Word List 6

1. Word List 6 Dr. Geetha B

3. Choleric (adj.) Easily angered, easily annoyed Bad tempered, irritable (choler- one of the four humors of ancient and medieval physiology, thought to cause anger and bad temper when present in excess; from Greek �khole�-bile) Once a pleasing personality, now he has become choleric.

4. Diorama (n) a model which shows a situation, such as a historical event or animals in their natural surroundings, in a way that looks real because the height, length and width of what is being shown are accurately represented in comparison with each other. a form of transparency painting, a scene reproduced on cloth transparencies with various lights shining through the cloths Bird�s eye view, overview At the museum there was a diorama of local wildlife.

5. Diorama

6. Fecund (adj.) Productive, prolific, lush, fruitful, luxuriant, rich, bountiful Capable of producing offspring or vegetation; fruitful. His fecund imagination knew know barriers. A lush and fecund garden X barren

7. Inebriated (adj.) Exhilarated or stupefied by or as if by alcohol; intoxicated. Drunken, intoxicated In his inebriated state, he was ready to agree to anything. X sober

8. Marshal (n) A military officer of the highest rank in some countries. �a field marshal�; high ranking officer of the state (v) Assemble, collect, group, shepherd, organize, line up The company is marshalling its resources for a long court case. X dismiss, scatter

9. Parity (n) Equality, par, uniformity, similarity, correspondence, equality of especially pay/position In Maths, the even or odd quality of an integer(2 & 4 have parity; 2 &3 don�t have) If the exchange rate for the dollar and Euro both approach 1, they are said to be at parity. X dissimilarity, disparity

10. Servile Submissive, groveling, obsequious, sycophantic She found the servility of the hotel staff embarrassing. X assertive

11. Usurp (v) Take someone�s position (usually by force) Appropriate, seize, take over, assume, commandeer, grab The powers of local councils are being usurped by central government. X surrender

12. Apathetic (adj.) Indifferent, uninterested, listless, droopy, unconcerned, lethargic, lazy, bored Lacking interest/energy, lacking feeling (n) apathy Apathy breeds contempt! Don�t be so apathetic; we are trying too hard to make this interesting!! X concerned, interested

13. Chronicler (n) a recorder of events in the order of time; an historian. reporter, story teller, raconteur, describer Kalhan, a chronicler of Kashmir, wrote a famous chronicle of Kings of Kashmir, `Rajatarangini�.

14. Finesse (n) Skill, flair, grace, elegance, poise, assurance Subtlety, delicacy, diplomacy, tact She finished her concert with a touch of finesse. X clumsiness, tactlessness, inability

15. Dirge (n) A funeral hymn or lament. A slow, mournful musical composition. A mournful or elegiac poem or other literary work, requiem, lament, hymn The music piece played at the end sounded like a dirge.

16. Felicitous (adj.) Apt, suitable and expressing well the intended thought or feeling He summed up Vikas�s achievements in one or two felicitous phrases. �felicitous expression�, a felicitous comparison� X inappropriate, ill-fitting 

17. Ineffable (adj.) Incapable of being expressed Indescribable, beyond words, indefinable, unspeakable causing so much emotion, especially pleasure, that it cannot be described �ineffable experience�, �ineffable joy�, I saw the dance as a vision of ineffable power. X expressible

18. Marsupial (n) a mammal, such as a kangaroo or a koala, whose young are born incompletely developed and are carried and suckled in a pouch on the mother�s belly. Marsupials include koalas, possums and kangaroos.

19. Parochial (adj.) Of, relating to, supported by, or located in a parish (community, township) Narrow-minded, close-minded, provincial, insular, narrow, limited Having the restricted outlook often characteristic of geographic isolation Although it's just the local paper, it somehow manages not to be too parochial in its outlook. X broadminded, cosmopolitan

20. Group Skeptical, erratic, obstreperous, vacillating, cantankerous, cynical, rude, boorish, whimsical, dubious, fickle

21. Utilitarian (adj.) Useful, practical, serviceable, down-to-earth, functional designed to be useful rather than decorative The new school building is more utilitarian and less decorative.

22. Circuitous (adj.) Roundabout, indirect, twisty, meandering, oblique, tortuous (circumlocution: long-windedness, using too many words) He took me through a circuitous path. X direct, straight

23. Disapprobation (n) Moral disapproval, condemnation strong feelings of not approving of something She feared of their disapprobationof her choice. X acceptance, approval, approbation

24. Fervor (n) Passion, dedication, enthusiasm, eagerness, zeal, commitment, feeling, vehemence X indifference With fervor, he held it close to his heart. X indifference

25. Inept (adj.) Incompetent, inexpert, clumsy, useless, ham-fisted, hopeless, bungling, unskilled He was criticized for his inept handling of the situation. �inept remark�; �inept handling of the finances� X competent, adept, adroit, dexterous

26. Martinet (n) A rigid military disciplinarian stickler, despot, tyrant, authoritarian One who demands absolute adherence to forms and rules. (After Jean Martinet, a French army officer who died in 1672)

27. Parody (n) A literary/artistic work that imitates the characteristic style of an author or a work for comic effect or ridicule. Caricature, satire, burlesque, takeoff, spoof (v) copy, imitate �a parody of the news�, � a parody of the truth� The play was a clever parody of a Victorian novel.

28. Proletarian (adj.) One who belonged to the property-less class of ancient Rome, constituting the lowest class of citizens. Amateur, blue-collar, manual, grassroots, working class, common He comes from a proletarian background. �a representative of the proletarian class� X aristocratic, rich

29. Skirmish (n) Battle, fight, scuffle, clash, conflict, tussle, encounter, minor battle There was a short skirmish between the political party leaders when the government announced its new tax policies. X concord, truce, peace, harmony

30. Utopian (Adj.) idealistic; visionary Excellent or ideal but impracticable, impractical (n) an idealistic reformer a utopian vision; a utopian scheme for equalizing wealth; a utopian society X practical, pragmatic, realistic

31. Apocryphal (adj.) describes a story that is probably not true although often told and believed by some people to have happened Mythical, legendary, fictional Related to the Old Testament The story of Noah and the flood is apocryphal. X authentic

32. Discern (v) Distinguish, tell the difference, separate, differentiate, determine, recognize Perceive, distinguish, fathom, detect It is difficult to discern any pattern in these figures. X miss

33. Inertia (n) Inactivity, apathy, torpor, lethargy, disinterest, inaction, sluggishness, indolence Unwillingness to make efforts of any kind. The organization is stifled by bureaucratic inertia. X activity, energy, animation

34. Parry (v) Ward off, dodge, evade, sidestep, escape, deflect, elude, circumvent, avoid warding off of a thrust or blow, as in fencing to manage cleverly to avoid dealing with a difficult question or some criticism Predictably the president parried enquiries about the arms scandal.

35. Sluggard Slow-moving, lethargic person A lazy sluggish person Resistant to exertion and activity X active, energetic

36. Appease (v) To bring peace Mollify, soothe, calm down, make peace with, placate, conciliate Just before the elections, the government is sure to come up with new policies to appease the voters. X antagonize, irritate

37. Circumscribe (v) To draw a line around Limit, restrict, define, demarcate, delineate, outline Their movements have been severely circumscribed since the laws came into effect. X liberate, release

38. Discord (n) Disagreement, conflict, dispute, friction Dissonance, disharmony, cacophony (n) discordant A note of discord seems to have crept into their relationship. X harmony, accord

39. Matriarchy a type of society in which women have most of the authority and power Matriarchy was the dominant form of family life and inheritance among the prominent caste groups of Kerala. There are very few matriarchal societies in our country. X Patriarchy

40. Parsimonious (adj.) Thrifty, economical, frugal, saving, prudent, penurious, skimpy, sparing (not used often in a +ve sense) She's too parsimonious to heat the house properly. Parsimony (noun) X spendthrift, extravagant

41. Fill in: 1. It's normal to feel a little ________before starting a new job. 2. He is one of the leading _____of capital punishment. 3. The choice of players for the team seems to be completely _______. 4. She is _______ cheerful and is a source of strength to all her friends. 5. I am taking more time to finish this book as the style is too _______ for my taste. 6. Do not waste your time over her ________ remark. Proponents, vacuous, apprehensive, prosaic, arbitrary, infallibly

42. Smelt (v) To melt or fuse (ores) in order to separate the metallic constituents, refine an ore A past tense and a past participle of �smell�. smelting techniques

43. Circumspect (adj.) Cautious, prudent, careful, guarded, wary, judicious, vigilant Officials were circumspect about what the talks had achieved. This is a very sensitive case requiring extreme circumspection. X reckless, naive, dim-witted

44. Fitful (adj.) Disturbed, broken, restless, sporadic, irregular, intermittent, erratic She is known for her fitful bursts of energy. X unbroken, continuous, constant

45. Inexorable (adj.) Unalterable, unstoppable, unchangeable, inevitable, inescapable, relentless The events in the company are leading inexorably towards a crisis. X flexible, pliant

46. Maverick (n) a person who thinks and acts in an independent way, often behaving differently from the expected or usual way Nonconformist, unconventional person, eccentric He was considered as something of a maverick in the publishing world. X conformist

47. Vagrant Noun: Tramp, drifter, beggar, person wandering without a home Adjective: roaming The town has shelters for vagrants. X rich, wealthy, successful, unchanging, stiff

48. Arable (adj.) Farming and farm land that is used for, or is suitable for, growing crops Land that is suitable for cultivation fecund arable farming/farmers/farms/land

49. Circumvent (v) Avoid, evade, get around, dodge, skirt, get out of, outwit, thwart surround, entrap, checkmate, arrest (this usage is not very common) The items were registered abroad to circumvent employment and safety regulations X confront, head on, face

50. Discrepancy (n) Inconsistency, difference, incongruity, divergence, disagreement, deviation difference between two things that should be the same There is some discrepancy between the two accounts. X consistency, concordance

51. Flagrant (adj.) Blatant, obvious and unashamed, deliberate, glaring, conspicuous (applies to those that are unmistakably offensive or wrong) It was a case of flagrant misuse of power.  She flagrantly refused to apologize. X veiled, concealed, disguised

52. Inexpedient (adj.) not suitable or convenient, not advisable, adverse, inappropriate, impractical, unwise  The government has decided that a raise in the interest rates would be politically inexpedient. �an inexpedient tactic�  X expedient

53. Menagerie a collection of wild animals which are kept privately or to show to the public Zoo, safari park It felt like they lived in a menagerie because they had so many pets in their home. 

54. Masochist (n) One who has a tendency to derive pleasure from one�s own pain or humiliation. (compare with sadist) His masochist behavior is difficult to understand. X sadist (one who derives pleasure from inflicting pain to others)

55. Flamboyant (adj.)  Showy, ornate, colorful, loud, flashy, gaudy, lurid, resplendent His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion. The writer was well known for his flamboyant lifestyle. X modest, quiet, reserved

56. Variegated (adj.) Multicolored, spotted, dappled, flecked, freckled Having streaks, marks, or patches of a different color or colors Of different types, diversified The specimen is richly variegated in color. It is a variegated assortment of chocolates. X uniform

57. Pathos (n) the power of a situation/piece of writing/work of art or person to cause feelings of sadness, especially because of sympathy Sorrow, sadness, suffering, tragedy ( �bathos�- a sudden change from a beautiful or important subject to a silly or very ordinary one; an anticlimax) There is a pathos throughout the novel and it moves the reader.

58. Fill in the blanks It is our duty to fight ________ against a girl child. The bright shades of the brickwork will ---------- over the years. The prisoners existed on a ------ diet of rice and fish. She is a ______ of many charity works in the locality. When his wife left him, he found _____in the bottle. She used the platform to ------ votes from the factory workers. Meager, solace, discrimination, solicit, mellow, patron