English Vocabulary - Archives

For each word, you will get the meaning and the root of the word and synonyms and antonyms for the word. For each word, you will also get a simple sentence which uses the word. These sentences help you understand the usage of the words.

MACABRE (adj)

Meaning
unpleasant and strange because connected with death and frightening things
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
gruesome, grisly, grim, gory, morbid, ghastly
Antonyms
-
Usage
Macabre rituals like human sacrifice are still prevalent among some tribal communities.

MACHIAVELLIAN (adj)

Meaning
scheming
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
plotting, cunning, crafty
Antonyms
simple, artless
Usage
The Machiavellian politician is rumoured to have incited the mob.

MACHINATIONS (noun)

Meaning
secret and complicated plans, especially to gain power
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
schemes, plots, intrigues, conspiracies, designs, plans, devices, ploys, ruses, tricks, wiles
Antonyms
-
Usage
The machinations of the opposition led to the ruling party's miserable downfall.

MAELSTROM (noun)

Meaning
a situation of confusion or upheaval
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
turbulence, tumult, turmoil, uproar, commotion, disorder, jumble, disarray, chaos
Antonyms
-
Usage
Many nations in the world are caught in the maelstrom of ethnic hatred and racial discrimination.

MAGINIFICENT (adj)

Meaning
extremely beautiful, impressive and elaborate
Root of the word
magn/magna/maj/mas/max = great, big
Synonyms
wonderful, brilliant, outstanding, bravura, superlative, splendid, glorious
Antonyms
modest, ordinary
Usage
The audience appreciated the soprano's magnificent performance.

MAGNANIMOUS (adj)

Meaning
large-hearted and forgiving
Root of the word
magna = big; anim = mind, spirit, soul
Synonyms
noble, generous, honourable
Antonyms
selfish, mean, ignoble
Usage
Her magnanimous gesture of donating her entire earnings from the film to charity received applause from the media.

MAGNATE (noun)

Meaning
a wealthy and influential person, esp. in business
Root of the word
magn/magna = great, big
Synonyms
tycoon
Antonyms
-
Usage
The business magnate bought all the photographs displayed in the exhibition.

MAGNILOQUENCE (noun)

Meaning
the ability or tendency to speak in a grand or bombastic style
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
grandiloquence, loftiness, grandiosity, pompousness, pomposity, pretentiousness, bombast, rhetoric
Antonyms
-
Usage
The sublime theme and the magniloquence of phraseology has made Milton's Paradise Lost a master piece.

MAGNITUDE (noun)

Meaning
great size or importance.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
immensity, vastness, hugeness, enormity, expanse, size, extent, greatness, largeness
Antonyms
smallness
Usage
A project of this magnitude needs careful execution.

MAGNUM OPUS (noun)

Meaning
work of art that is regarded as the artist's best
Root of the word
magn/magna/maj/mas/max = great, big
Synonyms
masterpiece, tour de force, work of genius, stunning success, cinema etc.,
Antonyms
-
Usage
Richard Attenborough's magnum opus Gandhi, was a mega hit everywhere.

MAIM (verb)

Meaning
to injure somebody seriously, causing permanent damage to their body.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
injure, wound, hurt, cripple, disable, put out of action, lame, incapicitate, impair, mar, mutilate,
Antonyms
-
Usage
It is grossly inhuman of the terrorist organisation to maim innocent people in order to promote their cause.

MAINSPRING (noun)

Meaning
the most important part of something, the most important influence on something
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
driving force, root, generator, basis, essence, substance.
Antonyms
-
Usage
Before the onset of industrialization, agriculture was the mainspring of Indian economy.

MAINSTREAM (adj)

Meaning
the ideas and opinions that are thought to be normal because they are shared by most people
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
normal, conventional, ordinary, orthodox, conformist, accepted, established, recognized, common, usu
Antonyms
-
Usage
The veteran politician announced his retirement from mainstream politics.

MALADROIT (adj)

Meaning
awkward
Root of the word
mal = bad
Synonyms
incomplete, gawky, clumsy, ungainly, gauche, inept, lumbering
Antonyms
expert
Usage
The maladroit handling of the strike has aggravated the company's problems.

MALAPROPISM (noun)

Meaning
incorrect usage of words
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
solecism, misuse
Antonyms
-
Usage
One student wrote in his essay, “I have been grown with a lot of fondness by my parents.” What malapropism!

MALCONTENT (noun)

Meaning
a person who is dissatisfied and rebellious
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
troublemaker, mischief-maker, agitator, dissentient, dissident, rebel, discontent complainer, grumbl
Antonyms
-
Usage
A band of malcontents was responsible for creating unrest in the country and destabilizing the government.

MALE CHAUVINIST (noun)

Meaning
a man who believes that women are naturally less intelligent or able than men, and so does not treat men and women equally.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
sexist, chauvinist, anti-feminist, misogynist, woman-hater
Antonyms
-
Usage
Even in today's modern world, there are some male chauvinists who aver that a woman should be confined to the kitchen.

MALEVOLENCE (noun)

Meaning
wickedness
Root of the word
vol = free will
Synonyms
ill will, malice, evil
Antonyms
benevolence
Usage
Milton's Satan is a personification of malevolence.

MALEVOLENT (adj)

Meaning
malicious
Root of the word
vol = wish, will
Synonyms
wicked, spiteful, mean
Antonyms
benevolent
Usage
His malevolent nature did not come to the fore front initially.

MALICIOUS (adj)

Meaning
meaning or meant to do harm
Root of the word
mal = bad
Synonyms
wicked, mean, spiteful, nasty, cruel
Antonyms
kind
Usage
The malicious man beat up the children playing near his house.

MALIGN (verb and adj)

Meaning
slanderous, harmful
Root of the word
mal = bad
Synonyms
damaging, smear, libel, hurtful, criticize
Antonyms
praise
Usage
The Chief requested the press not to malign his overworked police force.

MALIGNANT (adj)

Meaning
evil
Root of the word
mal = bad
Synonyms
hateful, nasty, mean, malevolent, wicked
Antonyms
benign
Usage
She developed a malignant tumor, which eventually proved fatal.

MALPRACTICE (noun)

Meaning
wrong or illegal behaviour while in a professional job
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
wrongdoing, professional misconduct, breach of ethics, unprofessionalism, unethical behaviour, negli
Antonyms
-
Usage
The patient sued the staff of the hospital for medical malpractice.

MAMMOTH (adj)

Meaning
extremely large.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
huge, enormous, mighty, colossal, massive, gigantic, stupendous, king-size, titanic, Brobdingnagian.
Antonyms
tiny, minute
Usage
It was no doubt a mammoth task but we could depend on him as he was a man of exceptional ability and acumen.

MANDATE (noun)

Meaning
command, order, charge
Root of the word
dat = to give
Synonyms
authorization, order, permission, consent and command
Antonyms
-
Usage
The politician losing an election has to accept the people's mandate.

MANDATORY (adj)

Meaning
required by rule or law
Root of the word
dat = to give
Synonyms
compulsory, obligatory
Antonyms
optional, discretionary
Usage
If you have a PAN number, then it is mandatory to file your tax returns.

MANGLE (verb)

Meaning
to hack, tear, or crush into a misshapen state.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
mutilate, maim, disfigure, damage, injure, crush, crumple, hack, cut about, lacerate.
Antonyms
-
Usage
The bodies of the accident victims were mangled beyond recognition.

MANHANDLE (verb)

Meaning
push or drag (someone) roughly
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
jostle, shove, hustle, handle roughly, push, pull; maltreat, ill-treat, mistreat, abuse, maul, moles
Antonyms
-
Usage
The protestors claimed that they were manhandled by the police.

MANIFEST (verb)

Meaning
to show something clearly, especially, a feeling, an attitude or a quality
Root of the word
man = hand
Synonyms
display, show, exhibit, demonstrate, evince, reveal, express, declare
Antonyms
hide
Usage
Her anxiety was manifest in her nervous movements.

MANIFESTOS (noun)

Meaning
a public declaration of policy
Root of the word
man = hand, manual
Synonyms
proposal, program
Antonyms
-
Usage
The tall claims made in election manifestos should not be believed by any sensible man.

MANIPULATE (verb)

Meaning
control or influence in a clever or underhand way
Root of the word
man = hand
Synonyms
exploit, control, influence, manoeuvre, engineer, steer, direct, orchestrate, choreography
Antonyms
-
Usage
The shrewd politician manipulated the facts to suit himself.

MANNERED (adj)

Meaning
(of a style of writing, acting etc) artificial and affected.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
affected, pretentious, unnatural, artificial, contrived, stilted, stiff, forced, put-on, insincere,
Antonyms
natural, unpretentious
Usage
Critics came down heavily on Peter Brinsley's mannered prose style.

MANOEUVRE (noun)

Meaning
a carefully planned scheme or action
Root of the word
man = hand
Synonyms
intrigue, gambit, scheme
Antonyms
-
Usage
In a crafty manoeuvre the dissidents managed to overthrow the ruling party.

MARAUDING (adj)

Meaning
going around a place in search of things to steal or people to attack
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
predatory, rapacious, thieving, vulturine, plundering
Antonyms
-
Usage
Marauding troops of armed men looted money and valuables from many houses in the village.

MARINER (noun)

Meaning
a sailor
Root of the word
mari = sea
Synonyms
sailor, seafarer, seaman
Antonyms
-
Usage
Coleridges 'Ancient Mariner' is a poem about mariners lost in the sea.

MAROON (verb)

Meaning
abandon in a remote place.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
strand, leave stranded, cast away, cast ashore, abandon, leave behind, desert, leave in the lurch.
Antonyms
-
Usage
When he regained consciousness Sindbad found himself marooned on a lonely island.

MARTINET (noun)

Meaning
a strict disciplinarian
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
disciplinarian, slave-driver, stickler for discipline, task-master, taskmistress, authoritarian, tyr
Antonyms
-
Usage
Being a retired army officer, he is a bit of a martinet.

MARVEL (verb)

Meaning
to wonder at
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
be amazed, be astonished, be surprisead, be awed, wonder, stare, gape, be dumbfounded, admire, appla
Antonyms
-
Usage
I could not help marvelling at the beauty of nature.

MASOCHISTIC (adj)

Meaning
hurting or harming oneself
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
-
Antonyms
-
Usage
He is a masochistic worker who does not care for his health.

MASQUERADE (verb)

Meaning
a pretence
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
pretend to be, pose as, impersonate, simulate profess to be
Antonyms
-
Usage
The culprit who masqueraded as a government official and tried to fool the gullible people was caught red handed by the police.

MASTERMIND (verb)

Meaning
to plan and direct a complicated project or activity.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
control, plan, direct, be in charge of, run, conduct, organize, arrange, administer, regulate, super
Antonyms
-
Usage
The country's economic reforms were masterminded by the Finance Minister.

MAUNDER (verb)

Meaning
talk in a rambling way
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
ramble, prattle, prate, blether, blither, drivel, rattle, chatter, jabber, gabble, babble
Antonyms
-
Usage
People are bored by her company because she has nothing interesting to speak, apart from continuously maundering about her problems.

MAVERICK (noun)

Meaning
an unconventional or independent-minded person
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
individualist, rebel, dissident, dissenter
Antonyms
conformist
Usage
The maverick politician was not popular with his partymen.

MAWKISH (adj)

Meaning
sentimental in an excessive way
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
sentimental, over-emotional, cloying, sickly, saccharine, sugary, syrupy, sickening, nauseating
Antonyms
cool, dry
Usage
The poet has the dubious distinction of composing mawkish poems.

MAXIM (noun)

Meaning
a proverb or wise saying.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
saying, proverb, aphorism, axiom, adage, motto, epigram, dictum, gnome
Antonyms
-
Usage
The wise maxims coined by our forefathers, are full of truth, and have relevance even to this day.

MAYHEM (noun)

Meaning
confusion and fear, usually caused by violent behaviour or by some sudden shocking event
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
chaos, disorder, confusion, havoc, bedlam, pandemonium, tumult, uproar, turmoil, madness, maelstrom
Antonyms
-
Usage
The Prime Minister's assassination led to the destabilisation of the government and mayhem in the country.

MEANDERING (adj)

Meaning
following a winding course.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
winding, windy, zigzag, twisting, turning, curving, serpentine, sinuous, shaking, twisty, tortuous.
Antonyms
-
Usage
The meandering river flowed through rivers and valleys.

MEDDLE (verb)

Meaning
interfere with something that is not one's concern.
Root of the word
med/medi = middle
Synonyms
tinker, intrude, butt in, pry
Antonyms
leave alone
Usage
It is not prudent to meddle with the personal affairs of others.

MEDDLESOME (adj)

Meaning
fond of interfering in others offairs
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
interfering, meddling, intrusive, prying, inquisitive, officious, importunate
Antonyms
-
Usage
One must always be wary of meddlesome neighbours.

MEDIOCRE (adj)

Meaning
of only average or fairly low quality
Root of the word
med/medi = middle
Synonyms
average, ordinary, pedestrian, commonplace
Antonyms
outstanding
Usage
The cricket team's mediocre performance in the recently concluded test series drew flak from cricket lovers across the country.

MEEKNESS (noun)

Meaning
submissiveness
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
patience, long-suffering, forbearance, resignation, gentleness, mildness, softness, peacefulness
Antonyms
-
Usage
People always take advantage of her meekness and naivety.

MEGALOMANIA (noun)

Meaning
the false belief that one has great power or importance
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
delusions of grandeur, obsessionalism, grandiosity, grandioseness, self-importance, egotism, conceit
Antonyms
modesty, humility
Usage
The frequent tantrums thrown by most film stars is a typical example of megalomania.

MELANGE (noun)

Meaning
varied mixture
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
mixture, medley, blend, mix, miscellany, diversity, collection
Antonyms
-
Usage
Despite being a melange of various cultures, our country stands united in its diversity

MELEE (noun)

Meaning
a confused fight
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
tumult, disturbance, rumpus, commotion, disorder, brawl, fracas, fight, fray
Antonyms
-
Usage
Several people were injured in the melee triggered by communal disturbance and the police opened teargas shells to bring the situation under control.

MELLOW (adj)

Meaning
relaxed and good humoured
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
genial, jovial, jolly, cheerful, happy, merry
Antonyms
-
Usage
When I met him last evening, I found him in a mellow mood engaged in friendly banter with his friends.

MELODRAMATIC (adj)

Meaning
too dramatic or exaggerated
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
exaggerated, histrionic, extravagant, over-dramatic, overdone, over-sensational, theatrical
Antonyms
calm, stoical
Usage
He conveyed the message with a melodramatic flourish.

MEMOIR (noun)

Meaning
an account written by a public figure of his/her life and experiences
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
account, historical account, history, record, chronicle, annal(s), commentary, narrative, story, rep
Antonyms
-
Usage
The memoirs of his early childhood make for poignant reading.

MERCENARY (adj)

Meaning
motivated chiefly by the desire to make money
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
money-oriented, grasping, greedy, avaricious, acquisitive, covetous, venal, materialistic, unscrupul
Antonyms
altruistic, philanthropic
Usage
The fact that his friends deserted him as soon as he was bereft of all his wealth makes it obvious that their interests in him were purely mercenary.

MERCHANDISE (noun)

Meaning
goods for sale
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
goods, wares, stock, commodities, produce, product.
Antonyms
-
Usage
Shopkeepers display their merchandise in an attractive manner in order to entice customers.

MERCURIAL (adj)

Meaning
often changing or reacting in a way that is unexpected
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
volatile, capricious, temperamental, excitable, fickle
Antonyms
stable, steady, constant
Usage
None can get along with a person who has a mercurial temperament.

MERETRICIOUS (adj)

Meaning
flashy or gaudy
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
pretentious, tawdry, flashy, garish, chintzy, loud, cheap, tasteless, kitschy, false, artificial, fa
Antonyms
-
Usage
Few people are aware of the seamy side that lies behind the meretricious glitter of high society life.

MESMERISED (verb)

Meaning
spell-bound
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
captivated
Antonyms
repulsed
Usage
The gymnast's performance mesmerised the audience.

METAMORPHOSE (verb)

Meaning
change completely in form or nature
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
transform, change, mutate, transmute, transfigure, convert, alter, vary, modify, remodel, recast, re
Antonyms
-
Usage
Over the years she has metamorphosed from a gawky looking teenager into a beautiful young woman.

METTLE (noun)

Meaning
spirit and strength in the face of difficulty
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
fortitude, spirit, tenacity, resolve, determination, resolution, indomitability
Antonyms
-
Usage
He is a man of great mettle and does not rest until he meets his goal.

METTLESOME (adj)

Meaning
spirited; brave
Root of the word
med/medi = middle
Synonyms
gritty, fearless, courageous
Antonyms
timid, timorous
Usage
The Rajputs were mettlesome warriors.

MIDDLING (adj)

Meaning
second – rate, of average size, quality, status etc
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
average, standard, normal, ordinary
Antonyms
-
Usage
The audience who expected a spectacular show were rather disappointed upon witnessing the artist's middling performance.

MILIEU (noun)

Meaning
a person's social environment
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
environment, background, backdrop, setting, context, atmosphere, scene, location, locale, conditions
Antonyms
-
Usage
The social milieu of ancient India was not conducive to the education and emancipation of women.

MINATORY (adj)

Meaning
threatening
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
menacing, baleful, warning, ominous
Antonyms
-
Usage
The minatory sky presaged an imminent storm.

MINISTRATIONS (noun)

Meaning
the act of helping or caring for somebody, especially, when they are ill or in trouble.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
attention, treatment, help, assistance, aid, care, services, succour, relief, support.
Antonyms
-
Usage
Her mother's tender ministrations helped her to overcome her depression and regain her confidence.

MINUSCULE (adj)

Meaning
extremely small
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
tiny, minute, microscopic, little, micro, miniature
Antonyms
vast, huge
Usage
The size of the font was so minuscule that I had to strain my eyes to read through the paper.

MINUTIAE (pl noun)

Meaning
small or relatively unimportant details
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
details, niceties, subtleties, finer points, particulars, trivia, trivialities, trifles, technicalit
Antonyms
-
Usage
Even the minutiae of the plan were executed with great care.

MIRTHFUL (adj)

Meaning
in high spirits
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
merry, cheerful, cheery, hilarious, gleeful, jocular, frolicsome
Antonyms
miserable, dejected
Usage
A mirthful atmosphere prevailed across the kingdom on the occasion of the prince's coronation.

MIRY (adj)

Meaning
very muddy or baggy
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
muddy, oozy, slushy, slimy, swampy, marshy, boggy, fenny, sodden, slushy, saturated, squelch
Antonyms
-
Usage
The incessant rain which lashed the city for the past two days has left the streets dank and miry.

MISAPPREHENSION (noun)

Meaning
a mistaken belief
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
misunderstanding, mistake, error, misinterpretation, misconstruction, misreading, misjudgement, misc
Antonyms
-
Usage
Some people still seem to be under the misapprehension that the role of a woman is confined to the kitchen.

MISBEGOTTEN (adj)

Meaning
badly designed or planned.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
ill-conceived, ill-advised, ill-made, badly planned, hare-brained, abortive.
Antonyms
-
Usage
The misbegotten event ended in a fiasco.

MISDEMEANOUR (noun)

Meaning
an action that is bad or unacceptable
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
wrongdoing, evil deed, crime, felony, misconduct, offence
Antonyms
-
Usage
The management warned him that it would not tolerate any type of misdemeanour any longer.

MISHAP (noun)

Meaning
accidental and unfortunate
Root of the word
hap = by chance
Synonyms
calamity, disaster, misfortune, catastrophe
Antonyms
boon
Usage
The mishap could have been averted if the authorities had been more alert.

MISLAY (verb)

Meaning
to put something somewhere and than be unable to find it again, esp for only a short time.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
lose, misplace, put in the wrong place, lose track of, miss, drop, forget, be unable to find.
Antonyms
find, keep
Usage
Having mislaid his spectacles he spent the whole evening frantically searching for them.

MISSIVE (noun)

Meaning
letter
Root of the word
miss/mit = to send
Synonyms
epistle, note, notification, communication, memo, memorandum
Antonyms
-
Usage
The PM dashed off a missive to the governor expressing his anguish about the law and order situation in the state.

MODICUM (noun)

Meaning
small quantity of something
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
little bit, small amount, particle, degree, speck, fragment, scrap, crumb, grain, morsel
Antonyms
-
Usage
Although diligence and perseverance are essential attributes of success, a modicum of luck will also help.

MODUS OPERANDI (noun)

Meaning
a way of operating or doing something
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
method of working, method, way, manner, technique, style, procedure, approach, course of action
Antonyms
-
Usage
The notorious burglars revealed their modus operandi during the course of their interrogation by the police.

MONASTIC (adj)

Meaning
simple and quiet and possibly celibate.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
austere, ascetic, simple, solitary, monkish, celibate, cloistered, sequestered, secluded, reclusive,
Antonyms
sybaritic
Usage
After his retirement, he isolated himself from society and embraced a monastic existence.

MONOMANIA (noun)

Meaning
an obsession with one thing
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
obsession, fixation, idea, ruling passion, consuming passion, mania, compulsion, fetish, preoccupati
Antonyms
-
Usage
His deep interest in solving crossword puzzles verges on monomania.

MONOTONY (noun)

Meaning
repetitiveness
Root of the word
mono = one
Synonyms
boredom, tedium, dullness, uniformity, ennui, sameness
Antonyms
variation, variety, exicitment
Usage
The holiday at the hill resort was a well-deserved break from the monotony of every day life.

MONUMENTAL (adj)

Meaning
very large or impressive.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
huge, great, enormous, gigantic, massive, colossal, mammoth, immense, tremendous, mighty, stupendous
Antonyms
-
Usage
Entrusting such an important work to her proved to be a monumental blunder.

MORAL FIBRE (noun)

Meaning
the inner strength to do what you believe to be right in difficult situations
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
resolution, fortitude, resolve, backbone, spine, mettle, firmness of purpose
Antonyms
weakness, cowardice
Usage
As he is a man of impeccable moral fibre, his character is worthy of emulation.

MORASS (noun)

Meaning
a complicated situation
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
confusion, chaos, muddle, tangle, entanglement, imbroglio, jumble, clutter, mire
Antonyms
-
Usage
We finally managed to free ourselves from the morass of paper work and secured approval for our project.

MORATORIUM (noun)

Meaning
a temporary stopping of an activity.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
embargo, ban, prohibition, suspension, postponement, stay, stoppage, halt, freeze, standstill
Antonyms
-
Usage
The defence ministry has imposed a five year moratorium on the sale and manufacture of nuclear weapons.

MORDANT (adj)

Meaning
sharply sarcastic
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
caustic, trenchant, biting, acerbic, sardonic
Antonyms
uncritical
Usage
The novelist's sense of humour, albeit mordant, was very appealing to his readers.

MORES (noun)

Meaning
customs and conventions of community, the customs and behaviour that are considered typical of a particular social group or community
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
traditions, practices, habits, usages, customs, conventions, procedures,
Antonyms
-
Usage
Many of the social mores of the past are now obsolete. The mores of ancient society prevented women from pursuing an education.

MORIBUND (adj)

Meaning
at the point of death, losing effectiveness and about to end.
Root of the word
mor/mori/mort = death
Synonyms
waning, obsolescent, seen better days
Antonyms
thriving, recovering
Usage
With young men and women insisting on choosing their life partners themselves, the concept of arranged marriages would soon become moribund.

MORTIFIED (verb)

Meaning
feel extremely offended or embarrassed.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
embarrassed, humiliated, shamed, horrified, appalled, crushed.
Antonyms
pleased
Usage
I was greatly mortified by his slighting remarks.

MOTTLED (adj)

Meaning
marked with patches of a different colour
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
blotchy, spotted, spotty, speckled, streaked, marbled, flecked, freckled, dappled, stippled, piebald
Antonyms
-
Usage
While a majority of plants have green leaves, some crotons have mottled leaves and are used exclusively for ornamental purposes.

MOUNTEBANK (noun)

Meaning
a swindler, a quack seller of remedies
Root of the word
Synonyms
charlatan, trickster, confidence man, fraud, fraudster, impostor, racketeer, hoaxer, quack
Antonyms
Usage
The protagonist of the novel was a mountebank who eventually becomes penitent of his past mistakes and turns over a new leaf. The mountebank who managed to con several gullible people was nabbed by the police.

MULL (verb)

Meaning
to cogitate, turn over in the mind.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
ponder, consider, think over, reflection, contemplate, deliberate, meditate on, muse on.
Antonyms
-
Usage
He mulled over the decision for a long time and finally took a decision.

MULTIFARIOUS (adj)

Meaning
having great variety
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
diverse, numerous, various, varied, diversified, multiple, multitudinous, multiplex, manifold, multi
Antonyms
homogenous
Usage
The sea is home to multifarious life forms. India is a land of multifarious traditions and languages.

MUNIFICENCE (noun)

Meaning
extreme generosity
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
generosity, bountifulness, magnanimity, lavishness, liberality
Antonyms
meanness, niggardliness
Usage
The large donation which he made spoke of the philanthropist's munificence.

MURKY (adj)

Meaning
dark and gloomy
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
grey, leaden, dull, dim, overcast, cloudy
Antonyms
bright, sunny
Usage
The murky weather has a depressing effect on one's mood.

MUSTY (adj)

Meaning
having a stale or mouldy smell or taste.
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
mouldy, stale, fusty, damp, dank, mildewed, midewy, decayed, smelly, stuffy, airless, unventilated.
Antonyms
fresh, fragrant
Usage
The garage, which was full of piles of junk, reeked with a musty odour.

MUTED (adj)

Meaning
muffled sound
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
muffled, faint, indistinct, quiet, soft softened, low, dull; hushed, whispered, lowered, stifled, su
Antonyms
amplified
Usage
Except for the muted sounds of hooting of owls at a distance, the night was still and eerie.

MUTILATE (verb)

Meaning
cause a serious damage to (something)
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
mangle, maim, disfigure, butcher, dismember, tear apart, lacerate, cripple, lame, disable
Antonyms
-
Usage
The rioters went berserk and mutilated the idols in the temple.

MUTINOUS (adj)

Meaning
rebellious
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
insubordinate, subversive, seditious, insurgent, insurrectionary, rebel revolutionary, anarchistic,
Antonyms
obedient, compliant
Usage
The mutinous troops stormed the fortress and opened fire.

MYRMIDONS (noun)

Meaning
faithful followers
Root of the word
-
Synonyms
hirelings
Antonyms
opponents, adversaries
Usage
Hitler was duly served by his group of myrmidons.