Mandate (noun) An official instruction or authority given to a person or group to carry out a particular task.
Example: The newly elected mayor claimed a strong mandate to reform the city's public transport system.
Mnemonic: Notice the mand inside it, related to command, since a mandate is essentially a formal command to act.
Marginal (adjective) So small in size or effect that it barely matters.
Example: The new packaging design led to only a marginal increase in sales.
Mnemonic: Picture notes squeezed into the margin of a page; marginal things sit at the edge, barely inside what really counts.
Meager (adjective) Small in amount and insufficient for what is actually needed.
Example: The meager rations left each hiker with barely enough food to last the final two days of the trail.
Mnemonic: It rhymes with 'eager' but describes the opposite of plenty — an eager appetite meets a meager plate.
Mitigate (verb) To make a harmful or serious situation less severe.
Example: Wearing a helmet won't prevent every injury, but it can mitigate the damage in a crash.
Mnemonic: Rooted in Latin 'mitis,' meaning mild — to mitigate something is to make it milder.
Momentum (noun) The force or energy that keeps a process moving forward and growing.
Example: The campaign gained momentum after a well-known athlete publicly supported it.
Mnemonic: Borrowed from physics, where momentum equals mass times speed, so the more momentum something has, the harder it becomes to stop.
Monotonous (adjective) Dull and boring because it stays the same without variation.
Example: Typing the same data into spreadsheets all day can feel monotonous.
Mnemonic: It combines mono (one) and tone, so a monotonous task or voice never changes its single note.
Mundane (adjective) Ordinary and unremarkable, belonging to the routine of everyday life.
Example: Folding laundry and washing dishes are mundane chores that nobody looks forward to.
Mnemonic: Comes from 'mundus,' Latin for 'world' — mundane things belong to the ordinary, everyday world rather than anything extraordinary.
Myriad (adjective) Extremely numerous, so many that counting them all would be impractical.
Example: The night market featured myriad small stalls, each one selling something different.
Mnemonic: Comes from a Greek word for 'ten thousand' — myriad describes a number so large it might as well be ten thousand.
Manifest (verb) To show a quality or feeling clearly through actions or appearance.
Example: Her anxiety about the exam manifested as constant checking of her phone for the time.
Mnemonic: Notice the mani inside it, related to hand, as in manual, since to manifest something is to make it visible enough to hold in your hand.
Multifaceted (adjective) Having many different sides, qualities, or aspects.
Example: The novel's multifaceted protagonist is charming in one chapter and ruthless in the next.
Mnemonic: 'Multi-' (many) plus 'facet' (a cut surface of a gem) — a multifaceted person sparkles with many different facets, like a cut diamond.
Naive (adjective) Lacking experience or judgment, and too willing to trust or believe things simply.
Example: It was naive of him to assume every investor had his best interests at heart.
Mnemonic: It is related to native, since a naive person still thinks like a newcomer who has not yet learned how things really work.
Negligible (adjective) So small in size or importance that it can safely be ignored.
Example: The price difference between the two brands was negligible, so she bought whichever one was closer.
Mnemonic: It shares a root with neglect, so something negligible is small enough that you can safely neglect it.
Nuance (noun) A small, subtle distinction in meaning, tone, or expression.
Example: The translator worked hard to preserve every nuance of the original poem.
Mnemonic: From French 'nuer,' to shade colors — a nuance is a subtle shading of meaning, like one color blending into the next.
Nonchalant (adjective) Coolly unconcerned or casual, as if nothing could bother you.
Example: She gave a nonchalant shrug when told her flight had been cancelled.
Mnemonic: French roots: 'non' (not) plus 'chaloir' (to be concerned) — nonchalant literally means 'not concerned.'
Notion (noun) An idea, belief, or general understanding about something.
Example: The notion that money always brings happiness is challenged by a great deal of research.
Mnemonic: It is related to notice, so a notion is a thought your mind has taken notice of, even if only loosely formed.
Nurture (verb) To care for and support someone or something so that it can grow and develop.
Example: Good teachers nurture curiosity instead of just demanding memorized answers.
Mnemonic: It sounds like nourish, and nurturing something really is feeding it whatever it needs in order to grow.
Novel (adjective) New and different from anything known before.
Example: The research team proposed a novel method for recycling batteries that uses far less energy.
Mnemonic: It shares a root with innovate, from the Latin novus, meaning new, so a novel idea is one nobody has seen before.
Obscure (adjective) Not well known, or difficult to see or understand clearly.
Example: The professor referenced an obscure nineteenth-century essay that few students had ever read.
Mnemonic: Think of the word obscured, as if covered by fog; obscure things are hidden from clear view.
Obsolete (adjective) No longer used because something newer and better has replaced it.
Example: Floppy disks became obsolete once USB drives and cloud storage took over.
Mnemonic: A quick trick is to hear it as old and deleted, since obsolete technology has effectively been erased by progress.
Ostensible (adjective) Appearing or claimed to be true, though the real reason may be different.
Example: The ostensible reason for the meeting was budget planning, but everyone knew layoffs would be discussed.
Mnemonic: It is related to ostentatious, meaning showy, so the ostensible reason is the one shown on the surface, not necessarily the one underneath.
Overt (adjective) Done or shown openly, without any attempt to hide it.
Example: The company faced criticism for its overt use of children in advertisements.
Mnemonic: Think of it as related to open; overt actions are wide open for everyone to see, the opposite of secret.
Onset (noun) The beginning or first stage of something, often something unpleasant.
Example: Doctors say early exercise can delay the onset of certain age-related illnesses.
Mnemonic: Picture a switch being set on; the onset is the exact moment something switches into motion.
Optimal (adjective) The best or most effective possible under the given circumstances.
Example: Researchers are testing different soil conditions to find the optimal environment for the crop.
Mnemonic: It shares a root with optimum and optimistic, so optimal simply describes the best-case outcome you could hope for.
Obstinate (adjective) Stubbornly sticking to an opinion or course of action despite pressure to change.
Example: The obstinate toddler refused to wear anything but his dinosaur costume for a week.
Mnemonic: Shares the Latin root 'stare' (to stand) with 'obstacle' — an obstinate person plants their feet and stands firm, an obstacle no one can budge.
Oscillate (verb) To move or change repeatedly between two positions, states, or opinions.
Example: Her mood seemed to oscillate between excitement and dread as the exam date approached.
Mnemonic: Picture a pendulum swinging back and forth; oscillate describes anything that keeps swinging between two extremes.