These ten words are traps. Each one looks or sounds as if it means something it does not: enervate sounds like energize, noisome sounds like noisy, restive sounds like restful. Test writers love them for exactly that reason.
Key idea
The rule for this topic: never trust the sound. Enervate = weaken. Nonplussed and bemused = puzzled. Noisome = smelly. Restive = restless. Peruse = read closely. Belie = give a false picture of. Sanction and cleave each have two opposite meanings. Inflammable = burns easily.
When one of these words appears in a reading passage, slow down and let the sentence around it tell you which meaning fits.
The ten words
Common mistake
enervate means to weaken, not to energize. bemused means puzzled, not amused. noisome means smelly or harmful, not noisy. restive means restless, not restful. inflammable means flammable, not fireproof. In careful writing nonplussed means puzzled; a newer, informal American use means unbothered, so read it with care.
| word | sounds like it means | really means |
|---|---|---|
| enervate | energize | weaken |
| nonplussed | calm, unbothered | puzzled (in careful writing) |
| bemused | amused | puzzled |
| noisome | noisy | smelly, harmful |
| restive | restful | restless |
| peruse | skim | read closely (in careful writing) |
| belie | believe | give a false picture of |
| sanction | (two meanings) | approval, or a penalty |
| cleave | (two meanings) | split, or cling |
| inflammable | not flammable | flammable: burns easily |
Sanction and cleave are called contronyms: words that are their own opposites. Only the sentence can tell you which meaning the writer wants.