Abdicate – To give up a throne voluntarily

Autobiography – Life story of a man written by himself.

Aggressor – A person who attacks first

Amateur – One who pursues some art or sport as hobby

Arbitrator – A person appointed by parties to settle the disputes between them

Adolescence – The period between childhood and adulthood

Bibliophile – A great lover of books

Botany – The branch of biology dealing with plant life

Bilingual – A person who speaks two languages

Catalogue – A list of books

Centenary – Celebration of a hundredth year, once –a-century

Colleague – A co-worker or a fellow-worker in the same institution

Contemporaries – Persons living in the same age

Credulous – A person who readily believes whatever is told to him/her.

Callous – A man devoid of kind feeling and sympathy

Cosmopolitan – A man with a broad and international outlook

Celibacy – Abstinence from sex

Deteriorate – To go from bad to worse

Democracy – Government of the people, for the people, by the people

Monarchy – A political system in which a state is ruled by one person

Draw – A game in which neither party wins

Egotist – A person who always thinks of himself; somebody who is selfish or self-centered

Epidemic – A contagious disease which spreads over a huge area

Extempore – A speech or a presentation made without previous preparation

Etiquette – Established rules of conduct; rules of acceptable behavior

Epicure – Somebody who has refined taste for food; somebody who loves sensual pleasure and
luxury

Exonerate – Free somebody from blame or guilt; free somebody from an obligation

Eradicate – Destroy or get rid of something completely; root out an evil or bad practice

Fastidious – A person difficult to please

Fatalist – A person who believes that all events are pre-determined

Honorary – A post which doesn’t carry any salary

Illegal – That which is against law

Illiterate – A person who cannot read or write

Hostility – Intense aggression or anger; state of antagonism

Incorrigible – Impossible to change

Irritable – A man who is easily irritated

Irrelevant – Not applicable

Invisible – That which cannot be seen

Inaudible – That which cannot be heard

Incredible – That which cannot be believed

Impracticable – That which cannot be practiced

Invincible – That which cannot be conquered

Indispensable – Something that is essential and cannot be dispensed with

Inevitable – That which cannot be avoided

Irrevocable – That which cannot be changed

Illicit – That which is considered wrong or unacceptable by prevailing social standards

Insoluble – Incapable of being dissolved in a liquid

Inflammable – Something that quickly catches fire

Infanticide – The act of killing an infant

Matricide – Killing of one’s own mother; killer of one’s own mother

Patricide – Killing of one’s own father; killer of one’s own father

Kidnap - To take somebody away by force and hold him or her prisoner, usually for ransom

Medieval – Belonging to the Middle Ages

Matinee – A cinema show which is held in the afternoon

Notorious – A person with an evil reputation

Manuscript – Handwritten book

Namesake – Somebody or something with the same name as somebody or something else

Novice – One who is new to a trade or profession

Omnipotent – All-powerful; possessing complete power and authority

Omnipresent – One who is present everywhere

Optimist – One who looks at the bright side of things; somebody positive

Panacea – A supposed cure for all diseases or problems

Polyandry – The custom of having more than one husband at a time

Polygamy – The custom of having more than one wife at a time

Postmortem – Medical examination of a dead body

Pessimist – Very negative person; somebody who always expects the worst to happen

Postscript – A short message added on to the end of a letter after the signature

Synonyms – Words which have the same meaning

Smuggler – A person who imports or exports goods into or from a country secretly because they
are illegal or in order to avoid paying duty on them

Vegetarian – Somebody who doesn’t eat meat or fish

Venial – A pardonable offense

Veteran – Somebody who is considerably experienced in something

Zoology – The branch of biology dealing with the study of animalsOne word can often express
the idea of a phrase or clause. Some common one-word substitutes are given below.

Accountable – liable to be called to account

Ambidextrous – of a person who can use both hands equally wellbv

Amnesty – general pardon for political offenders

Amphibious – of animals capable of living both on land and in water

Anarchy – absence of government

Animate – having life

Anonymous – that which does not bear the name of the writer

Antedate – to date before the true time

Antidote – a medicine to counteract the effect of another medicine

Antonym – a word opposite in meaning to another

Aquatic – of animals which live in water

Aristocracy – government by the nobles

Atheist – one who does not believe in the existence of God

Audience – an assembly of hearers at a lecture or concert

Autobiography – the life story of a person written by himself/herself

Autocracy – an absolute government by one man

Avaricious – of a person extremely desirous of money

Behead – cut off the head

Brittle – hard but liable to be easily broken

Bureaucracy – government by officials

Cannibal – of a man or animal that feeds on its own species

Carnivorous – of animals feeding on flesh

Catalogue – a list of names, books etc.

Centenarian – a person who is above hundred years

Colleagues – persons working in the staff of the same institution

Contemporary – belonging to the same period of time

Convalescent – recovering from illness

Cosmopolite – a citizen of the world

Credulous – of a person who easily believes whatever is told to him/her

Democracy – government by the people’s representatives

Edible – that can be eaten

Effeminate – of a man showing feminine attributes

Equestrian – a person who rides on horse-back

Extempore – something said or done without preparation

Fastidious – of a person who cannot be pleased easily

Fatal – anything that leads to death

Fatalist – a person who believes in fate

Foregone – something that has been determined beforehand

Fratricide – the murder or murderer of one’s brother

Germicide – a medicine that kills germs

Gratis – without payment

Gregarious – of animals living in flocks

Herbivorous – of animals feeding on grass and plants

Honorary – a post held without receiving salary

Idolatry – worship of idols

Illegal – against the law

Illegible – impossible to read

Illiterate – a person who cannot read or write

Imperceptible – that which cannot be noticed

Impracticable – that which cannot be put into practice

Impregnable – incapable of being seized by attack

Improbable – that which is unlikely to happen

Inanimate – without life

Inaudible – of sound that cannot be heard

Incorrigible – something that cannot be corrected

Incredible – that which cannot be believed

Incurable – that which cannot be cured

Indefatigable – incapable of getting tired