obeisance [ oh-BEY-suh’ ns, oh-BEE- ]
[noun]
MEANING:
a gesture of body movement that expresses homage, like a bow
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Thousands pay obeisance to the image of Lord Jagannath as it passes through the streets of Puri.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Like Mont St Michel in Normandy, the resulting shrine gave rise to a dramatic church, pilgrims came to make obeisance and a village grew up at its base.
rapine [ RAP-in, -ahyn ]
[noun]
MEANING:
the act of forcefully taking away someone else’s property; pillage
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The rapine of Hindustan by Nadir Shah has been well documented.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
But Japan’s relations with its nearest neighbors are still bedeviled by problems of acknowledging its rapine wartime past.
defamation [ def-uh’-MEY-shuh’ n ]
[noun]
MEANING:
slander, calumny, vilification or an injury to another’s reputation or character
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
The defamation forced him to resign from his job.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
A sessions judge on Tuesday struck off the name of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray from a list of accused in a criminal complaint filed for defamation in a Borivli metropolitan court.
desuetude [ DES-wi-tood, -tyood ]
[noun]
MEANING:
the state or condition of being inactive, unused or no longer practiced
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Post retirement, he existed in a state of desuetude.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Inside Daniel Barenboim’s dressing-room, a crumpled air of desuetude prevails.
inverse [ adj., n. in-VURS, IN-vurs; v. in-VURS ]
[noun,adjective]
MEANING:
1. (adj.) reversed in direction or tendency
2. (adj.) inverted in position or up side down
3. (n.) the state of being opposite
2. (n.) the state of being up side down
USAGE EXAMPLE 1:
Their pleading had an inverse affect which resulted in the villagers going on a rampage instead of being pacified.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2:
Looking at worldwide figures for patents today, an inverse trend can be seen.
WhatsApp