| Alacrity: Liveliness and eagerness |
| He accepted the job offer with alacrity. |
| Belittle: Express a negative opinion of |
| He belittled his subordinates daily. |
| Belligerent: Characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight |
| The boxer’s belligerent looks scared his opponents. |
| Bristle: Rise up as in fear |
| The dog’s fur bristled on seeing the big cat. |
| Disdain: Reject with contempt |
| He disdainfully rejected his brother’s offer of help. |
| Dregs: Residue or remains |
| The dregs left in the room of the victim showed traces of sleeping pills. |
| Duress: Compulsory force or threat |
| The witness confessed under duress. |
| Euphemism: An inoffensive or indirect expression |
| ‘Passed away’ is just a euphemism for saying someone has died. |
| Feint: Deceive by a mock action |
| The midfielder feinted to launch a kick towards the goalkeeper. |
| Flagrant: shockingly noticeable or evident, glaring |
| There was flagrant violation of human rights during the British rule. |
| Inexorable: Unyielding, unalterable |
| Shyama inexorably ignored his pleas. |
| Laceration: A torn ragged wound |
| He had lacerations on feet because he was scrambling through the bushes earlier in the day. |
| Octogenarian: Being from 80 to 89 years old |
| The octogenarian celebrated his birthday in style with his family. |
| Promulgate: State or announce |
| His promulgation of the policy proved to be immature and he had to take it back under public pressure. |
| Pugnacious: Combative in nature |
| Bodyguards are generally pugnacious in nature. |
| Rampant: Unrestrained and violent |
| There was a rampant growth of weeds during the monsoon. |
| Repudiate: Refuse to acknowledge |
| The woman repudiated the divorce settlement she had finalized with her estranged husband. |
| Scoff: Laugh at with contempt and derision |
| There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t scoff at. He was simply an irritated old buffoon. |
| Scurrilous: Given to the use of vulgar, coarse, or abusive language |
| Reality TV shows, such as Big Brother, are a mixture of nothing else but glamour and scurrilous language. |
| Sordid: Morally degraded |
| The sordid details of the case left nothing to imagination. |
