING (Adj.)

Meaning: Trying to please by flattery and being very attentive

Use: When the Hollywood stars entered the hotel, the employees were giving
more fawning services than they usually do for other famous people.

FULSOME (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Excessively flattering

2) Large in size or quantity

Use: Roy thought his neighbors were embarrassingly fulsome in expressing their

appreciation for taking care of their mail delivery while they were away on vacation.
OBSEQUIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Too eager to help or obey someone important

Use: Jane and Jim were served in the hotel by obsequious employees who were striving to
fulfill all the desires that they indicated.

SYCOPHANT (Noun)

Meaning: A person who praises powerful people in order to get their approval
Use: Julie was a sycophant who flattered her brother so he would loan her his car.

SERVILE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very obedient and trying too hard to please someone

Use: Being good at service means that we are servile and demeans our noble island spirit.

SLAVISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Copying like a slave or without originality

Use: Slavish devotion to another person can be self-destructive.

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SUBSERVIENT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Too willing to obey someone else

2) Less important

Use: Helene’s subservient behavior belied her real intent, which was to learn the

housekeeper’s role and then to take over the position.

ADULATORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Excessively or slavishly flattering

Use: Often when foreign officials meet, there is a tendency to
exchange adulatory comments that are full of platitudes or overused words and insincere
praise.

TRUCKLING (Adj.)

Meaning: Acting in a subservient manner

Use: He made a truckling apology to his girlfriend.

BOOTLICKER (Noun)

Meaning: A person who tries to gain favor with through a highly obedient or obsequious
manner
Use: When her career was riding high, the self-deluded often mistook bootlickers for true
friends.

CRINGING (Adj.)

Meaning: To cower in fear or to behave in an excessively humble way

Use: We are surrounded by cringing yes-man and sycophants.

GROVELING (Adj.)

Meaning: Treating someone with too much respect or fear in order to gain approval or
favor
Use: The peasant was groveling before the king.

Not eating and drinking too much

1. Abstemious
2. Abstentious

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ABSTEMIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not eating and drinking too much

Use: Emily’s mother was known as an abstemious eater and drinker who always had
healthy meals for her family.

ABSTENTIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Choosing not to do or have something

2) Choosing not to vote

Use: Diana’s midlife heart attack made her realize the importance of taking care of her
body and so it turned her towards a more abstentious and healthful lifestyle.
 

Refrain from marriage or sexual intercourse

1. Celibacy

CELIBACY (Noun)

Meaning: A state or condition of being unmarried or not having sex.

Use: David decided that he could not live a life of celibacy and so he left the priesthood so
he could marry the woman he loved.
 

Quality of someone who control his actions ,thoughts or feelings

2. Temperance
3. Forbearance
4. Unflappable

TEMPERANCE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Not eating and drinking too much

2) Practice or quality of always controlling your anger, action or feelings to deal with every
situation.

Use: The minister preached about temperance.

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FORBEARANCE (Noun)

Meaning: Practice or quality of always controlling your anger, action or feelings to deal

with every situation.
Use: We must use forbearance in dealing with him because he is still weak from his illness.

UNFLAPPABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not easily upset or unusually calm in difficult situations.

Use: The unflappable teacher never even blinked when the wall map came crashing down.
 

Not showing emotions

1. Apathetic
2. Callous
3. Indifferent
4. Impassive
5. Phlegmatic
6. Pachydermatous
7. Stolid
8. Stoic

Explanation: Stoic (Noun) deviates slightly. Stoic (Noun) means a person who accepts
what happens without complaining or showing emotion.

APATHETIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Not having or showing much emotion or interest

Use: Dr. Diedrich thought that Nora’s apathetic behavior was the beginning of a significant
form of depression.

CALLOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not feeling or showing any concern about the problems or suffering of other
people
Use: When Margery read the poetry that she had created to her English class, some of the
students laughed in a very callous or insensitive manner.

INDIFFERENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not interested in or concerned about something

Use: There are too many indifferent people who ignore the terror and destruction that is
taking place in other countries because such problems don’t exist where they live.

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IMPASSIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing emotion

Use: I was about as confused as him, but I did not let it show, keeping an impassive
expression plastered to my face.

PHLEGMATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: calm and unemotional

Use: The nurse was a cheerful but phlegmatic person, unexcited in the face of sudden
emergencies.

PACHYDERMATOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not feeling or showing any concern about the problems or suffering of other
people
Use: A pachydermatous pop Diva with little regard for punctuality or other people’
schedules.
STOLID (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing little or no emotion

Use: When she was angry, her face assumed a stolid expression and it was difficult to know
what she was thinking.

STOIC (Noun)

Meaning: a person who accepts what happens without complaining or showing emotion
Use: In general, the prominent characteristic of stoic philosophy is moral heroism, often
verging on asceticism.
Not easily excited or upset
1. Palcid
2. Standoffish
3. Glacial
4. Frigid

PLACID (Adj.)

Meaning: Not easily upset or excited

Use: After his vacation in this placid section, he felt soothed and rested.

STANDOFFISH (Adj.)

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Meaning: Not friendly toward other people
Use: She tends to be a bit standoffish with strangers.

GLACIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very cold

2) Not friendly or lacking emotional

Use: The congressional progress on the bill has been glacial.

FRIGID (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very cold

2) Not friendly or loving3) Unable to be sexually aroused

Use: Henry opened the elevator door for the couple with a frigid stare.
Relaxed and calm/not worried about anything
1. Nonchalant
2. Insouciant
3. Complacent

NONCHALANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Relaxed and calm in a way that shows that you are not worried about anything
Use: Gerard was surprisingly nonchalant about winning the award as the best athlete of
the year.

INSOUCIANT (Adj.)

Meaning: A relaxed and calm state or a feeling of not worried about anything
Use: Wandered into the meeting with complete insouciance to the fact that she was late.

COMPLACENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Satisfied with how things are and not wanting to change them
Use: Ever since Cain received his raise, he has been the most complacent person in the
office and he doesn’t do as much work as he did before.
 

Extremely important

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 1. Indispensable
2. Imperative
3. Vital

INDISPENSABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Extremely important and necessary

Use: Fully aware that he was an indispensable assistant, he decided that it was high time
that he be paid what he was worth.

IMPERATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very important
Use: The exploding sidewalks in London make it an imperative responsibility of the city
officials to solve the problem before someone is killed.
VITAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Extremely important.

2) Needed by your body in order to keep living.

3) Very lively or energetic.

Use: The sciences are a vital part of the school curriculum.

 

Impossible to defeat
1. Invincible
2. Indomitable

INVINCIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Impossible to defeat or overcome

Use: Proud and arrogant, they thought themselves secure and invincible.

INDOMITABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Impossible to defeat or discourage

Use: Ted’s indomitable determination made it possible for him to achieve his objectives as a
medical specialist.

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Not able to be stopped /continuing without becoming weaker
1. Inexorable
2. Relentless
3. Unrelenting

INEXORABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be stopped or changed

Use: the Inexorable rise of the left in my state is a matter of concern.

RELENTLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Continuing without becoming weaker, less severe etc.

Use: Her relentless optimism held the team together.

UNRELENTING (Adj.)

Meaning: Continuing without becoming weaker, less severe etc.

Use: Ted’s indomitable determination made it possible for him to achieve his objectives as a
medical specialist.

Not able to be captured or conquered

1. Impregnable
2. Unconquerable

IMPREGNABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be captured by attack or very strong

Use: Until the development of the airplane as a military weapon, the fort was considered
impregnable.

UNCONQUERABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be conquered or defeated

Use: The unconquerable floods that have taken place in Great Britain during the winter of
2014 have caused a great loss of property and significant challenges for reconstruction in
many parts of the country.
 

Sure ,to happen /cannot be avoided

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 1. Inevitable
2. Unavoidable
3. Ineluctable
4. Inescapable
5. Ineludible

INEVITABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Sure, to happen
Use: Just about every trip people go on seems to have its inevitable delays and
complications.

UNAVOIDABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be prevented or avoided

Use: Jim said getting home late was an unavoidable delay because of the accident that took
place on the highway.

INELUCTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be avoided or changed

Use: Utilizing a proper diet and exercise has an ineluctable superiority over an excessive
eating and a “couch-potato” existence.

INESCAPABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Impossible to deny or avoid

Use: It’ s an inescapable truth that these problems have no easy solution.

INELUDIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Impossible to deny or avoid

Use: Police officers have an ineludible responsibility to protect the public, and never more
so than in times of natural disaster.
 

Large amount of something

1. Profusion
2. Abundance
3. Plethora
4. Plenitude

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 5. Glut
6. Myriad
7. Surfeit
8. Cornucopia
9. Argosy
10.Copious
11.Inordinate
12.Exorbitant

Explanation: Inordinate (Adj.) and Exorbitant (Adj.) deviates slightly. Inordinate (or

Exorbitant) (Noun) means beyond normal. For example – Exorbitant rates were charged
for the phone call.

PROFUSION (Noun)

Meaning: A large amount of something

Use: Jeanette loved to take walks in the spring and enjoyed the profusion and multitudes of
blossoms in the nearby park.

ABUNDANCE (Noun)

Meaning: A large amount of something

Use: Barry’s family has abundances of different homes around the world as well as all of the
luxuries that can be obtained from them.

PLETHORA (Noun)

Meaning: A very large amount or number

Use: When Mr. Johnson’s secretary ordered paperclips using an online source, she
evidently typed in the wrong number because instead of receiving 100 paperclips, she
received a plethora of 10,000 paperclips!

PLENITUDE (Noun)

Meaning: A large number or amount of something

Use: Mark lived in a region that was blessed with a plenitude of natural resources.

GLUT (Noun)

Meaning: An excessive supply

Use: There is a glut of oil on the market.

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GLUT (Verb)

Meaning: Supply to excess
Use: Nell is excessively glutting her food and, as a result, she is getting fatter every day.

MYRIAD (Noun)

Meaning: A very large number of things

Use: The Earth has a myriad of animals in its global ecological system.

MYRIAD (Adj.)

Meaning: Countless
Use: The politician was amazed by the myriad nationalities of people who were living in
the city.

SURFEIT (Noun)

Meaning: An amount that is too much or more than you need

Use: Ended up with a surfeit of volunteers who simply got in each other’ sway.

CORNUCOPIA (Noun)

Meaning: An abundant supply of good things

Use: The encyclopedia salesman claimed the new edition was a veritable cornucopia of
information, an inexhaustible source of knowledge for the entire family.

ARGOSY (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A large ship; especially a large merchant ship

2) A rich supply

Use: A book that is an argosy of stories and legends about the golden age of Hollywood.

COPIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very large in amount or number

Use: Henry had the bad habit of eating copious amounts of food.

INORDINATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Going beyond what is usual or normal

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Use: The group had more inordinate difficulties completing the project on the date that was
specified by their supervisor then they had ever had in the past.

EXORBITANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Going beyond what is usual or normal

Use:  The university students complained that the tuition fees were being increased
to exorbitant levels and that many of them could not make such payments.

Unclear in meaning
1. Ambiguous
2. Equivocal
3. Ambivalent
4. Prevaricated

AMBIGUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having more than one possible meaning

2) Not expressed or understood clearly

Use: Mary gave her parents an ambiguous answer instead of a clear explanation as to why

she came home so late.

EQUIVOCAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having more than one possible meaning

2) Not expressed or understood clearly

Use: Bob’s mother gave him an equivocal, or ambiguous, answer to his question about
having another piece of cake; so, he decided for himself and took one more piece!

AMBIVALENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Having uncertainty or having contradictory attitude and feelings

Use: Mike has ambivalent feelings as to whether his new car is worth so much money.

PREVARICATED (Adj.)

Meaning: Avoiding the truth by not directly answering a question

Use: The local officials prevaricated about the real costs of the new city hall.
 

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Super patriotism

1. Chauvinism
2. Jingoism

Explanation: Chauvinism (Noun) means super patriotism. It has second meaning also. It

means an attitude that member of your sex is always better than other sex.

CHAUVINISM (Noun)

Meaning: 1) an attitude that member of your sex is always better than other sex.
2) The belief that your country, race etc. is better than any other

Use: The senator’s chauvinism make him intolerant of the needs of other countries.

JINGOISM (Noun)

Meaning: Excessive nationalism
Use: How would he differentiate between patriotism and jingoism; internationalism and
xenophobia?

Very poor
1. Destitute
2. Impecunious
3. Penurious
4. Penniless
5. Impoverished
6. Indigent
7. Bankrupt
8. Insolvent

Explanation: Bankrupt (Noun) and Insolvent (Adj.) deviates slightly. Bankrupt (Noun) and
Insolvent (Adj.) means not having money to pay your debt.

DESTITUTE (Adj.)

Meaning: Extremely poor
Use: Although Jasper and Abbey are poor and destitute men, they don’t ask other people for
financial help.

IMPECUNIOUS (Adj.)

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Meaning: Having little or no money
Use: Isaac and his family were existing in such impecunious conditions that they had to live
in a tent near the forest because he could not afford to rent a house.

PENURIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very poor
Use: The company’ s penurious management could not be convinced of the need to
earmark more money for research and development.

PENNILESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having no money or very poor

Use: She was unemployed and penniless.

IMPOVERISHED (Adj.)

Meaning: Poor or worst in quality

Use: The widespread hope that the lottery’ s record-setting jackpot is won by an
impoverished family.

INDIGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Lacking money or very poor

Use: Every society must make some provisions for the indigent.

BANKRUPT (Noun)

Meaning: A person, business etc. that is unable to pay debts

Use: Jim’s father became bankrupt and the family had to sell their house so they could pay
the unpaid dept.

BANKRUPT (Adj.)

Meaning: Unable to pay debts

Use: The lawsuit could leave them bankrupt.

INSOLVENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not having enough money to pay debts

Use: The man was humiliated by having to admit to being insolvent when speaking with his
creditors.
 

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Rich
1. Affluent
2. Plush
3. Prosperous
4. Opulent

Explanation: Plush (Noun) means a thick, soft fabric. Plush (Adj.) means expensively
luxurious.

AFFLUENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a large amount of money and owing many expensive things

Use: Monroe was described as an affluent man who had plenty of money, property, and
possessions to take care of his desires.

PLUSH (Noun)

Meaning: A thick soft fabric

PLUSH (Adj.)

Meaning: Expensively luxurious
Use: The hotel accommodations were plush.

PROSPEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having success usually by making a lot of money

Use: The company had a prosperous year.

OPULENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very wealthy
Use: An opulent mansion filled with priceless art and antiques.

Relevant
1. Apposite
2. Pertinent
3. Germane
4. Apropos

APPOSITE (Adj.)

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Meaning: Very appropriate
Use: Those red flowers are the most apposite flowers for the table setting that Linda could
think of.

PERTINENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Relating to things that is being thought about or discussed

Use: The lawyer wanted to know all the pertinent details.

GERMANE (Adj.)

Meaning: Relating to a subject in an appropriate way

Use: Professor Crout delivered his remarks, which were certainly germane to the subject.

APROPOS (Adj.)

Meaning: Suitable or appropriate
Use: Mr. Allen read an apropos passage to his class from the author’s new book.

APROPOS (Prep.)

Meaning: With reference to
Use: Makes a number of telling observations apropos the current political situation.
 

To increase in size, number or amount

1. Accrue
2. Aggrandize
3. Augment
4. Balloon
5. Dilate
6. Proliferate
7. Wax

Explanation: Wax (Noun) means solid substance used for making a candle. Wax (Verb)
means to apply wax to something. Wax (Verb) also means to increase in size, number or
strength.

ACCRUE (Verb)

Meaning: To increase in value or amount gradually as time passes

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Use: She was happy to see interest accruing in her savings account.

AGGRANDIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To increase or enhance the power or status

Use: Being elected to the highest office of the land certainly aggrandized the sense of
importance for Frank’s uncle.

AUGMENT (Verb)

Meaning: To increase the size or amount of (something)

Use: George will augment his income by working at the local bar at night.

BALLOON (Verb)

Meaning: Swell or increase
Use: The monthly report indicated that Dick’s credit card debt would balloon at least three
times more than normal and, in addition, there would be the ballooning costs of a college
education to consider.

BALLOON (Noun)

Meaning: A thin usually rubber bag that becomes larger when it is filled with air or gas
Use: We decided to take a ride in a balloon to see the countryside from a different
perspective.

DILATE (Verb)

Meaning: To become larger or wider

Use: Laughter appears to cause the tissue that forms the inner lining of blood vessels, the
endothelium, to dilate or expand in order to increase blood flow.

PROLIFERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To increase in number or amount quickly

Use: There, non-governmental groups are proliferating as poverty increases and trade
liberalization undermines local economies.

WAX (Noun)

Meaning: solid substance used for making candle

Use: The doctor used a water flush to get rid of the accumulated ear wax in his patient’s
ear.

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WAX (Verb)

Meaning: 1) means to apply wax to something.

2) to increase in size, number or strength.

Use: The people’s interest in the economic news seems to wax and to wane, depending on
what the other news is.
 

To become less strong ,less active or less intense

1. Abate
2. Attenuate
3. Ebb
4. Subside
5. Slacken
6. Slack
7. Wane

Explanation: Slack(Verb) means to be careless and it also means to lessen. Slack (Adj.)

means careless and it also means not stretched or held in a tight position.

ABATE (Verb)

Meaning: To become weaker or to decrease in strength

Use: It is hoped that the wind will abate after the storm.

ATTENUATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) weaker or less in amount, effect or force.

Use: Earplugs will attenuate the loud sounds of the machinery.

EBB (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The time when the tide flows out from the land
2) A low point or condition

Use: A surprising ebb in the quality of workmanship in goods coming from that country.

EBB (Verb)

Meaning: 1) (Of a tide) to flow outward from the land

2) To flow from higher to lower level or to get worse

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Use: Waiting for the tide to ebb.

SUBSIDE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To become less strong or intense

2) To move down to a lower level

Use: After a few hours, the strength of the hurricane seemed to subside and was not as
strong as it was earlier.

SLACKEN (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To become slower or less active.

2) To become less tight or to make something less tight.

Use: As they passed the finish line, the runners slackened their pace.

SLACK (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To be careless
2) To lessen

Use: They need to stop slacking and get down to work.

SLACK (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Careless
2) Not stretched or held in tight position.

Use: 1) I held the slack rope taut in various positions and Jim measured and recorded the
segments’ lengths.
2) If the business is slack, plans for a new van are postponed.

WANE (Verb)

Meaning: To decrease in size, amount or quality.

Use: People’s interest in using oil for heating homes waned when the price of gas became
much less expensive.

Present in small amount

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 1. Exiguous
2. Meager
3. Puny
4. Scanty
5. Skimpy
6. Sparse
7. Modicum
8. Iota

EXIGUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small
Use: Mildred was wearing exiguous clothing which was not sufficient for the cold weather
she was being exposed to
.
MEAGER (Adj.)

Meaning: Small in quantity
Use: Beatrice arrived in the foreign country with a meager knowledge of the language, but
she has been learning more words every day.

PUNY (Adj.)

Meaning: Small and weak

Use: “Puny generally includes the significance of both smallness and feebleness; such as a
puny animal, a puny subject, a puny power, a puny mind, or a puny excuse.”

SCANTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small in size or amount

Use: Any woman now seems to be able to make such a complaint and to be believed, with
incredibly scanty evidence.

SKIMPY (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small in size or amount

Use: The judge declared that the evidence presented by the prosecutor in the trial was
much too skimpy to convict anyone.

SPARSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Present only in small amount

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Use: The information about what really happened is still rather sparse.

MODICUM (Noun)

Meaning: A small amount

Use: Although his history is based on a modicum of truth, most of the events he describes
are fictitious.

IOTA (Noun)

Meaning: A very small amount

Use: She had not an iota of common sense.

To make something shorter /smaller or to limit something

1. Syncopate
2. Elide
3. Truncate
4. Abbreviate
5. Abridge
6. Contract
7. Curtail
8. Constrict

Explanation: Contract (Noun) means a legal agreement between people, companies etc.

SYNCOPATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To cut short

2) Alter the accents in music so that strong beats become weak and vice versa.

Use: You can syncopate the word “building” as “bldg..”

ELIDE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make something short

2) To omit a sound or syllable when speaking

Use: Some unnecessary verbiage will need to be elided, but otherwise the article is
publishable.

TRUNCATE (Verb)

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Meaning: To make (something) shorter
Use: Television coverage of the soccer match was truncated by a technical fault.
ABBREVIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) shorter especially to reduce (a word or name) to a shorter

form
Use: Jonathan decided he would be abbreviating his name to “Jon”.

ABRIDGE (Verb)

Meaning: To shorten (a book, a play etc.) by leaving out some parts

Use: Patricia wants to abridge the long essay into a shortened, easily read format.

CONTRACT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make (something) smaller or shorter

2) To become ill with (a disease)

Use: He was able to contract his lips into a thin line, a grimace, etc.

CONTRACT (Noun)

Meaning: A legally binding agreement

Use: They will make a legal contract for the marriage to take place in June.

CURTAIL (Verb)

Meaning: To reduce or limit something

Use: The new laws passed by the legislature were an effort to curtail the use of illegal
drugs.

CONSTRICT (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) narrower, smaller or tighter

Use: Many lives are constricted by poverty and illness.
 

Having good luck

1. Fortunate

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FORTUNATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having good luck or happening because of good luck

Use: Keith and Jaime were fortunate that they got home before the storm hit their
neighborhood.
 

Not having good luck

2. Unfortunate
3. Hapless

UNFORTUNATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Unlucky
Use: Mr. Samee experienced the unfortunate experience of losing a lot of money at the
racetrack at the beginning of the racing season.

HAPLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having no luck
Use: The hapless student has found no reliable sources of information that can help him
complete his research assignment.
 

Happening by good luck

1. Fortuitous
2. Adventitious
3. Serendipity

FORTUITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Happening by chance
Use: It was most fortuitous that Mr. Charles missed his train and arrived at the dock too late
to sail on the Titanic which sank in the ocean.

ADVENTITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Accidental

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2) Happening or carried on according to chance rather than design or inherent nature.

Use: The point of view that art should be for art’ s sake and that moral considerations are
adventitious to the study of art.

SERENDIPITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Obtained or characterized by luck

Use: “There have been many serendipitous discoveries in science.”

Statement said with certainty

1. Categorical
2. Conclusive
3. Categorical
4. Indubitable
5. Irrefutable
6. Incontrovertible
7. Emphatic
CATEGORICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Said in a very strong, clear and definite way

Use: Though the captain claimed he was never, never sick at sea, he finally qualified his
categorical denial: he was “hardly ever” sick at sea.

CONCLUSIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing that something is certainly true

Use: The Archaeological department has conclusive proof that this temple was destroyed
by radical forces in 1500 A.D.

INDUBITABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Certainly true
Use: If this is so, no judgment, however modest, is absolutely indubitable.

IRREFUTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be proved wrong

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Use: The prosecutor, Mr. Biggs, told the jury at the trial that there was irrefutable evidence
that the accused committed the crime as charged.

IRREFRAGABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Impossible to refute
Use: The prosecutor painstakingly built an irrefragable case.

INCONTROVERTIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be doubted or questioned

Use: The video provided incontrovertible proof that the official was smoking marijuana at
the party despite his claims of innocence.

EMPHATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Said or done in a forceful or definite way

Use: They were emphatic about their political differences.
 

Feeling of certainty

1. Conviction
2. Certitude

CONVICTION (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The feeling of being sure that what you believe or say is true.
2) The act of proving that a person is guilty of a crime in a court of law.

Use: Jane’s mother had a conviction that girls and women should always wear dresses or
skirts, but not trousers, jeans, or slacks.

CERTITUDE (Noun)

Meaning: State of feeling certain

Use: Because Greg’s certitude that war is so very wrong, he has decided never to join any
military group.

Pain
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 1. Agony
2. Excruciation
3. Tribulation
4. Anguish
5. Torment
6. Woe

Explanation: Woe (Noun) deviates slightly. Woe (Noun) means feeling of great pain or
sadness.

AGONY (Noun)

Meaning: extreme mental or physical pain

Use: Ralph’s sister was in terrible agony after slipping on the icy sidewalk and breaking her
leg.

EXCRUCIATION (Noun)

Meaning: Infliction of intense pain

Use: “Torture is an instance of being in a state of excruciation.”

TRIBULATION (Noun)

Meaning: Unhappiness, pain or suffering

Use: Samuel Johnson has experienced the trials and tribulations of a struggling
lexicographer.

ANGUISH (Noun)

Meaning: Extreme suffering, grief or pain

Use: Mona was in a state of anguish when her cat ran away and she was afraid it was lost in
the fields.

TORMENT (Noun)

Meaning: No one could understand her inner torment.

Use: Extreme physical or mental pain

TORMENT (Verb)

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Meaning: To cause (someone or something) to feel extreme physical or mental pain
Use: “Harry’s mother told him to stop tormenting his sister.”

WOE (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of great pain or sadness

Use: Susan’s financial woes are well known at the bank.
 

To cause (someone or something to feel intense pain )

1. Excruciate
2. Harrow
3. Agonize
4. Rack
5. Afflict
6. Torture

Explanation: Rack (Noun) means a framework for holding or storing things. Rack (Noun)
also means a frame on which a person was tortured by being stretched. Rack (Verb) means
to cause to suffer pain, anguish.

EXCRUCIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To inflict intense pain on

Use: She has long been excruciated by a persistent pain in her knee.

HARROW (Noun)

Meaning: A heavy frame with spikes for breaking up soil

HARROW (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To draw a harrow over

2) To inflict intense pain on

Use: It was a seriously harrowing film about racism and violence.

AGONIZE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To think or worry very much about something

2) To inflict intense pain or to torture someone

Use: Got into more trouble, further agonizing her poor mother.

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RACK (Verb)

Meaning: To cause to suffer pain or anguish.

Use: The south was racked by a severe drought.

RACK (Noun)

Meaning: 1) a framework for holding or storing things.

2) a frame on which a person was tortured by being stretched.

Use: The museum had an example of a rack that was used for torture during the Middle
Ages.

AFFLICT (Verb)

Meaning: To cause pain or suffering to (someone or something)

Use: Famine, pandemic diseases, and wars are afflicting many people in several parts of the
world.

TORTURE (Noun)

Meaning: The act of causing severe physical pain as a form of punishment

Use: Waiting is just torture for me.

TORTURE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to experience severe physical pain

Use: I was seriously tortured by a sense of guilt.
 

Powerful/important /respect
1. Eminent
2. Formidable
3. Redoubtable
4. Illustrious
5. Salient
6. Luminary

EMINENT (Adj.)

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Meaning: Successful, well-known and respected
Use: The doctor was an eminent surgeon in the local hospital.

FORMIDABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very powerful or strong or deserving serious attention

Use: “She exhibited a formidable display of skill as she worked with her computer.”

REDOUBTABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Causing or deserving great fear or respect

Use: The new soccer player is considered a redoubtable member of the team because he is
very fast and a skillful kicker when he is playing opposing players.

ILLUSTRIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Famous and greatly admired

Use: Helen Hoy had a very illustrious career on stage as an actor before going to Hollywood
to star in several films.

SALIENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Most noticeable or important

Use: As a reporter, Bill always strived to stay with the salient or most significant facts
regarding whatever he was writing about.

LUMINARY(Noun)

Meaning: A very famous or successful person

Use: The hall was crowded with luminaries who wanted to applaud Grace, their colleague,
for the fine work she had done to help students understand the magic and wonder of
words.

Not true or real /false

1. Apocryphal
2. Erroneous
3. Fallacious
4. Specious
5. Spurious
6. Fictitious
7. Feigned

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 8. Canard
Explanation: Feign (Verb) means to pretend. Feigned (Adj.) means fictitious or not
genuine. Canard (Noun) means false report or story.

APOCRYPHAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Well-known but probably not true

Use: When Fay’s friend said that he believed in the Bible, she wasn’t sure if he meant
the apocryphal writings, too.

ERRONEOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not correct
Use: Based on the information at the time of publication, the scientist reached
an erroneous conclusion.

FALLACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: False
Use: Mr. Jones, the supervisor, presented fallacious reasons for firing Roy, all of which were
not valid!

SPECIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Appearing to be true but actually false

Use: “It was obvious that he was making a specious excuse.”
SPURIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: False or fake
Use: Edward gave his wife a necklace of spurious pearls which were fakes

FICTITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not true or real

Use: The characters in the novel are all fictitious and imaginary.

FEIGNED (Adj.)

Meaning: Fictitious or not genuine

Use: The feigned applause that polite people give after a bad concert.

CANARD (Noun)

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Meaning: A false report or story
Use: The book repeats some of history’ s oldest canards.
 

Very unusual /strange

1. Bizarre
2. Outlandish

BIZARRE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very unusual or strange

Use: Children like to wear bizarre costumes on Halloween.

OUTLANDISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Very unusual or strange

Use: The eccentric professor who engages in markedly outlandish behavior is a stock figure
in novels with an academic setting.

To energize /to make someone or something active again

1. Galvanize

2. Invigorate
3. Revitalize
4. Vivify
5. Rejuvenate
6. Revive
7. Resuscitate
8. Resurrect

Explanation: Resuscitate (Verb) and Resurrect (Verb) deviates slightly. Resuscitate (Verb)

means to revive someone from unconsciousness. Resurrect (Verb) means to bring (a dead
person) back to life.
GALVANIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (a force that is capable of causing change) to become active

Use: The pollution in the river helped to galvanize the drive for cleaner water.

INVIGORATE (Verb)

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Meaning: To cause (something) to become more active and lively
Use: Some people say that a brisk walk early in the day invigorates them.
REVITALIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone or something) active, healthy or energetic again

Use: The mayor hopes to revitalize the city.
VIVIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone or something) more lively

Use: When Jane read a story to her daughter, she vivified the dialogs of the characters by
speaking in a very animated manner.

REJUVENATE (Verb)

Meaning: To give new strength or energy to (something)

Use: “He was able to rejuvenate our old dining room table.”

REVIVE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone or something) strong, healthy or active again

Use: The success of the movie has revived her career.

RESUSCITATE (Verb)

Meaning: to revive someone from unconsciousness

Use: Greg was able to resuscitate the drowned person so he could breathe and become
conscious again.

RESURRECT (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to bring (a dead person) back to life

2) to bring to view, attention or use again

Use: Patricia’s plant was so wilted that she was convinced that it could neither
be resurrected nor thrive again.

Shy/lacking confidence
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 1. Coy
2. Diffident
3. Introvert
4. Reserved

COY (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Pretending to be shy

2) Reluctant to give details about something

Use: Reluctant to commit herself so early in the game, she was coy in her answers to Ken’ s
offer.

DIFFIDENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Lacking self-confidence
Use: When Jason is called on to answer a question that Mrs. Savage, the teacher, is asking
him during class, he usually has a diffident way of expressing himself even when he is
certain that he is correct.

INTROVERT(Noun)

Meaning: A shy or quiet person who does not find it easy to talk to other people
Use: In his poetry, he reveals that he is an introvert by his intense interest in his own
problems.

RESERVED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not openly expressing feelings or opinions

Use: She is a very reserved young man
Practical /Possible
1. Conceivable
2. Credible
3. Feasible
4. Plausible
5. Pragmatic

CONCEIVABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Imaginable or possible
Use: They discussed the problem from every conceivable angle.

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CREDIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Able to be believed
Use: During the trial, Eloise was presented as a credible witness for the defense.

FEASIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Possible to do
Use: Edda asked, “Craig, is it feasible to buy that house when your income is so small?”

PLAUSIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Possibly true or believable or realistic

Use: Tony had to think of a plausible explanation for being late for class.

PRAGMATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Dealing with things in a practical and sensible way

Use: The teacher’s pragmatic view of education came from years of working in public
schools.
 

To express support for (cause, belief etc )

1. Espouse
2. Profess
3. Advocate

ESPOUSE (Verb)

Meaning: To express support for (a cause, belief etc.)

Use: The country’s president was espousing a less expensive financial budget for the
coming year.

PROFESS (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To say or declare something openly.

2) To believe in particular religion.

Use: They profess loyalty to the king.

ADVOCATE (Noun)

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Meaning: A person who argues for or support a cause or policy
Use: Shirley has been a supporter, a defender, and an advocate of civil rights for many
years and her husband has also been a tireless advocate of social reform.

ADVOCATE (Verb)

Meaning: To support or argue for (a cause, policy etc.)

Use: He advocates traditional teaching methods.

Talkative

1. Loquacious
2. Garrulous
3. Voluble

LOQUACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Liking to talk and talking smoothly and easily

Use:  Sally’s friend was a very loquacious girl, and loved talking to her friend, whose ear,
with the receiver of the phone pressed against it, started hurting so much that she had to
suddenly end the call!

GARRULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very talkative
Use: Marge is so garrulous that Jim can’t get a word in edgewise in order to respond to her
views about religion.

VOLUBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Talking a lot in an energetic and rapid way

Use: Joe was a voluble speaker.
 

Use lot of words or lengthy

1. Prolix
2. Verbose
3. Verbiage

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PROLIX (Adj.)

Meaning: Using too many words

Use: “The speech was unnecessarily prolix and he also had a tendency to be a prolix
writer.”

VERBOSE (Adj.)

Meaning: Using more words than are needed

Use: We had to make some major cuts in prime minister’ s speech because it was far too
verbose.

VERBIAGE(Noun)

Meaning: Excessively long speech or writing

Use: The editor removed some of the excess verbiages from the article.
 

Immature

1. Callow
2. Puerile

CALLOW (Adj.)

Meaning: Inexperienced and immature

Use: As a freshman, Jack was sure he was a man of the world; as a sophomore, he made fun
of freshmen as callow youths. In both cases, his judgment showed just how callow he was.
PUERILE (Adj.)

Meaning: Childishly silly
Use: His puerile pranks sometimes offended his more mature friends.
 

Beginner/inexperienced
1. Rookie
2. Novice
3. Neophyte
4. Naïve
5. Amateur
6. Dabbler
7. Dilettante

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 8. Fledgling
9. Greenhorn
10.Tyro

ROOKIE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who has just started a job or activity and has little experience
Use: An experienced policeman whose partner is a rookie.

NOVICE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who has just started learning or doing something

Use: Luis is a novice in the blacksmith’s trade.

NEOPHYTE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who has just started learning or doing something

Use:  Greg, the neophyte, learned the required church procedures very quickly.

NAÏVE (Noun)

Meaning: Having or showing a lack of experience or knowledge

Use: Bonita’s big eyes and naive questions made everyone feel protective of her.

AMATEUR (Noun)

Meaning: A person who is not skillful at a job or other activity

Use: An amateur is not allowed to play in most professional golf tournaments.

DABBLER (Noun)

Meaning: A person who takes part in an activity that is not serious

Use: He was a dabbler, learning the basics of any arts but mastering none.

DILETTANTE (Noun)

Meaning: A person whose interest in an art or in an area of knowledge is not very deep or
serious
Use: Murray realized that he was still a dilettante and not a qualified professional
cartoonist.

FLEDGLING (Noun)

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Meaning: 1) A young bird that has just become able to fly.
2) Someone or something that is getting started in a new activity

Use: At hockey, he is still a fledgling and needs to work on his basic skating skills.

GREENHORN (Noun)

Meaning: A person who lacks experience and knowledge

Use: He is not the suavest businessman you will ever meet, but he is no greenhorn.

TYRO (Noun)

Meaning: A beginner or inexperienced

Use: Doug, the old pro, gave the tyro some tips on how to do the job more efficiently.

Disrespectfulness/boldness
1. Audacity
2. Temerity
3. Insolence
4. Impudence
5. Impertinence
6. Cheek
7. Effrontery
8. Gall

Explanation: Audacious (Adj.) means highly confident or bold. It is used in both positive

and negative sense. Gall (Noun) means brazen boldness. It also means annoyance or
resentment. Gall (Verb) means to make someone feel annoyed or angry.
Cheek (Noun) means insolent boldness. Cheek (Verb) means to speak impudently to.

AUDACITY (Noun)

Meaning: A confident and daring quality that is often seen as shocking or rude
Use: The audacity of the fireman saved the life of the little girl when the apartment building
was on fire.

TEMERITY (Noun)

199
Meaning: The quality of being confident and unafraid of danger especially in a way that
seems rude or foolish
Use: The plan to ride across the desert by camel showed a remarkable temerity on the part
of the explorer.

INSOLENCE (Noun)

Meaning: Rudeness and impoliteness

Use: My mother would not tolerate insolence from any of us.

IMPUDENCE (Noun)

Meaning: Rudeness and impoliteness

Use: Their impudence irritated everyone at the wedding reception.

IMPERTINENCE (Noun)

Meaning: Rudeness and impoliteness

Use: How dare you to treat me so rudely! The manager will hear of your impertinence.

CHEEK (Noun)

Meaning: insolent boldness
Use: Ben had the cheek to insult his hosts at the party.

CHEEK (Verb)

Meaning: to speak impudently to

EFFRONTERY(Noun)

Meaning: A very confident attitude or way of behaving that is shocking or rude

Use: Frank thought it was an effrontery for Mike to barge into the party uninvited.

GALL (Noun)

Meaning: 1) brazen boldness

2) annoyance or resentment

3) A sore or worn made by rubbing

4) An abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue

200
Use: Keith had the gall to talk back to his grandmother when she pointed out his mistake.

GALL (Verb)

Meaning: to make someone feel annoyed or angry

Use: It galls me that such a small group of people can have so much power.
 

Easily fooled or cheated /innocent

1. Dupe
2. Credulous
3. Gullible
4. Artless
5. Guileless
6. Ingenuous

Explanation: Dupe (Noun) means one that is easily deceived. Dupe (Verb) means to
deceive someone.
DUPE (Noun)

Meaning: One who is easily deceived

Use: While the gullible Watson often was made a dupe by unscrupulous parties, Sherlock
Holmes was more difficult to fool.

DUPE (Verb)

Meaning: To deceive someone

Use: The man in the hotel tried to dupe Cathleen’s friend into paying a high price for a
cheap watch.

CREDULOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Too ready to believe things

Use: The credulous behavior of the young man who had just moved to the city suggested
that he was naive.

GULLIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Too ready to believe things

Use: Jancy was a gullible person who thought she could be chosen for a million dollar prize
by simply filling out a form with personal information and submitting it to an organization
on the internet.

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ARTLESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not false or artificial

Use: A genuine and artless girl.

GUILELESS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very innocent
Use: The witness gave a guileless testimony during the criminal court trial.

INGENUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing innocence or childlike honesty

Use: Although the scientist who was presented in social situations as being ingenuous, he
was, in fact, ingenious in his research.
 

Kind/helping others
1. Altruist
2. Philanthropist
3. Beneficent
4. Benevolent
5. Magnanimous

ALTRUIST(Noun)

Meaning: A person showing a desire to help other people and showing a lack of selfishness
Use: The charitable acts by the altruists were motivated purely by a real concern for those
who needed help during the flooding.

PHILANTHROPIST (Noun)

Meaning: A person who gives money and time to help make life better for other people
Use: A philanthropist “loves” all mankind and is a benefactor who provides financial or
other material support to help people live better.

BENEFACTOR (Adj.)

Meaning: Someone who helps another person, group etc. especially by giving money

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Use: The benefactors for the new school were recognized by a brass plaque outside the
entrance to the school which acknowledged their generous assistance.

BENEFICENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Doing or producing good

Use: The organization for the homeless received a significant and very liberal, but
anonymous donation, the most beneficent gift which they have received this year.

BENEVOLENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Kind and generous

Use: An anonymous and benevolent donor provided funds to help the homeless people in
Hugo’s community.
MAGNANIMOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing a generous and kind nature

Use: Mary’s supervisor, Mr. Deal, was quite a magnanimous man when he understood why
she had come quite late to work that morning.

Overly noisy /harsh and offensive sound

1. Raucous
2. Strident
3. Blatant
4. Boisterous
5. Obstreperous
6. Vociferous
7. Clamorous
8. Whooping
9. Yowling
10.Discordant
11.Clamant
12.Cacophony
13.Clangor
Explanation: Yowl (Verb) means to make a loud, long cry. Yowling (Adj.) means expressed
with loud cry. Clang (Noun) means a loud metallic sound. Clang (Verb) means to make a
loud metallic sound. Clangor (Noun) means resounding metallic sound. Whoop (Noun)
means loud cry of joy or excitement. Whoop (Verb) means to make a whoop (Noun).
Whooping (Adj.) means overly noisy and harsh.

203
RAUCOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Loud and unpleasant to listen to

Use: “They were having a raucous party even at two in the morning.”
STRIDENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Sounding harsh and unpleasant

Use: “He had a strident tone in his writings.”

BLATANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very obvious and offensive

Use: The politician was making blatant comments about his success as governor of his
state.

BOISTEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very noisy and active in a lively way

Use: There was a boisterous crowd after the team won the football championship.

OBSTREPEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Difficult to control and often noisy

Use: Helen and Margaret saw an obstreperous drunk outside the bar arguing with a police
officer.

VOCIFEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressed in a very loud or forceful way

Use: When the salesclerk at the department store refused to give the vociferous customer a
refund for a defected watch, the manager settled the conflict by replacing it with a new one.

CLAMOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Noisy and marked by confusion

Use: When little Maurice woke up from his nap and couldn’t find his mother because she
was working outside in the backyard, he made some clamorous screams which brought her
back into the house to calm him down.

WHOOPING (Adj.)

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Meaning: Overly noisy and harsh
Use: A whooping cough

YOWLING (Adj.)

Meaning: Expressed with loud cry

Use: No one helped the yowling cat.

DISCORDANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Harsh or unpleasant in sound

Use: “The discordant views of Fred Brown, and his son Luis, resulted in many arguments
between them.”

CLAMANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Noisy and demanding attention

Use: Clamant students gathered outside the college president’ s office, protesting the denial
of tenure for the popular professor.

CACOPHONY (Noun)

Meaning: Unpleasant loud sounds

Use: The cacophony of noise from the street rose up and through the open windows in the
tall office building.

CLANGOR (Noun)

Meaning: Resounding metallic sound

Use: Neighbors were disturbed by the sharp sounds of various metallic clangors which a
group of celebrants were making to express their wishes for a happy new year to those
who were there and elsewhere in the world.
 

Having or showing strong sexual desire

1. Lewd
2. Lascivious
3. Lustful
4. Salacious
5. Licentious

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 6. Lecherous
7. Lubricious
8. Wanton

Explanation: Wanton (Adj.) means showing no thought or care for the rights, feeling or
safety of others. It has second meaning also. It means not restrained or not controlled. It
has third meaning also. It gives reference to a woman having many sexual partners.

LEWD (Adj.)

Meaning: Sexual in an offensive or rude way

Use: “Walter’s lewd remarks to his colleague was very inappropriate and resulted in a
reprimand from his supervisor.”

LASCIVIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Filled with or showing sexual desire

Use: In the film, Marissa played a character who was described as a lascivious dancer in a
nightclub.

LUSTFUL (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing strong sexual desire

Use: He looked at her with lustful eyes.

SALACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Relating to sex in a way that is excessive or offensive

Use: The explicit salacious content of the novel surprised Lynn and she thought it was too
vulgar and lewd; so, she threw it into the trash can.

LICENTIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Sexually immoral or offensive

Use: The politician was brought before the courts on charges relating to
his licentious behaviors.

LECHEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an excessive interest in sex

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Use: The lecherous behavior of the young boy no doubt was an extension of the immoral
influences he was experiencing in his family.

LUBRICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing an excessive interest in sex

Use: Most of the male patrons at the bar appeared to be lecherous conventioneers looking
for some action.

WANTON (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) showing no thought or care for the rights, feeling or safety of others.
2) Not restrained or not controlled.

3) (of a woman) having sex with many men

Use: Pointing to the stack of bills, Sheldon criticized Sarah for her wanton expenditure

Relating to sex in rude and offensive way

1. Obscene
2. Ribald

Explanation: Obscene (Adj.) means related to sex in an indecent or offensive way. It has

second meaning also. It means too offensive or too large an amount as to be very shocking
or unfair. Ribald (Adj.) means referring to sex in a rude way. Ribald (Noun) means a ribald
person.

OBSCENE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) related to sex in an indecent or offensive way

2) too offensive or too large an amount as to be very shocking or unfair

Use: “Pornographic pictures are considered obscene by many people.”

RIBALD (Adj.)

Meaning: referring to sex in a rude way

Use: Victor’s ribald or indecent jokes were not acceptable by most of the people who were
at the party.

RIBALD (Noun)

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Meaning: a ribald person

Greedy
1. Avaricious
2. Acquisitive
3. Covetous
4. Grasping
5. Mercenary
6. Rapacious
7. Ravenous
8. Voracious
9. Gluttonous
10.Insatiable
11.Unquenchable
12.Avid

Explanation:  Mercenary (Noun) means professional soldier hired by foreign army.

Mercenary (Adj.) means caring only about making money. Avid (Adj.) means wanting
something very much and showing willingness and enthusiasm to work hard. Satiate
(Verb) means to satisfy (a need, desire etc.) fully. Quench (Verb) means to satisfy thirst or
to extinguish the fire. It also means to satisfy the desire of someone. Insatiable (Adj.) and
Quenchless (Adj.) means always wanting more.

AVARICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a strong desire to own or acquire more things

Use: The avaricious nature of the miser was revealed when someone saw him counting his
large amount of money.

ACQUISITIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a strong desire to own or acquire more things

Use: Although Sam cared for Holly, he was afraid to marry her because of
her acquisitive behavior.

COVETOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a strong desire for something especially for something belonging to

someone else
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Use: When Bernard drove his expensive car into his driveway, he noticed that his
neighbors were giving him covetous looks.

GRASPING (Adj.)

Meaning: Wanting money and possessions too much

Use: Her grasping children fought over her property when she died.

MERCENARY (Adj.)

Meaning: caring only about making money

Use: In his writing on India, Marx shows himself under no illusions concerning the brutal
and mercenary nature of British rule.

MERCENARY (Noun)

Meaning: professional soldier hired by foreign army

Use: Separatist leaders in Kashmir are nothing but mercenaries paid by the notorious
Pakistani army.

RAPACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Always wanting more money, possessions etc.

Use: During the riots, rapacious looters stole merchandise stores by breaking their
windows and doors.

RAVENOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very eager or greedy for food, satisfaction etc.

Use: A ravenous person feels as if he or she hasn’t eaten for days.

VORACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having or showing a tendency to eat very large amount of food.

2) Having a huge appetite

Use: My son has such a voracious appetite that I have to go grocery shopping every day!

GLUTTONOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Greedy for something

Use: Joseph was accused of being more gluttonous than his brothers because he was
always taking much more on his plate than they did.

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INSATIABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Always wanting more or not able to be satisfied

Use: Monroe has an insatiable desire to get over the pains that he has been suffering since
his accident.

UNQUENCHABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not able to be satisfied

Use: An unquenchable need for the approval of others.

AVID (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very interested and enthusiastic about something.

2) Desirous to the point of greed

Use: Cherie’s mother was an avid football fan.

 

Eating a lot /greedy

1. Ravenous
2. Voracious
3. Gluttonous
4. Edacious
5. Esurient

Explanation:  Ravenous (Adj.), Voracious (Adj.) and Gluttonous (Adj.) mean greedy or
hungry. Therefore, these words have been covered in series for eating a lot.

RAVENOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very eager or greedy for food, satisfaction etc.

Use: A ravenous person feels as if he or she hasn’t eaten for days.

VORACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having or showing a tendency to eat the very large amount of food.
2) Having a huge appetite

Use: My son has such a voracious appetite that I have to go grocery shopping every day!

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GLUTTONOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Greedy for something

Use: Joseph was accused of being more gluttonous than his brothers because he was
always taking much more on his plate than they did.

EDACIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having or showing a tendency to eat a very large amount of food.

2) Having a huge appetite

Use: Ed had an edacious appetite and people thought he was piggish because he ate so
much whenever he was eating.

ESURIENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Hungry or greedy
Use: When the esurient customer went to the restaurant, he ordered three large triple-deck
cheeseburgers with French fries, and other ingredients; plus two milk shakes for his lunch.
 

Large/important /powerful
1. Colossal
2. Gargantuan
3. Gigantic
4. Humongous
5. Mammoth
6. Prodigious
7. Monolithic
8. Monumental
9. Titanic
10.Towering
11.Voluminous
12.Hefty
13.Walloping
14.Behemoth
15.Leviathan
16.Whopper

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 17.Whopping

Explanation:  Mammoth (Noun) means a large elephant that lived in ancient times.

Mammoth (Adj.) means something very large. Prodigious (Adj.) means impressively large.
It has second meaning also.
It gives reference to a young man who is unusually talented in some way. Monolithic (Adj.)
means huge or massive. It has second meaning also. It also means constituting or consisting
of single piece. Whopper (Noun) means something that is very large and impressive. It has
second meaning also. It means blatant lie. Whopping (Adj.) means very large and
impressive. There is a pair of confusing words also. Whoop (Verb) means to shout loudly.
Whooping (Adj.) means overly noisy and harsh.

COLOSSAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very large or great

Use: The colossal force of last night’s thunderstorm knocked out the electrical power
system in Ava’s area for over an hour.

GARGANTUAN (Adj.)

Meaning: Very large in size or amount

Use: Jack and Jill bought a gargantuan house with the money they inherited from her
parents which consisted of at least twenty-five rooms.

GIGANTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Extremely large
Use: A monkey got into the trash and now there is a gigantic mess in our backyard.

HUMONGOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Very large
Use: I am sleepy because I ate a humongous lunch.

MAMMOTH (Noun)

Meaning: a large elephant that lived in ancient time

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MAMMOTH (Adj.)

Meaning: Something very large

Use: To try to memorize every word on this vocabulary list would be a mammoth
undertaking; take on projects that are more manageable in size.

PRODIGIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Impressively large.

2) Gives reference to a young person who is unusually talented in some way.

Use: Shirley had a prodigious, or a remarkable talent, as a writer.

MONOLITHIC (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Huge or massive

2) constituting or consisting of single piece.

Use: This section was conceived as having been carved out of a single monolithic block.

MONUMENTAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very important or great

2) Of or relating to a monument

Use: Repairing the damage done to the homes caused by the gigantic hurricane will be
a monumental task.

TITANIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Very great in size, force or power

Use: There was a titanic explosion in the sauna of a local fitness studio that almost
completely destroyed the building.

TOWERING (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very tall

2) Very powerful or intense

Use: He flew into a towering rage.

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VOLUMINOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very large or containing a lot of space.

2) (of clothing) loose and full

Use: It is now a popular music venue, with its voluminous space providing a very different
atmosphere for music lovers.

HEFTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Large and heavy

Use: The gym trainer was the heftiest person Ingrid had ever seen.

WALLOPING (Adj.)

Meaning: Very large and impressive

Use: He needed help to mount such a walloping horse.

BEHEMOTH (Noun)

Meaning: Something very big and powerful

Use:  Gerald was such a physical behemoth that he usually wrestled with at least three
other opponents at the same time during TV shows, instead of just one, and they were
never able to pin him down.

LEVIATHAN (Noun)

Meaning: Something that is very large and powerful

Use: The factory is a towering leviathan in the middle of the town.
WHOPPER (Noun)

Meaning: 1) something that is very large and impressive

2) A blatant lie

Use: He told us a real whopper.

WHOPPING (Adj.)

Meaning: very large and impressive

Use: This movie was a whopping success.
 

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Action, statement or behavior to deceive someone

1. Chicanery
2. Trickery
3. Deception
4. Subterfuge
5. Artifice
6. Guile
7. Skullduggery

CHICANERY (Noun)

Meaning: Use of tricks to deceive or cheat someone

Use: The bank president used an advanced form of chicanery to hide his criminal activities.
TRICKERY (Noun)

Meaning: Use of tricks to deceive or cheat someone

Use: He resorted to trickery to get what he wanted.

DECEPTION (Noun)

Meaning: The act of deceiving

Use: She accuses the company of willful deception in its advertising.

SUBTERFUGE (Noun)

Meaning: Use of tricks to deceive or cheat someone

Use: Johnson’ s plays challenged the audience to examine the impact of a society governed
by deceit and subterfuge.

ARTIFICE (Noun)

Meaning: Use of tricks to deceive or cheat someone

Use: The artifice used by the salesman was intended to trick and to ensnare other people
into buying his products.

GUILE (Noun)

Meaning: Clever but deceitful behavior

Use: That salesman is full of guile, so be careful that he doesn’t cheat you.

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SKULLDUGGERY (Noun)

Meaning: Dishonest behavior
Use: It sounds dull but it is this sort of underhand skullduggery that bloggers should be
uncovering

Clever in usually dishonest or deceptive way

1. Crafty
2. Duplicitous
3. Wily
4. Bilk

CRAFTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Clever in usually a dishonest or deceptive way

Use: People who are crafty are known to cleverly use sneaky methods or schemes to get
whatever they want because they are shrewd, sly, artful, etc.

DUPLICITOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Marked by duplicity.

2) Deceptive in words or action.

Use: I warned my friend not to trust the duplicitous dealer.

WILY (Adj.)

Meaning: Very clever
Use: She is as wily as a fox in avoiding trouble.

BILK (Noun)

Meaning: An untrustworthy tricky individual

Use: People who lost money in the scheme discovered that the investment company was a
fake and the “owner” just a bilk.
 

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To trick or deceive someone
1. Bilk
2. Beguile
3. Swindle
4. Fleece
5. Dupe
6. Hoodwink

Explanation: Fleece (Verb) means to deceive someone. It has second meaning also. Fleece
(Noun) means jacket of wool or warm cloth. Dupe (verb) means to deceive someone. It has
second meaning also. Dupe (Noun) also means a person who is easily deceived or cheated.

BILK (Verb)

Meaning: To trick or deceive someone

Use: Some businesses bilk thousands of dollars from unsuspecting elderly consumers.

BEGUILE (Verb)

Meaning: To trick or deceive someone

Use: Jenelle was beguiled into thinking that she could become a famous actress.

SWINDLE (Verb)

Meaning: to take money or property from someone by using lies or tricks

Use: A businessman swindled investors out of millions of dollars.

SWINDLE (Noun)

Meaning: An ant or instance of taking money from someone by using lies and tricks.
Use: He is mixed up in a $10 million insurance swindle.

FLEECE (Verb)

Meaning: To trick or deceive someone

Use: Jack said, “Vincent, don’t let that guy fleece you by overcharging you for that used car.”

FLEECE (Noun)

Meaning: A jacket of wool or warm cloth

Use: The fleece of sheep needs to be trimmed, shorn, or clipped off with shears or clippers
so it can be used for useful products.

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DUPE (Verb)

Meaning: To trick or deceive someone

Use: The man in the hotel tried to dupe Cathleen’s friend into paying a high price for a
cheap watch.

DUPE (Noun)

Meaning: a person who is easily deceived or cheated

Use: In a sense, these ignorant dupes are as many victims of the terrorists as their targets
are.

HOODWINK (Verb)

Meaning: To trick or deceive someone

Use: They accuse stem cell research traditionalists of hoodwinking the public by promising
cures they cannot deliver.
 

To pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea

1. Masquerade
2. Veneer
3. Gloss
4. Façade
5. Dissemble
6. Feign

Explanation:  Masquerade (Noun), Façade (Noun), Gloss (Noun) and Veneer (Noun) means
an act of pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea. Façade (Noun) means
the front of a building. Veneer (Noun) means the thin covering of fine wood. Gloss (Noun)
means shine on a smooth surface. Façade (Noun), Gloss (Noun) and Veneer (Noun) have
second meaning also. Façade (Noun), Gloss (Noun) and Veneer (Noun) also mean an act of
pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea. Gloss (Noun) has third meaning
also. Gloss (Noun) also means an act of explaining.
Masquerade (Verb), Veneer (Verb), Gloss (Verb), Feign (Verb) and Dissemble (Verb) means
to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.

MASQUERADE (Noun)
218
Meaning: an act of pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea.
Use: His masquerade ended when he was arrested.

MASQUERADE (Verb)

Meaning: to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.

Use: He was masquerading under a false name.
VENEER (Noun)

Meaning: 1) act of pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea
2) thin covering of fine wood.

Use: Industrial plywood is made of several layers of veneer glued together.

VENEER (Verb)

Meaning: to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.

Use: The cabinet was veneered in oak.

GLOSS (Noun)

Meaning: 1) shine on a smooth surface

2) act of pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea

3) act of explaining.

Use: You look outside and see it – that shinning, shimmering gloss of frost on the ground,
on the car, and in the trees.

GLOSS (Verb)

Meaning: to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.

Use: They assume the liberty of interpreting and glossing upon some laws.

FAÇADE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) front of a building.

2) act of pretending or behaving that gives other people a false idea

Use: It was interesting to see the windowless facade of the skyscraper in New York.

DISSEMBLE (Verb)

219
Meaning: to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.
Use: When Jennifer’s father asked her what was wrong, she dissembled and told him that
her friend was caught cheating on a test in class, when in reality, Jennifer was the one who
was being dishonest.
FEIGN (Verb)

Meaning: to pretend or behave that gives other people a false idea.

Use: Janice will feign being ill on Friday so she won’t have to participate in the sports’
activities at school.
 

Cloth for hiding or covering

1. Cloak
2. Mantle
3. Shroud

Explanation:  Cloak (Noun), Mantle (Noun) and shroud (Noun) mean clothes used for
hiding or covering. Cloak (Verb), Mantle (Verb) and Shroud (Verb) mean to cover or hide.
Mantle (Noun) has second meaning also. It also means a position of someone who has
responsibility or authority.

CLOAK (Noun)

Meaning: A loose sleeveless outer garment

Use: Their plans were shrouded in a cloak of secrecy.

CLOAK (Verb)

Meaning: to cover or hide

Use: The outlaw nation had cloaked its chemical weapons plant as a fertilizer factory.

MANTLE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) A loose garment or covering

2) A position of someone who has responsibility or authority

Use: When Marvin went to the opera, he wore an elegant mantle instead of a coat.

MANTLE (Verb)

Meaning: to cover or hide

220
Use: “The streets and cars were mantled in the snow.”

SHROUD (Noun)

Meaning: Something that covers or hides something

Use: The truth of affair will always be hidden under a shroud of secrecy.

SHROUD (Verb)

Meaning: to cover or hide

Use: The mountains were shrouded in fog.
 

Act for hiding /to hide

1. Camouflage
2. Conceal

Explanation:  Camouflage (Noun) means green and brown clothing that soldiers and
hunters wear to make them harder to see or natural appearance of animals that make them
harder to see. Camouflage (Verb) and Conceal (Verb) means to hide.

CAMOUFLAGE (Verb)

Meaning: To hide
Use: Modern journalist does not camouflage their personal opinion. They baldly take a
political stand.

CAMOUFLAGE (Noun)

Meaning: green and brown clothing that soldiers and hunters wear to make them harder
to see or natural appearance of animals that make them harder to see
Use: Some rabbits have white fur which functions as camouflage in the snow.

CONCEAL (Verb)

Meaning: To hide

Use: The evidence was carefully concealed by the prosecutor.

To break a law/or act of breaking a law

1. Transgress
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 2. Contravene
3. Flout
4. Violate
5. Infringe
6. Breach
7. infraction
Explanation:  Breach (Verb) means to fail to obey a law. It also means to make a hole or
opening in (something). Breach (Noun) means act of violation a law. It also means hole or
opening. Infraction (Noun) means act of breaking a law. Infringe (Verb) means to break a
law. It has second meaning also. It also means to limit or restrict (something, such as
another person’ s rights)

TRANSGRESS (Verb)

Meaning: To disobey a command or law

Use: There are legal consequences for companies that transgress the rules.

CONTRAVENE (Verb)

Meaning: To fail to do what is required by (a law or rule)

Use: Doug decided to contravene the teacher’s order not to copy from his neighbor’s test
during the exam, and he got caught doing it!

FLOUT (Verb)

Meaning: To break or ignore (a law, rule etc.) without showing fear or without shame
Use: For some reason, when Jamie came home after being in his new high school, all he
could do as he talked with his parents was to flout the teachers and students.

VIOLATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to break a rule or agreement

2) To treat with disrespect

Use: There has been a spasmodic violation of ceasefire by Pakistan.

INFRINGE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to break a law

2) to limit or restrict (something, such as another person’ s rights)

Use: When you walk across Cleo’s lawn, you infringe on her rights to privacy.

222
BREACH (Noun)

Meaning: 1) act of violating a law

2) hole or opening

Use: There was a breach in several places of the wall so the soldiers could get into the
fortress.

BREACH (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to fail to obey a law

2) to make a hole or opening in (something)

Use: The medieval warriors used a battering ram to breach the wall and to complete the
invasion of the town.

INFRACTION (Noun)

Meaning: act of breaking a law

Use: Monroe was penalized for an infraction of parking on the street beyond the time limit

To guess/infer/or to form an opinion

1. Surmise
2. Conjecture
3. Deduce
4. Extrapolate
5. Reckon

Explanation:  Surmise (Or conjecture) (Noun) means thought, idea or opinion. Surmise (Or
conjecture) (Verb), Deduce (Verb), Extrapolate (Verb) and Reckon (Verb) means to guess,
infer or to form an opinion.

SURMISE (Verb)

Meaning: to guess, infer or to form an opinion.

Use: Greg stated, “Do not surmise that Walter can swim just because he likes to exercise in
the swimming pool.”

SURMISE (Noun)

Meaning: Thought, idea or opinion

Use: All these observations remain to surmise.

223
CONJECTURE (Verb)

Meaning: to guess, infer or to form an opinion.

Use: He conjectured the existence of an otherwise unknown feature.

CONJECTURE (Noun)

Meaning: Thought, idea or opinion

Use: The book Mary was reading regarding the old house next door was only conjecture,
and it didn’t pertain to facts of any kind since there was no reliable knowledge or data
about it at all.

DEDUCE (Verb)

Meaning: to guess, infer or to form an opinion

Use: Based on the forensic evidence, the police officer was able to deduce that the criminal
was a man.

EXTRAPOLATE (Verb)

Meaning: to guess, infer or to form an opinion

Use: Rex is still extrapolating to see if he qualifies for the job he hopes to have in the
coming days.

RECKON (Verb)

Meaning: to guess, infer or to form an opinion

Use: Jewell’s wages were reckoned by the number of hours that she worked.
 

Generally believed idea/opinion

1. Putative
2. Conjectural
3. Hypothetical
4. Speculative
 
PUTATIVE (Adj.)

224
Meaning: Generally believed to be something
Use: “He was considered to be the putative father of the child.”

CONJECTURAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Based on idea or guess

Use: A necessarily conjectural account of Shakespeare’ s life, since there is so little hard
information.

HYPOTHETICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Involving or based on a suggested idea or theory

Use: Suppose you are accepted by Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. Which graduate school will
you choose to attend? Remember, this is only a hypothetical situation.

SPECULATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Based on guesses or ideas about might be true

Use: His conclusions are highly speculative.
 

Small

1. Slight
2. Minuscule
3. Infinitesimal
4. Diminutive

Explanation:  Slight (Adj.), Minuscule (Adj.), Infinitesimal (Adj.) and Diminutive (Adj.)

means very small. Slight (Verb) means to insult someone. Slight (Noun) means an act of
insulting someone. Diminutive (Noun) means shortened informal form of a name.

SLIGHT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small in degree or amount

Use: “They had a slight acquaintance and so they could not say that they were friends.”

SLIGHT (Verb)

Meaning: To insult someone

Use: She slighted a guest.

225
SLIGHT (Noun)

Meaning: Act of insulting
Use: Refused to respond to their petty slights.

MINUSCULE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small
Use: Why should I involve myself in a project with so minuscule a chance for success?

INFINITESIMAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small
Use: “Even though the infinitesimal speck Marie had in her eye was quickly removed, it had
been feeling like a boulder because it was so painful.”

DIMINUTIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Very small
Use: The diminutive suffixes “-Ette” and “-ling.”

DIMINUTIVE (Noun)

Meaning: shortened informal form of a name

 

To force someone to do something

1. Coerce
2. Compel
3. Goad
4. Dragon
5. Extort
6.
Explanation:  Coerce (Verb), Compel (Verb), Goad (Verb) and Dragoon (Verb) means to
force someone to do something. Goad (Noun) means someone or something that urges or
forces someone to do something. Dragoon (Noun) means a member of a certain British
regiment.
Extort (Verb) deviates slightly. Extort (verb) means to get something by using force.

COERCE (Verb)

226
Meaning: to force someone to do something
Use: Thomas, who was quite lazy at home and had nothing really to do, was coerced into
getting a job by his wife.

COMPEL (Verb)

Meaning: to force someone to do something

Use:  The court sent a notice that would compel a woman to appear as a witness during the
trial.

GOAD (Verb)

Meaning: to force someone to do something

Use: Andre was goaded on to complete his military assignment as a sense of duty.

GOAD (Noun)

Meaning: someone or something that urges or forces someone to do something

Use: The threat of some kind of legal action is a strong goad for companies to follow
government regulations.
DRAGOON (Verb)

Meaning: to force someone to do something

Use: She was dragooned into agreeing to the fraudulent scheme.

DRAGOON (Noun)

Meaning: member of certain British regiment

EXTORT (Verb)

Meaning: to get something by using force

Use: The courts realized that the gangster had tried to extort money from the business
owners.
 

To force someone to leave a country

1. Banish
2. Exile
3. Deport
4. Expatriate

227
 5. Extradite

Explanation:  Deport (Verb) deviates slightly. Deport (Verb) means to expel a foreigner

from a country. Extradite (Verb) means to legally send a person (Who has been accused of
a crime) to another state or country.
Exile (Noun) means a situation in which you are forced to leave your country or home. It
also means a person who has been forced to live in a foreign country.

BANISH (Verb)

Meaning: To force someone to leave a country

Use: The illegal aliens were banished back to their country.

EXILE (Verb)

Meaning: To force someone to leave a country

Use: Bohemian artist M F Hussain was exiled from our country.

EXILE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) a situation in which you are forced to leave your country or home
2) a person who has been forced to live in a foreign country.

Use: They hoped that his exile would be temporary.

DEPORT (Verb)

Meaning: to expel a foreigner from a country

Use: The court order sought to deport the mother even though her children, Jan and Jake,
were born in the country where she had been living for the last ten years.

EXPATRIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To force someone to leave a country

Use: When Janet left her home in California and moved to Germany for good, she became
an expatriate.

EXTRADITE (Verb)

Meaning: to legally send a person (Who has been accused of a crime) to another state or
country

228
Use: Indian government is diplomatically trying to expedite the extradition process of Vijay
Mallya

To someone to leave /to push something out

1. Expel
2. Eject
3. Evict
4. Extrude

Explanation:  Evict (Verb) means to force someone (especially a tenant) to leave a place or
property.

EXPEL (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To force (someone) to leave a place or organization

2) To push or force (something) out

Use: “The university will be expelling students who refused to attend their classes and to
complete their assignments.”

EJECT (Verb)

Meaning: To force (someone) to leave or to push (something) out

Use: The pilot ejected when his plane caught fire.

EVICT (Verb)

Meaning: to force someone (especially a tenant) to leave a place or property.

Use: His landlord has threatened to evict him if he does not pay the rent soon.

EXTRUDE (Verb)

Meaning: To force, press or push (something) out

Use: Maggie was extruding toothpaste from the tube on her toothbrush so she could brush
her teeth.

To exclude from a society or group /to reject scornfully

1. Ostracize
2. Shun
3. Snub

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OSTRACIZE (Verb)

Meaning: To not allow (someone) to be included in a group

Use: “After he made so many vulgar remarks, he was ostracized as a talk-show host.”

SHUN (Verb)

Meaning: To avoid or reject

Use: He was shunned publicly by his girlfriend.

SNUB (Verb)

Meaning: To ignore (someone) in an insulting way

Use: He snubbed the anchor.
 

To make someone unfriendly /to cause someone to break a bond of

affection or loyalty

1. Alienate
2. Estrange
3. Disgruntle
4. Disaffect

ALIENATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to be no longer friendly or to cause (someone) to feel that

he or she no longer belongs to a particular group.
Use: “People with such behavior often feel alienated from society.”

ESTRANGE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to be no longer friendly or to cause (someone) to feel that

he or she no longer belongs to a particular group.
Use: She estranged several of her coworkers when she let her promotion go to her head.

DISGRUNTLE (Verb)

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Meaning: To make someone angry or dissatisfied
Use: The students were disgruntled because they couldn’t access the online dictionaries.
DISAFFECT (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone dissatisfied and no longer loyal

Use: It was a military plot by disaffected elements in the army not by the mercenaries.
 

To understand something
1. Apprehend
2. Assimilate
3. Comprehend
4. Construe
5. Fathom
6. Decipher

Explanation: Apprehend (verb) means to understand something. It has second meaning

also. It also means to arrest or catch someone for a crime. Assimilate (Verb) means to
understand something. It also has second meaning also. Assimilate (Verb) also means to
absorb someone into a larger group.

APPREHEND (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To notice and understand something

2) To arrest (someone) for a crime

Use: “The police officer apprehended the robber just as he was leaving the scene of the
crime.”

ASSIMILATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To understand something

2) To absorb someone into a larger group

Use:  The new arrivals assimilated easily and quickly into their new culture.

COMPREHEND (Verb)

Meaning: To understand (something, such as a difficult or complex subject)

Use: Jimmy couldn’t comprehend the advanced textbook that was being used in his class.

CONSTRUE (Verb)

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Meaning: To understand (an action, event, remark etc.) in a particular way.
Use: “Any change in our plan for the budget would be construed as indecision.”

FATHOM (Verb)

Meaning: To understand something

Use: I find his motives impossible to fathom; in fact, I am totally clueless about what goes
on in his mind.

DECIPHER (Verb)

Meaning: To succeed in understanding

Use: I could not decipher the doctor’ s handwriting.

Head without real power

1. Figurehead
2. Nominal
3. Titular

Explanation:  Nominal means existing as something in name only. For example: <Her title
of Vice president had been nominal only>. It has second meaning also. Nominal means very
small in amount.

FIGUREHEAD (Noun)

Meaning: A person who is called the head but who has no real power
Use: The ceremonial king or queen is a figurehead of a country and he or she can represent
it, while others have the power to make actual governmental decisions.

NOMINAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Existing as something in name only.

2) Very small in amount

Use: Thailand remained nominal independence under Japanese military occupation.

TITULAR (Adj.)

Meaning: Having an important title but not having the power

Use: “The king was the titular head of the country; however, the prime minister had the
political power.

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To walk unsteadily or to start experiencing failure

1. Falter
2. Founder

Explanation:  Founder (Noun) means one who founds something. Founder (Verb) means
to start experiencing failure or (of a boat or ship) to sink.

FALTER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To stop being strong or successful.

2) To move or speak hesitantly.

Use: Jones was weak from hunger and his footsteps were faltering as he walked home.

FOUNDER (Verb)

Meaning: To start experiencing failure or (of a boat or ship) to sink.

Use: After hitting the submerged iceberg, the Titanic started taking in water rapidly and
soon foundered.
FOUNDER (Noun)

Meaning: One who founds something

Use: As the son of the company’s founder, he is expected to become the CEO one of these
days.
 

To walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something

1. Totter
2. Stagger
3. Wobble
4. Stumble

Explanation:  Totter (Verb), Stagger (Verb), Wobble (Verb) and Stumble (Verb) means to
walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something. Totter (Noun), Stagger
(Noun), Wobble (Noun) and Stumble (Noun) means an act of walking unsteadily or act of
hesitating. Stagger (Verb) has second meaning also. Stagger (Verb) also means to confuse
someone.

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TOTTER (Verb)

Meaning: to walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something

Use: On unsteady feet, the drunk tottered down the hill to the nearest bar.

STAGGER (Verb)

Meaning: 1) to walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something

2) to confuse someone

Use: “After he sprained his ankle, he was barely able to stagger back to the bench in the
park.”

STAGGER (Noun)

Meaning: act of walking unsteadily or act of hesitating

Use: He walked with a slight stagger.

WOBBLE (Verb)

Meaning: to walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something

Use: The boy was wobbling along on his bicycle.

WOBBLE (Noun)

Meaning: act of walking unsteadily or act of hesitating

Use: He parodied my wobble across the stage.

STUMBLE (Verb)

Meaning: to walk unsteadily or to be hesitant or unsure about doing something

Use: “It is difficult to walk on the brick street and Kathryn is afraid that she is going to
stumble.”

STUMBLE (Noun)

Meaning: act of walking unsteadily or act of hesitating

Use: “Because the horse cast a shoe, its walk was more like a stumble.”

To shake because of fear or nervousness

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 1. Shiver
2. Tremble
3. Quiver
4. Shudder
5. Judder

Explanation:  Shiver (Verb), Tremble (Verb), Quiver (Verb), Shudder (Verb) and Judder
(Verb) means to shake because of fear or nervousness. Shiver (Noun), Tremble (Noun),
Quiver (Noun), Shudder (Noun) and Judder (Noun) means an act of shaking.

SHIVER (Verb)

Meaning: to shake because of fear or nervousness

Use: He was shivering in the snow.

SHIVER (Noun)

Meaning: act of shaking
Use: Meredith felt a shiver of fear.

TREMBLE (Verb)

Meaning: to shake because of fear or nervousness

Use: “They felt the house tremble as the train roared by.”

TREMBLE (Noun)

Meaning: act of shaking
Use: With a tremble, she ventured out into the snow.

QUIVER (Verb)

Meaning: to shake because of fear or nervousness

Use: The leaves on the trees started to quiver when the breeze passed through the garden.

QUIVER (Noun)

Meaning: act of shaking
Use: The artist used the quill from the porcupine to decorate the quiver for the arrows
which the hunter would use.

SHUDDER (Verb)

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Meaning: to shake because of fear or nervousness
Use: “It was so cold that she started to shudder and could not stop until she went inside to
get warm.”

SHUDDER (Noun)

Meaning: act of shaking
Use: “The man felt a shudder go up to his spine when he thought of what could have
happened if he had missed his plane.”

JUDDER (Verb)

Meaning: to shake because of fear or nervousness

Use: The engine began to judder alarmingly just a few miles outside of Brighton.

JUDDER (Noun)

Meaning: act of shaking
Use: He had noticed her shaking and the slight judder in her voice as she finished her story.
 

Changing mood or showing changing behavior

1. Capricious
2. Whimsical
3. Freakish
4. Fickle
5. Mercurial
6. Impulsive
7. Irresolute
8. Vacillating

Explanat ion:  Mercurial (Noun) means something related to mercury.

CAPRICIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Changing often and quickly

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Use: Shirley’s such a capricious mother that her son doesn’t know how she’ll react when he
tells her that he and his girlfriend are engaged.

WHIMSICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Not serious or showing sudden changes in mood

Use: Many of the pieces have come from his own personal collection- which reveals his
witty and whimsical sense of humor.

FREAKISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Very strange or abnormal

Use: I had a freakish roommate in college who once decided to drive all the way to Canada
on the spur of the movement.

FICKLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Changing often
Use: Leo’s fickle behavior is a disturbing point for his fiancée’s father.

MERCURIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Changing moods quickly and often

Use: ‘You have the most mercurial personality I have ever met,’ he stated.

MERCURIAL (Noun)

Meaning: Related to mercury or chemical-containing mercury

IMPULSIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Done suddenly and without planning

Use: She’ s impulsive and often does things that she later regrets.

IRRESOLUTE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not certain or resolute about what to do

Use: Once you have made your decision, don’ t waver, a leader should never appear
irresolute.

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VACILLATING (Adj.)

Meaning: To repeatedly change your opinions or desires.

Use: Yesterday Hank seemed to be so sure about where he would be going this weekend,
but today he is vacillating as to whether he will visit his mother or go to the football game.

Not planned or happening in an regular way

1. Erratic
2. Arbitrary
3. Inconsistent
4. Desultory
5. Haphazard

ERRATIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Acting, moving or changing in ways that are not expected or usual

Use: Tracking the flight of the butterfly indicated its flight was most erratic.

ARBITRARY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not seeming to be based on a reason or plan

Use:  The supervisor made an unplanned and arbitrary decision to cancel the meeting this
afternoon.

INCONSISTENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Not continuing to happen or develop in the same way

Use: The pain has been inconsistent.

DESULTORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not having a plan or purpose

Use: Mildred was talking in a desultory sequence by jumping from one idea to another one
in an illogical way.

HAPHAZARD (Adj.)

Meaning: Having no plan, order or direction

Use: Something that is done in a haphazard manner is not using a system or any regular
procedure

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To support or strengthen
1. Bolster
2. Buttress
3. Fortify
4. Undergird
5. Underpin
6. Reinforce
7. Corroborate

Explanation:  Corroborate (Verb) deviates slightly. It means to support or help prove (a

statement, theory etc.). Bolster (Noun) means a long, firm pillow.

BOLSTER (Verb)

Meaning: To give support to (something)

Use: More wooden structures are needed to bolster the roof of the building.

BOLSTER (Noun)

Meaning: A long, firm pillow.

BUTTRESS (Verb)

Meaning: To support, strengthen or defend (something)

Use: The treaty will buttress the cause of peace.

BUTTRESS (Noun)

Meaning: A structure built against a wall in order to support or strengthen it.

Use: The remnant of a long-disused church building, it was built out of solid stone with
massive buttresses supporting long, high walls.

FORTIFY (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To strengthen (a place) by building military defenses

2) To make (someone or something) stronger

Use: “The walls, ditches, and ramparts will all need to be fortified.”

UNDERGIRD (Verb)

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Meaning: To support or strengthen (something)
Use: The theory of evolution undergirds virtually all of modern biology.

UNDERPIN (Verb)

Meaning: To support or strengthen (something)

Use: A wall underpinned by metal beams.

REINFORCE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make something stronger

2) To strengthen a military force with additional personnel

Use: The captain sent out another squad to reinforce the troops.

CORROBORATE (Verb)

Meaning: to support or help prove (a statement, theory etc.)

Use: The independent research from the two scientists appeared to corroborate the cause
of the disease.
 

Freedom to choose how to act /power to take correct decision

1. Autonomy
2. Sovereignty
3. Volition
4. Latitude

Explanation:  Sovereign (Noun) means independent. Sovereign (Noun) has second

meaning also. It means king or queen who is supreme ruler. It has third meaning also. It
also means British gold coin that was used in past. Latitude (Noun) means a distance of a
place in direction of North or south of the equator. Latitude (Noun) also means
independence.

AUTONOMY (Noun)

Meaning: The power or right of a country, group etc. to govern itself.

Use: A certain country was granted autonomy after the war and so it became an
independent nation.

SOVEREIGNTY (Noun)

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Meaning: A country’ s independent authority and the right to govern itself
Use: Neither Spain nor Guatemala ever exercised effective sovereignty over the area.

VOLITION (Noun)

Meaning: The power to make your own choices or decisions

Use: She selected this dress of her own volition.

LATITUDE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) Freedom to choose how to act or what to do.

2) distance of a place in direction of North or south of the equator

Use: As a teacher, Jill was allowed a certain amount of leeway or latitude in deciding what
methods and technical devices she could use in her classes at school.
 

 Hesitant and unwilling while doing something

1. Balking
2. Grudging
3. Reluctant
4. Loathe

Explanation:  Balk (or Baulk) means to hesitate to accept. Grudge (Verb) means to do

something in a reluctant way. It has second meaning also. It also means to dislike or feel
angry at someone or something.

BALKING (Adj.)

Meaning: hesitating to accept or refusing to do what someone else wants you to do

Use: Balking horse would not jump the fence.

GRUDGING (Adj.)

Meaning: said, done or given in an unwilling or doubtful way

Use: We received only grudging support from the mayor despite his earlier promises of aid.

RELUCTANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing doubt about doing something

Use: “The boys were reluctant to socialize with the new student.”

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LOATH (Adj.)

Meaning: Not wanting or willing to do something

Use: Marla was loath to borrow the money from her friend even though she wanted to buy
the new shoes.
 

To punish someone or put someone in prison

1. Immure
2. Imprison
3. Incarcerate

IMMURE (Verb)

Meaning: To enclose within walls or to imprison

Use:  Diana’s brother was immured in jail for driving while intoxicated.

IMPRISON (Verb)

Meaning: To put (someone) in prison

Use: He has threatened to imprison his political opponents.

INCARCERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To put (someone) in prison

Use:  The police plan to incarcerate the drunken man overnight to prevent any conflicts on
the street.
 

Always happening or existing /always doing something specified

1. Inveterate
2. Chronic
3. Habitual

INVETERATE (Adj.)

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Meaning: 1) Always or often doing something specified
2) Always or often happening or existing

Use: She is an inveterate smoker and cannot break the habit.

CHRONIC (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Happening or existing frequently

2) Always or often doing something specified

Use: Mike’s friend was a chronic liar to such a degree that even when he told the truth no
one believed him.

HABITUAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Doing something regularly or repeatedly

Use: “Singing in the shower is one of Hank’s habitual activities”

Going off track

1. Astray
2. Awry
3. Askew
4. Amiss
5. Desultory

ASTRAY (Adj.)

Meaning: Ofthe right path or route

Use: Damian and Sherie went astray in town and arrived late for their appointment.

AWRY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not working correctly or happening in an expected way

Use: The awry wig that Mary was wearing looked funny with the back part in the front!

ASKEW (Adj.)

Meaning: Not straight or level

Use: Karl’s tie was askew in a picture that was taken for the family album.

AMISS (Adj.)

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Meaning: In the wrong way or not correct
Use: Seeing her frown, he wondered if anything were amiss.

DESULTORY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not having a plan or purpose

Use: Mildred was talking in a desultory sequence by jumping from one idea to another one
in an illogical way.

To deviate or to change direction /act of deviating or act of changing

direction
1. Detour
2. Veer
3. Swerve
4. Digress

Explanation:  Detour (Verb), Veer (Verb), Swerve (Verb), Digress (Verb) means to deviate
or to change direction.

DETOUR (Noun)

Meaning: A deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure

Use: We had to make a detour around the heaviest traffic.

DETOUR (Verb)

Meaning: to deviate or to change direction.

Use: The police officer was detouring traffic around the scene of the accident.

VEER (Verb)

Meaning: To change direction

Use: After what seemed an eternity, the wind veered to the east and the storm abated.

SWERVE (Verb)

Meaning: to deviate or to change direction

Use: The car swerved wildly as the driver struggled to regain control of the wheel.

SWERVE (Noun)

Meaning: act of deviating or act of changing direction

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Use: The tall and rather narrow little car could not cope with sudden swerves.

DIGRESS (Verb)

Meaning: Deviate from the main subject temporarily

Use: The politician digressed from this topic when someone yelled in opposition to what he
was saying.
 

Rude /not polite

1. Boorish
2. Loutish
3. Churlish
4. Clownish
5. Uncouth
6. Gauche
7. Surly

Explanation: Boar (Noun) means wild pig. Boorish (Adj.) means resembling a boar (as
showing insensitivities to other’ s feelings).

BOORISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Rough, bad mannered person

Use:  The boorish conduct of one of the members of Mr. Kline’s psychology class irritated
him and the other students.

LOUTISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Rude or aggressive
Use: The loutish bully did not have a whole lot of friends.

CHURLISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Rude or bad mannered

Use: When Sam’s wife asked him why he didn’t eat some spinach during dinner, he replied
with a churlish comment: “Because I hate it, that’s why!”

CLOWNISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Unsophisticated, Behaving in a silly or playful way

Use: The clownish antics of some of the teenagers at the wedding reception.

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UNCOUTH (Adj.)

Meaning: Lacking good manners

Use: When Clement started to yell at his host at the party, everyone thought he was
certainly a very uncouth and uncivilized person.

GAUCHE (Adj.)

Meaning: socially awkward
Use: Mike showed his gauche behavior when he spoke to the president of the company as
“Old Buddy”.

SURLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Rude and unfriendly

Use: The neighborhood children were afraid of the surly or unfriendly storekeeper, Mr.
Evans.
Bad tempered /easily annoyed

1. Peevish
2. Splenetic
3. Waspish
4. Tasty
5. Snappish
6. Crotchety
7. Irascible
8. Grouchy
9. Choleric
10.Cantankerous
11.Petulant
12.Pettish
13.Grumpy
14.Curmudgeon
15.Sullen

PEEVISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing irritation

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Use: The shopper was snappish and rude with the salesclerk.

SPLENETIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Very angry and annoyed

Use: The newspaper publisher’ s splenetic editorials often struck fear into local politicians.

WASPISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Easily annoyed
Use: Extremely waspish, she uses her wit viciously when irritated.

TESTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Become annoyed or angry easily

Use: Maxine has had many experiences with testy people; for example a testy cab driver,
a testy refusal by a clerk to help her, and a neighbor who was upset when he accused her of
playing opera music too loudly.

SNAPPISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing irritation

Use: Sabina made a snappish remark when the man in the elevator asked her where she
was working in the building.

CROTCHETY (Adj.)

Meaning: Often angry and annoyed

Use: None of the students dared to talk back to the crotchety old teacher.

IRASCIBLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Become angry very easily

Use: Dick’s neighbor has an irascible, or irritable and surly, disposition.

GROUCHY (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a bad temper

Use: A lack of sleep would make anyone grouchy.

CHOLERIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Made angry easily

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Use: David’s red face gave away the choleric nature of his personality.

CANTANKEROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Often angry and annoyed

Use: Sometimes Nancy’s cantankerous boss is easily annoyed and becomes angry when the
members of his staff don’t do their assignments as quickly as he wants them to.

PETULANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Easily annoyed or easily become angry

Use: When Jan doesn’t get her way at home, she usually gets very petulant with her
parents.

PETTISH (Adj.)

Meaning: Feeling or showing irritation

Use: A pettish baby who always seemed to be crying.

GRUMPY (Adj.)

Meaning: Easily annoyed or angered

Use: I was feeling grumpy after my long fight.

CURMUDGEON (Noun)

Meaning: A person who is easily annoyed or angered

Use: Brandon’s neighbor is a lonely old curmudgeon who is unhappy that her children don’t
come to visit her more often.
To cause constant or repeated trouble for someone /something
1. Beset
2. Beleaguer
3. Plague

Explanation:  Plague (Noun) means a disease that causes death and that spreads quickly to
a large number of people. Plague (Verb) means to cause continuous trouble.

BESET (Verb)

Meaning: To cause problems or difficulties for (someone or something)

Use: Many vexing problems beset the American public-school system.

248
BELEAGUER (Verb)

Meaning: To cause constant or repeated trouble for (a person, business etc.)

Use: The lack of funds that beleaguers schools.

PLAGUE (Noun)

Meaning: a disease that causes death and that spreads quickly to large number of people
Use: The country was hit by a plague of natural disasters that year.

PLAGUE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause constant or repeated trouble, illness etc. for (someone or something)
Use: Crime plagues the inner city.
To make something less beautiful or to ruin the quality or reputation
of something/someone
1. Blemish
2. Taint
3. Tarnish
4. Defile
5. Debase
6. Sully
7. Besmirch
8. Vitiate

Explanation: Tarnish means thin layer on the surface of the metal which makes metal look
dull. Defile (Noun) means narrow passage through the mountain. Blemish (Verb), Taint
(Verb), Tarnish (Verb) and Defile (Verb) implies damaging the quality of something.
Debase (Verb), Sully (Verb) and Besmirch (Verb) implies ruining the reputation of
someone.
BLEMISH (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) imperfect or less beautiful

Use: Instead it has age marks, blemishes, and even a small spot or two with a brownish
patina look.

BLEMISH (Noun)

Meaning: A mark that makes something imperfect or less beautiful

Use: I am an atheist and I won’ t choose to have my blemished by anyone taking the
freedom to meddle with my choices in life, neither with my memory afterlife.

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TAINT (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) imperfect or less beautiful

Use: Pollution from Asia can taint the air along the West Coast of the U.S, said scientists on
Friday at a meeting of the American Association for the advancement of science.

TAINT (Noun)

Meaning: Something that causes a person or thing to be thought of as bad, dishonest etc.

Use That rare political campaign that was not marred by the taint of false accusations.

TARNISH (Verb)

Meaning: To damage or ruin the good quality of (something, such as person’ s reputation
etc.)
Use: His regime had not been tarnished by human rights abuses.

TARNISH (Noun)

Meaning: thin layer on surface of metal which makes metal look dull

Use: A polish that removes tarnish.

DEFILE (Verb)

Meaning: To make something unclean or impure

Use: The town sewer was known to defile the river with sewage.

DEFILE (Noun)

Meaning: narrow passage through mountain

Use: The train went through the defile of the mountains as it progressed to the destination.

DEBASE (Verb)

Meaning: To lower the value or reputation of (someone or something)

Use: The mayor of Tom’s city debased himself by lying to his citizens about his financial
dealings with a company.

SULLY (Verb)

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Meaning: To damage or ruin the good quality of (something)
Use: He felt that it was beneath his dignity to sully his hands in such menial labor.

BESMIRCH (Verb)

Meaning: To cause harm or damage to (the reputation of something or someone)

Use: The scandalous remarks in the newspaper besmirch the reputations of every member
of the society.

VITIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) less effective or to ruin or spoil (something)

Use: The impact of the film was vitiated by poor acting.
 

Educational conference

1. Symposium
2. Colloquium

SYMPOSIUM (Noun)

Meaning: A formal meeting at which experts discuss a particular topic

Use: Professors and graduate students attended the symposium.

COLLOQUIUM (Noun)

Meaning: A formal meeting at which experts discuss a particular topic

Use: Recently attended a daylong colloquium on new methods of chromatography.
 

Separated from rest of the world

1. Sheltered
2. Secluded
3. Cloistered
4. Isolated

SHELTERED (Adj.)

Meaning: Screened or hidden from view or living in seclusion

Use: Climbers sheltered in a cave during the storm.

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SECLUDED (Adj.)

Meaning: Screened or hidden from view or living in seclusion

Use:  Jerome secluded a home deep in the forest where nobody ever goes and lives as a
hermit who has no contact with other individuals.

CLOISTERED (Adj.)

Meaning: Separated from rest of the world or living in a cloister

Use: “The artist lead a private, cloistered life in the mountains.”

ISOLATED (Adj.)

Meaning: Separated from others

Use: The town remains a very isolated community.
 

Spending money carelessly

1. Prodigal
2. Profligate
3. Spendthrift
4. Squanderer
5. Wastrel

PRODIGAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Anyone who spends funds or money in an excessive or uncontrollable way.

Use: Karl’ s neighbor has nothing left of his inheritance because of his prodigal behavior
and excessive way of living.

PROFLIGATE (Adj.)

Meaning: Anyone who spends funds or money in an excessive or uncontrollable way.

Use: During his campaign, the mayor swore to put an end to the government’ s profligate
spending.

SPENDTHRIFT (Noun)

Meaning: A person who spends money in a careless or wasteful way.

Use: Easy access to credit encourages people to turn into spendthrifts who shop until they
drop.

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SQUANDERER (Noun)

Meaning: A person who spends money in a foolish or wasteful way.

Use: Don’ t go down in history as a squanderer, who threw away the country’ s wealth and
squandered the opportunity to truly develop our nation.

WASTREL (Noun)

Meaning: A person who wastes time, money etc.

Use: Glenda’s nephew was a wastrel so she refused to include him in her will.
 

Person who hates to spend money

1. Parsimonious
2. Stingy
3. Skinflint
4. Niggard
5. Miser
6. Scrooge

PARSIMONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: very unwilling to spend money

Use: Janita always calculates the money cost of all his activities. She is parsimonious.

STINGY (Adj.)

Meaning: Not liking or wanting to give or spend money.

Use: The company was too stingy to raise salaries.

SKINFLINT (Noun)

Meaning: very unwilling to spend money

Use I am Skinflint. I am afraid that if people refer to my attitude toward spending money.

NIGGARD (Noun)

Meaning: A person who hates to spend money.

Use: His father is a real niggard and refuses to pay her way through college, even though he
can easily afford it.

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MISER (Noun)

Meaning: A person who hates to spend money.

Use Although David Williams was wealthy, he was a miser who lived a miserable life alone
and without any friends.

SCROOGE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who hates to spend money.

Use: Until his redemption, Ebenezer Scrooge is the classic example of a very stingy,
heartless Scrooge

Carefully spending money

1. Frugal
2. Thrifty
3. Scrimping

FRUGAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) having prudence in avoiding waste.

2) people who find ways of making things useful that others just throw away.

Use: Frugal people try to avoid wasting things by reusing items that most people throw
away, their frugality save their money.

THRIFTY (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) having prudence in avoiding waste.

2) people who find ways of making things useful that others just throw away.

Use: Thrifty people sell their old mobile instead of throwing away; so, frugality is an
unwillingness to waste things.

SCRIMPING (Noun)

Meaning: Spending as little money as you can.

Use: I have been scrimping and saving for my study abroad dream.
 

Deficiency /shortage
1. Paucity

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 2. Dearth
3. Scarcity

PAUCITY (Noun)

Meaning: a small amount of something or an amount that is less than what is needed or
wanted.
Use: There was a paucity of information when Sheila asked that where she could get a loan
to buy a new car.

DEARTH (Noun)

Meaning: The state or condition of not having enough of something.

Use: There is a growing dearth of rice in Asia.

SCARCITY (Noun)

Meaning: a small amount of something or an amount that is less than what is needed or
wanted.
Use: The scarcity of good restaurants around here is surprising.

Act of treating a holy place without respect

1. Sacrilege
2. Blasphemy
3. Profanation
4. Desecration
5. Irreverence
6. Impiety
7. Defilement

SACRILEGE (Noun)

Meaning: The act of treating a holy thing or place without respect.

Use: Hindu consider it sacrilege to wear shoes inside a temple.

BLASPHEMY (Noun)

Meaning: The act of treating a holy thing or place without respect.

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Use: In 2010, Advertisement agency, produced images of Prophet Mohammad in an
episode that featured the Prophet as a bear mascot. Angered by the blasphemy, one Islamic
website threatened the producer for what they deemed as a high level of disrespect for the
Prophet.
PROFANATION (Noun)

Meaning: The act of treating a holy thing or place without respect.

Use: The First book of the Maccabees tells of the profanation of the temple of Jerusalem in
167 B.C.
DESECRATION (Noun)

Meaning: The act of treating a holy thing or place without respect.

Use: The communicants were aghast at the desecration of the altar.

IRREVERENCE (Noun)

Meaning: The act of treating a holy thing or place without respect.

Use: Some people in the audience were amused by the irreverence of the comedian’ s jokes
about the pope; others felt offended by his lack of respect for their faith.

IMPIETY (Noun)

Meaning: Lack of respect for god.

Use: We are to renounce impiety and worldly passions.

DEFILEMENT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) act of making something unclean or impure.

2) To corrupt the purity or sanctity of something.

Use: Swimming in the lake is banned until the defilement is identified and neutralized.

Beauty
1. Pulchritude
2. Comeliness
3. Aesthetic

PULCHRITUDE (Noun)

Meaning: beauty, especially a woman’ s beauty

Use: Erin’ s pulchritude was legendary bringing admires from near and end.

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COMELINESS (Noun)

Meaning: beauty, especially a woman’ s beauty

Use: She is proud of her comeliness.

AESTHETIC (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) A reference to the sensitivity and appreciation of art and beauty.

2) A reference to something beautiful or attractive.

Use: There are economical as well as aesthetic reasons for making kitchen gardens at
home.

AESTHETIC (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The artistic or beautiful qualities of something.

2) A set of ideas or opinions about beauty or art.

Use: The aesthetics of the gemstones.

 

Highest point
1. Acme
2. Apex
3. Apogee
4. Zenith
5. Pinnacle
6. Summit

ACME (Noun)

Meaning: The highest point of achievement or excellence.

Use: The acme of the Indian cricket team was its victory in the world cup.

APEX (Noun)

Meaning: The highest point of achievement or excellence.

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Use: Daniel is suffering from diabetes. Yesterday he ate chocolates. I think that his sugar
level is at its apex.

APOGEE (Noun)

Meaning: The highest point of achievement or excellence.

Use: Messi has reached the apogee of his career. But he is still avid.

ZENITH (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The highest point of achievement or excellence.

2) The highest point reached in the sky by the sun, moon etc.

Use: Being elected mayor was the zenith of Bill’s political career.

PINNACLE (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The highest point of achievement or excellence.

2) A high mountaintop.

Use: “She was at the pinnacle of her career.”

SUMMIT (Noun)

Meaning: 1) The highest point of achievement or excellence.

2) A meeting or series of meetings between the leaders of two or more governments.

Use: Joe is now at the summit of his career as a salesman for his company

Showing proper or polite behavior

1. Decorous
2. Demure
3. Prim
4. Propriety
5. Seemly

Explanation: Demure (Adj.) means polite and not showy or flashy. Prim (Adj.) means
formal and proper. It has second meaning also. It also means easily shocked or upset by
rude behavior. Propriety (Noun) means proper behavior.

DECOROUS (Adj.)

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Meaning: Correct and polite in a particular situation
Use: Jacob has always been considered a polite and decorous neighbor until he was heard
yelling curses and vulgar words at his wife one evening.

DEMURE (Adj.)

Meaning: Polite and not showy or not fleshy

Use: The governess, or woman who was employed to teach and to take care of little Susie,
seemed to be quite reserved and demure, but she was very watchful and protective of her
young child while they were in the playground or any other place.

PRIM (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Formal and proper

2) Easily shocked or upset by rude behavior

Use: She had the look of a prim and proper lady of the Victorian times, with all her tended
hairs.

PROPRIETY (Noun)

Meaning: Proper behavior
Use: Randal’s behavior would not offend the propriety of the professional organization to
which he hoped to belong.

SEEMLY (Adj.)

Meaning: Proper and appropriate for the situation

Use: For most practical purposes the exclusion is one of form, not substance, and is based
on local cultural notions of what is seemly.
 

Marked by chaos /confusion or disorder

1. Bedlam
2. Pandemonium
3. Tumultuous
4. Turmoil
5. Turbulence
6. Tumult

BEDLAM (Noun)
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Meaning: Very noisy and confused state
Use: There was so much bedlam in kindergarten, that the teacher couldn’t be heard when
she tried to talk to them!

PANDEMONIUM (Noun)

Meaning: Uproar
Use: When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium broke out among the
passengers.

TUMULTUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Involving a lot of violence, confusion or disorder

Use: After the university administration rejected the students’ proposal to stop an increase
in fees, there were tumultuous protests on the campus.

TURMOIL (Noun)

Meaning: A state of confusion or disorder

Use: The classroom was full of turmoil; as, the extremely loud children were standing on
tables, chairs were turned over, the blackboard was covered with drawings, etc. because
the teacher came a half hour late to the class!

TURBULENCE (Noun)

Meaning: A state of violence, confusion or disorder

Use: Avoiding excessive turbulence generated around moving objects; such as, aircraft,
which can make their motion inefficient and difficult to control, is a major factor in
aerodynamic designing.

TUMULT (Noun)

Meaning: A state of noisy confusion or disorder

Use: His mind was in a series of tumults revealing his emotional disturbances.

Showing overly proud behavior

1. Arrogant
2. Conceited
3. Egotistical
4. Haughty
5. Hubris

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 6. Condescending
7. Ostentatious
8. Vainglorious
9. Bombastic
10.Pompous
11.Braggart

Explanation: Bombastic, Pompous and Braggart differ in meaning slightly. They mean

talking in a confident way to impress others

ARROGANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think that they are better or
smarter than other people
Use: The arrogant attorney was given a warning by the judge to take it easy when cross-
examining the witness.

CONCEITED (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing excessive pride in yourself

Use: The author of the book was a brilliant creator of novels; however, he was also
considered a very conceited compiler of literature by many other writers.

EGOTISTICAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Having or showing excessively proud behavior

Use: He was vain, egotistical, boorish and gloriously insensitive.

HAUGHTY (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think that they are better or
smarter than other people.
Use: A haughty person treats other people as if they are inferior and not worth being
around

HUBRIS (Noun)

Meaning: Excessive pride and self-confidence

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Use: George started his business career as a pleasant clerk; however, by the time he
became the CEO of the company years later, he showed signs of hubris which would lead to
his downfall.

CONDESCENDING (Adj.)

Meaning: Behaving as if you are better than other people

Use: The customer was condescending to the saleswoman who was trying very hard to be
polite and to provide the best service possible.

OSTENTATIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing excessive display

Use: Trump’ s latest casino in Atlantic City is the most ostentatious gambling place in the
East.

SUPERCILIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think that they are better or
smarter than other people.
Use: Her mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious attitude.

VAINGLORIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing too much pride in your abilities or achievements

Use: James was a vainglorious athlete who bragged about his basketball talents whenever
he was interviewed on TV or the radio.

BOMBASTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Speaking or writing to sound important or impressive

Use: While on the campaign trail, Senator Smith frequently made bombastic speeches.

POMPOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Speaking or writing to sound important or impressive

Use: The university newspaper expressed some of the students’ feelings that there was
a pompous professor who seemed to think that he was much too qualified to teach students
who had such a minimal amount of intelligence.

BRAGGART (Noun)

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Meaning: A person who brags a lot or one who speaks a lot to sound important or
impressive
Use: James was such a braggart that he really disturbed people because he couldn’t stop
talking about winning the tennis match against a former professional player.
 

Brave talk or behavior that shows proud and lot of confidence

1. Bravado
2. Swagger

Explanation: Bravado (Noun) means confident or brave talk or behavior that is intended

to impress other people. Swagger (Noun) means a way of walking or behaving that shows a
lot of confidence. Swagger (verb) means to walk with confidence. Swagger (Adj.) means
showing off.

BRAVADO (Noun)

Meaning: Confident or brave talk or behavior that is intended to impress other people

Use: I remembered his youthful bravado.

SWAGGER (Verb)

Meaning: To walk with confidence

Use: He swaggered along the corridor.

SWAGGER (Noun)

Meaning: A way of walking or behaving that shows lot of confidence

Use: After years of hard-earned success on Broadway, the brothers arrived in Hollywood
with an arrogant swagger.

SWAGGER (Adj.)

Meaning: Showing off
Use: They strolled around the camp with an exaggerated swagger.
 

Big talks
1. Braggadocio
2. Gasconade
3. Rodomontade
4. Cockalorum

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 5. Fanfaronade
6. Grandiloquence
7. Declamation

Explanation: Declaim (Verb) means to say (something) in usually a loud and formal way.
Declamation (Noun) means stated loudly and in a formal way.

BRAGGADOCIO (Noun)

Meaning: Exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound very important or brave

Use: Tina, the new girl in the biology class, had a showy kind of character and seemed to be
a braggadocio who was telling the other students about the yacht her parents had and of
their traveling back and forth on the coast, but none of it was true!

GASCONADE (Noun)

Meaning: Exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound very important or brave

Use: Joe’s grandmother was always making a lot of gasconades about him whenever
anyone asked her about how he was doing as a student at the university.

RODOMONTADE (Noun)

Meaning: Boasting or bragging speech

Use: For all of its jingoistic rodomontade, the government had no thought-out plan for the
war and its aftermath.

COCKALORUM (Noun)

Meaning: Boastful talk
Use: A boxer who was as famous for his prefight cockalorum as for his knockouts in the
ring.

FANFARONADE (Noun)

Meaning: Empty boasting
Use: All his talk of how he would easily win the boxing match turned out to be so much
fanfaronade.

GRANDILOQUENCE (Noun)

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Meaning: Extravagantly pompous or bombastic style especially in language
Use: A heavyweight champion who was famous for his entertaining grandiloquence prior
to every match.

DECLAMATION (Noun)

Meaning: Stated loudly, confidently and in a formal way

Use: The local newspaper reported on the declamations of the speaker who had radical and
persuasive viewpoints on the subject of climate change

Criminal /law order

1. Felon
2. Miscreant
3. Rogue
4. Scoundrel

FELON (Noun)

Meaning: A criminal who has committed a serious crime

Use: The convicted felon was imprisoned for 10 years before his case was reviewed.

MISCREANT (Noun)

Meaning: A person who does something that is illegal or morally wrong

Use: A miscreant robbed an elderly lady after she got off the bus and was walking to her
apartment.

MISCREANT (Adj.)

Meaning: Behaving criminally
Use: She had never seen so many assassins and miscreants gathered together under the
same banner in order to annihilate someone.

ROGUE (Noun)

Meaning: A person who is dishonest or immoral

Use: Trudy’s father was a lovable old rogue and sometimes even a lying old rogue.

ROGUE (Adj.)

Meaning: Corrupt or dishonest

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Use: People were complaining about how the rogue police were committing criminal acts.

SCOUNDREL (Noun)

Meaning: A person who is cruel or dishonest

Use: Some scoundrel stole my wallet.
 

Easily affected
1. Vulnerable
2. Prone
3. Sensitive
4. Susceptible

Explanation: Prone (Adj.) has second meaning also. It means lying with the front of your
body facing downward.

VULNERABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Exposed to being attacked or harmed

Use: Jackie was quite vulnerable and broke out in tears when friends would mention her
late husband who died just a few weeks before.

PRONE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Likely to suffer from

2) Lying with the front of your body facing downward.

Use: She was prone to sudden fits of anger during which she would lie prone on the floor,
screaming and kicking her heels.

SENSITIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Quick to detect or be affected by slight changes.

2) Easily offended or upset.

Use: Bats are sensitive to sounds that humans can’t hear.

SUSCEPTIBLE (Adj.)

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Meaning: Easily affected, influenced or harmed by something.
Use: Some teenagers are sometimes very susceptible to new ways of thinking or of
behaving in ways that are unacceptable.

Careless
1. Lax
2. Negligent
3. Remiss
4. Slapdash
5. Slipshod
6. Slack
7. Derelict
8. Dereliction

Explanation: Slack (Adj.) means not stretched or held in tight position. Slack (Adj.) also
means careless. Slack (Verb) means to be careless. Slack (Verb) also means to lessen in
amount. Derelict (Adj.) means careless or failing to do what should be done. It has second
meaning also. It means something abandoned or something no longer cared. Dereliction
(Noun) means an act of abandoning something. It has second meaning also. Dereliction
(Noun) means the state of being careless or failure to do your duty or job.
LAX (Adj.)

Meaning: Not careful enough

Use: Both parents were lax with their supervision of the children and, as a result, the
children often got into mischief.

NEGLIGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Failing to take proper care of something or someone

Use: Her mother was a negligent housekeeper

REMISS (Adj.)

Meaning: Not showing enough care and attention

Use: He’s terribly remiss in his work.

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SLAPDASH (Adj.)

Meaning: Hurried and careless

Use: This slapdash approach to the recording and construction of an album possibly could
be financially related.

SLIPSHOD (Adj.)

Meaning: Very careless
Use: As a master craftsman, the carpenter prided himself on never doing slipshod work.

SLACK (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To be careless
2) To lessen in amount

Use: They need to stop slacking and get down to work.

SLACK (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) not stretched or held in tight position.

2) Careless

Use: He accused the government of slack supervision of nuclear technology.

DERELICT (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) careless or failing to do what should be done.

2) something abandoned or something no longer cared.

Use: The police officer was charged with being derelict in his duty when he failed to arrest
a man for mistreating his wife.

DERELICTION (Noun)

Meaning: 1) act of abandoning something.

2) state of being careless or failure to do your duty or job

Use: A human derelict is someone who by reason of his/her actions, etc., has been
abandoned by respectable people.

Shining
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 1. Luminous
2. Scintillating
3. Refulgent
4. Resplendent
5. Effulgent
6. Lambent

Explanation: Lambent (Adj.) means softly shining.

LUMINOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Producing or seeming to produce light

Use: The night sky was the most luminous Jeff had seen during his vacation, simply
glittering with starlight.

SCINTILLATING (Adj.)

Meaning: Brilliantly lively or very impressive or interesting

Use Scintillating conversation with a scintillating personality.

REFULGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Shinning
Use: Crystal chandeliers and gilded walls made the opera house a refulgent setting for the
concert.

RESPLENDENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Very bright and attractive

Use: The colorful crackers looking resplendent on a moonless night was an impressive
work.

EFFULGENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Brilliant
Use: The exceptional effulgence of the harvest moon is always a striking sight.

LAMBENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Shinning softly

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Use: Jan and Sam could see lambent sunlight glinting off the waves as they walked along
the beach.
 

Friendly
1. Affable
2. Amicable
3. Amiable
4. Genial
5. Cordial
6. Congenial

AFFABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Friendly and easy to talk to

Use: As a supervisor, Mike Black was always affable with his subordinates in that he was
always civil and courteous when he had conversations with them.

AMICABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Friendly and pleasant

Use: If wars are to end, nations must learn amicable means of settling their disputes.

AMIABLE (Adj.)

Meaning: Friendly and pleasant

Use: Amiable neighbors help make a house a home.

GENIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Friendly and cheerful

Use: This restaurant is famous and popular because of a genial proprietor, who tries to
make everyone happy.

CORDIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Politely pleasant and friendly

Use: Germany and the United States have maintained cordial relations since World War II.

CONGENIAL (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Very Friendly

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2) Pleasant and enjoyable

Use: Sharon told Mike that she found it a very congenial and agreeable atmosphere in

which to work with him and his staff
Brief or using few words

1. Laconic
2. Pithy
3. Succinct
4. Brevity

LACONIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Using few words in speech or writing

Use: When Shawn asked Betty why she didn’t come to the project meeting, she gave him
a laconic answer that she wasn’t feeling well.

PITHY (Adj.)

Meaning: Using few words in a clear and effective way

Use: Fighting for the future, for all its provocative arguments and pithy language,
sometimes borders on the apocalyptic.

SUCCINCT (Adj.)

Meaning: Using few words to state or express an idea

Use: Lorene’s succinct summary at the end of the speech provided the most significant
information.

BREVITY (Noun)

Meaning: shortness or conciseness of expression

Use: Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or cablegram; you are charged for every
word.

Main part or important part

1. Gist
2. Pith
3. Crux

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GIST (Noun)

Meaning: The main point or part

Use: The gist of the lawyer’s argument was that the law was unfair to women.

PITH (Noun)

Meaning: The most important part of something

Use: Today’ s journalists are adept to focus on pith.

CRUX (Noun)

Meaning: The most important point under discussion

Use: The crux of the matter resulted in a problem for the family.

 To think deeply

1. Contemplate
2. Ponder
3. Cogitate
4. Cerebrate
5. Ruminate
6. Mull
7. Muse
8. Meditate
9. Chew over

Explanation: Ruminate (verb) means to think deeply. For an animal, ruminate means to

bring up and chew again what has already been chewed and swallowed. Mull (verb) means
to grind or mix thoroughly. It has second meaning also. It means to ponder. Muse (verb)
means to be deep in thinking. Muse (Noun) means a woman who is a source of inspiration
for artists.

CONTEMPLATE (Verb)

Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something attentively

Use: Jack contemplated moving to a bigger city, thinking that he could find a job with a
better salary than he had so far in the village where he lived.

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PONDER (Verb)

Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something attentively

Use: Ponder or think about the following over a period of time.

COGITATE (Verb)

Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something attentively

Use: When James got back to the university dormitory, he sat at his desk and started
to cogitate about the science project he was supposed to complete in three days.

CEREBRATE (Verb)

Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something attentively

Use: James was cerebrating whether to go on vacation this month or next month.

RUMINATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To think deeply

2) (For an animal) to bring up and chew gain what has already been chewed and
swallowed

Use: Ron was ruminating about which university he would go to long before he graduated

from high school.

MULL (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To grind or mix thoroughly

2) To Ponder

Use: The team mulled their chances of success

MUSE (Verb)

Meaning: To be deep in thoughts

Use: Latonya will muse upon the suggestion while she is having her morning coffee.

MUSE (Noun)

Meaning: A woman who is a source of inspiration for artists

Use: Randy’s mother was the muse for his interest in music.

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MEDITATE (Verb)

Meaning: To spend time in quiet thought for religious purposes or relaxation

Use: Marion’s friend will take time every day to meditate for an hour during the morning.

CHEW OVER (Verb)

Meaning: To meditate on or to think about reflectively

Use: Yet another senator chewing over the idea of running for president.
 

To irritate/to annoy/to make someone angry

1. Exasperate
2. Crate
3. Nettle
4. Pester
5. Vex
6. Persecute
7. Disgruntle
8. Miff
9. Pique
10.Nag
11.Peeve

Explanation: Grate (Verb) means to irritate someone. It has second meaning also. It also
means to reduce to small particles by rubbing on something rough. Persecute (Verb) means
to annoy someone. It has second meaning also. It means to treat (someone) cruelly or
unfairly especially because of race or religious belief. Disgruntle (verb) means to irritate
someone. It also means to alienate someone. Miff (verb) and Pique (verb) means to make
someone angry. Miff (Noun) and Pique (Noun) means feeling of being annoyed or irritated.
Nag (Verb) and Peeve (Verb) means to annoy or irritate someone. Nag (Noun) and Peeve
(Noun) means one who irritates. Nettle (Verb) means to make someone angry or to irritate
someone. This word has also been covered in series for To make someone angry.

EXASPERATE (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone very angry or annoyed

Use: Constant interruptions will only exasperate the speaker.

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GRATE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To irritate someone

2) To reduce to small particles by rubbing on something rough

Use: While the pasta boiled, Jenifer would grate the cheese for the sauce.

GRATE (Noun)

Meaning: A metal frame with bars across it that is used in a fireplace

NETTLE (Noun)

Meaning: A plant covered with stinging hairs

NETTLE (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone angry

Use: The mayor’ s recent actions have nettled some members of the community.
PESTER (Verb)

Meaning: To annoy or bother (someone) in a repeated way

Use: Leave me alone! Stop pestering me!

VEX (Verb)

Meaning: To annoy or worry someone

Use: Jimmy was vexing his sister by refusing to let her see the TV program that she wanted
to watch.

PERSECUTE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To constantly annoy or bother (someone)

2) To treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious belief

Use: The regime was known to constantly persecute those who fought against it during the
uprising.

DISGRUNTLE (Verb)

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Meaning: 1) To annoy someone.
2) To alienate someone.

Use: The noises made by the students in the classroom were disgruntling the teacher.

MIFF (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone angry

Use: His comments about minority groups miffed many of us.

MIFF (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated

Use: “No one asked you!” She retorted, with some miff.

PIQUE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make someone angry

2) To cause curiosity or interest

Use: It seems that brightly colored things often pique a young child’s interest.

PIQUE (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated

Use: Marilyn went into a pique when she didn’t get her way.

NAG (Verb)

Meaning: To annoy someone

Use: Jim’s mother is always nagging him about his hairstyle.

NAG (Noun)

Meaning: One who irritates habitually

PEEVE (Verb)

Meaning: To irritate someone

Use: She is constantly peeved while she is trying to focus on her work.

PEEVE (Noun)

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Meaning: Something that annoys someone
Use: One of her peeves is people who are always late.
 

Feeling of being irritated

1. Umbrage
2. Dudgeon
3. Miff
4. Pique

Explanation: We covered word Miff (Noun & Verb) and Pique (Noun & Verb) in previous
serious also.

UMBRAGE (Noun)

Meaning: A feeling of being offended by what someone has said or done

Use: When Susan’s husband called up and said that he had to work late at the office again,
she took umbrage and was very disturbed because she suspected that another woman was
involved in his repeated delays in arriving home.

DUDGEON (Noun)

Meaning: State of being irritated or indignant

Use: The woman walked out in high dudgeon when the clerk refused to let her look at some
expensive purses simply because she was black; even though she was a millionaire.
MIFF (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone angry

Use: His comments about minority groups miffed many of us.
MIFF (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated

Use: “No one asked you!” She retorted, with some miff.

PIQUE (Verb)

Meaning: 1) To make someone angry

2) To cause curiosity or interest

Use: It seems that brightly colored things often pique a young child’s interest.

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PIQUE (Noun)

Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated

Use: Marilyn went into a pique when she didn’t get her way.

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