English: Vocabulary Set 4

1. Recourse – a source of help in a difficult situation.

Synonyms: option, possibility, alternative, possible course of action, resort, way out, place/person to turn to, source of assistance, available resource, hope, remedy, choice, expedient; refuge

Antonyms: blockage, hindrance, injury, obstruction, permanent, stop

Sentence Usage: Investors not selling stake, will take legal recourse

2. Propitious – giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorable.

Synonyms: favorable, auspicious, promising, providential, advantageous, fortunate, lucky, optimistic, bright, happy, rosy, full of promise, heaven-sent, hopeful, beneficial; opportune, suitable, apt, fitting, timely, well timed

Antonyms: inauspicious, inopportune, unlucky, cold, cool, unfavorable

Sentence Usage: India has emerged among a few large economies with propitious economic outlook.

3. Discontent – dissatisfaction with one’s circumstances; lack of contentment

Synonyms: dissatisfaction, disaffection, discontentment, discontentedness, disgruntlement, grievances, unhappiness, displeasure.
Antonyms: Calm, contentedness, happiness, satisfaction, easiness, patience

Sentence Usage: Brexit, discontent in Western countries likely to pave way for “Asian Century”.

4. Approbate – approve formally; sanction.

Synonyms: accept, allow, approve, authorize, clear, confirm, consent, endorse, okay, pass, sanction.

Antonyms: contradict, deny, disagree, disallow, disapprove, invalidate, oppose, protest, refuse, reject, repudiate, veto

Sentence Usage: Without parental approbation, how is a child to know what they are worth?

5. Clemency – an act or deed showing mercy or leniency.

Synonyms: compassion, indulgence, leniency, mercy, charity, endurance, fairness, forbearance, gentleness, grace, humanity, justness, kindness, lenience

Antonyms: cruelty, meanness, indulgence, no mercy

Sentence Usage: Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, convicted for alleged involvement in bomb attacks in 1990 in Pak, has sent a fresh clemency appeal .

6. Vagary – an unpredictable or erratic action, occurrence, course, or instance.

Synonyms: quirk, whim, crotchet, fancy, humor, idea, impulse, inconsistency, inconstancy,

Antonyms: actuality, certainty, fact, reality, truth, verity

Sentence Usage: Kharif crops have been affected by vagaries of monsoon.

7. Multifarious – having many varied parts or aspects.

Synonyms: assorted, divers, diversified, manifold, many, miscellaneous, multiple, multitudinous, myriad

Antonyms: unvaried, unvarying

Sentence usage: INS Kalvari can undertake multifarious types of missions.

8. Allay – to put (fear, doubt, suspicion, anger, etc.) to rest; calm; quiet.

Synonyms: alleviate, assuage, calm, ease, lessen, mitigate, mollify, pacify, abate, compose, decrease, lighten,

Antonyms: aggravate, agitate, incite, increase, intensify, irritate, upset, worry, worsen, enlarge

Sentence Usage: Doctors support telecom companies to allay cancer fears from mobile tower radiation

9. Equivocal – allowing the possibility of several different meanings, of doubtful nature or character; questionable.

Synonyms: ambiguous, ambivalent, dubious, evasive, muddled, puzzling, unclear, vague, amphibological, borderline, clear as mud, clouded, disreputable, fishy, fuzzy, hazy

Antonyms: certain, clear, definite, sure, determined, obvious

Sentence Usage: It remains equivocal as to whether or not a Hindu temple was actually destroyed.

10. Enunciate – to announce or proclaim, to utter or pronounce (words, sentences, etc.), especially in an articulate or a particular manner.

Synonyms: affirm, articulate, intone, lay down, outline, propound, utter, announce, declare, deliver, develop, enounce, express, modulate

Antonyms: ask, be quiet, conceal, confine, deny, hide, leave alone, question, repress, withhold

Sentence Usage: The principle has been enunciated by the Supreme Court.