1. Toady – a flatterer; someone who sucks up
Root: From “toad-eater” (one who did dirty acts to please others)
Mnemonic:
“TOADY = acts like a toad, crawling to please.”
Picture in your mind:
A person literally crawling and praising a boss exaggeratedly
2. Mangle – to damage badly
Root: Latin manus = hand (handled roughly)
Mnemonic:
“MAN-GLE = crush with hands.”
Picture:
Clothes twisted and torn inside a washing machine
3. Arduous – very difficult, exhausting
Root: Latin arduus = steep
Mnemonic:
“ARDUOUS = climbing a steep mountain.”
Picture:
A person climbing a steep hill, sweating heavily
4. Galvanised – suddenly motivated or shocked into action
Root: Luigi Galvani (electric experiments)
Mnemonic:
“GALVANI → electric shock → sudden action.”
Picture:
A person jolted by electricity and jumping into action
5. Machismo – excessive masculine pride
Root: Spanish macho = male
Mnemonic:
“MACHO show-off behaviour.”
Picture:
A man flexing muscles aggressively
6. Aspersions – harmful rumours or accusations
Root: Latin aspergere = to sprinkle
Mnemonic:
“Sprinkling dirt on someone’s reputation.”
Picture:
Someone throwing mud at another person’s image
7. Eroded – gradually worn away
Root: Latin erodere = to gnaw away
Mnemonic:
“ERODE = eaten away slowly.”
Picture:
River slowly eating away riverbanks
8. Tampering – interfering dishonestly
Root: Old French tempérer = to mix improperly
Mnemonic:
“TAMPER = touch secretly.”
Picture:
Someone secretly opening a sealed box
9. Resolute – firm, determined
Root: Latin resolutus = loosened → decided firmly
Mnemonic:
“Resolution = strong decision.”
Picture:
A person standing firmly despite strong winds
10. Skewed – twisted, biased
Root: Old French eschiver = to slant
Mnemonic:
“SKEW = slanted view.”
Picture:
A tilted graph showing bias
11. Wane – to decrease gradually
Root: Old English wanian = diminish
Mnemonic:
“WANING moon = shrinking.”
Picture:
Moon slowly getting smaller
12. Inordinately – excessively, unusually
Root: Latin in- (not) + ordo (order)
Mnemonic:
“Out of order = too much.”
Picture:
A person eating an absurdly large portion of food
No comments:
Post a Comment