1. MOUNTEBANK (noun)
Meaning: a person who deceives others, especially in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan.
Synonyms: fraud, hoaxer, humbug, impostor, phony, pretender, quack, ringer, misleader, trickster.
Antonyms: adept, authority, crackerjack, expert, maestro, virtuoso, honest.
Usage: As a mountebank, Krishna is always looking for a way to trick people out of their money.
Meaning: a person who deceives others, especially in order to trick them out of their money; a charlatan.
Synonyms: fraud, hoaxer, humbug, impostor, phony, pretender, quack, ringer, misleader, trickster.
Antonyms: adept, authority, crackerjack, expert, maestro, virtuoso, honest.
Usage: As a mountebank, Krishna is always looking for a way to trick people out of their money.
2. CLOUT (noun)
Meaning: influence or power, especially in politics or business.
Synonyms: authority, credit, heft, influence, dominion, predominance, reign, sovereignty, supremacy.
Antonyms: helplessness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness, impuissance, frailty.
Usage: Looking to build a business, the entrepreneur was looking to establish clout in the community.
Meaning: influence or power, especially in politics or business.
Synonyms: authority, credit, heft, influence, dominion, predominance, reign, sovereignty, supremacy.
Antonyms: helplessness, impotence, impotency, powerlessness, weakness, impuissance, frailty.
Usage: Looking to build a business, the entrepreneur was looking to establish clout in the community.
3. OBFUSCATE (verb)
Meaning: make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.
Synonyms: becloud, befog, blur, cloud, confuse, fog, muddy, entangle, disrupt.
Antonyms: simplify, disentangle, unravel, unscramble, untangle, decipher, clarify, illuminate.
Usage: Surprisingly, the efforts of the translator only served to obfuscate an already confusing conversation.
Meaning: make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible.
Synonyms: becloud, befog, blur, cloud, confuse, fog, muddy, entangle, disrupt.
Antonyms: simplify, disentangle, unravel, unscramble, untangle, decipher, clarify, illuminate.
Usage: Surprisingly, the efforts of the translator only served to obfuscate an already confusing conversation.
4. PUTATIVE (adjective)
Meaning: assumed to exist or to have existed
Synonyms: apparent, assumed, evident, ostensible, presumed, prima facie, reputed, seeming, supposed.
Antonyms: hidden, inapparent, implausible, impossible, improbable, inconceivable, unlikely
actual, authenticated, confirmed, corroborated.
Usage: The film’s putative conclusion led me to believe the hero would return in a sequel.
Meaning: assumed to exist or to have existed
Synonyms: apparent, assumed, evident, ostensible, presumed, prima facie, reputed, seeming, supposed.
Antonyms: hidden, inapparent, implausible, impossible, improbable, inconceivable, unlikely
actual, authenticated, confirmed, corroborated.
Usage: The film’s putative conclusion led me to believe the hero would return in a sequel.
5. MISCONSTRUE (verb)
Meaning: interpret (a person’s words or actions) wrongly.
Synonyms: misapprehend, misunderstand, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, miss, mistake.
Antonyms: appreciate, apprehend, comprehend, conceive, fathom, get, grasp, penetrate, perceive, savvy, seize.
Usage: Jason had no idea that her intended compliment had been completely misconstrued by her aunt.
Meaning: interpret (a person’s words or actions) wrongly.
Synonyms: misapprehend, misunderstand, misinterpret, misperceive, misread, miss, mistake.
Antonyms: appreciate, apprehend, comprehend, conceive, fathom, get, grasp, penetrate, perceive, savvy, seize.
Usage: Jason had no idea that her intended compliment had been completely misconstrued by her aunt.
