1. Modicum – limited quantity
Synonyms: iota, particle, speck, fragment, scrap, crumb, grain
Antonyms: abundance, surplus, barrel, multitude, cascade
Usage: Post 2014, the BJP Gujarat state unit regained a modicum of autonomy.
2. Interminable – Existing or occurring without interruption or end.
Synonyms: endless, never-ending, unending, everlasting, ceaseless, unceasing, incessant, constant
Antonyms: finite, brief, short, concise, bounded, intermittent, circumscribe
Usage: This case absorbed the nation quite interminably.
3. Splinter – A group formed by splitting off from a larger membership; a faction.
Synonyms: fragment, shatter, fracture, break, smash, split, disintegrate
Antonyms: mend, whole, activate, homogenize, fix
Usage: A splinter group held power in a minority government supported by Congress.
4. Dereliction – willful neglect of one’s duty.
Synonyms: failure, negligence, delinquency, omission, abandonment, oversight
Antonyms: fulfillment, caution, observance, attentiveness
Usage: The new soldier did not clean his cabin and was scolded for dereliction and disobedience.
5. Conjecture – A supposition based upon incomplete evidence; a hypothesis.
Synonyms: guess, speculation, surmise, fancy, notion, belief, suspicion, presumption,
Antonyms: fact, interpret, certainty, computation, criterion
Usage: Facts went unrecorded and were replaced by conjecture with alarming rapidity.
6. Parable – A short narrative illustrating a lesson by comparison or analogy.
Synonyms: fable, allegory, anecdote, narrative, exemplum
Antonyms: factual
Usage: The Aarushi murder case became a parable of modern life in India.
7. Palimpsest – A thing which displays evidence of the alteration it has experienced
Synonyms: manuscript, environment, circumstance, climate, certificate
Usage: While the tradition has changed over time, it is still a palimpsest of our family’s history.
8. Bungle – A botched or incompetently handled situation.
Synonyms: mishandle, mismanage, botch, spoil, mar, ruin
Antonyms: succeed in, manage successfully
Usage: The only known perpetrator is a bungled investigation in Aarushi murder case.
9. Shackle – A restraint on one’s action, activity, or progress.
Synonyms: manacle, fetter, trammel, restrain, confine, restrict
Antonyms: unloose, cultivate, encourage
Usage: It is an opportunity to break the shackles of patriarchy.
10. Anchorage – Something on which one may depend for security; ground of trust.
Usage: Strong local anchorage, deep ties with local business community have always been the strengths of BJP.