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Difficult Words : Gratuitous, Grandiose, Gravity, Gregarious and Guile
Difficult Words : Gratuitous, Grandiose, Gravity, Gregarious and Guile
Grandiose (GRAN dee ohs) adj: absurdly exaggerated
The scientist's grandiose plan was to build a hug shopping center on the surface of the moon.
Their house was genuinely impressive, although there were a few grandiose touches: a fireplace the size of a garage, a kitchen with four ovens and a computerized media center in every room.
To be grandiose is to be characterized by grandiosity.
Gratuitous (gruh TOO i tus) adj: given freely (said of something bad), unjustified, unprovoked, uncalled for
The scathing review of the movie contained several gratuitous remarks about the sex life of the director.
Their attack against us was gratuitous. We had never done anything to offend them.
Gratuitous is often misunderstood because it is confused with gratuity.
A gratuity is a tip, like the one you leave in a restaurant. A gratuity is a nice thing. Gratuitous, however, is not nice. Don't confuse these words.
Gravity (GRAV i tee) n: seriousness
Not the force that makes apples fall down instead of up, but a different sort of weightiness.
The anchorman's nervous giggling was entirely inappropriate, given the gravity of the situation.
No one realized the gravity of Myron's drug addiction until it was much too late to help him.
At the heart of the word gravity is the word grave which means serious.
Gregarious (gri GAIR ee us) adj: sociable, enjoying the company of others
Dirk was too gregarious to enjoy the fifty years he spent in solitary confinement.
Anna wasn't very gregarious. She went to the party, but she spent most of her time hiding in the closet.
In biology, gregarious is used to describe animals that live in groups. Bees, which live together in large colonies, are said to be gregarious insets.
Guile (gile) n: cunning, duplicity; artfulness
Jose used guile, not intelligence, to win the spelling bee. He cheated.
Stuart was shocked by the guile of the automobile mechanic, who has poked a hold in his radiator and then told him that it had sprung a leak.
To be guileless is to be innocent or native. Guileless and artless are synonyms.
The word beguile also means to deceive, but in a charming and not always bad way.
Clarence found Mary's beauty so beguiling that he did anything she asked of him.
