Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 23rd Oct'21

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!

Engaging the Taliban: On India and the Afghan rulers

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Decisive (निर्णायक)

• Pronunciation: dih-sahy-siv/डिसाइसिव
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. settling an issue; producing a definite result.
  b. having or showing the ability to make decisions quickly and effectively.
• Synonyms: conclusive, resolute, final
• Antonyms: uncertain, indefinite, conditional
• Usage in a Sentence: They have declared a quick and decisive course of action to deal with the latest protests.

2. Word: Delegation (प्रत्यायोजन, प्रतिनिधि मंडल)

• Pronunciation: del-i-gey-shuhn/ डेलगेशन
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. a body of delegates or representatives; a deputation.
  b. the action or process of delegating or being delegated.
• Synonyms: deputation, commission mission, assignment
• Antonyms: retention, discharge, acquisition
• Usage in a sentence: He's been chosen to lead the delegation to the conference.

 3. Word: Walk the talk (कार्य करके दिखाना)

• Pronunciation: wawk-thuh-tawk
• Meaning:
  a. To do what one said one could do, or would do; not just making empty promises.
• Synonyms: lead by example, exemplary, role model
• Antonyms: empty vessel makes much noise
• Usage in a sentence: It remains to see whether he simply preaches or if he actually walks the talk.

4. Word: Diplomacy (कूटनीति)

• Pronunciation: dih-ploh-muh-see/ डिप्लोमसी
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: the art of dealing with people in a sensitive and tactful way.
• Synonyms: Tact, Skill, Adroitness
• Antonyms: Rudeness, Bluntness, Insolence
• Usage in a Sentence: I thought he showed his tact diplomacy to persuade her not to resign.

5. Word: Bilateral (द्विपक्षीय)

• Pronunciation: Bye-let-ral/बाइलैटरल
• Part of Speech: adjective
• Meaning:
  a.  having or relating to two sides 
  b. affecting both sides
• Synonyms: mutual, reciprocal
• Antonyms: common, depressed
• Usage in a sentence: They have been negotiating a bilateral trade deal.

6. Word: Clout (पराक्रम)

• Pronunciation: klout/ क्लाउट
• Part of Speech: Noun, Verb
• Meaning: 
  a. influence or power, especially in politics or business. [Noun]
  b. hit hard [Verb]
• Synonyms: authority, control, punch, influence
• Antonyms: weakness, failure
• Usage in a Sentence: My mother carries a lot of clout over the other board members.

7. Word: Brink (कगार)

• Pronunciation: bringk/ब्रिंगक
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a point at which something is about to happen; the verge.
• Synonyms: border, boundary, edge
• Antonyms: middle, center, inside
• Usage in a Sentence: Researchers are on the brink of making a new discovery.

8. Word: Leverage (लाभ उठाना)

• Pronunciation: lev-er-ij/लीवरिज
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning:
  a. power or ability to act or to influence people, events, decisions, etc.; sway
• Synonyms: advantage, authority, supremacy
• Antonyms: inferiority, poorness, weakness 
• Usage in a Sentence: We'll have to use better leverage if we want the deal to swing in our favour.

9. Word: Amass (संग्रह करना)

• Pronunciation: uh-mas/अमैस
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: 
  a. to gather for oneself
  b. to collect into a mass or pile
  c. to come together; assemble
• Synonyms: accumulate, collect, gather, hoard
• Antonyms: disperse, divide, dissipate, scatter
• Usage in a sentence: Some of his colleagues envy the enormous wealth that he has amassed.

10. Word: Precedent (उदाहरण/ अग्रगामी)

• Pronunciation: pres-i-duh nt/ प्रेसिडन्ट
• Part of Speech: Noun, Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances. [Noun]
  b. preceding in time, order, or importance. [Adjective]
• Synonyms: model, example, preceding
• Antonyms: after, following, later
• Usage in a sentence: The judgment on pension rights has established a precedent.

'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!

• decisive
• delegation
• walk the talk
• diplomacy 
• bilateral 

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