Advanced Vocabulary

Gamut
The complete
range of something

I am used to expressing whole gamut of emo5ons

from happiness to sorrow in my stories
Evasive
Not honest or direct,
Non-commi;al

She gave an evasive answer when I

confronted her

 Stale

Not fresh,
Boring

Viewers were bored by the stale story line

of his new movie


 STARTLE

to get surprise or
frighten

A sudden bright light in my

study room startled me

 FLAGITIOUS.
marked by scandalous
crime or vice

He was arrested and charged with

spousal abuse because of his
agi:ous behavior.

Cacophony
Harsh sound

The cacophony of his wife shouting

at him woke me up from sleep
 Dame
A mature
women

The dames of our society take

all the decision

 Gauze
- a very thin cloth : cloth so thin that you
can see through it
- loosely woven co;on that is used as a
bandage

The nurse covered my wound with a

small gauze

 Gauche
Socially
Awkward,
maladroit

His gauche table manners irritate me, especially

when she tries to talk with his mouth full.


Sinister
Evil, Wicked

During the sentencing hearing, the judge called

the serial killer the most sinister man he had
ever met.

Egregious
Very bad & easily
noticed

the student's exam was marred by a number

of egregious errors in spelling


Seman5cs
The study of the
meanings of words
and phrases in
language

Because I came from a dierent culture than

Manish, I did not always grasp the seman:cs of
the words Manish spoke.

 Biopsy
an examina:on of :ssue
removed from a living
body to discover the
presence, cause, or extent
of a disease.



My grandmother had a bone marrow
biopsy yesterday
Paragon
a person or thing
viewed as a model
of excellence.


Dipa Karmakar is a paragon of courage for
every Indian aspiring to be a gymnast
 Vicious
Cruel,
merciless


The police warned us that a vicious killer
has escaped the prison
 Byzan5ne
(of a system or situa5on)
excessively complicated,
and typically involving a
great deal of
administra5ve detail.




Indian

income tax system is
byzantine
Anachronism

the ac:on of
aJribu:ng something
to a period to which it
does not belong.


Kun:: Look at the clock.
Arjun: The clock has stricken three

Philanderer
a man who readily or
frequently enters into
casual sexual
rela5onships with
women; a womanizer.


Bland was an inveterate philanderer who before

marriage had also had a son by his mother's
companion.

Perfunctory
(of an ac:on)
carried out without
real interest,
feeling, or eort.


He wanted to be the main lead in the play but when he

was given a subordinate role then he completed the act
in a perfunctory manner.


Confront
come face to face
with (someone) with
hos5le or
argumenta5ve
intent.

Russian government needs to confront the

doping issue of their athletes immediately

Humbug

language or behavior
that is false or meant to
deceive people

The story of the ghost
and UFOs is all humbug,

isn't it?




bewitch
: to use magic to make
someone do, think, or say
something : to put
(someone) under a spell




Her dressing and makeup bewitched the
audience.

Erontery
Insolent
behaviour, Rude,
arrogant

My chea:ng husband has the erontery to

accuse me of being disloyal to him.

Sclero5c
becoming rigid and
unresponsive; losing
the ability to adapt.

Are things not going to change? Is society

so sclero5c as to be unable to adapt sensibly to
such situa:ons?.

 Venal
Corrupt, crooked

The venal policeman accepted the bribe oered

him by the speeding motorist whom he had
stopped

 Juxtapose
place or deal with close
together for
contras:ng eect.

Dreams of happiness were

oVen juxtaposed with dreams of sadness.

CONSTERNATION

abject fear, alarm,
bewilderment,
confusion, dismay,
dread, fright, panic,

The earthquakes in Gujarat have lled the en:re

na:on with consterna:on.


 Whimsical
amusing or Comical

Unpredictable,
Capricious

The whimsical music made me feel like
a liJle kid again.

 EXQUISITE
Beau5ful,Lovely

The wedding cake was absolutely exquisite, unlike any
he had seen before.

Impecunious
having li;le or no
money.



Since I grew up in an impecunious

household, I know a great deal about
surviving on very liJle.
 Sanguine
Hopeful, Bullish,
Buoyant

The underworld watched his drug-carrying

with the most sanguine expecta:ons.

 Sangfroid
Calm, Aplomb
composure or coolness
shown in danger or under
trying circumstances.



Even as the building fell around him, the reman
maintained his sangfroid and rescued the liJle
girl.


Onerous

Requiring lot of eort, cumbersome,

taxing, arduous, strenuous

My du5es weren't onerous; I only had to

greet the guests

Tribula5on
: unhappiness,
pain, or suering



Her son's illness has been a source of
great tribula(on.

 Plummet
fall or drop straight
down at high speed.




The plane lost its balance and
plummeted to the ground
 Plenitude
An abundance of
something

She has gathered a plenitude of

informa:on on the topic.

 Probity

the quality of having
strong moral principles;
honesty and decency.



An example of probity is a quality of
that one expects to see in a policeman.


 Vitiate
Spoil or impair the
quality or eciency
of.



The assets of our government banks
have been vitiated by bad loans

Untoward
unexpected and
inappropriate or
inconvenient.

I wished him happy journey hoping

nothing untoward happens to his plans

Zeitgeist
the dening spirit or
mood of a par5cular
period of history as
shown by the ideas
and beliefs of the
5me.

His songs perfectly captured

the zeitgeist of 1940s in India.

 Chary
cau5ously or
suspiciously
reluctant to do
something,
Circumspect

An example of chary is someone who

always drives just below the speed limit.


Truculent
Eager or quick to argue
or ght; aggressively
deant.

They behaved in the most high-

handed, brutal and truculent manner.


 Kowtow

Act in an
excessively
subservient
manner.

If you do not kowtow to the boss, he

will never give you a promo:on at

work.
Advanced Vocabulary