Appreciative vs. Appreciable

Appreciative = feeling or showing gratitude, pleasure ; understanding. The opening lecture of his course was listened to by a large and appreciative audience. He was an earnest and appreciative student. I am appreciative of your efforts to improve the lots of orphans. He smiled appreciatively at her. Her novel received a number of appreciative reviews. I am appreciative of the support and help given by you in my extremities. . Appreciable = considerable, substantial, large or important enough to be noticed. Pupils may have…

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Exploit(verb) vs. Exploit(noun)

Exploit = (verb) 1- make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource). We should exploit our scarce resources in the most scientific way. The company should try to exploit the new technology for growth and expansion. The government should adopt ways and means to exploit the untapped natural resources. (2)  use selfishly for one’s own profits  , make use of (a situation) in an unfair way. Some companies are trying to exploit child labour ruthlessly. They exploit the situation through legal loophole. They…

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Useful Idioms – part 9

(1) Put paid to = destroy or finish something  ; stop abruptly. A massive heart attack put paid to his aspiration to become a Carnatic musician. A spinal operation put paid to her career as a ballet dancer. A knee injury has put paid to her chances of getting into final. . (2) Dead end job = A job in which there is little or no chance of career development or advancement into a higher paid position. He had quite a dead-end job as a…

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Awesome vs. Awful.

Awesome = amazing, wonderful, extremely impressive, inspiring awe, respect and admiration etc. He has made an awesome achievement. Mary looked awesome in her dress. Science can show us the awesomeness of nature. Nehru Park is a place of awesome beauty. Her performance was awesome! The street is awesomely quiet. Awful = very unpleasant , horrible, terrible, nasty etc. The backyard of his house smelled awful. His handwriting is awful. She has an awful behaviour. The food they served was awesome but the place they selected…

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Comprehensive vs. Comprehensible

Comprehensive = complete and including everything that is necessary. This is a comprehensive list of all the important aspects to be considered. This book gives a comprehensive account of the functional aspects of English. The government plans to introduce a comprehensive legislation to safeguard the interests of the migrant labourers. The museum has a comprehensive collection of antiques relating to Tippu Sultan era. Comprehensible = easy to understand , intelligible, able to grasp etc. He explained all the technical details in a language comprehensible to the…

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Ultimate, Penultimate, Antepenultimate

Ultimate = (1) being or happening at the end of a process ; final ;last. Their ultimate aim was to conquer the topmost position in the business. The boss will make the ultimate decision who to employ. . (2) the best available of its kind. This restaurant is described as ” the ultimate in luxury”. He is believed to be the ultimate painter of this century. Penultimate = second from the last ; last but one in a series of things. The penultimate chapter of…

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Horizon vs. Horizons

Horizon = the line at which the earth’s surface and the sky appear to meet. The sun rose above the horizon. The moon began to rise slowly above the horizon. It’s beautiful to watch the horizon at the sunset. At the sunrise the sun looked like a ball of fire above the horizon. Horizons = (plural) the limit of a person’s knowledge , experience or interest, perception etc. He wanted to change his outlook and broaden his horizons. The discovery will open up new horizons…

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Shine-shined-shined vs. shine- shone-shone.

(A) Shine =(transitive verb) to make something bright by rubbing it. (shine-shined-shined) “Have you shined your belt? “.the senior police officer asked the new cadet. It’s his practice to shine his shoes well before going to the office. He ironed his shirt and shined his shoes for the interview. The policeman walked along the street ,shining a torch into every car. The soldier shined his sword before entering into the battlefield. (B) Shine =(intransitive verb) -( 1) of the sun or other sources of light )…

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Luxuriant vs. Luxurious

Luxuriant =  strong in growth, abundant. The luxuriant vegetation of tropical region . Tall, luxuriant plants grew along the river bank. This area gets a lot of rain and covered with luxuriant forest. She had luxuriant hair which fell around her shoulders. This tree has wide-spreading branches and luxuriant foliage. Luxurious = supplied with luxury, very  comfortable. She lived in luxurious surroundings. This  is a luxury hotel. They spent a luxurious weekend at the Kovalam beach. During the training programme , the company gave them…

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Shake hands vs. Handshake

Shake hands = (verb) to hold someone’s hand and move it up and down several times as a way of greeting. Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook hands with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan when they met at Delhi to discuss the Kerala flood situation. Nice to meet, Tomi said , shaking my hand when I met him at Chicago. People shake hands when meeting with friends and guests. Children should be taught how to shake hands with their friends. He came up and shook hands with…

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