privation [ prahy-VEY-shuh’ n ]
	[ noun ]
	MEANING :
	1. deprivation or lack of certain necessities a deed, consequence or state of lack or deprivation
	USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
	His life was filled with hardship and privation.
	USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
	Not the old fear of privation but a sense that the future is limited only by Icelanders’ belief in themselves and their willingness to reawaken that primeval Viking spirit idling restlessly behind their seeming impassivity. National Geographic, Power Struggle, By Marguerite Del Giudice
dipsomaniac [ dip-suh'-MEY-nee-ak, -soh- ]
	[ noun ]
	MEANING :
	a person with an insatiable craving for alcoholic beverages
	USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
	Peter was a true dipsomaniac, his love for daiquiris was unmatched.
	USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
	Sean Palmer, Joshua Dallas and Ryan Molloy make a winning (if implausibly camp) trio of sailors, June Whitfield is quietly hilarious as a dipsomaniac singing teacher, and Rodney Clarke makes his mark in multiple small roles. Telegraph, Sheer escapist fun overcomes the niggles, Rupert Christiansen, 26 Apr 2007
unimpeachable [ uhn-im-PEE-chuh’-buh’l ]
	[ adjective ]
	MEANING :
	beyond reproach; above suspicion
	USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
	The unimpeachable character of the municipal commissioner contradicted his appearance.
	USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
	However, the CEO must set the standard for unimpeachable professional and personal behavior. CNN, Boeing fires CEO over relationship, 7 March 2007
feline [ FEE-lahyn ]
	[ noun, adjective ]
	MEANING :
	1. (adj.) pertaining to or belonging to the cat family 2. (adj.) catlike 3. (n.) an animal of the cat family or Felidae
	USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
	She got the chance to play cat woman because of her feline gait.
	USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
	Andrew Lloyd Webber's star West End musical Cats has strutted its way on to the stage at Norwich Theatre Royal, striking as much admiration and affection in reviewer Lyn McKinney's heart as her own feline companions. BBC, Review: Cats at Norwich Theatre Royal, 29 December 2009.
cynical [ SIN-i-kuh'l ]
	[ adjective ]
	MEANING :
	1. characteristic of or like a person who believes that motivation stems only from selfishness 2. showing contempt for accepted standards of morality or honesty 3. pessimistic or sneeringly distrustful of the motives of others
	USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
	Some people adopted a cynical view of the new health care reform.
	USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
	Coming a day after Spain struggled with a debt sale of its own, many EU governments will have found it hard to escape the conclusion the German ban was a partly a cynical attempt to improve Germany's finances.

CAT Question of the Day

Find the remainder when S = 343 + 1993 + 27 is divided by 236.
OPTIONS
1) 0 2) 6 3) 8 4) 36
Tip of the Day
In questions on Percentages, Profit and Loss and Interest, assume values like 100 instead of variables like x. This will increase your calculation speed.

more tips

Last year's Question of the day (23-Sep-10)

The question below contains a paragraph with a missing sentence or part of a sentence. Choose the option that most logically completes the paragraph. Tests of general mental ability are common for those applying for a job or for a university course. However, research from Indiana’s Kelley School of Business, published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, suggests that the tools used to check whether such tests are biased- against ethnic minorities or women, for example- are themselves flawed. “The irony is that for 40 years we have been trying to assess potential test bias with a biased procedure,” says Herman Aguinis, one of the authors, __________.

OPTIONS

1) “and because of the prominence of test fairness in the popular media, there is a need to revive test bias research.” 2) “and we now see that countless people may have been denied or given opportunities unfairly.” 4) “and predictive bias has been examined extensively in the cognitive ability domain.” 5) “and the established conclusion based on 40 years of research is that test bias is not found regarding slopes.”

Daily Wordlist

munificent [ myoo-NIF-uh’-suh’ nt ]

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[ adjective ] MEANING : 1. very generous; liberal in giving
2. marked by generosity
USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The munificent bequest made by the industrialist was lauded by the media.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
The recently-established Chair in Indian History and Culture, funded by a munificent benefaction from the Government of India, is helping to make Indian Studies ever more central to the University's academic mission.
University of Oxford, Oxford University establishes formal links with Hindu Centre, 26 June 2006

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defray [ di-FREY ]
[ transitive verb ]
MEANING :
to pay, take care of or bear all the expenses
USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
He defrayed the hospital costs in spite of having limited funds.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Today, several middle-class Punekars staying in joint families are taking the opportunity to purchase a house for the future and leasing them out to partially defray the home loan equated monthly instalments (EMIs). The Times of India, Reap rich returns, 29 Jan 2005

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enthral [ en-THRAWL ]
[ transitive verb ]
MEANING :
1. to enchant, charm or delight
2. to reduce to slavery
USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The movie enthralled viewers of all ages.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
An exploration of the books full of fantastical worlds that enthral children. The Herald, Today's Picks, 14 July 2009

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cloying [ KLOI-ing ]
[ adjective ]
MEANING :
1. causing or tending to cause disgust because of excess

2. causing aversion through excess
3. excessively ingratiating or sentimental
USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
The cloying sweetness of her perfume succeeded in keeping men at bay.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
Soon a cloying miasma of Cantal permeated its way up two flights of stairs into our attic bedroom where it delivered night after night of mildly harrowing dreams.
CNN, Cycling the Tour de Cheese, Barry Neild, 27 August 2008.

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garish [ GAIR-ish, GAR- ]
[ adjective ]
MEANING :
1. crudely showy or tastelessly colourful
2. elaborate or excessively ornate
3. gaudy or dressed in bright colours
USAGE EXAMPLE 1 :
Due to the absence of a formal dress code, many students wore garish clothes to college.
USAGE EXAMPLE 2 :
The production is saddled with garish costumes and over-emphatic scenery.
The Telegraph, The Royal Ballet's Cinderella at Covent Garden, review, Sarah Crompton, 12 April 2010.

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Spelled Pronunciation Key
Stress marks: [ CAPS ] indicates the primary stressed syllable,
as in newspaper [NOOZ-pey-per ] and information [ in-fer-MEY-shuh' n ]
CONSONANTS

[b] boy, baby, rob
[d] do, ladder, bed
[f] food, offer, safe
[g] get, bigger, dog
[h] happy, ahead
[j] jump, budget, age
[k] can, speaker, stick
[l] let, follow, still
[m] make, summer, time
[n] no, dinner, thin
[ng] singer, think, long
[p] put, apple, cup
[r] run, marry, far, store
[s] sit, city, passing, face

[sh] she, station, push
[t] top, better, cat
[ch] church, watching, nature, witch
[th] thirsty, nothing, math
[th'] this, mother, breathe
[v] very, seven, love
[w] wear, away
[hw] where, somewhat
[y] yes, onion

[z] zoo, easy, buzz
[zh] measure, television, beige

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VOWELS
[a] apple, can, hat
[ey] aid, hate, day
[ah] arm, father, aha
[air] air, careful, wear
[aw] all, or, talk, lost, saw
[e] ever, head, get
[ee] eat, see, need
[eer] ear, hero, beer
[er] teacher, afterward, murderer
[i] it, big, finishes
[ahy] I, ice, hide, deny
[o] odd, hot, woffle
[oh] owe, road, below
[oo] ooze, food, soup, sue
[oo'] good, book, put
[oi] oil, choice, toy
[ou] out, loud, how
[uh] up, mother, mud
[uh'] about, animal, problem, circus
[ur] early, bird, stirring

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FOREIGN SOUNDS
[a*] Fr. ami
[kh*] Scot. loch, Ger. ach or ich
[œ] Fr. feu, Ger. schön
[r*] Fr. au revoir, Yiddish rebbe
[uh*] Fr. oeuvre
[y*] Fr. tu, Ger. über

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SAMPLE NASALIZED VOWELS
[an*] Fr. bien
[ahn*] Fr. croissant
[awn*] Fr. bon [œn*] Fr. parfum
[in*] Port. Principe