To beg (someone)

·         Beseech (Verb)

·         implore (Verb)

·         Importune (Verb)

·         Supplicate (Verb)

·         Solicit (Verb)

·         Entreaty (Noun)

Explanation: Entreaty (Noun) means serious request for something.

BESEECH (Verb)

Meaning: To ask (someone) in a serious and emotional way to do something

Use: Falling to her knees, the princess cried, "Please, kind knight, I beseech you to let me go."

IMPLORE (Verb)

Meaning: To beg earnestly

Use: The tenants implored their landlord not to sell the house

IMPORTUNE (Verb)

Meaning: To ask (someone) for something or to do something in a repeated or annoying way

Use: Despite the fact that Ira knew Pam's feet were hurting her, he was importuning her to go for a walk with him around the harbor.

SUPPLICATE (Verb)

Meaning: Humbly ask for something

Use: Sometimes, when a student hasn't been able to complete a homework assignment on time, he or she might supplicate the teacher for an extension of the deadline.

SOLICIT (Verb)

Meaning: To ask for (something, such as money or help) from people, companies etc.

Use: Although prostitution was not itself an offense, soliciting was

ENTREATY (Noun)

Meaning: A serious request for something

Use: Our entreaties to give us another few minutes to answer the test questions fell on deaf ears.

To ruin the surface of (something)

·         Deface (Verb)

·         Mar (Verb)

DEFACE (Verb)

Meaning: To ruin the surface of (something) especially with writing or pictures

Use: The young man was caught defacing his father's books.

MAR (Verb)

Meaning: To ruin the beauty or perfection of (something)

Use: The church is currently being repainted whilst construction to the front of the secondary school mars its appearance somewhat.

Not interesting/Dull/Boring

·         Prosaic (Adj.)

·         Humdrum (Adj.)

·         Mundane (Adj.)

·         Banal (Adj.)

·         Hackneyed (Adj.)

·         Trite (Adj.)

·         Threadbare (Adj.)

·         Quotidian (Adj.)

·         Vapid (Adj.)

·         Insipid (Adj.)

PROSAIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or ordinary

Use: Jim was looking for another job because he thought the people at work were too preoccupied with prosaic concerns of day-to-day routines.

HUMDRUM (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull, boring and ordinary

Use: I used to feel almost trapped by the normal, everyday, humdrum life.

MUNDANE (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull and ordinary

Use: The next day was as boring, mundane, unexciting, humdrum and monotonous as usual.

BANAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Boring or ordinary

Use: There were no new ideas in the politician's banal speech.

HACKNEYED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not fresh or original

Use: Sometimes people use hackneyed words, phrases, jokes, or topics to such a degree that they are boring and of little interest for others who have to listen to them.

TRITE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not fresh or original

Use: The continuous trite announcements on TV about the famous person's trial became uninteresting and boring.

THREADBARE (Adj.)

Meaning: Not very effective, interesting etc. because of being used too often

Use: A novel filled with nothing but threadbare clichés.

QUOTIDIAN (Adj.)

Meaning: Ordinary or very common

Use: The orderly operation of the federal government depend upon this continuous and quotidian cooperation.

VAPID (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or boring

Use: Goldie sang a song with vapid or lifeless and unexciting lyrics.

INSIPID (Adj.)

Meaning: Dull or boring

Use: He was said to have an insipid personality."

New/Not known before

·         Novel (Adj.)

·         Groundbreaking (Adj.)

·         Unprecedented (Adj.)

·         Innovative (Adj.)

NOVEL (Adj.)

Meaning: New and different from what has been known before

Use: She has suggested a novel approach to the problem.

GROUNDBREAKING (Adj.)

Meaning: Introducing new ideas or methods

Use: She was honored for her groundbreaking work in nuclear physics.

UNPPRECEDENTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Not done or experienced before

Use: The government took the unprecedented step of releasing confidential correspondence

INNOVATIVE (Adj.)

Meaning: Introducing new ideas or methods

Use: An innovative approach to the problem.

Activate/Speed up

·         Expedite (Verb)

·         Catalyst (Noun)

Explanation: Expedite (Noun) means to activate or speed up. Catalyst (Noun) means a person or event that activates something.

EXPEDITE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (something) to happen faster

Use: Using postal codes on letters and packages expedites the delivery of mail and Mollie was so glad that the envelope with her birthday greetings was sent the day before to her mother and it was expedited via the mail service.

CATALAYST (Noun)

Meaning: A person or event that quickly causes change or action

Use: The destruction of the Twin Towers in New York on September 11, 2001, was the catalyst for U.S. attacks against terrorists in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.

To stir up revolt

To stir up revolt

·         Incite (Verb)

·         Instigate (Verb)

·         Provoke (Verb)

·         Foment (Verb)

INCITE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (an angry, harmful or violent action or feeling)

Use: The news incited widespread fear and hatred between the two countries over the killing of the boys.

INSTIGATE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (something) to happen or begin

Use: The angry boy on the playground tried to instigate a fight with the others.

PROVOKE (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (a person or animal) to become angry, violent etc.

Use: The noise made by Frank's friends during his birthday party late in the evening provoked his neighbors to complain about it the next day.

FOMENT (Verb)

Meaning: To cause or try to cause the growth of (something bad or harmful)

Use:  Lorna did as much as she could to foment a quarrel between the two politicians at the political rally.

Revolution/violent attempt against government

·         Arson (Noun)

·         Insurrection (Noun)

·         Insurgency (Noun)

·         subversion (Noun)

·         Sedition (Adj.)

ARSON (Noun)

Meaning: The illegal burning of a building or other property

Use: The cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but investigators suspect arson.

INSURRECTION (Noun)

Meaning: A usually violent attempt to take control of a government

Use:  Lorna did as much as she could to foment a quarrel between the two politicians at the political rally.

INSURGENCY (Noun)

Meaning: A rebellion or uprising

Use: People who are involved with an insurgency are called "insurgents", and they usually engage in regular or guerrilla combat against the armed forces of the established government, or conduct sabotage and harassment in the country with the purpose of undermining the government's leadership position.

SUBVERSION (Noun)

Meaning: An attempt to overthrow a government or political system

Use: The authorities claimed that the riots in the city were incited by the subversions of those who were accusing the mayor of planning to raise local taxes again.

SEDITION (Noun)

Meaning: The crime of saying, writing or doing something that encourages people to disobey their government.

Use: Mike's brother was arrested and charged with sedition because he wrote something that urged people to rebel against the political leadership of their country.

A person who incites revolt or who takes part in revolt

·         Incendiary (Noun)

·         Agitator (Noun)

·         Arsonist (Noun)

·         Seditious (Adj.)

·         Demagogic (Adj.)

Explanation: Demagogic (Adj.) deviates slightly. It gives reference to someone who incites revolt especially by appealing to prejudices or by making false claims. 

INCENDIARY (Noun)

Meaning: A person who incites revolt or who takes part in revolt

Use: His speech in defense of abortion was highly incendiary to his mostly Catholic audience.

AGITATOR (Noun)

Meaning: A person who tries to get people angry or upset so that they will support an effort to change a government, company etc.

Use: The police arrested several antigovernment agitators.

ARSONIST (Noun)

Meaning: A person who deliberately sets fire to property

Use: The arsonist threw gasoline on a pile of old rags and tossed a lit match onto the pile, hoping to destroy the building so he could collect an insurance payment that would be worth more than the property. 

SEDITIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Disposed to arouse or taking part in sedition

Use: The seditious comments on television by the politician resulted in his being arrested and his claim that he was only exercising his "right to free speech".

DEMAGOGIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of, relating to, or characteristic of a demagogue or rabble-rouser

Use: People often experience the presentations of demagogic politicians who are running for various offices in governments around the world!

Unsophisticated rural person

·         Bucolic (Adj.)

·         Pastoral (Adj.)

·         Rustic (Adj.)

·         Bumpkin (Noun)

·         Hillbilly (Noun)

·         Yokel (Noun)

BUCOLIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of or relating to the country or country life

Use: I love the idea of a bucolic agrarian business.

PASTORAL (Adj.)

Meaning: Of or relating to the countryside or to the lives of people who live in the country

Use: In these stories of pastoral life, we find an understanding of the daily tasks of country folk.

RUSTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Of, relating to, or suitable for the country or people who live in the country

Use: The tug of war is still considered a rustic sport in the cities.

BUMPKIN (Noun)

Meaning: An awkward and unsophisticated rural person

Use: Met a fellow English bumpkin while travelling to Birmingham.

HILLBILLY (Noun)

Meaning: A person from a rural area who is often regarded as someone who lacks education, who is stupid etc.

Use: In the skit, he was a shy hillbilly in love with a city girl.

YOKEL (Noun)

Meaning: An innocent inhabitant of a rural area or small town

Use: A lame comedy about the misadventures of yokels in the big city.

Remaining part

·         Remnant (Noun)

·         Trace (Noun)

·         Vestige (Noun)

·         Residual (Noun & Adj.)

REMNANT (Noun)

Meaning: Remaining part

Use: I suggest that you wait until the store places the remnants of these goods on sale.

TRACE (Noun)

Meaning:

Use: The killer left no traces.

VESTIGE (Noun)

Meaning: The last small part that remains of something that existed before

Use: The vestiges of the footprints in the sand gave the biologist hints that a large turtle had crawled on the beach during the night.

RESIDUAL (Noun)

Meaning: The last small part that remains of something that existed before

Use: The fossilized residuals of dinosaurs.

RESIDUAL (Adj.)

Meaning: The remaining part after greater part has gone

Use: She is still dealing with the residual effects of the accident.

Self-Satisfied

·         Complacent (Adj.)

·         Smug (Adj.)

·         Smirk (Verb)

·         Gloat (Verb)

Explanation: Smirk (or gloat) (Verb) means to be satisfied with yourself and to be happy about someone’ s else trouble.

COMPLACENT (Adj.)

Meaning: Satisfied or unconcerned

Use: Ever since Cain received his raise, he has been the most complacent person in the office and he doesn't do as much work as he did before.

SMUG (Adj.)

Meaning: Highly self-satisfied

Use: "Samuel had a smug expression on his face because he was sure he had won the competition."

SMIRK (Verb)

Meaning: To be satisfied with yourself and to be happy about someone’ s else trouble

Use: The nasty minded youth seemed to smirk when making a comment that would debase the reputation of his friend.

GLOAT (Verb)

Meaning: To be satisfied with yourself and to be happy about someone’ s else trouble

Use: As you gloat over your ill-gotten wealth, do you think of the many victims you have defrauded?

To embarrass

·         Mortify (Verb)

·         Abash (Verb)

·         Discomfit (Verb)

·         Disconcert (Verb)

·         Discountenance (Verb)

MORTIFY (Verb)

Meaning: To cause (someone) to feel very embarrassed and foolish

Use: She was so mortified by her blunder that she ran to her room in tears.

ABASH (Verb)

Meaning: To destroy the self-possession or self-confidence of

Use: The violinist was abashed when the string on her violin broke right in the middle of her recital.

DISCOMFIT (Verb)

Meaning: To make someone uneasy or embarrassed

Use: The administer was discomfited by the decrease in sales of his company's products.

DISCONCERT (Verb)

Meaning: To make (someone) upset or embarrassed

Use: The sudden change in the weather will disconcert our plans to hike up the mountain.

DISCOUNTENANCE (Verb)

Meaning: To destroy the self-confidence of someone or to embarrass someone

Use: The political party was discountenanced by the actions of a few of its overly zealous members.

Rule/Official order

·         Protocol (Noun)

·         Caveat (Noun)

·         Canon (Noun)

·         Edict (Noun)

·         Rescript (Noun)

·         Decree (Noun)

·         Fiat (Noun)

·         Doctrine (Noun)

·         Dictum (Noun)

Explanation: Doctrine (Noun) means principle of law. It also means set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true. Therefore, we have covered this word in this series and it has also been covered in series for Set of beliefs.

PROTOCOL (Noun)

Meaning: A system of rules that explain the correct conduct and procedures to be followed

Use: The administrative committee met last week to revise the protocol for future meetings.

CAVEAT (Noun)

Meaning: An explanation or warning

Use: Manfred's investment advice came with a caveat that the stock market is impossible to forecast with complete accuracy.

CANON (Noun)

Meaning: A general rule or principle

Use: Anyone who disregards every canon of honesty, as this store manager has, should be fired

EDICT (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: There were edicts of the Roman praetors, and later by the emperors, and then by French monarchs.

RESCRIPT (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: Even though there was never an official rescript ordering mass genocide, that was indeed the intent and effect of the government’ s policy.

DECREE (Noun)

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: The decrees that abolished slavery were meant to establish the foundations of a nation committed to equality for all people.

FIAT (Noun)

 

Meaning: An official order given by a person with power or by a government

Use: The judge sent out judicial fiats requiring witnesses to show up for the trial.

DOCTRINE (Noun)

Meaning: A set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true

Use: Both groups continue to perpetuate the old and outworn doctrines of party politics.

DICTUM (Noun)

Meaning: A statement or well-known remark that expresses an important idea or rule

Use: Medical doctors are required to follow the dictum of "First, do no harm." 

Set of beliefs

·         Doctrine (Noun)

·         Dogma (Noun)

·         Tenet (Noun)

Explanation: We have covered word Doctrine in this series and it has been also covered in series for Rule/Official order. Tenet (Noun) means a belief or idea and Tenant (Noun) means a person who rents a house, apartment etc. from a landlord.

DOCTRINE (Noun)

Meaning: A set of ideas or beliefs that are taught or believed to be true

Use:

DOGMA (Noun)

Meaning: A belief or set of beliefs that is accepted by the members of a group without being questioned or doubted

Use: These new findings challenge the current dogma in the field.

TENET (Noun)

Meaning: A belief or idea that is very important to a group

Use: "The basic tenet of my faith is to be kind to other people."

Containing different varieties of something

·         Assorted (Adj.)

·         Sundry (Adj.)

·         Multifarious (Adj.)

·         Motley (Adj.)

·         Eclectic (Adj.)

ASSORTED (Adj.)

Meaning: Including several kinds

Use: A box of assorted chocolates.

SUNDRY (Adj.)

Meaning: Made up of different things

Use: There were sundry items sitting on the shelf in the bathroom.

MULTIFARIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Of many and various kinds

Use: Some multifarious leaves are arranged in numerous vertical rows.

MOTLEY (Adj.)

Meaning: Made up of many different people or things

Use: A motley crew of discontents and zealots.

ECLECTIC (Adj.)

Meaning: Including things taken from many different sources

Use: He is very eclectic and his mix of abilities is so different from the common concept of an artist.

Sweet sound/Pleasant to ear

·         Harmonious (Adj.)

·         Symphonious (Adj.)

·         Euphonious (Adj.)

·         Melodious (Adj.)

·         Canorous (Adj.)

·         Mellifluous (Adj.)

·         Dulcet (Adj.)

HARMONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: 1) Having a pleasing mixture or combination of notes

                  2) Not experiencing disagreement or fighting

Use: "The room had such harmonious colors in its decor.

SYMPHONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Harmonious

Use: The composer is known for his symphonious orchestrations of instruments from diverse musical traditions.

EUPHONIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a pleasant sound

Use:  Sherry was glad that Dr. Davis, her family doctor, had a very euphonious voice which quieted her down because she was always so nervous when she went to get her yearly vaccination.

MELODIOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Having a pleasing sound

Use: The melodious tones of his mother's voice always reminded William of the wonderful days he spent as a child.

CANOROUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Melodious

Use: A canorous chorus of birdsong filled the morning air

MELLIFLUOUS (Adj.)

Meaning: Melodious

Use: "She made a mellifluous speech with her mellifluous voice."

DULCET (Adj.)

Meaning: Pleasant to hear

Use: Instead of the dulcet sounds of “Silent Night”, there are imprecations emanating from the kitchen.

To support or help prove (a statement, theory etc.)

·         Affirm (Verb)

·         Clinch (Verb)

·         Corroborate (Verb)

·         Endorse (Verb)

·         Substantiate (Verb)

·         Validate (Verb)

AFFIRM (Verb)

Meaning: To say that something is true in a confident way

Use: "The government affirmed its commitment to solve the financial problems."

CLINCH (Verb)

Meaning: To make (something) certain or final

Use:  The judge’s comments appeared to clinch the argument between the lawyers.

CORROBORATE (Verb)

Meaning: To support or help prove (a statement, theory etc.) by providing information or evidence

Use: The independent research from the two scientists appeared to corroborate the cause of the disease.

ENDORSE (Verb)

Meaning: To publicly or officially say that you support or approve of (someone or something)

Use: There are people who are publicly endorsing one or the other candidates who are running for President of the U.S.

SUBSTANTIATE (Verb)

Meaning: To prove the truth of (something)

Use: The officer asked the witness if she had the facts to substantiate the information she was providing about the bank robbery.

VALIDATE (Verb)

Meaning: Prove or declare to be valid

Use: These estimates have been validated by periodic surveys.