Difficult Words :

Scrutinize and Scrupulous





Difficult Words : Scrutinize and Scrupulous

Scrupulous (SKROO pyuh lus) adj: strict, careful, hesitant for ethical reasons

Doug was scrupulous in keeping his accounts. He knew where every penny came from and where every penny went to.

We tried to be scrupulous about not dripping paint, but by the time the day was over there was nearly as much paint on the floor as there was on the walls.

Philip was too scrupulous to make a good armed robber. Every time he started to point his gun at someone, he was overcome by ethical doubts.

A scruple is a qualm or moral doubt. To have no scruples and to be unscrupulous is to have no conscience.




Scrutinize (SKROOT uh NIZE) v: to examine very carefully

I scrutinized the card catalog at the library but couldn't find a single book in the topic I had chose for my term paper.

The rocket scientists scrutinized thousands of pages of computer printouts, looking for a clue to why the rocket had exploded.

My mother scrutinized my clothes and my appearance before I left for the evening, but even after several minutes of careful analysis she was unable to find anything to complain about.

To scrutinize something is to subject it to scrutiny.

The clever forgery fooled the museum curator but did not withstand the scrutiny of the experts. After studying for several weeks, the experts pronounced the painting to be a fake.

Something that cannot be examined is inscrutable. Inscrutable means mysterious, impossible to understand.

We had no idea what Bill was thinking since his smile was inscrutable.

Poker players try to be inscrutable to their opponents.



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