Students preparing for competitive exams like UPSC CSE, SSC, Bank Exams, etc must understand that it would help them immensely if their language skills were impressive. It is easier to express if you have a good command of the language.
Here’s a way to improve your vocabulary and communication skills. Check out the words for the day and a small quiz to push yourself to improve your word power and language skills.
Assiduous (Adjectives)
Meaning: showing great care and perseverance
Example: He has been very assiduous in his research.
Bay (Verb)
Meaning: (of a dog, especially a large one) bark or howl loudly
Example: A pack of wolves baying the moon
Besiege (Verb)
Meaning: surround (a place) with armed forces in order to capture it or force its surrender / crowd around oppressively; surround and harass
Example: The king marched north to besiege Berwick
Coterie (Noun)
Meaning: a small group of people with shared interests or tastes, especially one that is exclusive of other people
Example: He has numerous houses in several countries and embraces a coterie of celebrity friends
Dichotomy (Noun)
Meaning: a division or contrast between two things that are or are represented as being opposed or entirely different
Example: At each dichotomy, the presumed ancestral genome size was indicated
Also Read: Vocabulary Made Easy series: Work hard to succeed in improving language skills
Embellish (Verb)
Meaning: make (something) more attractive by the addition of decorative details or features
Example: Followers often embellish stories about their heroes
Ersatz (Adjective)
Meaning: (of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else
Example: Those two songs have proved remarkably prescient in their bogus rebellion and ersatz torment
Esoteric (Adjective)
Meaning: intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialized knowledge or interest
Example: Although the text is more accessible, it also loses its mysterious and esoteric qualities
Fetid (Adjective)
Meaning: smelling extremely unpleasant
Example: The fetid water of the marsh
Ignoble (Adjective)
Meaning: not honourable in character or purpose
Example: Ignoble feelings of intense jealousy
Also Read: Vocabulary Made Easy series: Hone your language skills to score well in exams
Put your thinking cap on and try to answer the following questions to understand how much you have grasped.
- Now all such _______________ knowledge is regarded as suspect, as somehow unjust. Which of the following words fits best in the sentence? ( esoteric, ignoble)
- Burns was lamenting within his own lifetime a host of ersatz imitators of his achievement. Which of the following words fits best in the sentence? (ersatz, fetid)
- Can you think of some sentences using the words Embellish, Dichotomy and Coterie?
- Can you think of some antonyms for the word Besiege?
- Can you think of some synonyms for the word Assiduous?
Watch out for this space for your weekly update on improving word power.
(Definitions and examples are from Oxford Languages)
