| Erudite: Very learned, scholarly |
| The book, written in an erudite style, is specifically meant for a person who intends to have a deep knowledge of the subject. |
| Grindstone: A flat circular stone, used for sharpening tools |
| The grindstone called life transforms ordinary mortals into respectable personalities. |
| Grisly: Horrible |
| The grisly scene of the mass killings sent a chill down my spine. |
| Impassive: Revealing no emotion, expressionless, stolid |
| Face expressions are a very significant part of a dance performance; with such an impassive face, Sarla cannot expect to bag the Dancing Queen trophy. |
| Impede: Hinder, block |
| The high degree of friction in the bearings impeded the movement of the newly developed vehicle; the maximum speed that could be achieved was only 30 km/h. |
| Insipid: Without taste or savor, lacking in spirit, dull |
| The otherwise insipid election speech of Lalu was made a bit interesting with his witty anecdotes and couplets in criticism of the opposition members. |
| Potent: Powerful |
| Potassium Cyanide is such a potent poison that ingesting even a speck of it can lead to a person's death. |
| Pragmatic: Practical, as opposed to idealistic |
| Gappu is not just talking in air, in fact, what he says is quite a pragmatic course of action in contrast to the other impractical proposals. |
| Precedent: An earlier occurrence that may serve as an example or rule |
| Since such a request to grant maternity leave to an unmarried girl was received for the first time, there was no precedent upon which the officer could rely to deal with this peculiar case. |
| Precept: Law |
| Precepts may provide stringent penalties for such crimes, but ultimately the common man is concerned with their implementation in the real sense. |
| Sheepish: Shy |
| Upon seeing the wads of notes tumbling out of the bank locker and seeing no way to escape from the situation, Gravy Piddu sheepishly admitted that he had collected all the money through fraudulent transactions. |
| Subservient: Submissive |
| Since the new boss did not like sweet talk, he intensely disliked this subservient attitude of his personal secretary. |
| Timid: Afraid |
| The timid husband hid himself under the bed, and when the wife asked “why are you hiding?”, he replied sheepishly, “ My sweet will! It’s my own house.” |
| Tirade: A long, angry, and often abusive speech |
| The Leader of the Opposition began her tirade against the Vajpayee government by leveling allegations of kickbacks in the procurement of substandard caskets by the Army for carrying the dead soldiers. |
| Utopia: Ideal land |
| ‘Utopia’, the perfect, ideal land has been the dream of many ancient thinkers. |
| Vacillate: To waver indecisively between one course of action and another |
| Initially, he vacillated between the two equally attractive courses of action, but upon serious thought, decided to take the plunge in favour of the former. |
| Variegate: Diversify |
| The rich, variegated and highly sophisticated culture of our nation is threatened by cheap politics of various interest groups. |
| Witchcraft: Black magic |
| People accused the old lady of performing witchcraft on small children. |
| Wither: To shrivel from loss of moisture, to lose vitality or freshness |
1. Most flowering plants have already withered due to excessive shortage of water this season.
2. Her singing talent withered under the combined onslaught of an indifferent husband, lack of stage opportunities in town and domestic responsibilities. |
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