Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 23rd April, 2021

Vocabulary plays a very important role in enhancing your communication skills, be it written or spoken. As you glance through the newspaper every day, you come across a number of new words. 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.

Towards racial justice: On George Floyd case verdict

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Nuance (जरा सा फर्क)

• Pronunciation: noo-ahns/नूआन्स
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: 
  a. a subtle difference or distinction in expression, meaning, response, etc
  b. a very slight difference or variation in color or tone
• Synonyms: shade, nicety, refinement
• Antonyms: agreement, blatancy
• Usage in a sentence: Linguists explore the nuances of language. 

2. Word: Eschew (त्यागना, परहेज़ करना)

• Pronunciation: es-choo/ एस्चू
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: deliberately avoid using; abstain from
• Synonyms: avoid, evade, renounce, abstain, give up
• Antonyms: embrace, pursue, confront, intervene
• Usage in a sentence: A fair number of academics eschew the simple title "professor" and call themselves economists,

 3. Word: Formidable (भयानक)

• Pronunciation: fawr-mi-duh-buh l/फॉर्मिडबल
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable.
• Synonyms: terrific, tremendous, colossal
• Antonyms: feeble, easy, friendly
• Usage in a Sentence: They had to overcome formidable obstacles.

4. Word: Empathy (समवेदना)

• Pronunciation: em-puh-thee/एम्पथी
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. the psychological identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another
  b. the imaginative ascribing to an object, as a natural object or work of art, feelings or attitudes present in oneself
• Synonyms: compassion, understanding, affinity
• Antonyms: apathy, coldness, detachment
• Usage in a sentence: He loves children and has a certain empathy with them.

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5. Word: Plague (कष्ट देना)

• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: 
  a) cause continual trouble or distress to. 
• Pronunciation: pleyg/प्लेग
• Synonyms: harass, pester, annoy
• Antonyms: aid, advantage, benefit
• Use in a Sentence: Fears about job security plague nearly half the workforce. 

6. Word: Outpouring (प्रवाह/दिल से बोझ उठाना)

• Pronunciation: out-pawr-ing/आउट्पोरींग
• Part of Speech: 
• Meaning:
  a. something that pours out or is poured out; an outflow, overflow, or effusion
• Synonyms: flood, gush, effusion
• Antonyms: dribble, flux, inflow
• Usage in a sentence: His death at the age of 35 has occasioned an outpouring of grief. 

7. Word: Chokehold (कसकर पकड़ना)

• Pronunciation: chohk-hohld/चोकहोल्ड
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. a stifling grip; stranglehold
• Synonyms: grip, control, throttlehold
• Usage in a sentence: The officer had him in a chokehold.

8. Word: Clarion (समाह्वान)

• Pronunciation: klar-ee-uhn-call/क्लैरीअन कॉल
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. a very clear message or instruction about what action is needed
• Synonyms: urge, appeal
• Usage in a sentence: They will not tell the country quite frankly what is the problem and give the clarion call to action.

9. Word: Felled (काट डालना)

• Pronunciation: feld/फेल
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning:
  a. to knock someone down, especially in sports
  b. to cut down a tree
• Synonyms: cut down, knock down, drop
• Antonyms: amassed, darted, dashed
• Usage in a sentence: He eventually felled his opponent with a punch to the head.

10. Phrase: Fan the flames ()

• Pronunciation: उत्तेजित करना/फैन द फ्लेम 
• Meaning:
  a. to make a dangerous or unpleasant mood or situation worse:
• Synonyms: aggravate, agitate, arouse
• Usage in a sentence: His speeches fanned the flames of racial tension.
  
  

'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!

• Nuance
• Eschew
• Outpouring
• Clarion
• Fan the flames

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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