General Words

The set of general words has been especially designed to not

just help you prepare for different spelling challenges, but also
understand various usages of words in the English language as
per their parts of speech. Some of these words are crucial
because of their function in that they are either nouns, verbs,
adjectives, pronouns, prepositions, or even proper nouns.

But there’s more. Sprinkled across general words are fun words
such as those with double consonants, more than one double
letter, and multiple vowels, words which are commonly
misspelled and mispronounced, long, and onomatopoeic words.
These will give you a fresh lens to look at the very words you
know commonly, but did not think of as challenging or
interesting.

In all, General Words are here to amaze you, surprise you,

educate you, and push your boundaries. We hope you have
some fun with them!
 Abraham
Abbreviation Abhorrent Abreast
Lincoln

Abscess Absurd Access Accommodate

Acoustic Actualise Acquit Acupuncture

Addressee Adelaide Adieu Adjacent

Adulthood Advice Aeon Aeronautical

Aesthetically Agency Aggressive Aizawl

Albeit Albert Einstein Allegory Almond

Alumnus Amaravati Amass Amateur

Amedeo
Anaemia Anticipation Antigua
Avogadro

Apostrophe Appalled Append Apprehension

Apprentice Approach Aqueous Archimedes

Ariana Grande Aristotle Assort Assumption

Asterisk Atheist Attempt Attila

Audio Aureole Automobile Autopsy

Awesome Awry Badger Barrage

 Bassoon Batten Beetle Behaviour

Beijing Belch Believe Benediction

Benefactor Bereave Bewildered Blare

Blouse Boisterously Breath Briefcase

Brisbane Budapest Buenos Aires Bungee

Bury Calisthenics Callous Cameo

Cancellation Cannon Cappuccino Cardiologist

Carelessness Caribbean Cataclysmic Ceased

Celery Cemetery Chandigarh Changeable

Christopher
Chassis Chomp Chortle
Columbus

Cincinnati Classic Cleave Clip-clop

Cock-a-doodle-
Cloistered Clutch Cobblestones
do

Cocoon Colorado Column Commissary

Commodity Composition Conscience Consecrate

Consensus Consequence Contemporary Contemptuous

Conversation Coolly Cough Coup

Cristiano
Courage Crabbiness Criticism
Ronaldo
Daniel Gabriel
Crumple Cuttack Cynical
Fahrenheit

Data Debonair Debut Decision

Decommission Decree Deferential Definitely

Dehumidifier Determination Diffusion Dignity

Dilapidated Diminish Disconcerted Discourage

Dispose Distribution Divorce Djibouti

Domestic Doubt Dressage Dumbbell

Duress Eagle Ear-splitting Eavesdropper

Eccentric Echelon Edinburgh Effervescence

Efficiency Emaciated Embarrass Emphasis

Enlighten Epitome Equation Equilibrium

Especially Essentially Esteem Euclid

Eulogy Eureka Exhilarate Fabulousness

 Fahrenheit Falklands Familiarises Fantastical

Fascinated Filial Fishhook Flotation

Fluorocarbon Foci Forbidden Foreign

Francis Franklin
Foretell Funeral
Beaufort Roosevelt

Fuzzball Gallant Gangtok Gauge

Genre Geologically George Orwell Gesticulate

Gesticulates Gigantic Glitch Gnaw

Gottlieb Wilhelm
Gooseberry Gourd Government
Daimler

Grammatical Greenwich Gregarious Grieving

Guarantee Guard Guidance Guinness

Habitual Haddock Hallucinate Health

Heinrich Rudolf
Heave Heinous Hiccupped
Hertz

Hidden Hideous Hierarchy Hillbilly

Icky Iconoclastic Illinois Imbibe

Imbue Immaterial Imminent Immolate

Improvement Improvidence Inchoate Independent

Indispensable Indubitable Industrious Infiltrators

Inflation Infringe Installation Introduction

Iron Irreverently Itchy Jittery

Johann von
John Lennon Judicious Julius Caesar
Goethe

Justin Bieber Juvenile Knock Laconic

Language Languid Languor Latter

Legitimately Leisure Length Leo Tolstoy

Leonardo da
Lexicographer Liaison Liechtenstein
Vinci

Liege Lionel Messi Literate Louis Pasteur

Ludwig van
Lyrical Macabre Maintenance
Beethoven
Maria
Manufacturer Manumit Marilyn Monroe
Montessori

Masquerade Massachusetts Massage Mayonnaise

Measly Measurement Meghan Markle Michael Faraday

Migrate Miniature Minsk Minuscule

Miscellaneous Misspell Monstrosities Morass

Morocco Moult Murmur Murder

Naive Nauseating Necessitating Neil Armstrong

Nephew Newark Nonchalant Northeasterlies

Obituary Objectifying Obnoxious Observational

Obstruct Occupy Occurrence Occurring

Oklahoma Onerous Onion Ooze

Opaque Opportunity Oprah Winfrey Oscar Wilde

Ouija Pablo Picasso Pageant Paltry

Paradigm Parallax Patience Payoff

Pebbles Pecuniary Pekoe Penniless

Pennsylvania Perpetual Perseverance Personnel

Perspective Philippines Plato Plenitude

Pneumonia Podia Ponder Precede

Prescribe Probably Procession Proclamations

Professionally Prohibit Puducherry Puerto Rico

Punctilious Pythagoras Quasi Quirky

Ramon
Quite Raspberry Rattan
Magsaysay

Razzmatazz Receipt Received Recollect

Reconnaissance Recur Referred Relieved

Relinquish Renege Renounce Requisitioned

Reside Resume Resuscitate Revenue

Rheumatoid Rhythm Rookie Roy Jacuzzi

Rustle Sally Salmon San Diego

San Francisco Satiate Schedule Scissors

Scourge Seattle Separate Sequoia

Serenade Seychelles Shatter Shillong

Shredded Shush Siege Silvassa

Sloppiness Sluggish Smitten Snarl

Socrates Squeak Statisticians Stereotypical

Stimulate Straddle Strength Strum

Stubbed Stupefaction Subtle Successor

Succulent Suede Surmise Tenet

Tentacle Therapeutic Thiruvananthapuram Thrall

Threshold Throb Throttlebottom Tincture

Tomb Transcription Treatise Tremble

Triathlon Tuition Turquoise Tuvalu

Typeset Tyranny Unease Unequivocally

Union Unique Unsightly Unwrapped

Uproar Utile Utopia Utter

Uvula Vacuum Vancouver Vehicle

Verbiage Versailles Vestibule Vienna

Villain Voodoo Wariness Wednesday

Winston
Weird Wheeze Whizz
Churchill

Withdraw Withhold Yolk Zealous

 General Words (Sets)

Some words are more fun, more interesting, and more relevant
when they have company!

In this list are such fascinating pairs (or trios) of words which
become more fun when clubbed together with others. These
include homophones (two or more words having the same
pronunciation but different spellings), words with a one-letter
difference, and false friends (words that have different
meanings but similar spellings or sounds and thus can be
confused with others). There are also synonyms (words which
have similar meanings) and antonyms (words which have
opposite meanings).

General Words (Sets) are fun and challenging not only because
of their spelling variations, but also the added mysterious
relationship that they share with each other. As they say, the
more the merrier, right?
 Addition -
Abject - Object Accept - Except Advice - Advise
Edition
Aesthetic - Affluence - Agreeable -
Air - Heir
Artistic Influence Pleasant
Allusion - Amoral - Amused -
Altar - Alter
Illusion Immoral Bemused
Apprehend -
Argot - Jargon Artificial - Fake Assure - Ensure
Comprehend
Attractive - Attribute - Auspicious -
Aural - Oral
Beautiful Characteristic Suspicious
Awesome - Babbling -
Awful - Terrible Beside - Besides
Impressive Blabbing
Bewilder - Brave -
Born - Borne Carat - Carrot
Perplex Courageous
Cease - Cheap -
Cede - Seed Censor - Sensor
Terminate Inexpensive
Claimed - Commit - Compose - Composure -
Clammed Perpetrate Comprise Equanimity
Confirmation - Contract - Cornerstone - Courteous -
Conformation Covenant Focus Polite
Currant - Debacle –
Dairy - Diary Device - Devise
Current Fiasco
Dilemma - Discord - Discreet -
Digit - Finger
Quandary Dissension Discrete
Disinterested - Disperse - Distressed - Dominant -
Uninterested Scatter Disturbed Dominate
Easy – Eminent -
Earn - Urn Elicit - Illicit
Effortless Imminent
Envelop - Farther –
Evoke - Invoke Feasible - Viable
Envelope Further
 Forethought -
Flair - Flare Flaunt - Flout Fourth - Forth
Premeditation
Frightened - Gorilla –
Gleam - Sparkle Grisly - Grizzly
Scared Guerrilla
Guardian - Idiosyncrasy -
Heal - Heel Heard - Herd
Protector Mannerism
Impartial - Intolerance -
Idle - Idol Imply - Infer
Objective Xenophobia
Lightening - Median -
Lesson - Lessen Marital - Martial
Lightning Medium
Melancholy - Obstinate -
Moral - Morale Naval - Navel
Unhappy Stubborn
Orthodoxy - Persistent -
Pain - Pane Pedal - Peddle
Strictness Unrelenting
Petrified - Plan - Plain - Powder - Precede -
Putrefied Plane Pulverise Proceed
Predisposition - Preposition - Rational -
Real - Reel
Tendency Proposition Rationale
Rescind - Respectfully -
Retch - Wretch Road - Rode
Revoke Respectively
Sceptic – Stationary -
Sole - Soul Straight - Strait
Septic Stationery
Subsequent -
Suit - Suite Suite - Sweet Teas - Tease
Successive
Thorough - Toad - Toed -
Their - There Tide - Tied
Through Towed
Wander -
Weak - Week Whether- Wither Which - Witch
Wonder
Whimper -
Whistle - Whittle Wood - Would Wrath - Wreath
Whisper
 Loan Words
The English language is much enriched on account of its ability
and flexibility to borrow words from a wide variety of languages
from around the world. In fact, one of the reasons why English
spelling is so wickedly random is because it easily borrows loan
words and adds its own twists – sometimes by altering spelling,
more frequently by tweaking pronunciation.

Most other languages, especially European ones from which

English draws most of its loan words, have far more regular rules
governing spelling and pronunciation. These may manifest
themselves in affixes (including prefixes and suffixes), most
evident in words of Greek or Latin origin, or in “letter clusters”,
which are typical of specific languages, and thus help us with
identifying origins, and linking sounds and spellings.

Affixes are sections of words that are attached to other words

at the beginning (prefix), the end (suffix) in the middle (infix), at
both ends (circumfix) and in a host of other ways. Many affixes
in English are of classical origin, which means they derive from
Greek or Latin.

Here are a few examples of Greek and Latin affixes, plus a host
of letter clusters from French, German, Italian and Spanish. In
some cases, an English word is provided with some letters
underlined, to illustrate the sound that the letter or letters
would make in English. All the examples used are words used
regularly in English.
Greek Affixes Loan Word Examples Meaning in English
Tele- Television, telepathy, Over a long distance,
telescope from far
Syn- (sym-) Synergy, syllogism, United, acting or
symmetry considered together
Bio- Biology Life
Geo- Geology Earth
-logy Biology Study of
-metry Geometry Measurement
-cracy Democracy, aristocracy Power or rule
-graphy Geography, Calligraphy Writing
-ism Racism, feminism State, condition, doctrine
Latin Affixes Loan Word Meaning in English
Omni- Omnipresent Everywhere, all
Super/sur- Superlative, surreal over, above, beyond,
greater in quality
Ante-/post- Anterior, posterior In front of or prior
to/behind or after
French letter clusters Loan Word Meaning in English
-eau (oh) Plateau Plateau, platter
Bureau Bureau
en/an (nasal ‘on’) En route On the way
Avant-garde Ahead of its time
oi (wa) Voilà! There!
Toilette Toilet
-eur (euhr) / -euse (euhz) Connoisseur Expert
Masseur/Masseuse Massage artist
-et (eh)/ ette (ett) Sachet Sachet
Marionette Puppet
-gn- (nya) Vignette Comic strip frame
ou (oo), g (pleasure) Rouge Rouge or blusher
Spanish letter clusters Loan Word Meaning in English
-ado (ah-doh) Tornado Tornado
Aficionado Lover, fan
ñ (nya), -ito/-ita (ito/ita) Señorita Young girl or lady
 German letter clusters Loan Word Meaning in English
-sch (sh) Weltanschauung World view based on
one’s history, geography,
culture
-tsch (ch) Kitsch Kitsch

-tz (ts) Ersatz Replacement

Glitz Glitz
-ch- (kh) Achtung! Attention!
Dachshund Breed of dog
Italian letter clusters Loan Word Meaning in English
-to (toe) Gelato Ice cream
Staccato Staccato
-tto (ttoe) Cornetto Horn-shaped ice cream
ghe/ghi (gay/ buggy) Ghetto cone
Neighbourhood occupied
by a minority group
-zz- (ts/dz) Pizza Pizza
Terrazzo Mosaic stone tiling or
flooring

The words in this list are drawn not just from the above languages
but also Hebrew, Sanskrit, east Asian languages like Japanese,
Chinese, Korean, etc., middle eastern languages including Persian
and Arabic, Indian languages, and languages of indigenous
communities such as Native American, Maori, Roma, etc.
Additionally, this is not an exhaustive list. But we do hope it will
provide our young spellers a point of departure from which to
understand the roots of words, the origins of words, and the
frequently overlooked connections between spoken and written
words. Best of luck!
Abalone Adieu Aficionado Agitprop

Albatross Albinism Alfalfa Algebra

Allegory Altimeter Amicability Amok

Anchovy Angst Anime Antique

Antiquity Aquarium Aqueduct Architect

Arsenal Assassin Avatar Avocado

Azure Bagel Baksheesh Balcony

Ballet Bamboo Bandicoot Bankrupt

Barbecue Baritone Baroque Benefaction

Bestial Biscotti Blitz Bolshevik

Bonsai Borax Bossa Nova Bouquet

Boutique Breeze Broccoli Brogue

Brunette Bungalow Cameo Camphor

Cannibal Canoe Canyon Cappuccino

Capybara Caravan Caribou Cassava

 Casserole Celerity Chandelier Chauffeur

Chic Chihuahua Chipmunk Chipotle

Chopsticks Chowmein Chutney Cinch

Civet Clergy Cliché Cobalt

Cockroach Cocoa Comrade Concert

Consensus Coolie Copiously Corral

Corsac Cosmonaut Coyote Cummerbund

Cupidity Curator Cynic Dachshund

Dacoit Dengue Deodar Dervish

Dewan Dialogue Dinghy Dinosaur

Doppelgänger Durbar Edelweiss Embarrass

Enchilada Enthusiasm Entrepreneur Episode

Epistolary Epithet Eskimo Espresso

Ethics Expatriate Facade Falafel

Fiasco Filial Filibuster Flak

Flamenco Futon Gateau Gazelle

Gelato Gestapo Gesundheit Ghoul

Ginseng Gondola Gringo Guacamole

Guitar Gulag Haiku Hammock

Henna Hinterland Hippopotamus Hormone

Hurricane Hymn Hypnosis Inferior

Influenza Intelligentsia Jaundice Juggernaut

Kaput Karaoke Kayak Keening

Ketchup Kilim Kindergarten Kinetic

Kiosk Knapsack Koh-i-Noor Kookaburra

Kremlin Kumquat Lachrymal Lacquer

Lasagna Lascar Latte Lethargy

Lieutenant Lilac Limerick Logan

Longevity Loofah Loot Macho

Macramé Magazine Magnificent Maintenance

 Malaria Mammoth Manga Mantra

Markhor Mascara Matinee Mattress

Memorandum Mentor Milieu Mohair

Moksha Monsoon Mortuary Mosque

Muse Mustang Neutrino Nirvana

Obscurity Ointment Origami Pagoda

Palanquin Pangolin Paradoxical Parmesan

Partisan Pashmina Patio Pavlova

Pekoe Philosophy Phoney Picturesque

Pimento Pistachio Plantain Plunder

Pogrom Pomfret Poncho Popinjay

Potpourri Prattle Primeval Psychology

Puerile Quinoa Quintal Raccoon

Ramen Rattan Referendum Restaurant

Rheumatism Rhythm Rickshaw Ruble

 Saffron Samurai Sandalwood Sarcasm

Scampi Scenario Seance Sepoy

Sequin Seraglio Shack Shampoo

Sheikh Sherbet Silhouette Simultaneity

Slogan Sofa Sombrero Sonnet

Souffle Souvenir Soviet Spinach

Spritz Sputnik Squash Squaw

Stampede Sudoku Surveillance Sushi

Symphony Syrup Tactic Talc

Tamarind Tepee Teppanyaki Terrain

Thug Toboggan Tornado Tortilla

Tracheotomy Traitor Translucent Tremulous

Tsar Tycoon Typhoon Vanilla

Waltz Wanderlust Wasabi Wok

Wrangle Zenith Zoology Zucchini

 Words from Curriculum
and Current Affairs
Our school books are a rich source of words that pose writing
challenges, as teachers often realise whilst correcting test
papers. So words in this section help reinforce spellings,
meanings, and usage of terms that participants would anyway
encounter in their academics. A spell bee is a great way to have
fun while revisiting the syllabus!

These words have been taken from a collection of textbooks, all

for this category of students, and would be words encountered
by students whilst studying subjects as diverse as social
science, science, and mathematics.

Not only that, we have also included some relevant words for
you that you might come across in current affairs and news
articles of the times. If not, this is our way of reminding you that
current affairs and knowledge of the times are just as important
as your school textbooks and keeping you updated with what’s
happening around.
 Abdominal Abiotic Acclimatisation Acrylic

Adjacent Administrative Agnostic Alliance

Ambidextrous Amenities Ammonia Anachronism

Anaerobic Analysed Ancestors Anemometer

Aneurysm Anganwadi Animistic Annexation

Anthropology Antiquities Apartheid Apex

Aquifer Archaeologist Architectural Archival

Artifacts Assistance Astronauts Asymmetrical

Atmosphere Attorney Audience Auditorium

Autotroph Balsam Battery Bayou

Behemoth Bilateral Biogas Biomaterial

Biotic Bisector Brioche Broadcast

Bromeliad Businessperson Cadet Canopy

Capillary Carbohydrates Carbon dioxide Cardinal

Cartilage Cartographer Catamaran Celestial

 Celsius Censorship Centurion Charioteer

Chlorophyll Cholesterol Circuit Circumference

Citadel Clayey Coastal Coefficient

Cohort Committee Competition Component

Conclusion Condensation Conductor Congruent

Coniferous Consecutive Consignment Constituency

Constitution Consultancy Contamination Convection

Convex Coparcenary Correlations Cosmonaut

Councillor Crew Crustacean Crystallisation

Dakshin
Cueist Cybersecurity Cylinder
Gangotri

Decantation Decentralised Deciduous Deficiency

Deforestation Denominator Dialect Dialysis

Diameter Diaphragm Dichotomy Disarmament

Discrimination Diversity Documentary Dogma

Dynamics Dynasty Earthquake Election

Electromagnetic Eliminator Elliptical Embryo

Emissary Endangered Endogenic Endorsed

Environment Epicentre Equator Eruption

Eucalyptus Evaporation Excretion Exponent

Exporter Fabricated Faience Failure

Fibre Filament Filtration Financial

Flotilla Franchise Galvanisation Gametes

Garrison Genealogy Genome Geoid

Geological Geometry Geranium Germane

Gingivitis Ginning Glacier Glycerol

Gravitational Guinness Haemoglobin Hagiography

Heirloom Herbivores Heritage Himadri

Hinterland Holocaust Hospice Humidity

Humus Igneous Inaugurated Incisor

Indigenous Inequality Infiltration Initiative

 Insolation Insoluble Instrument Intelligence

Intentionally Irrigation Isosceles Janapada

Judicial Kilometres Knighthood Kshatriya

Labourer League Legislative Levees

Livelihood Loamy Loess Luminescence

Macrocosm Magnitude Mansabdar Manuscript

Masonry Median Medieval Megalith

Meridian Meteor Migration Militarism

Missile Monarchy Monsoon Moraines

Municipal Neutralisation Numerator Nutrients

Observatory Octagon Oesophagus Omnivores

Opaque Oscillation Ovule Oxygen

Palaeolithic Panchayat Pancreas Parallelogram

Parliamentarian Participation Partnered Pastoralists

Patwari Pelvic Pendulum Peninsula

 Pentagon Percolation Perimeter Photosynthesis

Pietra-dura Pistil Plateau Platelets

Pollination Polyester Prakrit Prejudice

Premier Presidential Primogeniture Prism

Privatisation Probability Procedural Progressive

Proteins Protractor Province Provincial

Pseudopodia Pungent Pyramid Quadrilateral

Reciprocal Recognised Reconnaissance Rectilinear

Recycling Reflection Regatta Respiration

Reticulate Rhombus Sacrifice Sanctuaries

Sanctuary Saprotrophic Sarpanch Satellites

Scalene Scouring Seclusion Sedimentary

Sedimentation Seismology Sepal Sericulture

Sewage Siblings Skeleton Sludge

Solstice Species Spectators Sphere

 Spherical Spiracles Sporangium Stamen

Stereotype Stethoscope Stomata Stratosphere

Stratospheric Stupa Submarines Succeeding

Successfully Survives Synthetic Technologies

Territory Thematic Trabeate Tracheae

Tranche Transpiration Transversal Trapezium

Treasure Tundra Typhoon Unanimously

Unprecedented Unveiled Upanishad Urethra

Vacuole Variable Vascular Venation

Vendor Vermicomposting Vertices Veteran

Vibrancy Victorious Villi Violation

Volcanism Weathering Whisperer Winnowing

Xylem Zygote
 Introduction to
Exercises
Participants of Mind Wars Spell Bee 2023 go through multiple
rounds before getting onto the stage, and there, too, are
required to spell several words before being adjudged Spell Bee
Champions. Additionally, each word to be spelled comes armed
with extra information intended to help participants. The assists
include:
• Part of speech
• Language of Origin
• Meaning or Description
• Usage in a sentence

But how does one make use of the above information? The
following exercises focus on each of these categories of
assistance so as to orient participants towards actually
benefiting from them.

We do wish to inform you that the exercises are illustrative, not

exhaustive. We would encourage participants to expand their
vocabulary not just in terms of words and their spellings, but
also function, form, etymology, semantics, and context/syntax.
We promise you that this kind of full immersion is thoroughly
exciting!
 Exercise I
Practise or Practice? Advise or advice? English words have a
great deal of flexibility in the ways they are used in sentences,
but often, a change in what function they perform sometimes
entails a small change in spelling. In other cases, it is context
that indicates function. The four parts of speech – nouns,
adjectives, verbs, and adverbs – perform distinct functions in a
sentence, and words frequently undergo changes in spelling
and form as they fulfil the functions of a different part of
speech. This exercise helps you navigate the tricky path of form
vis-à-vis function.

PS: As per British (and Indian) English, practise and advise are
verb forms, while practice and advice are noun forms
1. A good diet and regular exercise are essential for maintaining good _____.

Health Healthy Healthily Heal

2. I was _____ to hear that Mala's grandfather had taken part in the freedom
struggle.

Fascination Fascinated Fascinatedly Fascinate

3. I felt like the argument that humanity was destined to be doomed was inherently
_____.

Cynicism Cynical Cynically Cynic

4. When the brain _____ itself to less sleep while it is still expected to function, it
begins to slow down.

Habituates
Habituation Habitual Habitually
5. The film was _____ cheesy, but it was a feel-good watch.

Nauseatingly Nausea Nauseating Nauseate

6. It was not my intention to _____ her work, but my words may have been too
harsh.

Criticism Criticise Critically Criticisable

7. The _____ of the Earth's circumference took many years, but finally proved that
Earth is rather plumper at the equator than it is at the poles.

Measure Measured Measurement Measurably

8. A single look at the bookshelf revealed a _____ number of books covering a

variety of subjects.

Bewilder Bewilderment Bewilderedly Bewildering

9. She _____ her boredom at home during lockdown by painting and reading
books.

Relieve Relievedly Relieved Relief

10. The students' _____ stemming from their newfound independence often made
them reckless.

Exhilarate Exhilaration Exhilarated Exhilaratingly

11. The lady almost _____ controlled her children's lives to the point that they
resented her.

Tyranny Tyrannise Tyrannically Tyrannical

12. Her documents were ______, but it was very hard to recognise her in them.

Legitimacy Legitimately Legitimise Legitimate

13. The _____ energy of a moving object is nothing but its potential energy in
motion.

Kinetic Kinetically Kinetics Kinematic

14. The actor pretended to be under deep _____ and started to mumble.

Hypnotic Hypnosis Hypnotise Hypnotically

15. I can compensate for the damage _____, but not for the emotional impact the
earthquake has had.

Monetary Monetise Monetarily Monetisation

16. The _____ of written content and a related ad for a product often increases the
number of purchases.

Adjacent Adjoin Adjacently Adjacency

17. The tickets for the concert were priced very _____, so a huge number of
students went to see it. (Which form of the word 'accessible' fills in the blank?)

Adverb Verb Noun Adjective

18. The _____ problems shown by the student stemmed from his troubled life at
home.

Behave Behavioural Behaviourally Behaviour

19. It was hard to ______what was better - the concept behind the painting or its
finer details.

Decision Decisive Decide Decisively

20. Genes _____ the characteristics of an individual as they inherit them from their
parents.

Determinedly Determinate Determination Determine

Answer Key
1. Health 2. Fascinated 3. Cynically 4. Habituates 5. Nauseatingly
6. Criticise 7. Measurement 8. Bewildering 9. Relieve
10. Exhilaration 11. Tyrannically 12. Legitimate 13. Kinetic
14. Hypnosis 15. Monetarily 16. Adjacency 17. Adverb
18. Behavioural 19. Decide 20. Determine
 Exercise II
Do you ever get confused between scent and cent? Or perhaps
between scene and seen? All these words sound the same, but
are different in meaning and usage.

This exercise will challenge you on interesting pair of words

such as homophones, synonyms, false friends, similarly spelled
words, etc.! While in some cases you need to fill both blanks with
the appropriate word, in others we already provided you one
word, and you need to fill in the blank with its synonym. In all
cases, all words are given in the help box, so make sure you look
carefully for all the answers!

Help Box
Heel Retch Tied Wrath Grisly
Debacle Illicit Discreet Predisposition Wretch
Artificial Eminent Discrete Heal Influence
Proceed Tide Guerrilla Infer Pain
Perpetrate Imply Pane Flout Disinterested
Sole Affluence Herd Born Soul
Week Weak Inexpensive Covenant Rode
Grizzly Gorilla Uninterested Elicit Awesome
Borne Precent Imminent Courteous Flaunt
Road Disturbed Courageous Heard Wreath
1. After suffering a series of infections, his _____ became almost impossible to
_____.
2. She suffered an injury with a lot of _____ after a large window _____ fell on her
wrist.
3. Her _______ source of motivation was the way she nurtured her _____ to
always remain a good human being.
4. After suffering a bout of severe flu, she remained _____ for almost a _____.
5. We had to remain very _____ about the _____ identity of the factions within the
company.
6. He _____ a sports motorbike across the _____ to the shop, attracting a lot of
startled glances.
7. We _____ a loud noise of thumping feet and rustling leaves from inside the forest,
and soon, we saw a _____ of elephants in the moonlight.
8. The young campers suffered a _____ death after they encountered a _____ bear
in the forest.
9. The very sight of the poor _____ made him _____ as he remembered what had
passed between them.
10. Her rebellious thoughts made her swim against the _____, but she found a group
of like-minded people whose ideas _____ them together.
11. The exhibit about the state of poverty in the country felt too _____. What was
most fake about it was the way everything was too clean and landscaped to be
organic.
12. The art exhibition was ________! There were a number of impressive
paintings in various genres.
13. After she witnessed the accident, she was extremely distressed. What mentally
_____ her the most was the sight of the many injured people.
14. Living the suburbs is cheap as compared to the metro cities. If you cook for
yourself, it is even more _____.
15. Although Mohana often disagreed with my ideas, she was always polite about it.
Her _____ nature made our discussions even more pleasant.
16. The child was so brave! His _____ nature made him do many things one would
not normally do.
17. The contract had been signed in haste, but the officials forgot to note the
restrictive terms in the _____ that prevented them from selling their goods
elsewhere.
18. The play was a fiasco - the actors forgot their lines, the musicians kept singing
out of tune and the props kept crashing down in the three-hour _____.
19. It was hard to believe that he could commit such a heinous crime - actually, the
very fact that someone could _____ something like that was shocking.
20. She has a really annoying tendency to find fault with everything - this _____
of hers has alienated her from her friends.
21. The sale of _____ liquor is responsible for a large number of deaths in the state
every year, since it is not prepared according to the safety guidelines.
22. Having grown up in _____, Meenal found it really hard to adjust to a lifestyle of
extreme poverty.
23. A terrible storm is surely _____ - I can see the dark clouds covering the sky.
24. You can _____ with the rest of the project once your supervisor approves the
workflow.
25. After the incriminating statement given by the managing director, it was easy to
______ that there could be lay-offs very soon.
26. The pathogen causing the disease is air-_____, so it is necessary to wear
masks to keep oneself safe.
27. Fearing the _____ of the local leaders, the villagers kept sending them the
produce of their fields.
28. It is illegal to modify the headlights of motorcycles, but many people modify
them, unaware that they would _____ the law if they did it.
29. The bouts of _____ warfare wreaked havoc on the forest near the mountains
as the warriors bombed them repeatedly.
30. The best judge for any situation is a/an _____ one, as they would be able to
analyse it without thinking of personal gain.

Answer Key
1. Heel, heal 2. Pain, pane 3. Sole, soul 4. Weak, week 5. Discreet,
discrete 6. Rode, road 7. Heard, herd 8. Grisly, grizzly 9. Wretch, retch
10. Tied, tide 11. Artificial 12. Awesome 13. Disturbed 14. Inexpensive
15. Courteous 16. Courageous 17. Covenant 18. Debacle 19. Perpetrate
20. Predisposition 21. Illicit 22. Affluence 23. Imminent 24. Proceed
25. Infer 26. Borne 27. Wrath 28. Flout 29. Guerrilla 30. Disinterested
 Exercise III
A phoneme is a unit of sound that can distinguish one word
from another in a particular language. A morpheme on the other
hand is the smallest grammatical unit of meaning of a word. It
cannot be further divided into meaningful components. Looking
at chunks, clusters, or combinations of letters, we can learn
their sounds and/or meanings. Some phonemes and
morphemes give us clear clues as to their language of origin.
This exercise will take you on a multilingual ride, urging you to
look more closely at words, their phonemes, morphemes, and
the ways in which they are combined to form the beautiful,
evocative words of the English language.

1. Which Latin-origin word meaning 'grand and glorious' comes from 'magnus'
meaning great?

Magnum Magnanimous Magnificent Magnetise

2. What is the correct spelling of the Latin-origin word coming from 'primus'
meaning first?

Primivel Primeval Primavel Primival

3. What does the Latin prefix “trans” in the word TRANSLUCENT mean?

Across Dreamy Light Above

4. What is the correct spelling of the French-origin word, whose literal meaning is
'middle space'?

Milleau Mile Milieu Miller

5. Looking at the spelling of BOUQUET, which language would you expect it to come
from?

German Spanish Italian French

6. What is the correct spelling of the French-origin word meaning 'someone who
undertakes a project'?

Entrepreniur Enterprineur Enterpreneur Entrepreneur

7. What is the correct accent over the “e” in the French word CLICHE?

é ê ë è

8. Fill in the same letter in both the spaces to make a French-origin word -
BO_TIQ_E

E I O U

9. Which word meaning a geographical area far from a waterbody or main city'
comes from a German word meaning 'the land behind'?

Backwater Boondocks Suburb Hinterland

10. What is the correct spelling of the word originating from German, meaning
'double-goer'?

Dopelgängeer Doppelgänger Dobbelgängrer Dopelgängier

11. Which word for a type of coffee comes from an Italian word meaning ‘stained’,
referring to black coffee with a drop of milk?

Espresso Cappuccino Macchiato Affogato

12. Which Italian-origin word meaning 'to fail miserably', comes from the original
word meaning ‘to flask’?

Fiasco Tabasco Alfresco Flagon

13. What is the correct spelling of the name of the Italian ice cream, which means
'frozen'?

Gellatto Gelato Gelatto Gellato

14. The name of which disease comes from the Italian word for 'influence'?

Cold Malaria Flu’ Covid

15. Which Greek-origin word for 'someone who designs and plans a building' comes
from the Greek word for 'master builder'?

Arcitect Architecht Architecture Architect

16. Which Greek-origin word meaning 'a state of induced sleep' gets its origin from
Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep?

Hypnosis Hypnotise Hypnopompic Hypnoidal

17. Fill in the letters to complete the Greek-origin word _ _ ILO_O_ _Y

Ph-s-fh Ph-s-ph Fh-s-fh Fh-s-ph

18. Which South American country has a name inspired by a vegetable?

Chile Chilly Chilli Chili

19. Fill in the blank to spell a Spanish-origin word meaning 'masculine' - MA_ _ O

rd ch st sh

20. Which language does the word AFICIONADO come from?

Spanish Italian Japanese

French
21. The Greek words “hodos” and “metron” combine to form what device that
measures speed in a vehicle?

Odometer Gyrometer Altimeter Barometer

22. Which French diminutive suffix is attached to “kitchen” to indicate a small

version of it?

-ini -euse -ette -ina

23. Which of the words EDELWEISS, DACHSHUND, CHAUFFEUR, and KINDERGARTEN

belongs to a different language than the rest?

Edelweiss Dachshund Chauffeur Kindergarten

24. Which word ending is added to wal- to name a dance form, with its name having a
German origin?

-tz -tsch -tsh -th

25. Which word meaning 'love for travel' comes from German?

Wanderlust Wanderlast Wonderlust Wonderlast

26. Fill in the letters to complete the Spanish-origin word for a type of wide-brimmed
hat: S_ _ BRE _ _

um, ro um, ra om, ra om, ro

27. Which Latin-origin adjective refers to the kidneys?

Rhino Recto Renal Rectal

28. Which Italian city is known for a leaning tower?

Pizza Piza Pista Pisa

29. What is the correct spelling of the word meaning 'public musical performance'
that comes from Italian?

Consort Consert Concirt Concert

30. Which form of humour gets its name from the Greek word for flesh, 'sarx'?

Sardine Sarcoma Sarcasm Sartorial

Answer Key
1. Magnificent 2. Primeval 3. Across 4. Milieu 5. French
6. Entrepreneur 7. The é 8. U 9. Hinterland 10. Doppelgänger
11. Macchiato 12. Fiasco 13. Gelato 14. ’Flu 15. Architect 16.Hypnosis
17. Ph-s-ph 18. Chile 19. ch 20. –ado 21. Odometer 22. –ette
23. Chauffeur 24. –tz 25. Wanderlust 26. om, ro 27. Renal 28. Pisa
29. Concert 30. Sarcasm