Basic Word List – 20

Vocabulary forms an essential part of every competitive exam. Here is a compilation of first 1000 words that must be prepared by SSC, MBA entrance, and government exam aspirants. Spread over 25 lists of 40 words, these lists offer you a chance to learn the most common English words.
Each word in each list is accompanied with its meaning and followed by a usage example. The words are categorized on three levels: Level 1 (beginner), Level 2 (intermediate) and Level 3 (advanced). Go through the word lists and enhance your vocabulary skills.
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Level-1: Let’s get warmed up
Axis: The center line
Afghanistan is thought to be the major axis of the Golden Triangle through which illegal drugs are routed to different destinations across the whole of Asia.
Enhance: Increase, improve
Most of the film-stars do not look as good off screen as they do on screen; mostly they use cosmetics to enhance their physical attractiveness while shooting for movies.
Gigantic: Enormous
The elimination of poverty from the whole of India is indeed a gigantic task and requires great effort.
Necessity: A need
Our friends show their true colours only in times of necessity.
Negate: Cancel out, nullify, deny
The present government's proposal to impose dividend tax on shareholders totally negates its earlier stand that it wants to reduce the tax burden on common people.
Negotiable: Can be passed on
Though the old road is paved with potholes and other obstructions, it is still negotiable for an expert driver.
Uniformity: Consistency
We must maintain uniformity in applying these rules to each and every government department lest any department should accuse us of being partial.
Level-2: Let’s take it up a notch
Berate: Scold
The father berated his son on his failure to produce the expected result in the final examination.
Captivate: To attract and hold by charm, beauty, or excellence
The musician captivated the audience with his performance.
Dismantle: Take apart
Once the function is over, the tentwallah workers will dismantle the whole shamiana and cart it back to the shop.
Encroach: Trespass
The Municipal Council has warned the general public against encroaching on government land and has further said that they will demolish any such construction without any notice.
Needle: To tease
Zarina was never interested in doing law, it was her father’s constant needling and tormenting that ultimately led her to join the law school.
Oscillate: Vibrate pendulum-like, waver
The way the party has been oscillating from one extreme to the other on the issue at different times makes me wonder if it has got any concrete policy.
Palpable: Obvious
There were palpable signs of relief on the party members’ faces after the crucial budget motion was passed with the required majority.
Passive: Inactive
A passive acceptance of their fate is the biggest cause for the lack of progress among the uneducated citizenry.
Sanctuary: Refuge
The Satyamanglam forests of Karnataka offer a safe sanctuary to Veeraappan and his accomplices, who have been hiding there for years after committing various heinous crimes.
Scamper: To go quickly
As soon as the news of a fire on the third floor spread, the workers scampered down the stairs in haste.
Serene: Calm
The serene environment by the side of the lake was a perfect setting for someone wanting to do serious study or thinking.
Terminate: To put an end or stop to
The employee was terminated once he was caught stealing stationary from office.
Level-3: Time to be a master
Abstruse: Difficult to understand
The abstruse Sanskrit text is beyond my understanding, unless some expert volunteers to help me out.
Babble: Talk thoughtlessly, prattle
The babble of a child, though sometimes beyond understanding, is nevertheless pleasing and enjoyable.
Brash: Offensive
The brash manners of the overconfident girl were quite offensive to the interview panel.
Breech: Part of a gun
He loaded the bullets in the breech and waited for his prey.
Capricious: Inclined to change one's mind impulsively, erratic, unpredictable
The capricious ways in which share prices tumble down or zoom up should give you sufficient warning that you may change from a crorepati to roadpati or vice-versa in minutes.
Carcass: The dead body of an animal, especially one slaughtered for food.
The carcass of the neighbours dog was found a hundred kilometers away from the house.
Discrepancy: Lake of consistency, difference
Upon close examination, we found a glaring discrepancy in the marks obtained by Nonu mentioned on the Marks Sheet and those in the result gazette.
Disdain: Scorn
The BSP's disdain for the "communal" politics of the BJP soon turned into a grudging liking for it, because it had to form a government in UP.
Glib: Marked by ease or informality, lacking in depth, superficial
A smart salesman, by definition, has to be glib-talking, otherwise convincing a customer is no easy job.
Grapple: To take hold of, fight with
Poor grapple everyday with the inflation.
Gratuity: That which is given without demand or claim. Tip.
A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to the restaurant bill by giving tip to the waiter.
Irresolute: Uncertain how to act, weak
Kamzordil’s irresolute nature has landed him in this dilemma; had he acted with determination, he would not have faced this problem.
Nepotism: Favoritism to relatives
The large number of his relatives in key government positions indicates that probably he has been indulging in nepotism while doling out major postings.
Omnivorous: Taking in everything
We do not have any reservations about eating anything, be it meat, vegetables or whatever, in fact, we are omnivores
Provocative: Stimulating
Just yesterday, I heard a very stimulating lecture by a visiting management expert, which demolished all well-established theories as junk and offered a fresh new perspective on "real" management.
Ratify: To approve
Finally the POTO was ratified by the joint session of both the houses.
Rigorous: Very strict
The rigorous training routine in the Army, involving 8 hours of physical exercise, 6 hours of study and 4 hours of classroom lectures left him with little energy to do anything else
Ruthless: Cruel
Balban was quite ruthless in dealing with instances of official corruption and never spared even the religious nobles while handing out punishments for misconduct.
Saccharine: Overly sweet, overly sentiment
The saccharine-coated speech given by Mithu Lal made us believe that he had forgotten all his enmity towards his pet-hate Kanastar Nath.
Specious: Having deceptive attraction or allure
At the most, this kind of specious logic may convince a person who is not familiar with the ways of these tricksters, but me, no-no.
Wary: Very cautious
Having already burnt his fingers in many such schemes, he is quite wary of participating in any new scheme of this kind.
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