Vocabulary Made Easy series: Work your way up to excel in competitive exams

Preparing for competitive exams can not just be taxing but also very stressful when the candidates begin to worry about scoring better to excel.

Preparing for competitive exams can not just be taxing but also very stressful when the candidates begin to worry about scoring better to excel.

The verbal section is one such area in which candidates often do not prepare assuming to be able to crack it anyway. (HT File Photo)

To keep all the fear away, candidates appearing for competitive exams must be ready with good strategies and not neglect to prepare for the areas that can be scored easily. The verbal section is one such area in which candidates often do not prepare assuming to be able to crack it anyway.

Here's a way to improve your vocabulary and excel in competitive exams. Check out the words for the day and a small quiz to push yourself to improve your word power.

Manifest (Adjective)

Meaning: Clear or obvious to the eye or mind

Example: When did he begin to manifest these symptoms?

Macerate (Verb)

Meaning: cause to waste away by fasting / (with reference to food) soften or become softened by soaking in a liquid.

Example: The fruit was allowed to macerate before fermentation

Magnanimous (Adjective)

Meaning: generous or forgiving, especially towards a rival or less powerful person

Example: If you are ferocious in battle, remember to be magnanimous in victory

Malapropism (Noun)

Meaning: the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect

Example: ‘dance a flamingo ’ instead of flamenco

Put your thinking cap on and try to answer the following questions to understand how much you have grasped.

1. His nervousness escalated into an avalanche of _____________________. Which of the following words fits best in the sentence? (Malapropisms, Magnanimous)
2. Can you think of some antonyms for the word Macerate?
3. Can you think of some synonyms for the word Manifest?

Watch out for this space for your weekly update on improving word power.

(Definitions and examples are from Oxford Languages)