Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 14th May, 2021

Your reading exercise is impeded if you do not understand the meaning of a word, or its meaning in a given context. Such challenges could be overcome by inculcating a sound habit of reading. The habit lets you encounter something new every day in the form of words, the meaning of which you were unaware of.

In keeping with the idea of learning and scoring better in English, we bring to you our series, ‘Shape up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist’. A daily dose of this article acquaints you with commonly (and not so commonly) used English words. The series tries to feature every such word, with its meaning, contextual usage, pronunciation, synonym, antonym, proper use in sentences, etc., that could save you from sitting with a dictionary while reading. Ultimately, it facilitates smooth reading and better intake of the newspaper article.

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.

State action: On Centre's role in COVID-19 fight

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Falter (डगमगाना)

• Pronunciation: fawl-ter/ फॉल्टर
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: 
  a. to hesitate or waver in action, purpose, intent, etc.; give way:
  to speak hesitatingly or brokenly.
  to move unsteadily; stumble.
• Synonyms: stumble, hesitate, waiver
• Antonyms: maintain, persist, continue
• Usage in a sentence: Her courage did not falter at the prospect of hardship.

2. Word: Administer (प्रबंध करना)

• Pronunciation: ad-min-uh-ster/ ऐड्मिनिस्टर
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning:
  a. to manage (affairs, a government, etc.); have executive charge of:
  b. to bring into use or operation:
  c. to make application of; give:
• Synonyms: manage, control, supervise
• Antonyms: neglect, derelict, abandon
• Usage in a sentence: The fund manager administers all the incoming and outgoing transactions of the fund.  

 3. Word: Lethal (घातक)

• Pronunciation: lee-thuhl/ लीथल
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. of, relating to, or causing death; deadly; fatal:
  b. made or carried out to cause death:
  c. causing great harm or destruction:
• Synonyms: deadly, fatal, mortal
• Antonyms: harmless, safe, beneficial 
• Usage in a sentence: The disclosures were lethal to his candidacy.

4. Word: Macabre (घृणित)

• Pronunciation: muh-kah-bruh/ मकैब्र
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible.
  b. of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, especially its grimmer or uglier aspect.
  c. of or suggestive of the allegorical dance of death.
• Synonyms: gruesome, grisly, morbid
• Antonyms: enjoyable, unalarming, attractive
• Usage in a sentence: I read about the macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle ages in a novel. 
  
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5. Word: Reminiscent (संस्मरणशील)

• Pronunciation: rem-uh-nis-uhnt/ रेमनिसन्ट
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. awakening memories of something similar; suggestive (usually followed by of):
• Synonyms: evocative, redolent, remindful
• Antonyms: forgetful, bland, dull
• Usage in a sentence: His style of writing is reminiscent of Melville's.

6. Word: Cosmetic (प्रसाधक)

• Pronunciation: koz-met-ik/ काज़्मेटिक
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. serving to beautify; imparting or improving beauty, especially of the face.
  b. used or done superficially to make something look better, more attractive, or more impressive:
• Synonyms: decorative, superficial, ornamental
• Antonyms: genuine, true, real
• Usage in a sentence: Alterations in the concert hall were only cosmetic and did nothing to improve the acoustics.

7. Word: Leisure (फ़ुरसत)

• Pronunciation: lee-zher/ लीश़र
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. freedom from the demands of work or duty:
  b. time free from the demands of work or duty, when one can rest, enjoy hobbies or sports, etc.:
  c. unhurried ease:
• Synonyms: recreation, relaxation, rest
• Antonyms: work, labor, toil
• Usage in a sentence: She looked forward to retirement and a life of leisure.

8. Word: Nosedive (भारी गिरावट)

• Pronunciation: nohz-dahyv/ नोज़्डाइव
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. a plunge of an aircraft with the forward part pointing downward.
  b. a sudden sharp drop or rapid decline:
• Synonyms: plunge, plummet, fall
• Antonyms: ascent, enhance, climb
• Usage in a sentence: He invested at a time when market values were in a nosedive. 

9. Word: Havoc (तबाही)

• Pronunciation: nohz-dahyv/ हैवक
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. great destruction or devastation; ruinous damage.
• Synonyms: chaos, mayhem, destruction
• Antonyms: calm, rehabilitation, construction
• Usage in a sentence: The cyclone wreaked havoc on the coastal areas of the city. 

10. Word: Burnish (चमकाना)

• Pronunciation: bur-nish/ बर्निश
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning:
  a. to polish (a surface) by friction.
  b. to make smooth and bright.
• Synonyms: polish, shine, gloss
• Antonyms: tarnish, dull, dark
• Usage in a sentence: The maid did a find job of burnishing the utensils. 

'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.

• Falter
• Administer
• Lethal
• Macabre
• Reminiscent

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!

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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