Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 16th Oct'21

Nowadays the English section of Banking exams is full of surprises. In most of the topics, Vocabulary plays an important role and a good hold over it will help you score good marks. Also, Vocabulary helps in understanding the context of sentences while improving communication skills like speaking, listening, reading and writing.

Nobody can cram all the meanings of the words in one go. To help you out in this, we are providing you with the series, ‘Shape up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist’ which solely aims to enhance your vocabulary. The series will present the words used in newspaper editorials with the appropriate meanings, synonyms, antonyms, pronunciation, usage in the sentences, etc.

Today's article is from "The Hindu" newspaper. Understand the gist of the article using the meaning of the words given below and practice questions at the end of this article. 

Happy Reading!

Aiding Afghans: On G20 meeting on Afghanistan

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Loom (संकट मँडराना)

• Pronunciation: loom/लूम
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: appear as a vague form, especially one that is large or threatening
  
• Synonyms: menace, emerge, stand out
• Antonyms: disappear, diminish, remove
• Use in a Sentence: We should flag those problems that could loom ahead.

2. Word: Cramp (बाधित)

• Pronunciation: cramp/
• Part of Speech: Verb, Noun
• Meaning:
  a. to limit someone, especially to prevent them from enjoying a full life (verb)
  b. a sudden painful tightening in a muscle, often after a lot of exercises, that limits movement (noun)
• Synonyms: hinder, impede
• Antonyms: ease, allow, freedom
• Usage in a sentence: Worry and lack of money cramp the lives of the unemployed.

 3. Word: Dilemma (असमंजस)

• Pronunciation: (dih-lem-uh) /डिलेम
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially ones that are equally undesirable.
• Synonyms: problem, difficulty, difficulty, trouble
• Antonyms: solution, answer, resolution, boon
• Usage in a Sentence: The fundamental dilemma remains: in a tolerant society, should we tolerate intolerance?

4. Word: Aggravate (बिगाड़ना)

• Pronunciation: ag-ruh-veyt/ऐग्रवैट
• Part of Speech: Verb 
• Meaning: 
  a. to make worse or more severe; intensify, as anything evil, disorderly, or troublesome:
  b. to annoy; irritate; exasperate:
  c. to cause to become irritated or inflamed:
• Synonyms: irritate, exasperate, annoy
• Antonyms: alleviate, soothe, improve
• Usage in a sentence: The child's constant scratching aggravated the rash.

5. Word: Dire (अत्यंत)

• Pronunciation: dahyuh r/डाइअर
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. extremely serious or urgent.
  b. of a very poor quality.
• Synonyms: dreadful, severe
• Antonyms: fortunate, trivial
• Use in a Sentence: After the war, the country's economy was in dire straits.

6. Word: Stark (कठोर)

• Pronunciation: stahrk/स्टार्क
• Part of Speech: Adjective, Adverb
• Meaning:
  a. empty, simple, or obvious, especially without decoration or anything that is not necessary (Adjective)
  b. harsh, grim, or desolate, as a view, place, etc.(Adjective)
  c. means completely clear (Adjective)
  d. completely or extremely (Adverb)
• Synonyms: austere, dour, fierce, flinty, forbidding, grim
• Antonyms: benign, benignant, gentle, mild, non intimidating, tender
• Usage in a sentence: The dim halls made a stark contrast with the bright, sun-drenched apartment.

7. Word: Pledge (वादा करना)

• Pronunciation: plej/प्लेज
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. a solemn promise or undertaking.
• Synonyms: guarantee, assurance
• Antonyms: cancel, abort
• Use in a Sentence: Meera said to me, Take this gift as a pledge of our friendship.

8. Word: Goodwill (सद्भावना)

• Pronunciation: good-wil /गुड्विल
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: 
  a. friendly disposition; benevolence; kindness.
  b. cheerful acquiescence or consent.
  c. Commerce. an intangible, salable asset arising from the reputation of a business and its relations with its customers, distinct from the value of its stock and other tangible assets.
• Synonyms: benevolence, kindness, compassion, friendliness
• Antonyms: hostility, malice, enmity, animosity
• Usage in a sentence: In the blink of an eye, his mischief made him lose the goodwill of his friends.

9. Phrase: Clear the fog (स्पष्ट करना)

• Part of Speech: Phrase
• Meaning:
  a. free something from darkness or obscurity; bright
• Synonyms: make it clear, clear, give insight, provide a clue
• Antonyms: cloud, haze, obfuscate, muddle
• Usage in a sentence: He cleared the fog regarding his birth certificate.

10. Phrase: Make or break (बनने या बिगड़ने का)

• Part of Speech: Phrase
• Meaning:
  a. be the factor which decides whether (something) will succeed or fail
• Synonyms: Now or never, Desperate, life or death, all or nothing
• Antonyms: indecisive, inconsequential, unimportant, trivial
• Usage in a sentence: Earlier, the soundtrack of a movie could make or break the production of the movie.

'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!

• Make or break
• Clear the fog
• Cramp
• Stark
• Dilemma 

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. 

from BYJU'S Exam Prep