Part 2: Tier 2 — Intermediate Words

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250 words typical of SSC CGL Tier-2 and Bank PO mains vocabulary sections — a clear step up in difficulty from Tier 1. As with Tier 1, the list is organised in an alphabetical core set followed by an alphabetical extension set added in this edition.

Core Set (150 words)

Word	POS	Meaning	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentence
Abate	verb	to become less intense	subside	intensify	The protest began to abate once officials agreed to talks.
Aberration	noun	a departure from what is normal	anomaly	norm	The sudden drop in scores was treated as a statistical aberration.
Abhor	verb	to regard with disgust	detest	adore	Fair examiners abhor any hint of favouritism.
Abstain	verb	to deliberately not do something	refrain	indulge	Two board members chose to abstain from the vote.
Acumen	noun	keen insight or shrewdness	sharpness	ineptitude	Her financial acumen helped the branch cut costs.
Adamant	adj.	refusing to change one's mind	inflexible	flexible	The union remained adamant about its demand for a pay revision.
Adept	adj.	very skilled at something	proficient	inept	He is adept at solving data interpretation questions quickly.
Advocate	verb/noun	to publicly support / a supporter	champion	oppose	Economists advocate a gradual rise in interest rates.
Aggregate	noun/adj.	a total formed by combining parts	total	individual	The aggregate score decides the final merit list.
Alleviate	verb	to make suffering less severe	ease	aggravate	The subsidy was meant to alleviate the burden on farmers.
Ambivalent	adj.	having mixed feelings about something	conflicted	certain	She felt ambivalent about accepting the transfer.
Anomaly	noun	something that deviates from the norm	irregularity	norm	Auditors flagged an anomaly in last quarter's accounts.
Antagonize	verb	to cause someone to become hostile	provoke	pacify	Rash remarks can antagonize an otherwise cooperative panel.
Apathy	noun	lack of interest or concern	indifference	enthusiasm	Voter apathy was evident in the low turnout.
Appease	verb	to pacify by conceding to demands	pacify	provoke	The management appeased the workers with a bonus announcement.
Arbitrary	adj.	based on random choice, not reason	random	reasoned	Marks cannot be deducted on an arbitrary basis.
Articulate	adj./verb	able to express clearly / to express	eloquent	inarticulate	The candidate articulated her views on rural banking with clarity.
Ascertain	verb	to find out for certain	determine	guess	Officials were sent to ascertain the extent of the damage.
Assimilate	verb	to absorb and integrate fully	absorb	reject	New recruits take time to assimilate office procedures.
Astute	adj.	having sharp judgement	shrewd	naive	An astute negotiator, she secured better terms for the staff.
Audacious	adj.	showing bold willingness to take risks	daring	timid	The startup made an audacious bid for the government contract.
Augment	verb	to make greater by adding to	increase	diminish	Part-time work helped him augment his monthly income.
Austere	adj.	severe and plain; strict in manner	stern	lavish	The training camp followed an austere daily routine.
Autonomy	noun	the right of self-governance	independence	dependence	The regulatory body enjoys considerable autonomy from the ministry.
Belligerent	adj.	hostile and aggressive	combative	peaceable	A belligerent tone in the complaint letter worsened matters.
Benevolent	adj.	kind and generous	charitable	malevolent	The trust runs several benevolent schemes for widows.
Blatant	adj.	done openly and unashamedly	flagrant	subtle	The report exposed a blatant violation of procurement rules.
Brevity	noun	concise and exact use of words	conciseness	verbosity	The chairman's speech was praised for its brevity.
Candour	noun	the quality of being open and honest	frankness	deceit	She answered the panel's questions with refreshing candour.
Capitulate	verb	to stop resisting and give in	surrender	resist	The vendor eventually capitulated to the revised terms.
Coerce	verb	to persuade using force or threats	compel	persuade gently	No employee can be coerced into working on a holiday.
Cognizant	adj.	having knowledge or awareness of	aware	oblivious	Officers must remain cognizant of the revised guidelines.
Coincide	verb	to occur at the same time	correspond	diverge	The exam date coincided with a regional festival.
Complacent	adj.	uncritically satisfied with oneself	self-satisfied	dissatisfied	Toppers who grow complacent often falter in later rounds.
Comprehensive	adj.	complete and including everything necessary	thorough	partial	The syllabus offers a comprehensive overview of the subject.
Concede	verb	to admit something is true reluctantly	admit	deny	The officer conceded that the delay was avoidable.
Conciliatory	adj.	intended to placate or pacify	appeasing	provocative	Management adopted a conciliatory tone during negotiations.
Condone	verb	to accept and allow behaviour to continue	overlook	condemn	The institute does not condone any form of malpractice.
Congenial	adj.	pleasant because agreeable to one's tastes	pleasant	unpleasant	A congenial work environment improves overall productivity.
Consolidate	verb	to combine into a single stronger unit	unify	fragment	The bank consolidated its regional branches into one hub.
Contemplate	verb	to think deeply about something	ponder	disregard	She contemplated switching her preparation strategy midway.
Contentious	adj.	likely to cause disagreement	controversial	uncontroversial	Reservation policy remains a contentious issue in public debate.
Conundrum	noun	a confusing and difficult problem	puzzle	certainty	Balancing speed and accuracy is a classic exam-day conundrum.
Corroborate	verb	to confirm or give support to	confirm	contradict	Two independent witnesses corroborated the clerk's account.
Credible	adj.	able to be believed	believable	implausible	The commission sought credible evidence before acting.
Cursory	adj.	hasty and not thorough	hasty	thorough	A cursory glance at the form missed the obvious error.
Deceptive	adj.	giving a misleading impression	misleading	honest	The advertisement's claims were found to be deceptive.
Decorum	noun	polite and correct behaviour	propriety	impropriety	Candidates are expected to maintain decorum in the exam hall.
Defer	verb	to postpone; to submit to another's judgement	postpone	expedite	The board decided to defer the decision to the next meeting.
Deft	adj.	neatly skilful and quick in action	skilful	clumsy	Her deft handling of the crisis impressed the seniors.
Deplete	verb	to reduce in quantity substantially	exhaust	replenish	Frequent withdrawals depleted the contingency fund.
Deplore	verb	to feel or express strong disapproval	condemn	approve	The council deplored the vandalism at the examination centre.
Deride	verb	to mock or ridicule	mock	praise	Critics derided the proposal as impractical.
Despondent	adj.	in low spirits from loss of hope	dejected	hopeful	Repeated setbacks left him despondent about his chances.
Deter	verb	to discourage from doing something	discourage	encourage	Strict penalties deter candidates from attempting malpractice.
Diligence	noun	careful and persistent effort	industry	negligence	Her diligence over two years finally paid off in the results.
Discrepancy	noun	a difference between things expected to match	inconsistency	agreement	A discrepancy between the two mark sheets triggered a review.
Disparage	verb	to speak of in a belittling way	belittle	praise	It is unprofessional to disparage a colleague's work in public.
Disparity	noun	a great difference or inequality	inequality	parity	The report highlighted a wide disparity in regional literacy rates.
Dissent	noun/verb	disagreement with an official position	disagreement	agreement	One member registered dissent over the proposed fee hike.
Divert	verb	to change the course or direction of	redirect	maintain	Traffic was diverted away from the exam centre for the day.
Dwindle	verb	to diminish gradually	decrease	grow	Interest in the older scheme began to dwindle after the update.
Elicit	verb	to draw out a response or information	evoke	suppress	The interviewer's question elicited a thoughtful answer.
Eloquent	adj.	fluent and persuasive in speech	articulate	inarticulate	His eloquent closing statement won over the panel.
Embezzle	verb	to steal money placed in one's trust	misappropriate	restore	The cashier was suspended for allegedly embezzling funds.
Emulate	verb	to try to match or surpass, typically by imitation	imitate	ignore	Junior officers often try to emulate a respected mentor.
Endorse	verb	to publicly declare support for	approve	reject	The union endorsed the new leave policy after review.
Enigmatic	adj.	mysterious and difficult to understand	puzzling	clear	The examiner's enigmatic hint left students guessing.
Ephemeral	adj.	lasting for a very short time	fleeting	permanent	The relief from the discount offer was ephemeral.
Equanimity	noun	mental calmness in difficult situations	composure	agitation	She faced the tough panel with remarkable equanimity.
Erratic	adj.	not consistent or predictable	unpredictable	consistent	His erratic attendance record raised concerns during review.
Exacerbate	verb	to make a problem worse	aggravate	alleviate	Delayed repairs only exacerbated the water shortage.
Exemplary	adj.	serving as a desirable model	ideal	poor	She was awarded for exemplary service during the crisis.
Explicit	adj.	stated clearly and in detail	clear	vague	The notice gave explicit instructions on document formats.
Fabricate	verb	to invent or falsely construct	concoct	verify	The clerk was dismissed for fabricating attendance records.
Facetious	adj.	treating a serious matter with inappropriate humour	flippant	serious	A facetious remark during the review meeting drew a reprimand.
Fastidious	adj.	very attentive to detail; hard to please	meticulous	careless	The proofreader is fastidious about grammar and spacing.
Feign	verb	to pretend to feel or be something	pretend	reveal	He feigned illness to avoid the extra shift.
Fervent	adj.	having intense feeling	passionate	apathetic	She made a fervent appeal for better campus facilities.
Fickle	adj.	changing frequently, especially in loyalty	capricious	steadfast	Public opinion on the policy proved rather fickle.
Frivolous	adj.	not having any serious purpose	trivial	serious	The committee dismissed the complaint as frivolous.
Furtive	adj.	attempting to avoid notice; secretive	stealthy	open	A furtive glance at his neighbour's sheet cost him the exam.
Garrulous	adj.	excessively talkative	talkative	reticent	The garrulous vendor delayed the entire queue with small talk.
Grievance	noun	a formal complaint about unfair treatment	complaint	commendation	Employees can file a grievance through the online portal.
Gullible	adj.	easily deceived or tricked	credulous	shrewd	Gullible applicants fell for the fake job offer.
Hamper	verb	to hinder progress	impede	facilitate	Poor internet connectivity hampered the online exam.
Haphazard	adj.	lacking any organised system	disorganised	systematic	Filing documents in a haphazard manner led to a lost application.
Harbinger	noun	a sign that something is about to happen	precursor	consequence	Rising applications are seen as a harbinger of economic recovery.
Hinder	verb	to create difficulty for; to delay	impede	assist	Frequent power cuts hindered the mock test session.
Hypothetical	adj.	based on a suggested idea, not fact	theoretical	actual	The trainer posed a hypothetical scenario for the group discussion.
Impeccable	adj.	without any flaws; perfect	flawless	flawed	His impeccable record made him the obvious choice for promotion.
Impede	verb	to delay or block progress	obstruct	expedite	Heavy traffic impeded candidates from reaching the centre on time.
Imperative	adj.	extremely important; urgent	essential	optional	It is imperative to reach the centre an hour before the exam.
Impetuous	adj.	acting quickly without careful thought	rash	cautious	An impetuous decision to skip revision hurt his final score.
Implicit	adj.	implied though not plainly expressed	implied	explicit	There was an implicit understanding that seniority mattered in transfers.
Inadvertent	adj.	not resulting from careful planning; accidental	unintentional	deliberate	An inadvertent error in the roll number delayed her results.
Incisive	adj.	showing clear and sharp thinking	perceptive	vague	The examiner asked an incisive question about the case study.
Indispensable	adj.	absolutely necessary	essential	dispensable	A calculator is indispensable for the quantitative section.
Indolent	adj.	lazy and avoiding activity	lazy	industrious	An indolent approach to revision rarely yields good results.
Ingenious	adj.	clever, original, and inventive	inventive	unimaginative	The clerk devised an ingenious method to sort old files quickly.
Innate	adj.	inborn; natural rather than learned	inherent	acquired	Some candidates show an innate flair for quantitative reasoning.
Insolvent	adj.	unable to pay one's debts	bankrupt	solvent	The firm was declared insolvent after years of losses.
Intimidate	verb	to frighten someone into doing something	threaten	encourage	Senior staff should never intimidate new recruits.
Intricate	adj.	very complicated or detailed	complex	simple	The pension calculation involves an intricate set of rules.
Intrinsic	adj.	belonging naturally; essential	inherent	extrinsic	Curiosity is intrinsic to a good researcher's temperament.
Jeopardize	verb	to put at risk of harm or loss	endanger	protect	A single late submission jeopardized his entire application.
Judicious	adj.	showing good judgement; sensible	prudent	reckless	A judicious use of time helped her attempt all sections.
Lament	verb	to express deep regret or sorrow	mourn	celebrate	Officials lamented the poor turnout at the awareness camp.
Lucid	adj.	expressed clearly; easy to understand	clear	confusing	The teacher gave a lucid explanation of compound interest.
Malign	verb	to speak ill of someone unfairly	slander	praise	It is unethical to malign a rival candidate's reputation.
Meticulous	adj.	showing great attention to detail	thorough	careless	A meticulous review caught every formatting error in the report.
Nonchalant	adj.	appearing casually unconcerned	indifferent	anxious	His nonchalant attitude before the interview surprised his friends.
Obscure	adj.	not clearly expressed or understood	unclear	evident	The clause was so obscure that even the clerk misread it.
Obsolete	adj.	no longer in use; outdated	outdated	current	The old application form became obsolete after digitisation.
Ominous	adj.	giving the impression of a bad outcome	threatening	promising	The delayed announcement felt ominous to anxious aspirants.
Opulent	adj.	ostentatiously rich and luxurious	lavish	modest	The inaugural ceremony was held in an opulent hall.
Ostensible	adj.	stated as the reason, though not necessarily so	apparent	genuine	The ostensible reason for the transfer was administrative convenience.
Pacify	verb	to calm or soothe an angry person	placate	provoke	The manager pacified the irate customer with a quick refund.
Paramount	adj.	more important than anything else	supreme	insignificant	Data accuracy is of paramount importance in banking operations.
Perceptive	adj.	having keen insight or understanding	insightful	obtuse	Her perceptive comment identified the flaw in the plan instantly.
Perplex	verb	to confuse or puzzle greatly	bewilder	clarify	The unusual question format perplexed many test-takers.
Pervasive	adj.	spreading widely throughout an area	widespread	limited	Corruption remained pervasive in the licensing process before reform.
Placid	adj.	calm and peaceful; not easily disturbed	calm	agitated	She remained placid even as the deadline approached.
Plausible	adj.	seeming reasonable or probable	credible	implausible	He gave a plausible explanation for the missing documents.
Prevalent	adj.	widespread in a particular area or time	common	rare	Malpractice is far less prevalent since CCTV monitoring began.
Prudent	adj.	acting with care and thought for the future	wise	reckless	A prudent aspirant saves the last ten minutes for revision.
Rebuttal	noun	a formal argument against a claim	refutation	affirmation	The department filed a rebuttal to the auditor's findings.
Reciprocate	verb	to respond to an action with a similar one	return	withhold	The bank reciprocated the vendor's goodwill with an early payment.
Reprimand	verb/noun	to formally rebuke someone	rebuke	commend	The supervisor reprimanded the clerk for the repeated delay.
Repudiate	verb	to refuse to accept or be associated with	reject	endorse	The applicant repudiated the allegations made against him.
Rescind	verb	to revoke or cancel a law, order, or agreement	revoke	enact	The committee rescinded the earlier circular after objections.
Reticent	adj.	not revealing thoughts or feelings readily	reserved	forthcoming	He remained reticent about his plans after the transfer.
Scrutinize	verb	to examine closely and critically	inspect	overlook	Auditors scrutinized every voucher before clearing the payment.
Squander	verb	to waste resources carelessly	waste	conserve	Do not squander the last thirty minutes on a single question.
Stringent	adj.	strict and precisely controlled	strict	lenient	Stringent verification rules reduced the number of fake applications.
Substantiate	verb	to provide evidence to support a claim	verify	disprove	Candidates must substantiate their category claim with a certificate.
Superfluous	adj.	more than is needed; unnecessary	excessive	necessary	Avoid superfluous details in a formal office memo.
Tangible	adj.	perceptible by touch; real and definite	concrete	intangible	The scheme delivered tangible benefits within its first year.
Tedious	adj.	tiresomely long or dull	monotonous	interesting	Data entry can feel tedious without proper breaks.
Trivial	adj.	of little value or importance	insignificant	significant	Do not dismiss a small formatting rule as trivial.
Vindicate	verb	to clear of blame after being suspected	exonerate	incriminate	The inquiry ultimately vindicated the accused officer.
Volatile	adj.	liable to change rapidly and unpredictably	unstable	stable	Currency markets remained volatile after the announcement.

Extension Set (100 new words for this edition)

Word	POS	Meaning	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentence
Abase	verb	to lower in rank, esteem, or dignity	demean	elevate	He refused to abase himself before an unreasonable demand.
Abet	verb	to encourage or assist in a wrongdoing	incite	discourage	The clerk was accused of abetting the forgery unknowingly.
Abridge	verb	to shorten a piece of writing without losing its sense	condense	expand	The circular was abridged into a two-line summary for staff.
Accentuate	verb	to make more noticeable or prominent	emphasise	understate	Bold font was used to accentuate the deadline in the notice.
Accolade	noun	an award or expression of praise	honour	criticism	She received an accolade for her ten years of dedicated service.
Acquiesce	verb	to accept something reluctantly but without protest	comply	resist	The department finally acquiesced to the union's demand.
Adage	noun	a proverb or short, wise saying	proverb	—	The old adage about slow and steady still applies to revision.
Adroitness	noun	cleverness or skill, especially in tight situations	dexterity	clumsiness	Her adroitness under a hostile question won over the panel.
Adulterate	verb	to render something impure by adding an inferior substance	contaminate	purify	The lab confirmed the sample had been deliberately adulterated.
Affable	adj.	friendly, good-natured, and easy to talk to	genial	surly	The new supervisor is affable and always approachable.
Affluence	noun	the state of having a great deal of money	wealth	poverty	Growing affluence in tier-two cities has changed spending patterns.
Aggrandize	verb	to increase the power, status, or reputation of	magnify	diminish	He was accused of using the post to aggrandize himself.
Alacritous	adj.	showing brisk and cheerful readiness	eager	reluctant	The alacritous new recruit finished the backlog in a week.
Alienate	verb	to cause someone to become isolated or unfriendly	estrange	unite	Harsh rules alienated many long-serving employees.
Allude	verb	to suggest or refer to indirectly	hint	state	Her remarks seemed to allude to an unannounced policy change.
Altruistic	adj.	showing selfless concern for others	selfless	selfish	His altruistic decision to donate his bonus surprised everyone.
Amicable	adj.	characterised by friendliness and absence of discord	friendly	hostile	The two branches reached an amicable settlement of the dispute.
Amorphous	adj.	without a clearly defined shape or structure	shapeless	structured	The proposal remained amorphous until the final draft.
Anecdote	noun	a short, entertaining account of a real incident	story	—	The trainer opened the session with a relevant anecdote.
Animosity	noun	strong hostility or dislike	hostility	goodwill	Old animosity between the two unions resurfaced during talks.
Antipathy	noun	a deep-seated feeling of dislike	aversion	affinity	There is a longstanding antipathy between the two rival departments.
Apex	noun	the top or highest point of something	peak	base	Her promotion marked the apex of a two-decade career.
Aplomb	noun	self-confidence or assurance, especially in a demanding situation	composure	nervousness	She handled the hostile question with impressive aplomb.
Appalling	adj.	causing shock or dismay; very bad	dreadful	pleasing	The state of the record room was appalling before the audit.
Arbiter	noun	a person who settles a dispute	judge	—	The senior officer acted as arbiter between the two clerks.
Ardent	adj.	enthusiastic or passionate	passionate	indifferent	He remains an ardent supporter of the digital-first policy.
Ardour	noun	enthusiasm or passion	zeal	apathy	Her ardour for public service never dimmed over the years.
Ascendancy	noun	occupying a position of dominant power or influence	dominance	subordination	The reformist faction gained ascendancy within the committee.
Askance	adv.	with a suspicious or disapproving look	suspiciously	approvingly	Seniors looked askance at the sudden change in procedure.
Assiduously	adv.	with great care and perseverance	diligently	carelessly	He assiduously cross-checked every entry before submission.
Attenuate	verb	to reduce the force, effect, or value of	weaken	intensify	The new filter attenuates background noise during video calls.
Auspicious	adj.	favourable; suggesting a good outcome	favourable	inauspicious	The department chose an auspicious date for the launch.
Avarice	noun	extreme greed for wealth or material gain	greed	generosity	Unchecked avarice led to the collapse of the small cooperative.
Aversion	noun	a strong dislike or reluctance	distaste	fondness	He developed an aversion to filling long government forms.
Baffling	adj.	very confusing or puzzling	perplexing	clear	The wording of the clause was genuinely baffling to most staff.
Belated	adj.	coming later than expected or usual	delayed	timely	A belated apology reached the affected customers after a week.
Benign	adj.	gentle and kindly; not harmful	harmless	malignant	The examiner had a benign manner that put nervous candidates at ease.
Boisterous	adj.	noisy, energetic, and cheerful	rowdy	subdued	The boisterous celebration outside disturbed the evening batch.
Buoyant	adj.	cheerful and optimistic	optimistic	despondent	Staff morale remained buoyant despite the tight deadline.
Cajole	verb	to persuade someone gently through flattery	coax	intimidate	She cajoled her reluctant colleague into joining the workshop.
Callous	adj.	showing an insensitive disregard for others	unfeeling	compassionate	A callous remark about the layoffs upset the entire floor.
Camaraderie	noun	mutual trust and friendship among a group	fellowship	rivalry	The long training months built real camaraderie among the recruits.
Cataclysm	noun	a large-scale and violent event; a great upheaval	disaster	—	The flood was a cataclysm for the district's small farmers.
Circumvent	verb	to find a way around an obstacle or rule	bypass	comply	The vendor tried to circumvent the tender process through a proxy bid.
Clamour	noun/verb	a loud, confused noise; to demand loudly	uproar	silence	Public clamour forced the ministry to revisit the fee hike.
Coax	verb	to persuade gently and patiently	persuade	force	The mentor coaxed the shy student into attempting the mock interview.
Commensurate	adj.	corresponding in size or degree; proportionate	proportional	disproportionate	His salary is commensurate with his years of experience.
Complicity	noun	involvement with others in an illegal activity	collusion	innocence	The inquiry found no complicity on the part of the junior clerk.
Concur	verb	to agree with an opinion or decision	agree	dissent	All three examiners concurred on the final award of marks.
Condescend	verb	to act as if superior to others	patronise	respect	Never condescend to a junior colleague, however inexperienced.
Conducive	adj.	making a certain outcome likely	favourable	unfavourable	A quiet study room is far more conducive to revision.
Conjecture	noun/verb	an opinion formed without full evidence	speculation	fact	The rumour about the exam date was pure conjecture.
Connive	verb	to secretly plan or cooperate in a wrongdoing	conspire	oppose	Two clerks were found to have connived in the fake entries.
Consternation	noun	a feeling of anxiety or dismay	dismay	composure	The delayed results caused widespread consternation among aspirants.
Contrive	verb	to plan or bring about, often cleverly	devise	fail	She contrived a simple way to track pending files.
Contentment	noun	a state of happiness and satisfaction	satisfaction	discontent	A modest but stable job brought him genuine contentment.
Cordial	adj.	warm and friendly	amiable	cold	Relations between the two offices remained cordial throughout.
Cosmopolitan	adj.	including people from many different countries	worldly	provincial	The training centre had a fairly cosmopolitan mix of trainees.
Covert	adj.	not openly acknowledged; secret	secret	overt	A covert review of the accounts preceded the public audit.
Credulous	adj.	having too great a readiness to believe things	gullible	sceptical	Credulous investors fell for the fraudulent scheme quickly.
Culminate	verb	to reach a climax or point of highest development	peak	begin	Months of preparation culminated in a single three-hour paper.
Debunk	verb	to expose the falseness of a claim or belief	disprove	validate	The fact-check team debunked the rumour within hours.
Decry	verb	to publicly criticise something strongly	condemn	praise	Activists decried the delay in releasing the compensation.
Deference	noun	respectful submission to another's wishes	respect	disrespect	Junior staff showed deference to the retiring director's decisions.
Defiance	noun	open resistance or bold disobedience	resistance	obedience	The workers' defiance forced the management to the table.
Deleterious	adj.	causing harm or damage	harmful	beneficial	Long working hours had a deleterious effect on staff morale.
Demeanour	noun	outward behaviour or manner	conduct	—	His calm demeanour reassured the anxious candidates outside.
Denigrate	verb	to criticise unfairly; belittle	disparage	praise	It is unprofessional to denigrate a rival team's work in public.
Deportment	noun	a person's manner of standing and behaving	conduct	—	Good deportment is expected of candidates during the interview.
Derisive	adj.	expressing contempt or ridicule	mocking	respectful	A derisive comment from the panel unsettled the candidate.
Despicable	adj.	deserving hatred and contempt	contemptible	admirable	Diverting relief funds is a despicable act of corruption.
Diffident	adj.	modest or shy, lacking self-confidence	timid	confident	He was diffident about speaking up in the group discussion.
Discord	noun	disagreement between people or groups	conflict	harmony	Discord within the committee delayed the final decision by weeks.
Disdain	noun/verb	a feeling of contempt for something unworthy	contempt	admiration	She viewed the shortcut method with open disdain.
Disgruntled	adj.	angry or dissatisfied	discontented	satisfied	Disgruntled customers flooded the helpline after the price hike.
Dismal	adj.	depressingly bad or inadequate	gloomy	cheerful	Attendance figures for the workshop were dismal this quarter.
Docile	adj.	ready to accept control; easily managed	compliant	unruly	The trained staff proved far more docile to the new system.
Dogmatic	adj.	asserting opinions in an arrogant, unyielding way	inflexible	open-minded	A dogmatic approach to policy rarely accommodates new evidence.
Domineering	adj.	assertive to the point of being overbearing	overbearing	submissive	A domineering supervisor left little room for junior input.
Dour	adj.	relentlessly stern or gloomy in manner	grim	cheerful	The dour clerk rarely smiled but processed files quickly.
Dutiful	adj.	conscientious in performing one's duties	conscientious	negligent	The dutiful assistant never missed a single deadline.
Earnest	adj.	sincere and serious in intention	sincere	flippant	His earnest request for an extension was finally granted.
Ebullient	adj.	cheerful and full of energy	exuberant	listless	The ebullient trainer kept the session lively till the end.
Effervescent	adj.	vivacious and enthusiastic	lively	dull	Her effervescent energy made even a dull topic engaging.
Effusive	adj.	expressing feelings of gratitude or pleasure openly	gushing	reserved	He was effusive in his thanks after the loan was cleared.
Elated	adj.	extremely happy and excited	overjoyed	dejected	She was elated on learning she had cleared the final round.
Embellish	verb	to make more attractive by adding details, sometimes untrue	decorate	simplify	Do not embellish your resume with unverifiable claims.
Emollient	adj.	soothing or softening, often used figuratively of tone	soothing	irritating	Her emollient words calmed the frustrated applicants.
Empathy	noun	the ability to understand another's feelings	compassion	indifference	Good customer service starts with genuine empathy.
Encroach	verb	to gradually intrude on a right or territory	intrude	withdraw	Officials warned builders against encroaching on protected land.
Endemic	adj.	regularly found in a particular area or group	prevalent	rare	Petty corruption was once endemic to the licensing process.
Enervate	verb	to weaken someone's physical or mental energy	debilitate	invigorate	Weeks of overtime had begun to enervate the entire team.
Enthral	verb	to captivate the attention of someone	captivate	bore	The chairman's account of the reform enthralled the audience.
Entice	verb	to attract by offering pleasure or advantage	tempt	repel	A cash-back offer was used to entice early applicants.
Erode	verb	to gradually wear away or diminish	diminish	strengthen	Repeated delays slowly eroded public trust in the scheme.
Espouse	verb	to adopt or support a cause or belief	advocate	renounce	The party has long espoused free primary education.
Exhilarate	verb	to make someone feel very happy and energetic	excite	bore	Clearing the written round exhilarated the entire batch.
Exorbitant	adj.	unreasonably high, especially of a price	excessive	reasonable	Coaching institutes were fined for charging exorbitant fees.
Extol	verb	to praise enthusiastically	laud	criticise	The minister extolled the scheme's impact on rural employment.
Fallacy	noun	a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound reasoning	misconception	truth	It is a common fallacy that speed alone wins the exam.
Fanciful	adj.	imaginative but unrealistic	imaginative	realistic	The proposal was dismissed as fanciful and lacking a budget.
Fervour	noun	intense and passionate feeling	zeal	apathy	Volunteers worked with real fervour during the relief drive.
Flourish	verb	to grow or develop in a healthy way; thrive	thrive	wither	Small vendors flourished once the market was renovated.
Forestall	verb	to prevent something by acting in advance	preempt	permit	Extra staff were added to forestall a queue on the last day.
Fortitude	noun	courage in facing pain or adversity	resilience	weakness	She faced the setback with quiet fortitude.
Fraught	adj.	filled with something undesirable, especially tension	tense	calm	The last-minute negotiation was fraught with uncertainty.
Gregarious	adj.	fond of company; sociable	sociable	reserved	A gregarious manager made the induction week far less stressful.
Grim	adj.	forbidding or uninviting; serious and worrying	bleak	cheerful	The audit painted a grim picture of the branch's finances.
Hackneyed	adj.	overused and lacking in original thought	clichéd	original	The essay was marked down for its hackneyed opening line.
Heresy	noun	belief or opinion contrary to accepted doctrine	dissent	orthodoxy	Questioning the old process was once treated as near heresy in the office.

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