15 Important Words You Must Know As A College Student
As we grow up, so does the quality and quantity of our vocabulary. As a college student, your vocabulary should be rich and sophisticated as compared to students of lower grades.
Here are some of the most important words you should know the meaning of and their pronunciations.
Let’s learn without further ado.
1. Evaluate
Pronunciation – Uh·va·lyoo·ayt
Meaning – to assess or estimate the value, number, quality, or amount of something.
Synonyms: assess; gauge; judge; estimate; appraise; calculate.
Example: The doctor evaluated the condition of the patient and prescribed him accordingly.
2. Dichotomy
Pronunciation – Dai·ko·tuh·mee
Meaning – a contrast or division between two opposite ideas or things such as love and hate, war and peace, or good and bad.
Synonyms: division; separation; polarity; contrast; contradiction.
Example: The dichotomy between public and private schools is obvious.
3. Digress
Pronunciation – Dai·gres
Meaning – to turn aside or step aside, especially, to deviate from the main subject temporarily in writing or speaking.
Synonyms: deviate; diverge; drift; stray; ramble; meander.
Example: He has a habit of digressing often which I am not fond of.
4. Eclectic
Pronunciation – Uh·klek·tuhk
Meaning – having a diverse range of ideas, tastes, or styles; someone who a person who gets their ideas, style, or taste from a wide variety of sources.
Synonyms: extensive; comprehensive; varied; diverse; broad-ranging.
Example: Alice has eclectic taste in music.
5. Eschew
Pronunciation – Uhs·choo
Meaning – to avoid something deliberately.
Synonyms: forgo; forswear; shun; avoid; steer clear off; renounce; reject.
Example: It’s for the best to eschew office gossip.
6. Exacerbate
Pronunciation – Uhg·za·suh·bayt
Meaning – making something that’s already bad even worse.
Synonyms: aggravate; worsen; inflame; intensify; heighten; fan the flames; add insult to injury.
Example: I think I exacerbated her sadness by mentioning her dead grandma to her.
7. Juxtaposition
Pronunciation – Juhk·stuh·puh·zi·shn
Meaning – the act of placing two or more things close together to create a comparing or contrasting effect.
Synonyms: comparison; collocation; proximity; nearness; adjacent.
Example: The book showed a clear juxtaposition of privileged children and street kids.
8. Lucrative
Pronunciation – Loo·kruh·tuhv
Meaning – something that brings a great deal of profit.
Synonyms: profitable; profit-making; gainful; moneymaking; bankable; productive.
Example: The deal with the merger company turned out to be a lucrative one.
9. Loquacious
Pronunciation – Luh·kway·shuhs
Meaning – someone who talks too much; a talkative person.
Synonyms: talkative; wordy; verbose; rambling; gushing; chatty.
Example: Dan can be loquacious sometimes, but he has a good heart.
10. Maverick
Pronunciation – Ma·vuh·ruhk
Meaning – an independent-minded person; an individualist.
Synonyms: individualist; nonconformist; original; trendsetter; eccentric.
Example: Luna has always been a maverick.
11. Nefarious
Pronunciation – Nuh·feuh·ree·uhs
Meaning – having a wicked or criminal quality; a wicked person.
Synonyms: wicked; atrocious; villainous; vile; foul; depraved; abominable.
Example: Maleficent became nefarious after losing her wings and brought havoc to the kingdom of Stefan.
12. Paragon
Pronunciation – Pa·ruh·gn
Meaning – a perfect example; a person regarded as the model of excellence.
Synonyms: archetype; best; exemplar; ideal; classic; epitome.
Example: I am not a paragon of honesty; I have told some white lies in my life.
13. Sublime
Pronunciation – Suh·blime
Meaning – of great beauty or excellence.
Synonyms: exalted; elevated; majestic; lofty; noble; imposing.
Example: The girl’s voice has a sublime quality.
14. Subtle
Pronunciation – Suh·tl
Meaning – being not-so-obvious; something precise and indistinct.
Synonyms: fine; precise; ultra-fine; elusive; minuscule; abstruse.
Example: The difference between homophones and homonyms is subtle but significant.
Read: Difference between homophones, homographs, and homonyms
15. Zealot
Pronunciation – Zeh·luht
Meaning – someone who is uncompromising in their idea, or belief; an overly zealous person.
Synonyms: fanatic; enthusiast; extremist; radical; die-hard; bigot.
Example: Barron is a zealot who thinks only his method of approaching the issue is right.
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