- TORMENT (Noun)
Meaning: severe physical or mental suffering.
Synonyms: suffering, torture, pain, anguish
Antonyms: pleasure, joy
Example: As the test date neared, haunting thoughts of failing her exam began to torment her mind. - COPIOUS (Adjective)
Meaning: abundant in supply or quantity.
Synonyms: abundant, plentiful, ample, profuse
Antonyms: sparse
Example: He was able to support his argument with copious reasoning. - DYSFUNCTION (Noun)
Meaning: disruption of normal social relations.
Synonym: impaired
Antonym: unimpaired, fit
Example: Kidney dysfunction required the patient to have dialysis three times a week. - STRINGENT (Adjective)
Meaning: not allowing for any exceptions or loosening of standards
Synonyms: inflexible, rigid, rigorous.
Antonyms: flexible, lax, loose, relaxed, slack
Example: When Martha was overweight, her doctor put her on stringent diet that left her feeling hungry all the time. - XENOPHOBIC (Adjective)
Meaning: being afraid or strongly disliking outsiders or unknown people.
Synonyms: racist, racialist, ethnocentric,
Antonyms: bountiful, permissive, thoughtful, lenient.
Example: Many xenophobic people are against the building of the border wall because of their hatred toward immigrants. - DISORIENTATION (Noun)
Meaning: the condition of having lost one’s sense of direction.
Synonym: addle, baffle
Antonym: reassure, satisfy
Sentence: Have you seen him experience any dizziness or disorientation? - PRIGGISH (Adjective)
Meaning: self-righteously moralistic and superior.
Synonyms: smug, sanctimonious, moralistic, prudish.
Antonyms: broad-minded, permissive, overstrung,
Sentence: After working for a priggish boss who was never satisfied with my work, I decided to work somewhere else who was not so demanding. - BANTER (Noun)
Meaning: the playful and friendly exchange of teasing remarks.
Synonym: wisecracks, crosstalk, wordplay, ribbing.
Antonym: flattery, praise, work.
Sentence: The teacher always gives us two or three minutes to banter with our friends before she starts the daily lesson. - BOUT (Noun)
Meaning: a short period of intense activity of a specified kind; usually painful or unpleasant.
Synonyms: spell, period, time, stretch, stint.
Antonyms: stagnation.
Sentence: After missing four days of school due to a bout of flu, Emily struggled to make up her missing work. - NEUROSIS (NOUN)
Meaning: mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality.
Synonyms: aberration, dementia, hallucinosis.
Antonyms: lucidity, rationality, reasonability.
Sentence: She got a neurosis about chemicals and imagined them everywhere doing her harm. - IDIOMS
“Caught between two stools”
Meaning: When someone finds it difficult to choose between two alternatives.
Example: He had committed to both and now he’s caught between two stools.“Cross that bridge when you come to it”
Meaning: Deal with a problem if it becomes necessary.
Usage:
He: I think I need to hire a lawyer.
She: Cross that bridge when you come to it.“Cut corners”
Meaning: To take shortcuts; when something is done badly to save money.
Example: They always put quality first; they won’t cut corners just to save money.
