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frivolous

adjective/ˈfrɪv.ələs/

not having any serious purpose or value

They spent money on frivolous things like expensive coffee and fancy clothes.

sillytrivialsuperficial
word origin — from Latin 'frivolus' meaning 'worthless' or 'silly'

Advanced Plus — Set 24

Set 24 of Advanced Plus covers 5 words: frivolous, condescending, unscrupulous, delve, replenish. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

  1. frivolous · adjective/ˈfrɪv.ələs/

    not having any serious purpose or value

    They spent money on frivolous things like expensive coffee and fancy clothes.

    Synonyms: silly, trivial, superficial

    Origin: from Latin 'frivolus' meaning 'worthless' or 'silly'

  2. condescending · adjective/ˌkɑːn.dɪˈsen.dɪŋ/

    having or showing an attitude of patronizing superiority

    Her condescending tone made it clear that she thought she was better than everyone else.

    Synonyms: patronizing, disdainful, superior

    Origin: The word 'condescending' comes from the Latin 'condescendere', meaning 'to descend together', where 'con-' means 'with' and 'scandere' means 'to climb'.

  3. unscrupulous · adjective/ʌnˈskruːp.jə.ləs/

    having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair

    The unscrupulous businessman tricked people into buying fake products.

    Synonyms: unethical, dishonest, immoral

    Origin: The word 'unscrupulous' comes from the Latin word 'scrupulus,' meaning 'a small sharp stone' or 'anxiety,' and the prefix 'un-' meaning 'not.' It refers to a lack of moral scruples.

  4. delve · verb/dɛlv/

    to investigate or research deeply

    The students will delve into their history books to learn more about the past.

    Synonyms: explore, investigate, probe

    Origin: Middle English 'delven' meaning 'to dig', from Old English 'delfan'.

  5. replenish · verb/rɪˈplɛnɪʃ/

    to fill something up again or restore it to a previous level

    The gardener needs to replenish the soil with nutrients to help the plants grow.

    Synonyms: refill, restore, renew

    Origin: Middle English 'replenyshen', from Old French 'repleniss-', based on Latin 'replere', meaning 'to fill again'