Membean is an incredibly effective way to learn words and permanently remember them.
Learn more on how we help for
Test Prep,
Personal Learning,
or get it for your
School.
The word abject emphasizes a very bad situation or quality, thereby making it even worse.
If you abominate something, you hate it because you think it is extremely wrong and unacceptable.
When you absolve someone, you publicly and formally say that they are not guilty or responsible for any wrongdoing.
A situation or condition that is abysmal is extremely bad or of wretched quality.
A benefaction is a charitable contribution of money or assistance that someone gives to a person or organization.
If you describe someone as benign, they are kind, gentle, and harmless.
Depravity is behavior that is immoral, corrupt, or evil.
Something, such as a building, is derelict if it is empty, not used, and in bad condition or disrepair.
If you say a person’s actions are despicable, you think they are extremely unpleasant or nasty.
If you say something is diabolical, you are emphasizing that it is evil, cruel, or very bad.
An action that is flagrant shows that someone does not care if they obviously break the rules or highly offend people.
If you describe something as heinous, you mean that is extremely evil, shocking, and bad.
Iniquity is an immoral act, wickedness, or evil.
When a person exhibits integrity, they do what they should do, no matter what; therefore, they are honest, morally good, and honorable.
If you describe someone as Machiavellian, you disapprove of him because he uses clever tricks and other dishonest methods to achieve his aims, especially in politics.
Something or someone that is maleficent deliberately tries to cause harm or evil.
A malevolent person or thing is evil due to deliberate attempts to cause harm.
Malfeasance is an unlawful act, especially one committed by a trusted public official.
A nefarious activity is considered evil and highly dishonest.
A peccadillo is a slight or minor offense that can be overlooked.
Penury is the state of being extremely poor.
Philanthropy is unselfish support in the form of donating money, work, or gifts to positive social purposes; philanthropy is also overall love for humans in general.
Probity is very moral and honest behavior.
Propriety is behaving in a socially acceptable and appropriate way.
The sanctity of something is its holiness or sacred quality.
The word squalor describes very dirty and unpleasant conditions that people live or work in, usually due to poverty or neglect.
Turpitude is the state of engaging in immoral or evil activities.
A vicious person is corrupt, violent, aggressive, and/or highly immoral.
Something that is vile is evil, disgusting, offensive, wretched, or very unpleasant.
Noun
enormity
i-NAWR-mi-tee
Context
The sheer enormity or great evil of the conflict in Darfur is almost unimaginable: many hundreds of thousands have been brutally killed so far. The enormity and horrors of the crimes committed become clear when one visits the refugee camps, where one finds young children and women who have lost all hope. Many journalists who visit Darfur come back shocked and depressed because they are totally unprepared for the enormity or extreme moral offensiveness of the human tragedy they have witnessed.
Quiz:Try again!
What is the enormity of a situation?
The feelings of shock and sadness people feel from it.
If you refer to the enormity of a situation, problem, or event, you mean that it is very evil or morally offensive; this word has nothing to do with physical size.
Enormous Pity One can feel enormous pity for the horrifying enormity of a catastrophe in which many thousands of people have pointlessly died.
Examples
The enormity of the event was such that Mourinho’s furrowed brow featured on the front page of most daily newspapers, and even provoked the British Prime Minister to comment.
—
CNN
Based solely on a numerical comparison with the enormity of the horror in Europe, the experience of Jews in Arab lands during the war barely deserves mention and the frequent recitation of statistics inevitably invites such judgment.
—
NPR
The enormity of the event was such that Mourinho’s furrowed brow featured on the front page of most daily newspapers, and even provoked the British Prime Minister to comment.
—
Sports Illustrated
Enormity is, at core, the “state or quality” of being “out of a pattern or standard” of acceptable conduct, thus going into an area that is beyond normal or acceptable “patterns” or “standards” of the way things should be.