S.

No Words with their meaning and examples

Accountable – (adjective) Responsible for your decisions or actions and expected to explain
them when you are asked.
1  Senior managers are directly accountable to the Board of Directors.
 Politicians are accountable to Parliament.
 Political leaders need to be accountable to the people they represent.
Acute – (adjective) very serious or severe.
 He was suffering from acute chest pains.
2
 The area has an acute water shortage.
 Competition for jobs is acute.
Appalling– (adjective) shocking or extremely bad.
 Prisoners were kept in the most appalling conditions.
3
 After her appalling behavior, we had no option to dismiss her.
 The standard of cleanliness in some of these restaurants is frankly appalling.
Appealing– (adjective) attractive or interesting.
 Spending the holidays in Britain was appealing.
4  Brightly colored packaging made the pens especially appealing to children.
 A little dog with appealing big brown eyes.
Apprehensive– (adjective) worried or frightened that something unpleasant may happen.
5  I'm very apprehensive about tomorrow's meeting.
 The long delay had made me quite apprehensive.
 She was deeply apprehensive that something might go wrong.
Copious– (adjective) in large amounts, or more than enough.
 They drank copious amounts of wine.
6
 He took copious notes during the lecture.
 She supports her theory with copious evidence.
Crooked– (adjective) dishonest.
 All the officials are crooked.
7
 She flashed him a crooked smile.
 The president has vowed to jail crooked executives.
Crystal clear– (adjective) very easy to understand or completely obvious.
 I want to make my meaning crystal clear.
8
 You’ve got to make your intentions crystal clear to them.
 The evidence is now crystal clear.
Cursory– (adjective) done quickly and without giving enough attention to details.
 He gave the report a rather cursory look.
9
 He gave the picture a cursory glance.
 The mayor gave a cursory glance at the report.
Dejected– (adjective) unhappy and disappointed.
 She looked so dejected when she lost the game.
10
 The dejected players left the field.
 She's been so dejected since her sister moved away.
Genial– (adjective) friendly and cheerful.
 He seemed genial enough.
11
 Her manner was quite genial.
 Graham was a genial and modest host.
 Hand-picked– (adjective) carefully chosen for a special purpose.
 The 35-year-old Australian citizen was hand-picked for the post.
12
 They run a farm where you can hand-pick fresh strawberries.
 The executive hand-picked her successor.
Hideous– (adjective) very ugly or unpleasant.
 He had committed a hideous crime.
13
 She was wearing a hideous yellow dress.
 The curtains were a hideous brown colour.
Ideal– (adjective) perfect, or the best possible.
 The houses are absolutely ideal for families with young children.
14
 As a solution to the problem it was far from ideal.
 His apartment would be an ideal place to stay.
Immaculate– (adjective) extremely clean and tidy.
 The property is in immaculate condition.
15
 The suit he was wearing was immaculate.
 Though old, the books were in immaculate condition.
Majestic– (adjective) impressive because of size or beauty.
 The Rockies are majestic in size.
16
 The mountains rising majestically above the surrounding hills.
 The total effect is best described as majestic.
Manifold– (adjective) many different types.
 The possibilities were manifold.
17
 Manifold examples of her work have been preserved in the city archives.
 The benefits of this approach are manifold.
Mediocre– (adjective) not very good; of only average standard.
 I thought the play was only mediocre.
18
 They have replaced a great leader with a mediocre one.
 The player was under some pressure after some mediocre performances.
Monotonous– (adjective) Never changing and therefore boring.
 New secretaries came and went with monotonous regularity.
19
 The housewives were asked if they found housework monotonous.
 The music became monotonous after a while.
Mundane– (adjective) not interesting or exciting.
 I lead a pretty mundane existence.
20
 He had no interest in such mundane details.
 She forced her mind onto more mundane things.
Sluggish– (adjective) moving, reacting or working more slowly than normal and in a way that
seems lazy.
21  He felt very heavy and sluggish after the meal.
 Sales were sluggish.
 The housing market has been very sluggish these past few years.
22 Solicited– (adjective) to ask someone for money, information, or help.
 She had actively solicited funds for her election campaign.
 She solicited support from other teachers.
 Historians and critics are often solicited for their opinions.
 Sore– (adjective) painful and uncomfortable.
 My eyes feel really sore.
23  I've got a sore throat and a running nose.
 My throat is so sore that it really hurts when I swallow.
Spell-binding– (adjective) holding your attention completely.
 He was a spellbinding speaker and a good organizer.
24
 Their pillow talk would have been spellbinding.
 I found her performance spellbinding.
Stellar– (adjective) Excellent.
 The company has a stellar reputation for its treatment of its workers.
25
 His new book recounts his stellar career as a professional risk-taker.
 The movie has a stellar cast.