Vocabulary in News

lacklustre: (adj.) dull, lifeless, dead, uninteresting

Cotton market continued to witness lacklustre trading on the second consecutive day.
scatty: (adj.) disorderly, erratic, haphazard
Salman sees himself as vaguely uneducated and slightly scatty.
eccentric: (adj.) anomalous, capricious, idiosyncratic, singular
As students, we have all experienced our fair share of eccentric teachers and professors.
elude: (v) avoid, escape, dodge, evade, outwit
Musharraf should not be allowed to elude the serious legal proceedings against him.
bowdlerise: (v) edit, expurgate, redact
She had to bowdlerise the manuscript so it could be approved for publication.
becalmed: (adj.) steadied, composed, quiet
The fear belies that Pakistan only boasts of becalmed borderlands.
perspicacious: (adj.) sagacious, sapient, judicious
The perspicacious lawyer impressed the judge and the jury very easily.
ignominy: (n) shame, disgrace, sordidness
Fake degrees heap ignominy on former lawmakers.
jitters: (n) anxiety, heebie-jeebies, tenseness, willies
Pakistan's successful run in the series has given jitters to India.
astute: (adj.) clever, savvy, shrewd
Mr Gilani representing Pakistan People Party is an astute politician.
wobble: (v) careen, flounder, lurch, oscillate
While other big names wobbled at the US Open, Venus Williams made it through.
vie: (v) compete, contend, contest
69 candidates are vying for 10 reserved seats of non-Muslims.
henpecked: (adj.) compliant, uxorious, obedient, wife-ridden
Aitzaz says he is also henpecked like many.
pauper: (n) destitute, have-not, indigent, mendicant
Aslam lost his home, paddy and sugarcane which rendered him a pauper.
sadistic: (adj.) barbarous, brutal, fiendish, perverse, vicious

Mobs get sadistic when executing their

targets.
doyen: (n) authority, dignitary, professor, senior
Rich tribute was paid to doyen of Sindh studies.
pep: (n) vim, vigour, gusto, hardihood, verve, vivacity
I, with all my style and pep, can't get a man my equal.

Vocabulary Tests
CHOOSE THE SYNONYMS:
1. SUMPTUOUS
(a) Poor
(b) Mean
(c) Costly (d) Miserly
2. ALACRITY
(a) Reluctance (b) Apathy
(c) Briskness (d) Dismay
3. IMPOSTOR
(a) Feeble (b) Impotent
(c) Prostrate (d) Cheat
4. OPULENT
(a) Audacious (b) Rich
(c) Passive (d) Feminist
5. UNPREPOSSESSING
(a) Ugly
(b) Arrogant
(c) Personable (d) Didactic
6. TURBID
(a) Shiny
(b) Murky
(c) Pellucid (d) Petrified
7. POTABLE
(a) Bland
(b) Unsavory
(c) Drinkable (d) Fertile
8. FLAGRANT
(a) Blatant (b) Docile
(c) Slanderous (d) Covert
9. TENUOUS

(a) Dark
(c) Weak

(b) Playful
(d) Strong

10. PAROCHIAL
(a) Cosmopolitan (b) Xenophobic
(c) Parsimonious (d) Belligerent
11. DESTITUTE
(a) Impoverished (b) Affluent
(c) Meticulous (d) Derelict
12. TACIT
(a) Tenacious (b) Ostensible
(c) Garrulous (d) Unspoken
13. PALLIATIVE
(a) Tyrannical (b) Overt
(c) Curative (d) Festive
14. SEDENTARY
(a) Disgraced (b) Tranquil
(c) Treacherous (d) Inactive
15. VIRTUOSO
(a) Talented (b) Inept
(c) Silent
(d) Verdant
CHOOSE THE ANTONYMS:
1. PERIPHRASTIC
(a) Concise (b) Circular
(c) Lengthy (d) Ardent
2. SPRIGHTLY
(a) Voluble (b) Nimble
(c) Sluggish (d) Hurried
3. TACITURN
(a) Spoken (b) Placatory
(c) Leisurely (d) Talkative
4. PROLIX
(a) Antediluvian (b) Terse
(c) Awkward (d) Belligerent
5. REVERE

(a) Convert (b) Accelerate

(c) Consider (d) Vilify
6. PLAUDIT
(a) Denunciation (b) Pleasure
(c) Honorary (d) Disgrace
7. DESULTORY
(a) Salacious (b) Cursory
(c) Assiduous (d) Asinine
8. CASTIGATE
(a) Incarcerate (b) Extol
(c) Remit
(d) Flatten
9. FASTIDIOUS
(a) Monotonous (b) Negligent
(c) Interminable (d) Aloof
10. EXECRATE
(a) Inter
(b) Devolve
(c) Revere (d) Negate
11. PONDEROUS
(a) Abiding (b) Deceased
(c) Dull
(d) Sprightly
12. NOXIOUS
(a) Affirmative (b) Diurnal
(c) Pungent (d) Innocuous
13. ESCHEW
(a) Embrace (b) Gulp
(c) Reject (d) Transgress
14. UNWARRANTED
(a) Guaranteed (b) Justified
(c) Practiced (d) Jaundiced
15. VAGARIES
(a) Certainties (b) Depressions
(c) Miracles (d) Probabilities