| Compassion: A deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering |
| The Dalai Lama practises what he preaches, universal kindness and compassion. |
| Debacle: A sudden and violent collapse |
| The convention was an utter debacle. |
| Degrade: Reduce in worth or character |
| He was degraded to a lower rank. |
| Depict: Give a description of |
| Children’s books often depict animals as gentle creatures. |
| Genre: A style of expressing yourself in writing |
| His genre is horror writing. |
| Refute: Overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof |
| The opposite party refuted the results of the poll. |
| Candid: Characterized by directness in manner or speech |
| In private I gave them my candid opinion about the atmosphere in the office. |
| Cliché: A trite or obvious remark |
| I’ve learnt that the cliché about life not being fair is true. |
| Cog: A subordinate who performs an important but routine function |
| He was a small cog in a large machine albeit an important one. |
| Egghead: An intellectual |
| Eggheads can be easily found in universities. |
| Flabbergasted: As if struck dumb with astonishment and surprise |
| I was amazed and flabbergasted by my perfunctory dismissal by my parents. |
| Hirsute: Having or covered with hair |
| We saw a large hirsute Scot with an aggressive blustery personality. |
| Naïve: Inexperienced |
| He is so naive he’ll believe anything I tell him. |
| Nonentity: The state of not existing |
| She was written off after the election as a nonentity. |
| Pensive: Deeply or seriously thoughtful |
| He suddenly looked sombre and pensive. |
| Repugnant: Offensive to the mind |
| His actions were improper and repugnant to others in the family. |
| Snooze: Sleeping for a short period of time |
| It is a good exercise to snooze in office when the boss is away. |
| Unsavoury: Morally offensive |
| I have heard some unsavoury stories about that man. |
| Vehemently: In a vehement manner |
| He vehemently denied the accusations against him. |
| Vivacious: Vigorous and animated |
| Folk dances are vivacious and colourful. |
| Whet: Make keen or more acute |
| A delicious aroma from the kitchen whetted our appetite. |
| Wince: Drawback, as with fear or pain |
| He tightened his grip on her arm till she winced in pain |
| Aberrant: Markedly different from an accepted norm |
| Teachers do not expect aberrant behaviour from their wards. |
| Acme: The highest point |
| His work is the acme of cinematic art. |
| Apparition: A ghostly appearing figure |
| Apparitions can be scary, especially at night. |
| Catharsis: Release of emotional tensions. |
| It is important for patients of depression to undergo catharsis. |
| Copious: Large in number or quantity |
| He drank copious quantities of tea and coffee. |
| Dexterity: Adroitness in using the hands |
| She showed her dexterity with a needle and thread. |
| Eclectic: Selecting what seems best of various styles or ideas |
| He is a collector of rare and eclectic paintings. |
| Effrontery: Audacious (even arrogant) behaviour that you have no right to |
| He had the effrontery to turn up at my doorstep at two in the morning. |
| Epitome: A standard or typical example |
| The old lady was the epitome of sophistication. |
| Equanimity: Steadiness of mind under stress |
| Judges are supposed to maintain their equanimity in crucial cases. |
| Gaunt: Very thin especially from disease or hunger or cold |
| The gaunt old woman aroused a lot of pity in everyone. |
| Grotesque: Ludicrously odd |
| There were statues of grotesque mythical creatures in the garden. |
| Mien: Dignified manner or conduct |
| His mild manner and aristocratic mien was very imposing. |
| Oodles: A large number or amount |
| He is filled with oodles of ideas which are never implemented. |
| Ort: A morsel left at a meal. |
| The poor feed themselves on orts and morsels leftover by their masters. |
| Quiescent: Not active or activated |
| A lot of volcanoes in the world are in their quiescent state right now. |
| Stupor: Marginal consciousness |
| He was drinking himself into a stupor every night. |
| Venial: Warranting only temporal punishment |
| If he had faults, they were venial ones. |
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