Vocabulary Made Easy series: Aim for the best by honing your word skills

Students who aim to score better in competitive exams cannot take the risk of not thoroughly preparing for the exam. The vocabulary section in some competitive exams like CAT is important if candidates aim to score the best.

Here's a way to improve your vocabulary and communication skills. Check out the words for the day and a small quiz to push yourself to improve your word power and language skills.

Haggard (Adjective)

Meaning: looking exhausted and unwell, especially from fatigue, worry, or suffering

Example: I saw him again yesterday and he still looks haggard and tired

Halcyon (Adjective)

Meaning: denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful

Example: The halcyon days of the mid 1980s, when profits were soaring

Also Read: Vocabulary Made Easy series: Improve your word skills to score well in exams

Hapless (Adjective)

Meaning: Unfortunate

Example: She refuses, saying she needs to stay with her rather hapless boyfriend.

Haphazard ( Adjective)

Meaning: lacking any obvious principle of organization

Example: Organization was haphazard; there were far too few bishops, and some were invalidly consecrated.

Put your thinking cap on and try to answer the following questions to understand how much you have grasped.

1. The books had been placed on the shelves in a _________________ fashion. Which of the following words fits best in the sentence? ( Haphazard, Hapless)
2. Speer is no ________________ victim caught in sadistic forces beyond his control. Which of the following words fits best in the sentence? ( Hapless, Halcyon)
3. Can you think of some antonyms for the word Halcyon?
4. Can you think of some synonyms for the word Haggard?

Also Read: Vocabulary Made Easy series: Focus on word power to climb up the career ladder

Watch out for this space for your weekly update on improving word power.

(Definitions and examples are from Oxford Languages)