Word of the Day

Corporate Jargons

Let's circle back on it: to return to a conversation or discussion at a later time.

1. Let me consult my managers, and I’ll circle back to you with a solution.
2. We had a brief conversation about a potential deal, but I told her I’d circle back once I learned some more about her company.

Break it down for me: asking for a simpler, more easy explanation.

1. These graphs are complicated, can you break the data down for me?

Zero bandwidth: So busy that not able to take on new tasks.

1. I am sorry Priya, I don't have the bandwidth to take on this article right now.

Close the loop: to follow up on and/or close out an area of discussion.

1. The Hyderabad client has been calling me nonstop, let’s close that loop as soon as possible.

Raise the bar: to set a high standard and to raise expectations.

1. The olympic athlete plans to raise the bar by setting a new world record

Be in synergy: the working together of two things to produce an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects.

1. Team work at its best results in a synergy that can be very productive.

Rope someone in: to persuade to take part in some activity.

1. The students were roped in organizing the event.

Tangible (Adj)

Meanings:
Perceptible by touch; clear and definite; real.
Usage:
The tension in the room was almost tangible.
She needed tangible proof before she could believe the claim.

Stupendous (Adj)

Meanings:
Extremely impressive; extraordinarily large or impressive in size or degree.
Usage:
The stupendous fireworks display left everyone in awe.
His stupendous effort led the team to victory.

Intransigent (Adj)

Meanings:
Unwilling or refusing to change one's views or to agree about something.
Usage:
The intransigent leader refused to negotiate with the opposition.
Despite the evidence, he remained intransigent in his beliefs.

Machiavellian (Adj)

Meanings:
Cunning, scheming, and unscrupulous, especially in politics or in advancing one's career.
Usage:
The politician's Machiavellian tactics secured him the top position.
He was known for his Machiavellian approach to business, always thinking ten steps ahead.

Inexorable (Adj)

Meanings:
Impossible to stop or prevent; relentless.
Usage:
The inexorable march of time spares no one.
Despite his pleas, the judge was inexorable in her decision.

Psychosomatic (Adj)

Meanings:
Relating to a physical illness or other condition caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress.
Usage:
The doctor explained that her symptoms were psychosomatic, triggered by extreme stress.
Psychosomatic disorders often require both psychological and physical treatment.

Dystopia (N)

Meanings:
An imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice, typically one that is totalitarian or post-apocalyptic.
Usage:
The novel is set in a dystopia where freedom and individuality are suppressed.
Many movies depict a dystopia where technology has taken over human lives.

Reproach (N/V)

Meanings:
Noun: An expression of disapproval or disappointment.
Verb: To express disapproval or disappointment.
Usage:
Noun: The teacher's reproach was clear in her tone.
Verb: He reproached himself for not acting sooner.

Conjugation (N)

Meanings:
The variation of the form of a verb in an inflected language, by which the voice, mood, tense, number, and person are identified.
Usage:
In French, verb conjugation is essential for proper communication.
The teacher explained the conjugation of irregular verbs in detail.

Emaciated (Adj)

Meanings:

Extremely thin and weak, usually due to lack of food.

Usage:

The emaciated figure of the beggar shocked the onlookers.
After weeks of illness, he looked emaciated and frail.

Protracted (Adj)

Meanings:

Extended in time; prolonged.

Usage:

The protracted negotiations finally ended with an agreement.
Their argument turned into a protracted debate that lasted hours.

Rebuke (N/V)

Meanings:

Noun: An expression of sharp disapproval or criticism.
Verb: To express sharp disapproval or criticism of someone because of their behavior or actions.

Usage:

Noun: The teacher's rebuke left the student embarrassed.
Verb: He was rebuked by his boss for arriving late.

Paleontological (Adj)

Meanings:

Relating to the study of fossils and ancient life forms.

Usage:

The paleontological evidence provided insights into prehistoric life.
She pursued a career in paleontological research, fascinated by dinosaurs.

Contiguous (Adj)

Meanings:

Sharing a common border; touching.
Next or together in sequence.

Usage:

The 48 contiguous states of the USA share borders with each other.
The two paragraphs are contiguous, forming a seamless narrative.

Cryptic (Adj)

Meanings:

Having a meaning that is mysterious or obscure.

Usage:

The note was written in a cryptic language that no one could understand.
His cryptic smile left everyone wondering what he was really thinking.
From "The Rattrap" by Selma Lagerlöf:

Trudge (V)

Meanings:

Walk slowly and with heavy steps, typically because of exhaustion or harsh conditions.

Usage:

They had to trudge through the snow to reach their destination.
He trudged back home after a long day at work.

Impoverished (Adj)

Meanings:

Reduced to poverty.
Deprived of strength or vitality.

Usage:

The impoverished village lacked basic amenities.
Decades of conflict left the country impoverished.

Intercede (V)

Meanings:

To intervene on behalf of another.

Usage:

The teacher interceded when the argument between the students escalated.
She interceded with the authorities to prevent her friend’s arrest.

Falter (V)

Meanings:

Start to lose strength or momentum.
Speak hesitantly or with a wavering voice.

Usage:

His determination never faltered, even in the face of adversity.
She faltered when asked about the missing money, revealing her guilt.

Flamboyant (adj)

Meaning:

(of people or their behaviour) different, confident and exciting in a way that attracts attention.

Usage:

1. a flamboyant gesture/style/personality
2. flamboyant clothes/designs
3. The actor's flamboyant lifestyle was well known.
4. His clothes were rather flamboyant for such a serious occasion.

Rummage (v, n)

Meaning:

1. to move things around carelessly while searching for something.
2. (n) a search for something that is difficult to find among other things.

Usage:

1. She rummaged in/through all the drawers, looking for a pen.
2. I had a rummage around/about (the house), but I couldn't find my certificate anywhere.

Fumble (v, n)

Meaning:

1. to use your hands in a way that is not smooth or steady or careful when you are doing something or looking for something.
2. to have difficulty speaking clearly or finding the right words to say.
3. (especially in sport) to drop a ball or to fail to stop or kick it.

Usage:

1. She fumbled in her pocket for a handkerchief.
2. He fumbled with the buttons on his shirt.
3. She was fumbling around in the dark looking for the light switch.
4. He fumbled the key into the ignition.
5. I fumbled to zip up my jacket.
6. During the interview, she fumbled helplessly for words.
7. There was a fumble in the fielding which gave one extra run.

Grope (v)

Meaning:

1. to try and find something that you cannot see, by feeling with your hands.
2. to try and reach a place by feeling with your hands because you cannot see clearly.
3. Someone who gropes someone else touches that person’s body without permission.

Usage:

1. He groped around in the dark for his other sock.
2. She groped for the railing to steady her as she fell.
3. She groped through the darkness towards the doors.
4. I was groping for the right word to describe it.
5. He groped me as I was walking through the crowd.

Grapple (v)

Meaning:

• to fight, especially in order to win something.
• to take a strong hold of somebody/something and struggle with them.

Usage:

• The children grappled for the ball.
• They managed to grapple him to the ground.
• I was grappling to find an answer to this question.
• The government is trying to grapple with inflation.

Sublime (adj, n)

Meaning:

• extremely good, beautiful, or enjoyable.

Usage:

• sublime beauty
• The book has sublime descriptive passages.
• He possesses sublime self-confidence.

Scorn (n, v)

Meaning:

• a very strong feeling of no respect for someone or something that you think is stupid or has no value

Usage:

• Why do you always pour/heap scorn on (= criticize severely and unfairly) my suggestions?
• She was unable to hide the scorn in her voice.
• You scorn all my suggestions.

Scoff (v)

Meaning:

• to laugh and talk about a person or idea in a way that shows that you think they are stupid or silly.

Usage:

• The critics scoffed at his paintings.
• Don't scoff—she's absolutely right.

Synonyms:

1. Lampoon (v, n): to criticize a famous person or a public organization in a piece of writing, a drawing, etc., in a humorous way, allowing their or its bad qualities to be seen and making them or it seem stupid.
2. Ridicule (v, n): to laugh at someone in an unkind way.

Usage: 

• Many celebrities are lampooned on this satirical website.
• The skit brilliantly lampoons upper-class society.
• The magazine is famed for its merciless political lampoons.
• He was ridiculed for his ideas.
• He's become an object of ridicule for his strange behavior. 

Jeer (v)

Meaning:

• to laugh at somebody or shout rude remarks at them to show that you do not respect them.

Usage:

The audience jeered loudly when he came on stage.

The players were jeered by disappointed fans.

Prolific (adj)

Meaning:

• (used especially about a writer, artist, etc.) producing a great number or amount of something.

Usage:

1. Umberto Eco was a prolific writer.
2. a prolific goal scorer

 Furious (adj)

Meaning: extremely angry

Deceive (adj)

Meaning: to persuade someone that something false is the truth; trick or fool

Usage:

1. She was absolutely furious at having been deceived.
2. I was late and he was furious with me.
3. He's furious about/at the way he's been treated.
4. He deceived his mother into believing that he had earned the money, not stolen it.