Grammar Clinic

Meaning: An impediment or burden. Example: The horse raised its hind leg as if to rid itself of an encumbrance Synonyms: hindrance, obstruction, obstacle, impediment, restraint, constraint, handicap, inconvenience, nuisance, disadvantage, drawback Antonyms: help, asset

Meaning: A lengthy and complicated procedure. Example: he went through the rigmarole of securing the front door. Synonyms: lengthy process, fuss, fuss and bother, bother, commotion, trouble, folderol,

Meaning: The condition of being weak and delicate. Example: the increasing frailty of old age Synonyms:  infirmity, infirmness, weakness, weakliness, feebleness, enfeeblement, debility, incapacity, impairment, indisposition

Meaning: Done with or employing great care and thoroughness. Example: painstaking attention to detail Synonyms: careful, meticulous, thorough, assiduous, sedulous, attentive, diligent, industrious, laborious, hard-working, conscientious, ultra-careful, punctilious, scrupulous, demanding, exacting, searching, close, elaborate, minute, accurate, correct, studious, rigorous, particular Antonyms: Careless, negligent, slapdash

Meaning: Showing great attention to detail; very careful and precise. Example: The designs are hand-glazed with meticulous care Synonyms: careful, conscientious, diligent, ultra-careful, scrupulous, punctilious, painstaking, demanding, exacting, accurate, correct Antonyms: careless, sloppy, slapdash

Meaning: Marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail. Example: precise directions Synonyms: exact, accurate, correct, error-free, pinpoint, specific, detailed, explicit, clear-cut, unambiguous, meticulous, close, strict, definite, particular

Meaning: A piece of thick textile fabric with pictures or designs formed by weaving coloured weft threads or by embroidering on canvas, used as a wall hanging or soft furnishing. Example: panelled walls hung with old tapestries

Meaning: An unfulfilled space, a gap. Example: The journal has filled a lacuna in Middle Eastern studies

Meaning: Impossible to deny or disprove. Example: irrefutable evidence Synonyms: indisputable, undeniable, unquestionable, incontrovertible, incontestable, unassailable, impregnable, beyond question, indubitable, beyond doubt, beyond dispute, indisputable

Meaning: A thing that is required as a prior condition for something else to happen or exist. Example: Sponsorship is not a prerequisite for any of our courses Synonyms:necessary,condition, precondition, condition, essential, requirement, requisite, necessity, proviso, qualification, imperative, basic, rudiment