| Depreciation: A lowering in value or an underrating in worth. |
| The depreciation in her property led her into financial troubles. |
| Evasive: Elusive |
| The superstar was quite evasive during the interview and gave very unclear answers to most questions, which indicated that he was not ready to part with the details on his personal life. |
| Indifferent: Having no interest or concern, impartial |
| This indifferent attitude on part of the government to the promotion of ancient arts has led to a virtual death of such rare arts in India. |
| Interrogate: To ask |
| The police interrogated the arrested don to know more about his links with other criminals. |
| Lethargic: drowsy |
| The reasons behind the lethargic pace of dispensing justice by the courts in India are inadequate number of judges, too many pending cases and outdated laws. |
| Obstruct: To fill with impediments so as to prevent passage, either wholly or in part |
| Tenants must not obstruct access to fire equipment. |
| Crestfallen: Dejected |
| He looked very sad and crestfallen after losing the ambitious project. |
| Eccentric: Odd |
| Kiran’s eccentric ideas at the meeting made everybody wonder whether she was in her senses or not. |
| Extrapolate: Conjecture, guess, surmise, extend data to derive conclusions |
| We are supposed to work on the basis of the information provided to us, we cannot extrapolate anything. |
| Gullible: Easily deceived or cheated |
| The poor gullible fellow believed whatever the mischievous boys told him and soon handed over all his money to them in the belief that it would get doubled within days. |
| Heyday: At one's prime |
| The Congress could not earn this kind of tremendous popularity even during its heyday, talking of it now does not stand up to logic. |
| Insubordinate: Disobedient |
| No officer worth his name would tolerate any kind of insubordination from his juniors in respect of his orders. |
| Irreconcilable: Incompatible, implacable, hardline |
| Because of their irreconcilable differences over almost every issue, they remained sworn enemies throughout their lives. |
| Jeopardise: To put in danger |
| The supervisor feared that he would jeopardize his job by standing up for his workers |
| Luminous: Shining, issuing light |
| The luminous power of a bulb depends on many factors including its wattage, current supply and voltage. |
| Lustrous: Shining |
| Lustrous and healthy hair is achieved by regular care and good diet. |
| Macho: A strong man |
| The success of these racy romantic movies sans any crime shows that the days of macho men, with their biceps and hefty bodies, ruling the celluloid screen seem to be over. |
| Notorious: Well known for evil |
| His notorious reputation in the area is the result of his past track record full of thefts, murders and rapes. |
| Ominous: Threatening |
| The ominous AIDS scenario requires all of us to be extra vigilant in exercising safety norms. |
| Premise: Assumption |
| The BJP had supported the BSP on the premise that it would allow it due share in the process of governance, but contrary to all its beliefs, the BSP acted otherwise. |
| Demean: To degrade |
| It is really ridiculous that while the government could hardly do anything about the demeaning comment by Ashok Kavi. |
| Fulminate: To explode |
| The workers fulminated against the management's overbearing attitude in the form of an indefinite strike. |
| Holocaust: Total destruction |
| The holocaust which Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced as a result of the nuclear bomb is virtually beyond words. |
| Jaded: Tired |
| Though he appeared to be quite jaded after the day's hard work, he agreed to our proposal for a short interview. |
| Lurid: Sensational |
| Sir Alfred Hitchcock is often considered a master in presenting the lurid details of murder. |
| Machinate: Devise an evil plan |
| Shakuni, the Pandvas and the Kuarvas’ maternal uncle, was always busy machinating, making devious plans to make somebody fight against the other for his personal benefits. |
| Magnanimity: Generosity |
| Bill Gates’ act of donating $5 billion for helping the underprivileged in their education will go down as an act of extreme magnanimity of heart and spirit. |
| Malingerer: One who feigns illness to escape duty |
| A malingerer always has a cooked up story to explain his absence from duty. |
| Morbid: Death-like, diseased, unhealthy |
| While fear is a normal human emotion, phobia is a morbid fear of something, feel most psychologists. |
| Occult: Existing but not immediately perceptible |
| He practices occult sciences. |
| Ocular: Of the eye |
| Ocular transplants are being done at this hospital for the benefit of those who are suffering from a clouded cornea. |
| Officiate: To umpire |
| The Vice-Principal has been asked by the management to officiate in view of the Principal's absence. |
| Omniscient: Knowing all things |
| No human being can claim to be omniscient, after all, there is a limit to one’s capacity to learn and retain different things. |
| Presage: Omen |
| The early monsoons presages an early and exceptionally chilly winter season. |
| Presumptuous: Overstepping due bounds of courtesy, taking liberties |
| Please do not be so presumptuous while dealing with the Director, stay within your limits to avoid any problems. |
| Pretentious: Acting superior |
| As any job consultant will tell you, the prime concern at an interview should be: Do not be pretentious to impress, just be your natural self. |
| Replenish: Fill again |
| The in-charge of the guest-house asked the servant to replenish the empty bucket with hot water so that the visitors could have a bath. |
| Reprehend: To find fault |
| Critics have the ability to both praise and reprehend. |
| Suppress: Put down |
| Despite his best efforts, he could not suppress his desire to come out openly against the remarks of the speaker. |
| Treacherous: Likely to betray trust, marked by hidden dangers, perfidious |
| He was stabbed in the back by one of his own snake-in-the-grass treacherous friends. |
