Part 3: Tier 3 — Advanced Words

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200 words drawn from harder reading-comprehension passages, advanced cloze tests, and vocabulary typical of CAT-adjacent difficulty. These are the words that separate a strong score from an exceptional one. As with the earlier tiers, an alphabetical core set is followed by an alphabetical extension set added in this edition.

Core Set (100 words)

Word	POS	Meaning	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentence
Abrogate	verb	to formally repeal or do away with	annul	enact	The new act abrogates several outdated provisions of the old law.
Acerbic	adj.	sharp and forthright, often bitterly so	caustic	mild	The editorial's acerbic tone drew criticism from the ministry.
Acrimonious	adj.	bitter and ill-tempered	rancorous	amicable	The talks turned acrimonious over the question of back-pay.
Adroit	adj.	clever and skilful, especially in tight situations	skilful	clumsy	Her adroit handling of the hostile question saved the interview.
Alacrity	noun	brisk and cheerful readiness	eagerness	reluctance	Volunteers responded to the flood appeal with great alacrity.
Ameliorate	verb	to make a bad situation better	improve	worsen	The subsidy was designed to ameliorate the plight of small farmers.
Anachronistic	adj.	belonging to a period other than the one being depicted	outdated	contemporary	Critics called the manual process anachronistic in a digital age.
Anomalous	adj.	deviating from the standard or expected	abnormal	typical	The examiner flagged the anomalous spike in one centre's scores.
Apocryphal	adj.	of doubtful authenticity, though widely circulated	dubious	authentic	The story of the founder's midnight visit is likely apocryphal.
Approbation	noun	approval or praise	approval	disapproval	The scheme won widespread approbation from economists.
Arduous	adj.	involving great effort; difficult and tiring	strenuous	effortless	The selection process is arduous, spanning four separate stages.
Ascetic	adj./noun	practising strict self-denial	austere	self-indulgent	He led an almost ascetic life despite his considerable wealth.
Assiduous	adj.	showing great care and perseverance	diligent	lazy	Her assiduous note-taking paid off during the revision phase.
Bequeath	verb	to pass on or hand down	leave	withhold	The retiring officer bequeathed a well-organised filing system to his successor.
Bombastic	adj.	high-sounding but with little meaning	pompous	plain	The speech was long on bombastic phrases and short on substance.
Cacophony	noun	a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds	din	harmony	A cacophony of horns greeted commuters outside the station.
Capricious	adj.	given to sudden, unaccountable changes of mood	fickle	steady	Monsoon rainfall in the region is notoriously capricious.
Castigate	verb	to reprimand severely	rebuke	commend	The report castigated the department for its lax record-keeping.
Circumlocution	noun	the use of many words where fewer would do	verbosity	conciseness	Cut the circumlocution and state your request in the first line.
Circumspect	adj.	wary and unwilling to take risks	cautious	reckless	Given the market's volatility, the fund remained circumspect.
Clandestine	adj.	kept secret, often because illicit	covert	open	The raid uncovered a clandestine printing operation.
Coalesce	verb	to come together to form one whole	merge	disperse	Several small unions coalesced into a single federation.
Cogent	adj.	clear, logical, and convincing	persuasive	unconvincing	She presented a cogent case for revising the fee structure.
Connoisseur	noun	an expert judge in matters of taste	expert	novice	He is regarded as a connoisseur of classical Carnatic music.
Contrite	adj.	feeling or showing remorse	remorseful	unrepentant	The clerk was contrite after the filing error was discovered.
Conundrum	noun	a difficult problem, especially one with no easy solution	dilemma	certainty	Reconciling growth with sustainability remains a policy conundrum.
Debacle	noun	a sudden, humiliating failure	fiasco	triumph	The mismanaged rollout became a public debacle for the agency.
Debilitate	verb	to weaken someone or something severely	weaken	strengthen	The prolonged strike debilitated the state's transport network.
Deference	noun	respectful submission to another's wishes	respect	disrespect	Junior staff showed deference to the retiring director's decisions.
Demagogue	noun	a leader who exploits popular prejudices	rabble-rouser	statesman	Historians warned against the rise of the demagogue in troubled times.
Denounce	verb	to publicly declare to be wrong	condemn	commend	The union denounced the sudden change in shift timings.
Diatribe	noun	a forceful, bitter verbal attack	tirade	eulogy	His diatribe against the new rules dominated the meeting.
Dichotomy	noun	a division into two sharply contrasting parts	division	unity	The report highlighted a dichotomy between urban and rural access.
Didactic	adj.	intended to teach or instruct, often excessively	instructive	entertaining	The pamphlet's didactic tone put off many young readers.
Discern	verb	to perceive or recognise something not obvious	detect	overlook	A trained eye can discern subtle errors in the balance sheet.
Disparate	adj.	essentially different in kind; not comparable	dissimilar	similar	The committee had to reconcile disparate views from five departments.
Effrontery	noun	shameless boldness	audacity	timidity	He had the effrontery to demand a refund for a used item.
Egregious	adj.	outstandingly bad; shocking	flagrant	minor	The audit uncovered an egregious case of fund misuse.
Elucidate	verb	to make something clear by explanation	clarify	obscure	The trainer elucidated the new tax slabs with worked examples.
Emollient	adj./noun	softening or soothing (often figuratively, of language)	soothing	irritating	Her emollient words calmed the frustrated applicants.
Enervate	verb	to weaken someone's physical or mental energy	debilitate	invigorate	Weeks of overtime had begun to enervate the entire team.
Equivocate	verb	to use ambiguous language to avoid commitment	hedge	clarify	The spokesperson equivocated instead of answering the question directly.
Erudite	adj.	having or showing great knowledge	scholarly	ignorant	The panel included an erudite historian among its members.
Euphemism	noun	a mild expression substituted for a harsh one	understatement	overstatement	"Rightsizing" is a common euphemism for job cuts.
Exonerate	verb	to officially clear of blame	acquit	incriminate	The inquiry exonerated the clerk of any wrongdoing.
Extol	verb	to praise enthusiastically	laud	criticise	The minister extolled the scheme's impact on rural employment.
Facade	noun	a deceptive outward appearance	pretence	reality	Behind the calm facade, the department was in administrative chaos.
Fastidiousness	noun	excessive attention to accuracy and detail	meticulousness	carelessness	The examiner's fastidiousness ensured no error went unnoticed.
Fortuitous	adj.	happening by chance, especially a lucky one	serendipitous	planned	A fortuitous delay in the flight let her make the interview on time.
Garner	verb	to gather or collect, especially approval	accumulate	squander	The proposal garnered support from most stakeholders.
Homogeneous	adj.	consisting of parts all of the same kind	uniform	heterogeneous	The pilot project targeted a fairly homogeneous group of villages.
Idiosyncratic	adj.	peculiar to an individual	eccentric	conventional	His idiosyncratic filing method confused everyone who took over the desk.
Impervious	adj.	unable to be affected or influenced by	immune	susceptible	The seasoned officer remained impervious to public pressure.
Impetus	noun	a driving force that encourages progress	stimulus	deterrent	The subsidy gave fresh impetus to solar panel adoption.
Inexorable	adj.	impossible to stop or prevent	relentless	avoidable	The inexorable rise in urban population strained civic infrastructure.
Ingratiate	verb	to bring oneself into favour by deliberate effort	flatter	alienate	He tried to ingratiate himself with the new manager.
Innocuous	adj.	not harmful or offensive	harmless	harmful	What seemed an innocuous comment sparked an unexpected controversy.
Insidious	adj.	proceeding in a gradual, harmful way	treacherous	harmless	Complacency is an insidious threat to long-term preparation.
Intransigent	adj.	unwilling to change one's views	uncompromising	flexible	The intransigent stance of both sides stalled the negotiation.
Inveterate	adj.	having a long-established habit; deep-rooted	habitual	occasional	He remained an inveterate reader of the daily gazette.
Laconic	adj.	using very few words	terse	verbose	The officer's laconic reply left no room for follow-up questions.
Languid	adj.	displaying a lack of energy; slow	sluggish	energetic	The office wore a languid air on the Friday before a holiday.
Litigious	adj.	prone to taking legal disputes to court	contentious	conciliatory	The firm's litigious approach delayed the settlement for years.
Magnanimous	adj.	generous or forgiving toward a rival	generous	petty	The winning candidate was magnanimous in acknowledging the runner-up.
Malaise	noun	a general feeling of discomfort or unease	unease	wellbeing	A sense of malaise spread through the office after the layoffs.
Maverick	noun/adj.	an unorthodox or independent-minded person	nonconformist	conformist	The department's maverick approach to reform surprised the ministry.
Mendacious	adj.	not telling the truth; lying	deceitful	truthful	The tribunal found the witness's testimony wholly mendacious.
Mitigate	verb	to make less severe or serious	alleviate	aggravate	Early warning systems helped mitigate the flood's impact.
Nebulous	adj.	vague and ill-defined	vague	precise	The proposal's objectives remained frustratingly nebulous.
Obfuscate	verb	to deliberately make something unclear	confuse	clarify	Jargon-heavy notices often obfuscate rather than inform.
Obstinate	adj.	stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion	stubborn	compliant	The obstinate vendor refused to revise the outdated contract terms.
Officious	adj.	intrusively eager to offer help or advice	meddlesome	unassuming	An officious junior kept interrupting the senior officer's briefing.
Onerous	adj.	involving heavy obligations; burdensome	burdensome	effortless	The compliance requirements proved onerous for small vendors.
Palliate	verb	to make a problem less severe without solving it	ease	worsen	The grant only palliates the symptom, not the root cause of the deficit.
Panacea	noun	a solution for all problems or difficulties	cure-all	poison	Technology alone is no panacea for administrative inefficiency.
Parsimonious	adj.	unwilling to spend money; extremely frugal	stingy	generous	The old policy was criticised as parsimonious toward pensioners.
Perfunctory	adj.	carried out with minimum effort or reflection	cursory	thorough	A perfunctory review of the file missed the missing signature.
Peripheral	adj.	of secondary or minor importance	marginal	central	The minor clause was peripheral to the main argument.
Placate	verb	to make someone less angry	appease	provoke	The airline placated the delayed passengers with a meal voucher.
Precarious	adj.	not securely held; likely to fall or fail	unstable	secure	Contract workers often face a precarious employment situation.
Preclude	verb	to prevent from happening	prevent	permit	A prior conviction may preclude eligibility for this post.
Presumptuous	adj.	overstepping what is appropriate; overconfident	arrogant	modest	It would be presumptuous to assume the results before they are declared.
Pretentious	adj.	attempting to impress by affecting greater importance	ostentatious	unassuming	His pretentious use of jargon obscured a fairly simple idea.
Prolific	adj.	producing much in great abundance	productive	unproductive	The bureau has been remarkably prolific in publishing district data.
Propensity	noun	a natural tendency to behave a certain way	inclination	aversion	He shows a propensity for detail that suits an audit role.
Prudence	noun	cautious and sensible conduct	caution	recklessness	Financial prudence kept the cooperative solvent through the downturn.
Quandary	noun	a state of uncertainty over what to do	dilemma	certainty	She was in a quandary over whether to accept the transfer.
Recalcitrant	adj.	stubbornly resistant to authority or guidance	defiant	compliant	The committee struggled to bring the recalcitrant contractor in line.
Reprehensible	adj.	deserving strong condemnation	blameworthy	admirable	Leaking the question paper is a reprehensible breach of trust.
Sagacious	adj.	showing keen judgement and wisdom	wise	foolish	The sagacious old clerk foresaw the delay long before it happened.
Sanguine	adj.	optimistic, especially in a difficult situation	optimistic	pessimistic	Despite the setback, she remained sanguine about the final outcome.
Solicitous	adj.	showing great care or concern	attentive	indifferent	The new manager was solicitous about the team's workload.
Specious	adj.	superficially plausible but actually wrong	misleading	genuine	The vendor's specious argument did not survive the auditor's questions.
Spurious	adj.	not genuine; false, though appearing to be true	fake	genuine	The claim was found to rest on spurious data.
Stoic	adj./noun	enduring hardship without complaint	unemotional	emotional	He remained stoic even after the transfer order came unexpectedly.
Surreptitious	adj.	done secretly to avoid notice	clandestine	open	A surreptitious edit to the file was traced back to a junior clerk.
Taciturn	adj.	reserved and saying little	reticent	talkative	The taciturn officer rarely spoke unless directly addressed.
Truculent	adj.	eager to argue or fight	belligerent	amiable	The truculent applicant argued with every member of the panel.
Ubiquitous	adj.	present or found everywhere	omnipresent	rare	Smartphones have become ubiquitous even in small towns.
Vacillate	verb	to waver between different opinions	waver	decide	The board vacillated for months before approving the budget.
Vindictive	adj.	having a strong desire for revenge	vengeful	forgiving	A vindictive transfer order was later overturned on appeal.
Zealous	adj.	showing great energy for a cause	fervent	apathetic	A zealous reformer, she pushed through three policy changes in a year.

Extension Set (100 new words for this edition)

Word	POS	Meaning	Synonym	Antonym	Example Sentence
Abstruse	adj.	difficult to understand; obscure	esoteric	lucid	The pension formula seemed abstruse until it was explained with an example.
Acquiescence	noun	reluctant acceptance without protest	compliance	defiance	His silence was taken as acquiescence to the revised terms.
Admonish	verb	to warn or reprimand firmly	reprove	commend	The supervisor admonished the team for missing the filing deadline.
Adulation	noun	excessive and uncritical praise	flattery	criticism	The retiring chief was showered with adulation at the farewell.
Aegis	noun	the protection or support of a particular person or organisation	patronage	—	The scheme was launched under the aegis of the rural development ministry.
Affront	noun/verb	an action or remark that causes offence	insult	compliment	The curt reply was taken as a personal affront by the vendor.
Aggrieved	adj.	feeling resentment at unfair treatment	wronged	satisfied	Aggrieved candidates can appeal the result within thirty days.
Allocution	noun	a formal speech, especially of exhortation	address	—	The chairman's allocution set the tone for the annual meeting.
Ambit	noun	the scope, extent, or bounds of something	scope	—	Rural roads fall outside the ambit of the municipal budget.
Ameliorative	adj.	intended to improve a bad situation	corrective	worsening	The ameliorative measures reduced complaints within a month.
Antediluvian	adj.	extremely old-fashioned or outdated	archaic	modern	Staff joked that the filing system was almost antediluvian.
Antithesis	noun	a person or thing that is the direct opposite of another	opposite	equivalent	Her transparent style is the antithesis of the old secretive approach.
Apathetic	adj.	showing or feeling no interest or concern	indifferent	passionate	An apathetic response to the survey limited its usefulness.
Appalled	adj.	filled with dismay or horror	horrified	delighted	Auditors were appalled by the scale of the unrecorded expenses.
Arcane	adj.	understood by very few; mysterious and secret	obscure	well-known	The pension rules are governed by an arcane set of clauses.
Ascendant	adj.	rising in power, popularity, or status	rising	declining	The reformist wing has been ascendant within the party lately.
Assuage	verb	to make an unpleasant feeling less intense	soothe	aggravate	A written clarification assuaged most of the applicants' fears.
Bane	noun	a cause of great distress or annoyance	curse	boon	Slow internet remains the bane of every online exam centre.
Beguile	verb	to charm someone, sometimes in a deceptive way	enchant	repel	The polished presentation beguiled even the skeptical panel members.
Belie	verb	to give a false impression of	contradict	confirm	Her calm tone belied the panic she felt inside.
Bereft	adj.	deprived of or lacking something	devoid	full	The old office block seemed bereft of any modern facility.
Blithe	adj.	showing a casual lack of concern	carefree	anxious	His blithe dismissal of the risk worried the rest of the team.
Brazen	adj.	bold and without shame	shameless	timid	The brazen attempt to bribe the inspector backfired immediately.
Bristle	verb	to react with anger or indignation	react sharply	remain calm	She bristled at the suggestion that her work was careless.
Brusque	adj.	abrupt or blunt in manner	curt	courteous	His brusque reply left the visitor feeling unwelcome.
Burgeon	verb	to grow or increase rapidly	flourish	shrink	Online applications burgeoned once the mobile app was launched.
Cajolery	noun	persuasion through flattery or coaxing	flattery	intimidation	No amount of cajolery could change the auditor's finding.
Calumny	noun	the making of false and defamatory statements	slander	praise	The officer sued for defamation after the calumny in the press.
Capitulation	noun	the act of surrendering or giving in	surrender	resistance	The vendor's capitulation ended a two-month standoff.
Cavalier	adj.	showing a lack of proper concern; offhand	dismissive	careful	A cavalier attitude toward deadlines cost the firm the contract.
Chagrin	noun	annoyance or embarrassment at a failure	vexation	delight	Much to his chagrin, the error was traced back to his own desk.
Chicanery	noun	the use of trickery to achieve one's ends	deception	honesty	The scheme collapsed under the weight of its own chicanery.
Chronic	adj.	persisting for a long time; constantly recurring	persistent	occasional	Chronic understaffing has slowed the department for years.
Circumscribe	verb	to restrict within limits	limit	expand	The new rules circumscribe the discretionary power of local officers.
Contumacious	adj.	stubbornly disobedient to authority	insubordinate	compliant	The contumacious clerk ignored three written warnings before he was suspended.
Comeuppance	noun	deserved punishment or fate	retribution	reward	The dishonest contractor finally got his comeuppance at the audit.
Commiserate	verb	to express sympathy for someone's misfortune	sympathise	congratulate	Colleagues commiserated with him after the transfer order.
Complaisant	adj.	willing to please others; agreeable	accommodating	obstinate	A complaisant clerk cleared the backlog without a single complaint.
Conflagration	noun	an extensive and destructive fire	blaze	—	The conflagration destroyed the old records wing overnight.
Consecrate	verb	to formally dedicate something to a purpose	dedicate	desecrate	The trust consecrated its resources entirely to rural education.
Contrivance	noun	a scheme or device created with clever thought	device	—	The auditors saw through the accounting contrivance immediately.
Convoluted	adj.	extremely complex and difficult to follow	complicated	straightforward	The eligibility clause was so convoluted that few understood it.
Corpulent	adj.	fat; overweight	obese	slim	Sedentary desk jobs are often blamed for a corpulent workforce.
Craven	adj.	contemptibly lacking in courage	cowardly	courageous	His craven refusal to accept blame disappointed his own team.
Credence	noun	belief in the truth of something	acceptance	disbelief	Officials gave little credence to the anonymous complaint.
Culpable	adj.	deserving blame for a wrongful act	blameworthy	innocent	The inquiry found the contractor culpable for the collapse.
Cynosure	noun	a person or thing that is the centre of attention	focal point	—	The young topper became the cynosure of the felicitation event.
Dearth	noun	a scarcity or lack of something	shortage	abundance	A dearth of trained examiners delayed the evaluation process.
Decrepit	adj.	worn out or ruined because of age or neglect	dilapidated	sturdy	The decrepit building was finally condemned after the inspection.
Deleteriously	adv.	in a way that causes harm	harmfully	beneficially	Poor lighting deleteriously affected the workers' productivity.
Deluge	noun/verb	a severe flood; an overwhelming amount	flood	trickle	A deluge of complaints followed the sudden fee hike.
Demur	verb	to raise objections or show reluctance	object	agree	Two members demurred when the proposal came up for a vote.
Depredation	noun	an act of attacking or plundering	plunder	protection	Years of depredation left the forest reserve badly degraded.
Derelict	adj.	in a very poor condition through neglect	abandoned	maintained	The derelict warehouse was finally repurposed as a storage unit.
Desultory	adj.	lacking a plan or purpose; disconnected	random	systematic	His desultory approach to revision left major gaps in his prep.
Diaphanous	adj.	light, delicate, and translucent	sheer	opaque	The report used a diaphanous excuse to avoid the real issue.
Diffuse	adj./verb	spread over a wide area; to spread out	scattered	concentrated	Responsibility for the delay was diffuse across three departments.
Disabuse	verb	to free someone from a mistaken belief	correct	mislead	The trainer disabused recruits of the notion that speed alone wins marks.
Disconcert	verb	to disturb the composure of	unsettle	reassure	An unexpected question disconcerted even the confident candidates.
Disingenuous	adj.	not candid; giving a false impression of sincerity	insincere	genuine	His disingenuous apology fooled no one in the room.
Disquiet	noun	a feeling of anxiety or unease	unease	calm	News of the merger caused visible disquiet among the staff.
Doggerel	noun	comic or crude verse	crude verse	—	The office notice board occasionally features harmless doggerel.
Dogged	adj.	having great determination and persistence	tenacious	irresolute	Her dogged pursuit of the file finally traced the missing payment.
Dubiety	noun	a feeling of doubt or uncertainty	doubt	certainty	Dubiety over the new rule delayed its implementation by months.
Ebullience	noun	overflowing cheerfulness or enthusiasm	exuberance	gloom	The topper's ebullience was infectious at the felicitation.
Eddy	noun	a circular movement of water or air; a swirl	swirl	—	News of the leak created a small eddy of panic online.
Edifice	noun	a large, imposing building; a complex system of beliefs	structure	—	The reform threatened to dismantle the entire edifice of the old system.
Efface	verb	to erase or make indistinct	erase	highlight	Years of neglect had begun to efface the old inscription.
Effigy	noun	a sculpture or model of a person	likeness	—	Protesters burned an effigy outside the ministry over the delay.
Egress	noun	the action of going out or leaving a place	exit	ingress	Fire drills always begin by clearing every egress point in the building.
Elegy	noun	a poem or piece of writing that laments a loss	lament	—	The retiring officer's speech read almost like an elegy for the old office.
Embroil	verb	to involve someone deeply in a conflict	entangle	extricate	The clerk was embroiled in a dispute not of his making.
Emaciated	adj.	abnormally thin, especially from illness or hunger	gaunt	plump	Relief workers found the stranded villagers emaciated and exhausted.
Enclave	noun	a distinct territory or group within a larger one	pocket	—	The old quarter functions almost as an enclave within the city.
Encomium	noun	a formal expression of high praise	tribute	criticism	The retiring chairman received an encomium from the entire staff.
Enmity	noun	a state or feeling of deep-seated hostility	hostility	amity	Decades of enmity between the two factions finally eased after the merger.
Ennui	noun	a feeling of listlessness from lack of occupation	boredom	excitement	Ennui set in among the staff during the slow monsoon months.
Epitome	noun	a perfect example of a particular quality	embodiment	anomaly	Her punctuality is the epitome of professional discipline.
Equanimous	adj.	showing calmness of mind under stress	composed	agitated	He remained equanimous even as the deadline drew close.
Ersatz	adj.	not genuine; being a substitute or imitation	artificial	genuine	The ersatz leather bags were sold as the real product.
Esoteric	adj.	intended for or understood by only a small group	obscure	mainstream	The clause used esoteric legal terms unfamiliar to most applicants.
Estranged	adj.	no longer close or friendly to someone	alienated	reconciled	The two founding partners had become estranged over the years.
Exculpate	verb	to show or declare that someone is not guilty	absolve	incriminate	New evidence exculpated the accused clerk entirely.
Exigency	noun	an urgent need or demand	urgency	routine	The flood created an exigency that overrode normal procedure.
Expiate	verb	to make amends for guilt or wrongdoing	atone	ignore	He tried to expiate the earlier lapse through extra unpaid hours.
Extraneous	adj.	irrelevant or unrelated to the main subject	irrelevant	pertinent	Avoid extraneous details when answering a direct question.
Facetiousness	noun	inappropriate humour about a serious matter	flippancy	seriousness	His facetiousness during the review meeting drew a formal warning.
Fatuous	adj.	silly and pointless	foolish	sensible	The fatuous suggestion wasted nearly ten minutes of the meeting.
Fecund	adj.	producing abundant results, especially of ideas	fertile	barren	The workshop proved fecund ground for genuinely new ideas.
Feint	noun/verb	a deceptive or pretended action	pretence	—	The vendor's late offer was little more than a negotiating feint.
Fetter	verb/noun	to restrain or hold back	shackle	free	Outdated rules continued to fetter the department's efficiency.
Florid	adj.	excessively ornate or elaborate, especially in style	ornate	plain	The invitation's florid language felt out of place for a government event.
Foment	verb	to instigate or stir up trouble	incite	quell	Rumours on social media helped foment unnecessary panic.
Gainsay	verb	to deny or contradict a statement	deny	affirm	Few could gainsay the sheer scale of the reform's early success.
Garrulity	noun	excessive talkativeness	loquacity	reticence	The old clerk's garrulity often slowed the entire queue.
Germane	adj.	relevant to a subject under discussion	pertinent	irrelevant	Keep your answer germane to the question actually asked.
Gregariousness	noun	sociability; fondness of company	sociability	reclusiveness	Her natural gregariousness made her ideal for the front desk.
Guile	noun	sly or cunning intelligence	cunning	honesty	He secured the deal through sheer guile rather than merit.
Harangue	noun/verb	a lengthy and aggressive speech	tirade	—	The supervisor's harangue over the missed deadline went on for an hour.
Hedonist	noun	a person devoted to the pursuit of pleasure	pleasure-seeker	ascetic	A confirmed hedonist, he rarely saved for the future.
Heterodox	adj.	not conforming with accepted beliefs	unorthodox	orthodox	His heterodox teaching methods were unpopular with senior faculty at first.
Hubris	noun	excessive pride or self-confidence	arrogance	humility	Hubris led the once-dominant firm to underestimate its rivals.
Impecunious	adj.	having little or no money	penniless	wealthy	The trust was set up to support impecunious students.
Imperious	adj.	assuming power or authority without justification	domineering	submissive	An imperious tone from a junior officer rarely goes down well.
Impinge	verb	to have an effect on, especially a negative one	encroach	withdraw	Overtime rules should not impinge on statutory rest hours.
Implacable	adj.	unable to be appeased or pacified	relentless	forgiving	The union remained implacable despite three rounds of talks.
Inchoate	adj.	just begun and not fully formed	rudimentary	complete	The reform proposal was still inchoate when it leaked to the press.
Incorrigible	adj.	not able to be corrected or reformed	unreformable	reformable	The tribunal treated him as an incorrigible repeat offender.
Indefatigable	adj.	persisting tirelessly	tireless	weary	Her indefatigable effort kept the relief camp running for weeks.
Ineffable	adj.	too great to be expressed in words	inexpressible	expressible	The ineffable relief on hearing the results showed on every face.
Inimical	adj.	tending to obstruct or harm	hostile	favourable	Red tape remains inimical to small business growth.
Insular	adj.	ignorant of other cultures; narrow-minded	narrow-minded	broad-minded	An insular outlook limited the department's willingness to adopt new tools.
Interminable	adj.	endless or apparently endless	unending	brief	The interminable queue tested even the most patient candidates.
Intrepid	adj.	fearless and adventurous	brave	timid	The intrepid team pressed ahead despite the storm warning.
Inured	adj.	accustomed to something unpleasant	hardened	sensitive	Years on the job had left him inured to hostile complaints.
Invective	noun	strongly abusive or insulting language	vitriol	praise	The debate quickly descended into personal invective.
Jocund	adj.	cheerful and lighthearted	merry	sombre	A jocund mood filled the office after the bonus announcement.
Juxtapose	verb	to place side by side for contrast	contrast	separate	The report juxtaposes last year's data with this year's for comparison.
Knell	noun	the sound of a bell, especially at a funeral; a signal of the end	toll	—	Falling sales sounded the knell for the old outlet format.
Lachrymose	adj.	tearful or given to weeping	tearful	cheerful	A lachrymose farewell speech left few eyes dry in the hall.
Largesse	noun	generosity in giving money or gifts	generosity	stinginess	The donor's largesse funded the entire scholarship programme.
Lassitude	noun	a state of physical or mental weariness	fatigue	vigour	Post-lunch lassitude often shows up in the afternoon batch's scores.
Loquacious	adj.	tending to talk a great deal	talkative	taciturn	The loquacious salesman rarely let a customer finish a sentence.
Lugubrious	adj.	looking or sounding sad and dismal	mournful	cheerful	His lugubrious tone made even good news sound grim.
Malinger	verb	to exaggerate illness to avoid duty	feign illness	work diligently	The supervisor suspected he was malingering to skip the shift.
Meander	verb	to follow a winding course; to wander	wander	proceed directly	The discussion meandered well past the scheduled hour.
Mercurial	adj.	subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood	volatile	stable	Her mercurial temper made her difficult to work under.
Modicum	noun	a small quantity of something	small amount	abundance	Even a modicum of preparation would have improved his score.
Munificent	adj.	very generous	lavish	miserly	The trust's munificent grant covered the entire renovation cost.
Nadir	noun	the lowest point of something	low point	zenith	Staff morale hit its nadir just before the reforms began.
Nefarious	adj.	wicked or criminal	villainous	virtuous	The scheme was a front for a far more nefarious operation.
Obdurate	adj.	stubbornly refusing to change one's opinion	inflexible	yielding	The obdurate vendor rejected every revised offer outright.
Obeisance	noun	deference or respect shown through gesture	homage	disrespect	Junior staff no longer show blind obeisance to hierarchy alone.
Obviate	verb	to remove a need or difficulty in advance	preclude	necessitate	Digital verification obviates the need for a physical visit.
Oscillate	verb	to move or swing repeatedly between states	fluctuate	stabilise	His mood oscillated between optimism and doubt through the wait.
Ostracize	verb	to exclude someone from a group	exclude	welcome	The whistleblower was quietly ostracized by his own colleagues.
Palpable	adj.	able to be touched or felt; obvious	tangible	imperceptible	Relief was palpable across the office once the audit cleared.
Paucity	noun	the presence of something in small quantities	scarcity	abundance	A paucity of trained staff slowed the new branch's rollout.
Penury	noun	extreme poverty	destitution	wealth	The scheme was designed to lift families out of penury.
Perfidious	adj.	deceitful and untrustworthy	treacherous	loyal	A perfidious business partner nearly bankrupted the small firm.
Perspicacious	adj.	having keen insight and understanding	astute	obtuse	A perspicacious auditor spotted the pattern others had missed.
Petulant	adj.	childishly bad-tempered or sulky	irritable	good-natured	A petulant response to feedback rarely helps one's case.
Phlegmatic	adj.	having an unemotional, calm disposition	stoic	excitable	His phlegmatic response to the crisis kept the team steady.
Pillage	verb/noun	to rob a place using violence	plunder	protect	Retreating forces were accused of pillaging the border villages.
Piquant	adj.	pleasantly sharp or stimulating; agreeably pungent	sharp	bland	The editorial's piquant wit made a dry topic readable.
Plaudits	noun	enthusiastic approval or praise	acclaim	criticism	The reform earned plaudits from economists across the spectrum.
Pliable	adj.	easily influenced or persuaded; flexible	malleable	rigid	A pliable junior can be trained quickly, but rarely leads well.
Plutocracy	noun	government by the wealthy	oligarchy of the rich	democracy	Critics warned that unchecked donations could tilt policy toward plutocracy.
Portent	noun	a sign that something significant is about to happen	omen	—	The sudden resignation was seen as a portent of larger changes.
Probity	noun	the quality of having strong moral principles	integrity	corruption	His probity in handling public funds was never once questioned.
Proclivity	noun	a tendency to choose or do something regularly	inclination	aversion	He has a proclivity for double-checking every figure twice.
Prosaic	adj.	lacking imagination; dull and ordinary	mundane	poetic	The report's prosaic style made an interesting finding hard to notice.
Protean	adj.	able to change frequently or easily	versatile	fixed	A protean skill set helped her move across three departments.
Puerile	adj.	childishly silly and trivial	juvenile	mature	The prank was dismissed as a puerile waste of office time.
Pugnacious	adj.	eager or quick to argue or fight	combative	peaceable	A pugnacious negotiating style rarely wins a long-term partner.
Quiescent	adj.	in a state of quiet inactivity	dormant	active	The dispute lay quiescent for months before flaring up again.
Quixotic	adj.	exceedingly idealistic and impractical	idealistic	pragmatic	His quixotic plan to digitise every archive overnight was quietly shelved.
Rancour	noun	bitterness or resentfulness	bitterness	goodwill	Years later, some rancour over the transfer still lingered.
Redolent	adj.	strongly reminiscent or suggestive of something	evocative	unrelated	The old ledger room was redolent of an earlier, slower era.
Repose	noun/verb	a state of rest; to lie at rest	rest	activity	The retired officer finally found repose after decades of service.
Reticence	noun	the quality of being reserved about one's thoughts	reserve	openness	Her reticence in meetings was often mistaken for disinterest.
Sagacity	noun	the quality of being wise and shrewd	wisdom	folly	The old clerk's sagacity saved the department from a costly error.
Salubrious	adj.	health-giving; pleasant	wholesome	unhealthy	The hill posting offered a far more salubrious climate.
Sanctimonious	adj.	making a show of being morally superior	self-righteous	humble	His sanctimonious lecture on ethics irritated the very staff he oversaw.
Sardonic	adj.	grimly mocking or cynical	scornful	earnest	A sardonic remark about the delay drew nervous laughter.
Servile	adj.	excessively willing to serve or please others	subservient	assertive	A servile attitude toward seniors is not the same as respect.
Somnolent	adj.	sleepy or drowsy	drowsy	alert	The heat made the afternoon session distinctly somnolent.
Sonorous	adj.	having a full, deep, and resonant sound	resounding	thin	The chairman's sonorous voice carried to the back of the hall.
Stolid	adj.	calm, dependable, and showing little emotion	impassive	excitable	His stolid response to the setback reassured the anxious team.
Sycophant	noun	a person who flatters others to gain advantage	flatterer	critic	The new manager quickly learned to distinguish advisers from sycophants.
Tirade	noun	a long, angry speech of criticism	diatribe	eulogy	His tirade against the vendor achieved nothing but delay.
Torpid	adj.	mentally or physically inactive; sluggish	lethargic	energetic	The office grew noticeably torpid in the last hour of a long shift.
Trepidation	noun	a feeling of fear or anxiety about something	apprehension	confidence	She approached the interview room with considerable trepidation.
Turgid	adj.	pompous or overblown in style; swollen	bombastic	plain	The circular's turgid language obscured a fairly simple instruction.
Unctuous	adj.	excessively flattering or ingratiating	oily	genuine	His unctuous praise made the panel visibly uncomfortable.
Vacuous	adj.	lacking thought or substance	empty	thoughtful	The candidate's vacuous answer wasted a valuable question.
Venerate	verb	to regard with great respect	revere	disrespect	The founder is still venerated by every batch that follows.
Verbose	adj.	using more words than needed	wordy	concise	A verbose answer rarely scores better than a precise one.
Vicissitude	noun	a change of circumstances, especially an unwelcome one	fluctuation	stability	Despite the vicissitudes of the market, the fund stayed stable.
Vitriolic	adj.	filled with bitter criticism	scathing	complimentary	The vitriolic review did little to help the vendor's case.
Wanton	adj.	deliberate and unprovoked, especially of harm	reckless	careful	The wanton destruction of records delayed the entire audit.
Winsome	adj.	attractive or appealing in a charming way	charming	repellent	Her winsome manner put even the strictest examiner at ease.
Zenith	noun	the highest point reached; peak	peak	nadir	The scheme reached its zenith of popularity within two years.

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