identikit  [  ahy-DEN-ti-kit, i-DEN-  ] [  noun  ] MEANING : (trademark) a kit that contains transparencies or pictures of several variations of different facial features that are used to reconstruct a person's face based on the description of the eyewitness USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : The witnesses description of the assailant enabled the police to make an identikit which matched closely with the actual person who had committed the crime. USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : The clue came late on Friday when Nair’s relatives visited the ‘Missing Persons Bureau’ in Delhi and stumbled upon a computer identikit of Nair, as one who had been found lying dead on railway tracks leading to the New Delhi railway station. The Times Of India, Missing Malaysian NRI found dead in New Delhi, Mohit Dubey, 15 Jun 2003, TNN flamboyant ...

ignoble  [  ig-NOH-buh' l  ] [  adjective  ] MEANING : 1. not belonging to the nobility; of humble rank or lineage 2. base; low; of inferior grade USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : His ignoble purposes were soon revealed and he was asked to leave the company. USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : A year later he declared himself Emperor Napoleon III, bringing an ignoble end to the Third Republic. The Economist, Historical background: Watery beginnings extrovert  [  EK-struh'-vurt, -stroh-  ] [  noun, adjective, transitive verb  ] MEANING : 1. (n.) a socialiser or outgoing or gregarious person 2. (adj.) gregarious, outgoing or lively 3. (tr.v.) to direct one's mind or interests outward USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : She was an extrovert who loved m...

hustings  [  HUHS-tingz  ] [  noun  ] MEANING : the proceedings of a parliamentary election USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : During the recently held parliamentary hustings, voter apathy in Mumbai seemed to be at an all time high. USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : With little chances of beating either Samajwadi Party (SP) or Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) at the hustings, both BJP and Congress are preparing to take on each other for next year's UP assembly polls.   The Times of India, BJP can't find young faces for UP polls, Mohua Chatterjee, 8 Sep 2006, TNN equestrian  [  i-KWES-tree-uh' n  ] [  noun, adjective  ] MEANING : 1. (adj.) pertaining to or of horse-riders or horsemen 2. (adj.) composed of or pertaining to knights 3. (n.) a horseman or horse-rider ...

dour  [  doo’ r, douuh' r, DOU-er  ] [  adjective  ] MEANING : 1. gloomy; sullen; bleak 2. stubborn; obstinate 3. extremely strict and harsh; forbidding USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : The perpetually dour expression on his face made him unpopular. USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : Gone are the days when the traditional Chinese greeting "Have you eaten yet?" seemed like a bad joke in the dour capital where, as recently as the 1980s, staples were rationed, state-run canteens dished out the slop of the day in chipped enamel bowls and restaurants were few and far between. ABC News,Chinese Cuisine Goes Global for Games,Audra Ang ,July 10, 2008 exculpate  [  EK-skuh'l-peyt, ik-SKUHL-peyt  ] [  transitive verb  ] MEANING : 1. to vindicate, clear or free of a...

tacit  [  TAS-it  ] [  adjective  ] MEANING : 1. unspoken; expressed without words; indicated or implied through means other than words 2. silent; quiet USAGE EXAMPLE 1 : After the conduct of the underground nuclear tests in 1998, the Defence minister, George Fernandes, made a tacit admission that it considers China, and not Pakistan, to be India's main threat. USAGE EXAMPLE 2 : The Chinese Government has made a tacit admission that it faces a serious Aids crisis in central China.   BBC, China admits Aids crisis, 9 August, 2001 fell  [  fel  ] [  noun, adjective, transitive verb  ] MEANING : 1. (tr.v.) to strike or chop down 2. (adj.) lethal, fierce or savage 3. (n.) the amount or number of trees that have been struck down i...