Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 27th Oct'21

Vocabulary is an essential tool to ace the English section in competitive examinations. You can score better in the subject if you are able to intensify your command over Vocabulary. A regular reading habit can help you with this. With the exercise, you will come across a number of new words, whose meanings you can look up in the dictionary. This, in turn, will help you understand the context of the piece you are reading.

Reading articles from newspapers helps you in two ways: Memorising Static Facts from the Article & Enhancing your Vocabulary.

In conjunction with the above idea, we bring to you our series ‘Shape up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist’. This series aims to help you understand the different aspects of the commonly (and not so commonly) used words, ranging from their meaning and pronunciations to proper usage in sentences.

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.

Mixed messaging: On Amit Shah's three-day visit to J&K

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Dilute (कमज़ोर करना, फ़ीका करना)

• Pronunciation: dahy-loot/ डाइलूट
• Part of Speech: Verb, Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. make (a liquid) thinner or weaker by adding water or another solvent to it. (Verb)
  b. (of a liquid) made thinner or weaker by having had water or another solvent added to it. (Adjective)
• Synonyms: weaken, thin, reduce, adulterate
• Antonyms: strong, undiluted, strengthen, concentrated
• Usage in a sentence: These measures are designed to dilute public fears about the product's safety.

2. Word: Downgrade (दर्जा घटाना/अवनति)

• Pronunciation: doun-greyd/ डाउन्ग्रेड
• Part of Speech: Verb, Noun
• Meaning:
  a. reduce to a lower grade, rank, or level of importance. [Verb]
  b. an instance of reducing someone or something's rank, status, or level of importance. [Noun]
• Synonyms: degrade, decline, depreciate
• Antonyms: upgrade, promote, raise
• Usage in a sentence: The government is expected to downgrade its forecast for economic growth this year.

 3. Word: Grim (कठोर, भयंकर)

• Pronunciation: grim/ ग्रिम
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. very serious or gloomy.
  b. depressing or worrying to consider.
  c. (of humour) lacking genuine levity; black.
  d. (especially of a place) unattractive or forbidding.
  e. unrelentingly harsh.
• Synonyms: gloomy, bleak, scary, dark, dismal, ghastly
• Antonyms: bright, cheerful, happy, compassionate
• Usage in a Sentence: Hikers made a grim discovery when they came across a dead body in the woods.

4. Word: Subterfuge (छल)

• Pronunciation: suhb-ter-fyooj/ सब्टर्फ्यूज
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: deceit used in order to achieve one's goal.
• Synonyms: trick, ruse, stratagem, artifice, deception
• Antonyms: honesty, truth, lawfulness
• Usage in a sentence: They obtained the documents by subterfuge.

5. Word: Erstwhile (अगला)

• Pronunciation: erst·​while/अर्स्ट्वाइल
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: former.
• Synonyms: Former, previous
• Antonyms: current, future
• Usage in a Sentence: She found herself ostracized by her erstwhile friends.

6. Word: Rankle (भड़कना)

• Pronunciation: rang-kuhl/ रैंगकल
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: 
  a. (of a comment or fact) cause continuing annoyance or resentment.
  b. annoy or irritate (someone).
• Synonyms: irritate, vex, annoy, exasperate
• Antonyms: delight, please, appease, comfort
• Usage in a sentence: The joke about her family rankled her.

7. Word: Discordant (विरुद्ध)

• Pronunciation: dis-kawr-dnt/डिस्कॉर्डन्ट
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: disagreeing or incongruous
• Synonyms: harsh, dissonant, jarring
• Antonyms: similar, agreeable
• Usage in a Sentence: The discordant sound of the teacher’s high-pitched voice silenced the class.

8. Word: Curb (नियंत्रण करना)

• Part of Speech: Noun, Verb
• Pronunciation: kurb/कर्ब
• Meaning: a check or restraint on something.
  
• Synonyms: inhibit, hinder
• Antonyms: encourage, support
• Usage in a Sentence: We are trying to put a curb on their activities.

9. Word: Reckless (लापरवाह)

• Pronunciation: rek-lis/रेक्लिस
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results
  b. showing a lack of care about risks or danger, and acting without thinking about the results of your actions
  c. taking risks and not caring about the possible dangers
• Synonyms: rash, careless, thoughtless
• Antonyms: prudent, cautious, careful
• Usage in a sentence: They made increasingly reckless investments.

10. Word: Volatility (अस्थिरता)

• Pronunciation: vol-uh-tl-ity/वालटिलिटी
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: liability to change rapidly and unpredictably, especially for the worse.
  
• Synonyms: impulsiveness, inconstancy
• Antonyms: permanence, stability
• Usage in a Sentence: The volatility of the underlying agreement fell to an annual rate of 9 per cent.

'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!

• dilute
   
• downgrade
   
• grim
   
• subterfuge 
   
• erstwhile 

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