Grammar's Misfits

Each horizontal and numbered list of words contains one "maverick," one that just refuses to conform, that won't fit into the little society of synonyms and near-synonyms. Click on the misfit in each list (going down the page from 1 to 20) and it will appear in the text-area at the bottom of the page. When you are finished, compare the list you have prepared to the list of nonconformists in "Grammar's Misfits." The words are numbered to help you find the horizontal list where you made a mistake.

 

1	apathy	indifference	ennui	pulchritude
2	ignominious	overt	explicit	patent
3	perfunctory	aloof	haughty	remote
4	contentious	argumentative	solicitous	litigious
5	supercilious	idyllic	charming	rustic
6	decorous	militaristic	correct	orderly
7	conspicuous	showy	laudatory	ostentatious
8	philanthropic	parsimonious	frugal	stingy
9	excitable	evanascent	ephemeral	transient
10	vacuous	vapid	inane	giddy
11	exonerate	exculpate	castigate	excuse
12	banal	piquant	pungent	stimulating
13	turpitude	depravity	intransigence	corruption
14	feckless	exorbitant	incompetent	unqualified
15	recondite	ingenuous	naive	simple
16	probity	integrity	honesty	verisimilitude
17	odious	sacrosanct	nefarious	hateful
18	inevitable	ineluctable	impervious	predictable
19	invective	nonconformity	aberration	deviation
20	virulent	poisonous	hostile	jingoistic

    

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Vocabulary Building

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Guide to Grammar and Writing