Vocabulary Set – 71

1. Heckle – To question harshly.

Synonyms:  Harass, bother, torment, annoy

Antonyms: Support, encourage, promote, applaud

Usage: She was forced to leave the village after being heckled by some locals.

 

2. Disdain – A feeling of contempt or scorn.

Synonyms: Despise, sneer, neglect, disparage

Antonyms: Respect, sympathy, esteem, regard

Usage: The scheme’s worst flaw is it’s disdain for hungry children.

 

3. Convoluted – Complex, intricate or complicated.

Synonyms:  confused, bewildering, baffling, puzzling, perplexing

Antonyms: simple, straightforward

Usage: Indian bureaucrats love programmes of this kind because they are centralised, convoluted and leaky.

 

4. Sneer – To utter with a grimace or contemptuous expression.

Synonyms: smirk, snicker, snigger, disdain, jibe, taunt, insult

Antonyms: Praise, compliment, respect

Usage: Modi openly expressed his contempt for MGNREGA but then proceeded to increase it’s budget while congress leaders sneered from the sidelines.

 

5. Exalt – To hold in high esteem.

Synonyms: glorify, extol, praise, acclaim, elevate, promote, raise

Antonyms: Decry, condemn, degrade, criticise, denounce, castigate

Usage: In the exalted realms we inhibit, we like to ponder over bigger issues of politics and governance.

 

6. Subvert – To overthrow or to ruin utterly.

Synonyms: destabilize, unsettle, overthrow, overturn

Antonyms: Uphold, bolster, enhance, ameliorate, comply, obey

Usage: The Trump administration is determined to subvert it as part of its war on women’s reproductive rights.

 

7. Brazen – Shamelessly shocking and offensive.

Synonyms: impudent, barefaced, immodest, unblushing, bold

Antonyms: Shy, timid, gentle, meek

Usage: This argument is as weak as it is ideologically brazen.

 

8. Precinct – An enclosed space having defined limits, normally marked by walls.

Synonyms: Boundary, limits, enclosure, close

Antonyms: Environment, rural, varnish, wilderness, verge

Usage: The crime is on rise in the north of city because there are no police to protect the precinct.

 

9. Lurid – Presented in vividly shocking or sensational terms.

Synonyms: melodramatic, exaggerated, overdramatized, extravagant

Antonyms: Humble, modest, dull, clean, mild, sanguine

Usage: The more lurid details of the massacre were too frightening for the children.

 

10. Acidulous – slightly sour

Synonyms: Acidic, sharp, sarcastic, acrimonious

Antonyms: Sweet, kind, nice, gentle, luscious, affable

Usage: Because the salesclerk spoke to me in an acidulous tone, I chose to take my business elsewhere.

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