| Crux: Main point |
| The crux of the long-winding speech by the Chairman was that unless the company does something innovative and extraordinary, it would be difficult to survive after the next 2 years. |
| Dispassionate: Calm |
| Do not be emotionally charged over this thing; just try to think dispassionately over it and you will realize that you too had a role to play in this whole episode. |
| Encapsulate: Condense |
| The 2-month crash course is basically an encapsulated form of the 1-year regular programme. |
| Ethical: Moral |
| The candidate was in a great ethical dilemma when he heard the interviewer’s question: Who would you choose to save in a crisis situation: your mother or your wife? |
| Fluent: To speak easily |
| She, being a trained public speaker, is quite fluent with words and sentences and you will hardly find her struggling to choose the right expression to describe her feelings. |
| Irrefutable: Cannot be disproved |
| The irrefutable statistical evidence proves beyond doubt that most of the poverty elimination programmes have been a big fraud. |
| Juncture: Point of joining |
| At this juncture, I cannot say anything for sure because the matter is still under investigation by the police. |
| Lenient: Not harsh |
| In view of the personal hardships faced by him, the Principal took a lenient view of his misconduct and let him off with a simple warning. |
| Enigma: A riddle |
| The death of the doctor still remains an enigma. |
| Forthright: With directness |
| Sherlock Holmes forthsight is appreciated by one & all. |
| Hypocrisy: Extreme insincerity |
| He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story. |
| Imbecile: A very foolish person |
| The timid and imbecile smile of the clerk showed that he didn’t understand a word of what his superior said. |
| Infer: Conclude |
| On the basis of the information available till date, it is not possible to infer that the Brahmins’ insistence on rituals in ancient times was only due to monetary motives. |
| Knead: To press and work |
| The flour is kneaded into dough and subsequently made into chapattis. |
| Liberate: to free |
| The task of liberating our dear motherland from the clutches of the British empire took more than three centuries. |
| Meticulous: Excessively careful, painstaking, scrupulous |
| This fragile material requires meticulous packing and handling in order to be transported safely to its destination. |
| Myriad: Countless |
| Myriad animals such as fish, crab and shrimp live in sea water. |
| Placate: To appease, to pacify |
| Earlier, it could have been possible to pacify him, but if you ask me to placate him now, I would have to decline your request. |
| Sinister: Evil |
| The Home Minister claimed that the government had done everything possible to defeat the sinister designs of the terrorist from across the border. |
| Workmanship: The art or skill of a workman |
| People thought he was a skilled worker though he lacked workmanship in that area. |
| Cozen: To cheat |
| The poor girl was cozened of her hard-earned money by the smart salesman. |
| Forbearance: Patience |
| He cast aside his Christian forbearance and forgiveness when it came to the survival of his family. |
| Frugal: Thrifty |
| Her frugal consumption habits enabled her to survive on a paltry salary of Rs. 500/- a month. |
| Gregarious: Seeking and enjoying the company of others, sociable |
| Such a gregarious person can be found only in the company of friends, never alone. |
| Grimace: Show contempt |
| Public utterances apart, his strong dislike for visiting a slum was very clear from the grimace on his face as soon as the topic was broached. |
| Gusto: Keen enjoyment |
| I don't have the gusto to go on a strenuous hike right now. |
| Hegemony: Dominance |
| The final key to Europe’s world hegemony was her military superiority over other nations. |
| Hideous: Horrible |
| The hideous sight of mass killings was enough to scare even the very hard-hearted among us. |
| Indispensable: Absolutely necessary |
| If we want to embrace capitalism, we have to allow free competition in every area because the requirement of free competition is an indispensable part of the whole system of capitalism. |
| Irrational: Not possessed of reasoning powers or understanding. |
| They behaved in such a bizarre and irrational manner. |
| Nadir: Lowest point |
| The nadir in the Congress fortune was registered when the party gained only 3 seats in Punjab elections. |
| Obnoxious: Offensive |
| His obnoxious son is invariably at the heart of every trouble in the household |
| Obstinacy: Stubborn adherence to opinion, arising from conceit or the desire to have one's own way |
| His obstinacy to not to move led to accident. |
| Odious: Offensive |
| Her odious remarks calling the PM a crazy, insane man, sent the entire house in a tizzy, with many members baying for her head. |
| Parsimonious: Stingy |
| He is extremely parsimonious with praise, even the most wonderful of musical shows will get only a "good" from him, given his seemingly high standards. |
| Pedagogy: The art, science, or profession of teaching |
| Pedagogy is not just delivering certain facts and skills in the class, rather a teacher’s much more important job is to create a love for the subject among students. |
| Rife: Plentiful |
| Bribery and corruption in the government services are rife in our country. |
| Sarcasm: A sneering remark |
| The sarcastic cartoons making fun of today’s politician seem to have hardly any impact on politicians or their ways of working. |
| Unflappable: Calm |
| Anybody else in his place would have broken down completely under the burden of so many sufferings, but his unflappable attitude is simply amazing. |
| Voluble: Having great fluency in speaking |
| She is such a voluble speaker that people appreciate her for this quality of hers. |
