1. Clink – bang against, ring Synonyms: chink, clang, jangle, jingle, sound Usage: The rhythm of the train is accompanied by the calming sound of tea glasses clinking on the table of the compartment.   2. Ghoulish – hideous, scary Synonyms: demonic, frightening, ghastly, gruesome, horrible, macabre Antonyms: angelic, cheerful, pleasant Usage: A ghoulish web page lists the inmates admitted to Texas’s death […]

1. Subaltern – lower in rank Synonyms: assistant, inferior, subordinate Antonyms: superior Usage: Only one was executed, a poor, uneducated subaltern military officer.   2. Caprice – a sudden and unaccountable change of mood or behaviour. Synonyms: contrariety, crotchet, fickleness, quirk, freak, crotchet Antonyms: normality, constancy, constant Usage: Her caprices made his life impossible   3. Bellwether – a person or thing that shows

1. Mockery – teasing and contemptuous language Synonyms: ridicule, derision, sneering, contempt, scorn, scoffing, sarcasm Antonyms: honesty, openness, flattery, praise, respect Usage: Her unusual fashion sense makes her a topic of mockery at school.   2. Erroneous – wrong; incorrect. Synonyms: inaccurate, imprecise, invalid, untrue, fallacious, askew Antonyms: accurate, correct, genuine Usage: Employers sometimes make erroneous assumptions   3. Denigrate – to assault someone’s character

1. Umbrage – offence or annoyance. Synonyms: chagrin, exasperation, fury, indignation, resentment, pique Antonyms: cheer, comfort, delight, enjoyment Usage: She took umbrage at his remarks   2. Intemperate – having or showing a lack of self-control Synonyms: immoderate, excessive, undue, inordinate, unreasonable Antonyms: moderate Usage: John has intemperate mood swings he cannot seem to control.   3. Sojourn – a temporary stay. Synonyms: layover, stopover,

1. Poignant – evoking a keen sense of sadness or regret. Synonyms: pathetic, sentimental, agitating, agonizing, distressing, perturbing Antonyms: cheerful, happy, indifferent, unaffecting Usage: The poignant story of an Agra family.   2. Debilitate – make (someone) very weak and infirm. Synonyms: enervated, enfeebled, incapacitated, sapped, weakened, decrepit Antonyms: active, energized, invigorated, restored Usage: He was severely debilitated by a stomach upset.  

1. Spike – a sharp increase in the magnitude or concentration of something. Synonyms: enlargement, multiplication, elevation, swelling, augmentation Antonyms: decrease, reduction Usage: The oil price spike   2. Tandem – one following or behind the other Synonyms: together, concurrently, collectively, concurrence Antonyms: single Usage: They moved in tandem without looking at each other, their movements controlled and efficient.   3. Calibrate – to determine,

1. Defiant – open disregard, showing daring or bold disobedience Synonyms: intransigent, resistant, obstinate, uncooperative, recalcitrant, confrontational, belligerent, pugnacious Antonyms: apologetic, cooperative, acquiescent Usage: India warns of consequences if Jadhav is hanged, Pakistan defiant.   2. Stifle – make (someone) unable to breathe properly; suffocate. Synonyms: muzzle, repress, smother, squelch, strangle, suffocate, asphyxiate Antonyms: allow, encourage, loose, release Usage: Because of the stifling chains,

1. Fraught – filled with (something undesirable) Synonyms: charged, replete, abounding, attended, bristling, laden, stuffed Antonyms: empty Usage: Their world is fraught with danger.   2. Corroborate – confirm or give support to (a statement, theory, or finding). Synonyms: authenticate, substantiate, validate, certify, endorse, establish Antonyms: disprove, invalidate, veto, contradict Usage: I prayed my friend would corroborate the lie I told my parents!

1. Rambunctious – difficult to control or handle Synonyms: boisterous, noisy, raucous, rowdy, unruly, rough, rude, termagant Antonyms: restrained, silent, introverted, meek Usage: It was a rambunctious party, and one could find people from every walks of life joining in without having any kind of discomfort.   2. Mete – dispense or allot justice, a punishment, or harsh treatment. Synonyms: dispense, apportion,

1. Riposte – a quick, clever reply to an insult or criticism. Synonyms: maneuver, retort, counter, rejoinder, sally,  retaliation Antonyms: question, request Usage: She did a brilliant riposte to an insult.   2. fait accompli – an accomplished fact; a thing already done Synonyms: done deed,  star grim reality, irreversible accomplishment Usage: The results were presented to shareholders as a fait accompli  

1. Votary – a devoted follower, adherent, or advocate of someone or something. Synonyms: addict, adherent, admirer, aficionado, amateur, disciple, zealot Antonyms: critic, detractor, enemy, opponent Usage: He was a votary of John Keats   2. Totter – move in a feeble or unsteady way; be insecure or about to fail. Synonyms: stagger, stumble, dodder, shuffle, shamble, falter, toddle, lurch Antonyms: be still,

1. Efficacy – the ability to produce a desired or intended result. Synonyms: adequacy, competence, effectiveness, potency, virtue, capableness Antonyms: enervation, failure, idleness, impotence, inactivity Usage: The efficacy of the RBI’s liquidity management toolkit will impinge on another key concern: inflation.   2. Impinge – have an effect, especially a negative one. Synonyms: encroach, infringe, intrude, violate, meddle, invade Antonyms: dodge, avoid

1. Inkling – a slight knowledge or suspicion; a hint Synonyms: hunch, impression, indication, insinuation, intimation Antonyms: information Usage: The records give us an inkling of how people saw the world.   2. Accredit – give credit to (someone) for something. Synonyms: ascribe, refer, authorize, attribute Antonyms: deny, disapprove, reject Usage: He was accredited with being one of the world’s fastest sprinters   3. Topple –

1. Acclimate – accustomed to a new climate or environment; adapt. Synonyms: accomodate, habituate, acculture, climatize Antonyms: disarrange, neglect, dislocate Usage: It will take a while for me to acclimate to the three-hour time difference.   2. Ludicrous – so foolish, unreasonable, or out of place as to be amusing. Synonyms: bizarre, grotesque, incongruous, outlandish, preposterous Antonyms: reasonable, sensible, tragic Usage: The ludicrous movie

1. Schism – a split or division between strongly opposed sections or parties Synonyms: alienation, discord, disunion, faction, disagreement Antonyms: closure, harmony, conformity, juncture Usage: The widening schism between Church leaders and politicians   2. Penury – the state of being very poor; extreme poverty. Synonyms: : impoverishment, indigence, destitution, privation, deprivation Antonyms: penty, wealth, sufficiency Usage: He couldn’t face another year of