Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 10th February, 2021

Over the last couple of years, the English section of the competitive exams has given good surprises. You must have encountered one or more new types of questions in almost every exam you appear for. Many of these questions exclusively check your vocabulary skills. So, apart from enhancing your reading, writing and speaking skills, a sound grip on vocabulary helps you score better in examinations.

Reading is one of the best ways to boost your vocabulary. As you read a piece of writing, you come across new words which you might not have come across before. So, we must always try to inculcate a habit of reading.

Keeping this vision in mind, we bring to you the series, ‘Shape up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist’. The articles in this series fulfil your daily intake of English words. The series tries to feature words from an article, with their meanings, contextual usage, pronunciation, synonyms, antonyms, proper use in sentences, etc. Given below is an important editorial from the newspaper ‘The Hindu’. Read it, understand the context and go through the meanings of words to boost up your learning.

Happy Reading!

Troubled mountains: On Uttarakhand glacier disaster

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Staggering (लड़खड़ाहट)

• Pronunciation: stag-er-eeng/ स्टैगरिंग 
• Part of Speech: Verb/ Noun/ Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. walk or move unsteadily as if about to fall. [Verb]
  b. astonish or deeply shock. [Verb]
  c. an unsteady walk or movement. [Noun]
  d. very shocking and surprising [Adjective]
• Synonyms: stumble, surprise, shocked
• Antonyms: comfort, relax, calm
• Usage in a sentence: It costs a staggering $50,000 per week to keep the museum open to the public.

2. Word: Dislodge (निकाल देना)

• Pronunciation: dis-loj/ डिस्लाज
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: 
  a. knock or force out of position.
  b. remove from a position of power or authority.
• Synonyms: displace, eject, evict
• Antonyms: attach, embed, absorb
• Usage in a Sentence: We need two victories to dislodge the former team from the first place.

 3. Word: Debris (रोड़ा)

• Pronunciation: duh-bree/ डब्री
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: scattered pieces of rubbish or remains.
• Synonyms: rubbish, junk, rubble
• Antonyms: purity, finery, valuable
• Usage in a Sentence: Several people were injured by flying debris in the explosion.

4. Word: Frailty (निर्बलता)

• Pronunciation: freyl-tee/ फ्रेल्टी 
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. the quality or state of being frail
  b. moral weakness; liability to yield to temptation
  c. a fault resulting from moral weakness
• Synonyms: foible, weakness, flaws
• Antonyms: strength, grit, sinew
• Usage in a sentence: Though ill for most of her life, physical frailty never stopped her from working.
  
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5. Word: Crucible (संकट की घड़ी)

• Pronunciation: kroo-suh-buhl/ क्रूसबल
• Part of speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. a tough trial or test
  b. a container of metal or refractory material employed for heating substances to high temperatures.
• Synonyms: ordeal, cauldron, melting pot, tribulation
• Usage in a sentence: Creating a new product that fits a need is a crucible for many inventors.

6. Word: Aberration (सामान्य से विचलन)

• Pronunciation: ab-uh-rey-shuh n/ ऐबरेशन 
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a departure from what is normal, usual, or expected, typically an unwelcome one.
  
• Synonyms: deviation, abnormality, distortion
• Antonyms: regularity, normality, conformity
• Usage in a Sentence: Owing to a strange mental aberration she forgot her own name.

7. Word: Rigorous (कठोर)

• Pronunciation: rig-er-uh s/ रिगरस
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. extremely thorough and careful
  b. (of a rule, system, etc.) strictly applied or adhered to.
• Synonyms: strict, precise
• Antonyms: flexible, negligent
• Usage in a Sentence: The man is rigorous in his control of expenditure.

8. Word: Seismicity (भूकंपनीयता)

• Pronunciation: sahyz-mis-i-tee
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: the frequency, intensity, and distribution of earthquakes in a given area.
• Synonyms: earthquake-prone
• Usage in a sentence: Owing to its seismicity, the once popular tourist spot has now become a ghost town.

9. Word: Epitomise (प्रतीक होना)

• Pronunciation: ih-pit-uh-mahyz/ इपिटमाइज़
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: to be a perfect example of a quality or type of thing
• Synonyms: typify, embody, exemplify, symbolise, represent
• Antonyms: disembody, disincarnate 
• Usage in a sentence: She epitomised the virtue of patience. 

10. Word: Gorge (पर्वत के बीच का संकुचित मार्ग/जल्दी जल्दी खाना)

• Pronunciation: gawrj/ गॉर्ज
• Part of Speech: Noun/ Verb
• Meaning:
  a. to eat until rendered unable to eat any more (Verb)
  b. a deep, narrow valley with steep sides, usually formed by a river or stream cutting through hard rock (Noun)
• Synonyms: canyon, overeat, ravine, glut
• Antonyms: nibble, munch, fast
• Usage in a sentence: The gorge was so deep that it soon became home to deep sea creatures.

'Writer's Corner'

Based on the description of the words, we have some practice questions for you. Answer these questions in the comments section. Our team will review them at the earliest!

Exercise 1. Make your own Sentences.

Here are some of the words from the above article. Try to frame sentences from them in your own words and share them with us in the comments section!

• staggering
• dislodge
• debris 
• frailty 
• crucible

Exercise 2: Match the columns.

Share your answers in the comment section. 

More from us:

For practice, attempt the quiz based on this daily wordlist from the link below to enhance your exam preparation: Vocabulary Quiz, Click here to attempt!

You can also check the wordlist articles for the previous days from the link below: Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist

That was your Vocabulary dose for the day. 

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