1. Concur
• Be of the same opinion or agree
Usage: People pretend to concur with their seniors in order to be in their good books.
Synonyms: Accord
2. Sterile
• Lacking in imagination
Usage: The movie we watched last weekend was sterile.
Synonyms: pointless, unproductive.
• Sterility is the physiological inability to effect sexual reproduction in a living thing, members of whose kind have been produced sexually. Sterility has a wide range of causes.
3. Attune
• Accustom or acclimatize
Usage: I was beginning to attune to my surroundings, which was a thrilling experience.
Synonyms: Condition, Assimilate, Adapt
4. Portentous
• Done in a pompously or overly solemn manner so as to impress
Usage: Whenever the hero of the movie saw women, he started behaving in a portentous manner.
Synonyms: Grandiloquent, Pontifical
5. Brinkmanship
• The art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.
Usage: The Modi government is known for showing brinkmanship.
6. Eurosceptic
• A person who is opposed to increasing the powers of the European Union.
Usage: A Eurosceptic will probably hope for India’s better bilateral ties with Asian nations.
7. Proroguing
• Discontinue a session of a parliament or other legislative assembly without dissolving it.
Usage: The oppositions should avoid proroguing at any cost as it wastes time and resources.
8. Scant
• Barely sufficient or adequate.
Usage: IT service based companies provide their employees with scant remuneration.
Synonyms: Little, Minimal.
9. Fringe
• The outer, marginal, or extreme part of an area, group, or sphere of activity.
Usage: The rebellious fringe seeks a new alternative, and the signature food of the antiglobalization movement is vegan.
Synonyms: Unorthodox, Offbeat
10. Pretext
• A reason given in justification of a course of action that is not the real reason.
Usage: Pakistan is renowned for giving pretexts regarding terrorism.
Synonyms: Excuse, Ostensible reason.
11. Carceral
• Relating to a prison.
Usage: Despite its monstrous, carceral appearance, the convention centre is in fact only modestly sized by other cities’ standards.
12. Unvarnished
• Plain and straightforward.
Usage: The unvarnished approach of peace talks will not work with Pakistan.
Synonyms: Simple, Stark.
13. Hidebound
• Unwilling or unable to change because of tradition or convention.
Usage: He belongs to a hidebound family.
Synonyms: Conservative, Orthodox
14. Pusillanimous
• Showing a lack of courage or determination; timid.
Usage: Suicide bombing is a pusillanimous act.
Synonyms: Cowardly, Spineless.
15. Putative
• Generally considered or reputed to be
Usage: The putative purpose of this Foundation is to collect all the empire’s knowledge in a vast compendium, the Encyclopedia.
16. Minutiae
• The small, precise, or trivial details of something
Usage: Sheldon Cooper is fascinated by the Minutiae of trains.
Synonyms: Finer points, Particulars
17. Clout
• Influence or power, especially in politics or business.
Usage: A rich person carries a lot of clout in India.
