✅ Shake can mean to gesticulate with something (She shook her fist at the seagull that stole her lunch).

✅ Brandish means to wave a weapon in a threatening way (They brandished foam swords at each other).

✅ In this sense, shake and brandish have basically the same meaning.

✅ Shake, however, has a much more general meaning that brandish does not: to move something in short quick movements (Shake the bottle to mix the ingredients).

✅ Steep describes something that has an almost vertical slope or incline (a steep hill).

✅ Precipitous describes something that is dangerously steep (a precipitous series of steps).

✅ Steep and precipitous have very similar meanings with precipitous being a stronger, more intense word.

✅ Steep is used for both climbs and descents, whereas precipitous more often refers to falls or declines (The roller coaster featured a precipitous drop).

✅ Furtive describes something done secretly or with stealth or something that is shifty or sly (a furtive glance).

✅ Conspiratorial describes something that suggests the presence of a shared secretive and often harmful plot (a series of conspiratorial texts).

✅ Furtive and conspiratorial both describe things that give a sense of secrecy.

✅ Conspiratorial describes an action between people, whereas furtive often describes the action of one person (a furtive attempt to replace a broken mug; They exchanged conspiratorial remarks).