Showing proper or
polite behavior
·
Decorous (Adj.)
·
Demure (Adj.)
·
Prim (Adj.)
·
Propriety (Noun)
·
Seemly (Adj.)
Explanation: Demure
(Adj.) means polite and not showy or flashy. Prim (Adj.) means formal and
proper. It has second meaning also. It also means easily shocked or upset by
rude behavior. Propriety (Noun) means proper behavior.
DECOROUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Correct and polite in a particular situation
Use: Jacob has always been considered a polite and decorous neighbor
until he was heard yelling curses and vulgar words at his wife one evening.
DEMURE (Adj.)
Meaning: Polite and not showy or not fleshy
Use: The governess, or woman who was employed to teach and
to take care of little Susie, seemed to be quite reserved and demure,
but she was very watchful and protective of her young child while they were in
the playground or any other place.
PRIM (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) Formal and proper
2)
Easily shocked or upset by rude behavior
Use: She had the look of a prim and proper lady of the
Victorian times, with all her tended hairs.
PROPRIETY (Noun)
Meaning: Proper behavior
Use: Randal's behavior
would not offend the propriety of
the professional organization to which he hoped to belong.
SEEMLY (Adj.)
Meaning: Proper and appropriate for the situation
Use: For most practical purposes the exclusion is one of
form, not substance, and is based on local cultural notions of what is seemly
Marked by chaos/
confusion or disorder
·
Bedlam (Noun)
·
Pandemonium (Noun)
·
Tumultuous (Adj.)
·
Turmoil (Noun)
·
Turbulence (Noun)
·
Tumult (Noun)
BEDLAM (Noun)
Meaning: Very noisy and confused state
Use: There was so
much bedlam in kindergarten, that the teacher couldn’t
be heard when she tried to talk to them!
PANDEMONIUM (Noun)
Meaning: Uproar
Use: When the ships collided in the harbor, pandemonium
broke out among the passengers.
TUMULTUOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Involving a lot of violence, confusion or disorder
Use: After the university
administration rejected the students' proposal to stop an increase in fees,
there were tumultuous protests on the
campus.
TURMOIL (Noun)
Meaning: A state of confusion or disorder
Use: The classroom was
full of turmoil; as, the extremely loud children were
standing on tables, chairs were turned over, the blackboard was covered with
drawings, etc. because the teacher came a half hour late to the class!
TURBULENCE (Noun)
Meaning: A state of violence, confusion or disorder
Use: Avoiding excessive
turbulence generated around moving objects; such as, aircraft, which can make
their motion inefficient and difficult to control, is a major factor in
aerodynamic designing.
TUMULT (Noun)
Meaning: A state of noisy confusion or disorder
Use: "His mind was in
a series of tumults revealing his emotional disturbances."
Showing overly proud
behavior
·
Arrogant (Adj.)
·
Conceited (Adj.)
·
Egotistical (Adj.)
·
Haughty (Adj.)
·
Hubris (Noun)
·
Condescending (Adj.)
·
Ostentatious (Adj.)
·
Supercilious (Adj.)
·
Vainglorious (Adj.)
·
Bombastic (Adj.)
·
Pompous (Adj.)
·
Braggart (Noun)
Explanation: Bombastic, Pompous and Braggart differ in
meaning slightly. They mean talking in a confident way to impress others
ARROGANT (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think
that they are better or smarter than other people
Use: The arrogant attorney was given a
warning by the judge to take it easy when cross-examining the witness.
CONCEITED (Adj.)
Meaning: Having or showing excessive pride in yourself
Use: The author of the
book was a brilliant creator of novels; however, he was also considered a
very conceited compiler of literature by many other
writers.
EGOTISTICAL (Adj.)
Meaning: Having or showing excessively proud behavior
Use: He was vain, egotistical, boorish and gloriously
insensitive.
HAUGHTY (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think
that they are better or smarter than other people.
Use: A haughty person treats other people
as if they are inferior and not worth being around
HUBRIS (Noun)
Meaning: Excessive pride and self-confidence
Use: George started his business career as a pleasant clerk;
however, by the time he became the CEO of the company years later, he showed
signs of hubris which would lead to his downfall.
CONDESCENDING (Adj.)
Meaning: Behaving as if you are better than other people
Use: The customer was condescending to the
saleswoman who was trying very hard to be polite and to provide the best
service possible.
OSTENTATIOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing excessive display
Use: Trump’ s latest casino in Atlantic city is the most
ostentatious gambling place in the East.
SUPERCILIOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing the insulting attitude of people who think
that they are better or smarter than other people.
Use: "Her mother eyed my clothes with a supercilious
attitude."
VAINGLORIOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing too much pride in your abilities or
achievements
Use: James was a vainglorious athlete who
bragged about his basketball talents whenever he was interviewed on TV or the
radio.
BOMBASTIC (Adj.)
Meaning: Speaking or writing to sound important or
impressive
Use: While on the campaign trail, Senator Smith frequently
made bombastic speeches.
POMPOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Speaking or writing to sound important or
impressive
Use: The university newspaper expressed some of the
students' feelings that there was a pompous professor who
seemed to think that he was much too qualified to teach students who had such a
minimal amount of intelligence.
BRAGGART (Noun)
Meaning: A person who brags a lot or one who speaks a lot to
sound important or impressive
Use: James was such a braggart that he
really disturbed people because he couldn't stop talking about winning the
tennis match against a former professional player.
Brave talk or
behavior that shows proud and lot of confidence
·
Bravado (Noun)
·
Swagger (Verb, Noun and Adj.)
Explanation: Bravado (Noun) means confident or brave talk or
behavior that is intended to impress other people. Swagger (Noun) means a way
of walking or behaving that shows lot of confidence. Swagger (verb) means to
walk with confidence. Swagger (Adj.) means showing off.
BRAVADO (Noun)
Meaning: Confident or brave talk or behavior that is
intended to impress other people
Use: I remembered his youthful bravado.
SWAGGER (Verb)
Meaning: To walk with confidence
Use: He swaggered along the corridor.
SWAGGER (Noun)
Meaning: A way of walking or behaving that shows lot of
confidence
Use: After years of hard-earned success on Broadway, the
brothers arrived in Hollywood with an arrogant swagger.
SWAGGER (Adj.)
Meaning: Showing off
Use: They strolled around the camp with an exaggerated
swagger.
Big talks
·
Braggadocio (Noun)
·
Gasconade (Noun)
·
Rodomontade (Noun)
·
Cockalorum (Noun)
·
Fanfaronade (Noun)
·
Grandiloquence (Noun)
·
Declamation (Noun)
Explanation: Declaim (Verb) means to say (something) in
usually a loud and formal way. Declamation (Noun) means stated loudly and in a
formal way.
BRAGGADOCIO (Noun)
Meaning: Exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound
very important or brave
Use: Tina, the new girl in the biology class, had a showy
kind of character and seemed to be a braggadocio who was
telling the other students about the yacht her parents had and of their
traveling back and forth on the coast, but none of it was true!
GASCONADE (Noun)
Meaning: Exaggerated talk of someone who is trying to sound
very important or brave
Use: Joe's grandmother was always making a lot of gasconades
about him whenever anyone asked her about how he was doing as a student in
the university.
RODOMONTADE (Noun)
Meaning: Boasting or bragging speech
Use: For all of its jingoistic rodomontade, the government
had no thought-out plan for the war and its aftermath.
COCKALORUM (Noun)
Meaning: Boastful talk
Use: A boxer who was as famous for his prefight cockalorum
as for his knockouts in the ring.
FANFARONADE (Noun)
Meaning: Empty boasting
Use: All his talk of how he would easily win the boxing
match turned out to be so much fanfaronade.
GRANDILOQUENCE (Noun)
Meaning: Extravagantly pompous or bombastic style especially
in language
Use: A heavyweight champion who was famous for his
entertaining grandiloquence prior to every match.
DECLAMATION (Noun)
Meaning: Stated loudly, confidently and in a formal way
Use: The local newspaper reported on the declamations of
the speaker who had radical and persuasive viewpoints on the subject of climate
change.
Criminal/law breaker
·
Felon (Noun) & Felonious (Adj.)
·
Miscreant (Noun & Adj.)
·
Rogue (Noun & Adj.)
·
Scoundrel (Noun)
FELON (Noun)
Meaning: A criminal who has committed a serious crime
Use: The convicted felon was imprisoned for 10 years before his case
was reviewed.
MISCREANT (Noun)
Meaning: A person who does something that is illegal or
morally wrong
Use: A miscreant robbed an elderly lady after
she got off the bus and was walking to her apartment.
MISCREANT (Adj.)
Meaning: Behaving criminally
Use: She had never seen so many assassins and miscreants
gathered together under the same banner in order to annihilate someone.
ROGUE (Noun)
Meaning: A person who is dishonest or immoral
Use: Trudy's father was a lovable old rogue and
sometimes even a lying old rogue.
ROGUE (Adj.)
Meaning: Corrupt or dishonest
Use: People were complaining about how the rogue police
were committing criminal acts.
SCOUNDREL (Noun)
Meaning: A person who is cruel or dishonest
Use: Some scoundrel stole my wallet.
Easily affected
·
Vulnerable (Adj.)
·
Prone (Adj.)
·
Sensitive (Adj.)
·
Susceptible (Adj.)
Explanation: Prone (Adj.) has second meaning also. It means
lying with the front of your body facing downward.
VULNERABLE (Adj.)
Meaning: Exposed to being attacked or harmed
Use: Jackie was quite vulnerable and broke
out in tears when friends would mention her late husband who died just a few
weeks before.
PRONE (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) Likely to suffer from
2)
Lying with the front of your body facing downward.
Use: She was prone to sudden fits of anger during which she
would lie prone on the floor, screaming and kicking her heels.
SENSITIVE (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) Quick to detect or be affected by slight
changes.
2)
Easily offended or upset.
Use: Bats are sensitive to sounds that
humans can't hear.
SUSCEPTIBLE (Adj.)
Meaning: Easily affected, influenced or harmed by something.
Use: Some teenagers are sometimes very susceptible to
new ways of thinking or of behaving in ways that are unacceptable.
Careless
·
Lax (Adj.)
·
Negligent (Adj.)
·
Remiss (Adj.)
·
Slapdash (Adj.)
·
Slipshod (Adj.)
·
Slack (Verb & Adj.)
·
Derelict (Adj. & Noun)
Explanation: Slack (Adj.) means not stretched or held in
tight position. Slack (Adj.) also means careless. Slack (Verb) means to be
careless. Slack (Verb) also means to lessen in amount. Derelict (Adj.) means
careless or failing to do what should be done. It has second meaning also. It
means something abandoned or something no longer cared. Dereliction (Noun)
means act of abandoning something. It has second meaning also. Dereliction
(Noun) means state of being careless or failure to do your duty or job.
LAX (Adj.)
Meaning: Not careful enough
Use: Both parents were lax with their
supervision of the children and, as a result, the children often got into
mischief.
NEGLIGIENT (Adj.)
Meaning: Failing to take proper care of something or someone
Use: Her mother was a negligent housekeeper
REMISS (Adj.)
Meaning: Not showing enough care and attention
Use: He's terribly remiss
in his work.
SLAPDASH (Adj.)
Meaning: Hurried and careless
Use: This slapdash approach to the recording and
construction of an album possibly could be financially related.
SLIPSHOD (Adj.)
Meaning: Very careless
Use: As a master craftsman, the carpenter prided himself on
never doing slipshod work.
SLACK (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To be careless
2)
To lessen in amount
Use: They need to stop slacking and get down to work.
SLACK (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) not stretched or held in tight position.
2)
Careless
Use: He accused the government of slack supervision of
nuclear technology.
DERELICT (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) careless or failing to do what should be done.
2)
something abandoned or something no longer cared.
Use: The police
officer was charged with being derelict in his duty when he
failed to arrest a man for mistreating his wife.
DERELICT (Noun)
Meaning: 1) act of abandoning something.
2)
state of being careless or failure to do your duty or job
Use: A human derelict is someone who by reason
of his/her actions, etc., has been abandoned by respectable people.
Shinning
·
Luminous (Adj.)
·
Scintillating (Adj.)
·
Refulgent (Adj.)
·
Resplendent (Adj.)
·
Effulgent (Adj.)
·
Lambent (Adj.)
Explanation: Lambent (Adj.) means softly shinning.
LUMINOUS (Adj.)
Meaning: Producing or seeming to produce light
Use: The night sky was the most luminous Jeff
had seen during his vacation, simply glittering with starlight.
SCINTILLATING (Adj.)
Meaning: Brilliantly lively or very impressive or
interesting
Use: Scintillating conversation with a scintillating
personality.
REFULGENT (Adj.)
Meaning: Shinning
Use: Crystal chandeliers and gilded walls made the opera
house a refulgent setting for the concert.
RESPLENDENT (Adj.)
Meaning: Very bright and attractive
Use: The colorful crackers looking resplendent on a moonless
night was an impressive work.
EFFULGENT (Adj.)
Meaning: Brilliant
Use: The exceptional effulgence of the harvest moon is
always a striking sight.
LAMBENT (Adj.)
Meaning: Shinning softly
Use: Jan and Sam could see lambent sunlight
glinting off the waves as they walked along the beach.
Friendly
·
Affable (Adj.)
·
Amicable (Adj.)
·
Amiable (Adj.)
·
Genial (Adj.)
·
Cordial (Adj.)
·
Congenial (Adj.)
AFFABLE (Adj.)
Meaning: Friendly and easy to talk to
Use: As a supervisor, Mike Black was always affable with
his subordinates in that he was always civil and courteous when he had
conversations with them.
AMICABLE (Adj.)
Meaning: Friendly and pleasant
Use: If wars are to end, nations must learn amicable means
of settling their disputes.
AMIABLE (Adj.)
Meaning: Friendly and pleasant
Use: Amiable neighbors help make a house a home.
GENIAL (Adj.)
Meaning: Friendly and cheerful
Use: This restaurant is famous and popular because of genial
proprietor, who tries to make everyone happy.
CORDIAL (Adj.)
Meaning: Politely pleasant and friendly
Use: Germany and the United States have maintained cordial relations
since World War II.
CONGENIAL (Adj.)
Meaning: 1) Very Friendly
2)
Pleasant and enjoyable
Use: Sharon told Mike that she found it a very congenial and
agreeable atmosphere in which to work with him and his staff.
Brief or Using few
words
·
Laconic (Adj.)
·
Pithy (Adj.)
·
Succinct (Adj.)
·
Brevity (Noun)
LACONIC (Adj.)
Meaning: Using few words in speech or writing
Use: When Shawn
asked Betty why she didn't come to the project meeting, she gave him a laconic answer
that she wasn't feeling well.
PITHY (Adj.)
Meaning: Using few words in a clear and effective way
Use: Fighting for the future, for all its provocative
arguments and pithy language, sometimes borders on the apocalyptic.
SUCCINCT (Adj.)
Meaning: Using few words to sate or express an idea
Use: Lorene's succinct summary at the end
of the speech provided the most significant information.
BREVITY (Noun)
Meaning: shortness or conciseness of expression
Use: Brevity is essential when you send a telegram or
cablegram; you are charged for every word.
Main part or
important part
·
Gist (Noun)
·
Pith (Noun)
·
Crux (Noun)
GIST (Noun)
Meaning: The main point or part
Use: The gist of
the lawyer's argument was that the law was unfair to women.
PITH (Noun)
Meaning: The most important part of something
Use: Today’ s journalists are adept to focus on pith.
CRUX (Noun)
Meaning: The most important point under discussion
Use: "The crux of the matter resulted in a problem for
the family."
To think deeply
·
Contemplate (Verb)
·
Ponder (Verb)
·
Cogitate (Verb)
·
Cerebrate (Verb)
·
Ruminate (Verb)
·
Mull (Verb)
·
Muse (Verb & Noun)
·
Meditate (Verb)
·
Chew over (Verb)
Explanation: Ruminate (verb) means to think deeply. For an
animal, ruminate means to bring up and chew again what has already been chewed
and swallowed. Mull (verb) means to grind or mix thoroughly. It has second
meaning also. It means to ponder. Muse (verb) means to be deep in thinking.
Muse (Noun) means a woman who is a source of inspiration for artists.
CONTEMPLATE (Verb)
Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something
attentively
Use: Jack contemplated moving
to a bigger city, thinking that he could find a job with a better salary than
he had so far in the village where he lived.
PONDER (Verb)
Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something
attentively
Use: Ponder or think about the following over a
period of time.
COGITATE (Verb)
Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something attentively
Use: When James got back to the university dormitory, he sat
at his desk and started to cogitate about the science project
he was supposed to complete in three days.
CEREBRATE (Verb)
Meaning: Action of thinking or looking at something
attentively
Use: James was cerebrating whether to go on
vacation this month or next month.
RUMINATE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To think deeply
2)
(For an animal) to bring up and chew gain what has already been chewed and
swallowed
Use: Ron was ruminating about which
university he would go to long before he graduated from high school.
MULL (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To grind or mix thoroughly
2)
To ponder
Use: The team mulled their chances of success
MUSE (Verb)
Meaning: To be deep in thoughts
Use: Latonya will muse upon the suggestion
while she is having her morning coffee.
MUSE (Noun)
Meaning: A woman who is a source of inspiration for artists
Use: Randy's mother was the muse for his
interest in music.
MEDITATE (Verb)
Meaning: To spend time in quiet thought for religious
purposes or relaxation
Use: Marion's friend will take time every day to meditate for
an hour during the morning.
CHEW OVER (Verb)
Meaning: To meditate on or to think about reflectively
Use: Yet another senator chewing over the idea of running
for president.
To irritate/ To
annoy/To make someone angry
·
Exasperate (Verb)
·
Grate (Verb & Noun)
·
Nettle (Verb & Noun)
·
Pester (Verb)
·
Vex (Verb)
·
Persecute (Verb)
·
Disgruntle (Verb)
·
Miff (Verb & Noun)
·
Pique (Verb & Noun)
·
Nag (Verb & Noun)
·
Peeve (Verb & Noun)
Explanation: Grate (Verb) means to irritate someone. It has
second meaning also. It also means to reduce to small particles by rubbing on
something rough. Persecute (Verb) means to annoy someone. It has second meaning
also. It means to treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of
race or religious belief. Disgruntle (verb) means to irritate someone. It also
means to alienate someone. Miff (verb) and Pique (verb) means to make someone
angry. Miff (Noun) and Pique (Noun) means feeling of being annoyed or
irritated. Nag (Verb) and Peeve (Verb) means to annoy or irritate someone. Nag
(Noun) and Peeve (Noun) means one who irritates. Nettle (Verb) means to make
someone angry or to irritate someone. This word has also been covered in series
for To make someone angry.
EXASPERATE (Verb)
Meaning: To make someone very angry or annoyed
Use: Constant interruptions will only exasperate the
speaker.
GRATE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To irritate someone
2)
To reduce to small particles by rubbing on something rough
Use: While the pasta boiled, Jenifer would grate the
cheese for the sauce.
GRATE (Noun)
Meaning: A metal frame with bars across it that is used in a
fireplace
NETTLE (Noun)
Meaning: A plant covered with stinging hairs
NETTLE (Verb)
Meaning: To make someone angry
Use: The mayor’ s recent actions have nettled some members
of the community.
PESTER (Verb)
Meaning: To annoy or bother (someone) in a repeated way
Use: Leave me alone! Stop pestering me!
VEX (Verb)
Meaning: To annoy or worry someone
Use: Jimmy was vexing his sister by
refusing to let her see the TV program that she wanted to watch.
PERSECUTE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To constantly annoy or bother (someone)
2)
To treat (someone) cruelly or unfairly especially because of race or religious
belief
Use: The regime
was known to constantly persecute those who fought against it
during the uprising.
DISGRUNTLE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To annoy someone.
2)
To alienate someone.
Use: The noises made by the students in the classroom
were disgruntling the teacher.
MIFF (Verb)
Meaning: To make someone angry
Use: His comments about minority groups miffed many of us.
MIFF (Noun)
Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated
Use: “No one asked you!” She retorted, with some miff.
PIQUE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To make someone angry
2)
To cause curiosity or interest
Use: It seems that brightly colored things often pique a
young child's interest.
PIQUE (Noun)
Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated
NAG (Verb)
Meaning: To annoy someone
Use: Jim's mother
is always nagging him about his hair style.
NAG (Noun)
Meaning: One who irritates habitually
Use:
PEEVE (Verb)
Meaning: To irritate someone
Use: She is constantly peeved while she is trying to focus
on her work.
PEEVE (Noun)
Meaning: Something that annoys someone
Use: One of her peeves is people who are always late.
Feeling of being irritated
·
Umbrage (Noun)
·
Dudgeon (Noun)
·
Miff (Noun & Verb)
·
Pique (Noun & Verb)
Explanation: We covered word Miff (Noun & Verb) and
Pique (Noun & Verb) in previous serious also.
UMBRAGE (Noun)
Meaning: A feeling of being offended by what someone has
said or done
Use: When Susan’s
husband called up and said that he had to work late at the office again, she
took umbrage and was very disturbed because she suspected
that another woman was involved in his repeated delays in arriving home.
DUDGEON (Noun)
Meaning: State of being irritated or indignant
Use: The woman
walked out in high dudgeon when the clerk refused to let her
look at some expensive purses simply because she was black; even though she was
a millionaire.
MIFF (Verb)
Meaning: To make someone angry
Use: His comments about minority groups miffed many of us.
MIFF (Noun)
Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated
Use: “No one asked you!” She retorted, with some miff.
PIQUE (Verb)
Meaning: 1) To make someone angry
2)
To cause curiosity or interest
Use: It seems that brightly colored things often pique a
young child's interest.
PIQUE (Noun)
Meaning: Feeling of being annoyed or irritated
Use: Marilyn went into a pique when she
didn't get her way.
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