Meaning: An undertaker is a person whose profession is to arrange and manage funerals, including the burial or cremation of the deceased.

Example: The undertaker took care of all the funeral arrangements.

Meaning: Outlandish means strange, bizarre, unusual, or unconventional, especially in appearance or behaviour.

Example: His outlandish fashion sense always attracted attention.

Exam Tip: Outlandish usually has a negative or humorous sense, describing something odd, eccentric, or shockingly unusual. Do not confuse it with outdated, which means old-fashioned.

Meaning: An anthology is a collection of poems, stories, essays, or other literary works, usually by different authors, compiled into a single volume.

Example: The library has an anthology of modern Indian poetry.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these literary terms:

• Anthology = collection of literary works
• Epilogue = concluding section of a book
• Manuscript = author’s original handwritten or typed document
• Lexicon = dictionary or vocabulary of a language

Meaning: Afoot means in progress, underway, or beginning to happen. In the expression “The game is afoot,” it means a new case, adventure, or investigation has begun.

Example: As soon as the detective received the clue, he declared, “The game is afoot!”

Exam Tip: Afoot generally means underway or in progress. The expression “The game is afoot”, made famous by Sherlock Holmes, is often used to indicate that a new investigation or exciting activity has begun.

Meaning: Humongous means extremely large, enormous, or gigantic.

Example: They built a humongous shopping mall in the city.

Exam Tip: Humongous is an informal word meaning very large. It is often used interchangeably with enormous, gigantic, or massive in everyday English.

Exam Tip: Remember these commonly tested “-cide” words:

• Regicide = killing a king or queen
• Homicide = killing a human being
• Parricide = killing one’s parent or close relative
• Fratricide = killing one’s brother

Meaning: A nephrologist is the specialist who diagnoses and treats kidney diseases, whereas a urologist mainly treats diseases of the urinary tract and performs surgeries related to the urinary system and male reproductive organs.

Meaning: Loquacious means very talkative or tending to talk a great deal.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these commonly tested words:

• Loquacious = Talkative
• Voracious = Having a huge appetite or eager for knowledge
• Impecunious = Poor; having little or no money
• Avaricious = Extremely greedy for wealth or possessions

Meaning: Hermaphrodite refers to an organism that possesses both male and female reproductive organs.

Meaning: An obstetrician is a doctor who specializes in pregnancy, childbirth, and the care of women before, during, and after delivery.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these medical specialists:

• Obstetrician = Pregnancy and childbirth
• Paediatrician = Children’s diseases
• Hepatologist = Liver diseases
• Neurologist = Diseases of the nervous system

Meaning: Claustrophobia is the fear of enclosed or confined spaces, such as elevators, tunnels, or small rooms.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these commonly tested phobias:

• Claustrophobia = Fear of confined spaces
• Nyctophobia = Fear of darkness
• Agoraphobia = Fear of open or crowded places
• Aquaphobia (Hydrophobia) = Fear of water

Meaning: An apiary is a place where bees are kept and reared, especially for producing honey and beeswax.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these commonly tested place names:

• Apiary = Place where bees are kept
• Aviary = Place where birds are kept
• Abattoir = Slaughterhouse
• Granary = Storehouse for grain

Meaning: Narcissism means excessive admiration or love for oneself, often accompanied by an inflated sense of self-importance.

Exam Tip: Don’t confuse these commonly tested terms:

• Narcissism = Excessive self-love
• Hedonism = Pursuit of pleasure as the highest good
• Masochism = Deriving pleasure from one’s own pain or humiliation
• Sadism = Deriving pleasure from inflicting pain on others

Meaning: Genocide means the deliberate and systematic killing of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group, with the intent to destroy that group wholly or partly.

Exam Tip: Remember these commonly tested “-cide” words:

• Genocide = Deliberate destruction of a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group
• Homicide = Killing of a human being
• Suicide = Killing oneself
• Regicide = Killing a king or queen