Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 7th September 2021

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.

True mettle: On India’s parathletes

Important Words from the Article

1. Word: Fortnight (पखवाड़ा)

• Pronunciation: fawrt-nahyt/ फॉर्ट्नाइट
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: 
  a. the space of fourteen nights and days; two weeks.
• Synonyms: two weeks, biweekly 
• Antonyms: eternity, perpetuity, forever 
• Usage in a sentence: Most major tennis tournaments last a fortnight. 

2. Word: Eclipse (प्रभावहीन करना)

• Pronunciation: ih-klips/ इक्लिप्स
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning:
  a. one celestial body obscures another
  b. be greater in significance than
• Synonyms: overshadow, surpass, exceed
• Antonyms: reveal, accretion, boost
• Usage in a sentence: The Sun will eclipse the moon today. 

 3. Word: Sheer (परिपूर्ण)

• Pronunciation: sheer/ शीर
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: 
  a. transparently thin; diaphanous, as some fabrics:
  b. unmixed with anything else:
  c. unqualified; utter:
• Synonyms: pure, utter, absolute
• Antonyms: impure, deficient, imperfect
• Usage in a sentence: We drilled a hundred feet through sheer rock.

4. Word: Innate (जन्मजात)

• Pronunciation: ih-neyt/ इनैट
• Part of Speech: Adjective 
• Meaning:
  a. existing in one from birth; inborn; native:
  b. inherent in the essential character of something:
  c. originating in or arising from the intellect or the constitution of the mind, rather than learned through experience:
• Synonyms: inborn, natural, intrinsic 
• Antonyms: learned, acquired, extrinsic 
• Usage in a sentence: His innate desire to become a painter saw him work with the brushes in his early life. 
  
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5. Word: Skepticism (संशयात्मकता)

• Pronunciation: skep-tuh-siz-uhm/ स्केप्टिसिज़म
• Part of Speech: Noun 
• Meaning:
  a. the disbelief in any claims of ultimate knowledge
• Synonyms: mistrust, doubt, suspicion 
• Antonyms: faith, trust, certainty 
• Usage in a sentence: Rohan's skepticism regarding the results proved right. 

6. Word: Vicissitude (परिवर्तन)

• Pronunciation: vi-sis-i-tood/ विसिसिटूड
• Part of Speech: Noun 
• Meaning:
  a. a change or variation occurring in the course of something.
  b. interchange or alternation, as of states or things.
  c. regular change or succession of one state or thing to another.
• Synonyms: variation, diversity, fluctuation
• Antonyms: certainty, harmony, conformity 
• Usage in a sentence: The project was subject to the usual vicissitudes of exploratory research. 

7. Word: Effervescent (उत्साहपूर्ण)

• Pronunciation: ef-er-ves-uhnt/ एफर्वेसन्ट
• Part of Speech: Adjective 
• Meaning:
  a. marked by high spirits or excitement
  b. (of a liquid) giving off bubbles
  c. used of wines and waters; charged naturally or artificially with carbon dioxide
• Synonyms: sparkling, bubbly, buoyant 
• Antonyms: dull, flat, inactive  
• Usage in a sentence: His effervescent attitude saw him sail through the difficulties he was facing.  

8. Word: Splendour (चमक)

• Pronunciation: splendor/ स्प्लेन्डर
• Part of Speech: Adjective 
• Meaning:
  a. the quality of being magnificent or splendid or grand
  b. a quality that outshines the usual
• Synonyms: magnificence, lustre, glory 
• Antonyms: avarice, drabness, besmirch 
• Usage in a sentence: The splendour of the newly-constructed university campus was mind-blowing. 

9. Word: Steep (अत्यधिक)

• Pronunciation: steep/ स्टीप
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. having an almost vertical slope or pitch, or a relatively high gradient, as a hill, an ascent, stairs, etc.
  b. (of a price or amount) unduly high; exorbitant:
  c. extreme or incredible, as a statement or story.
  d. high or lofty.
• Synonyms: exorbitant, immense, saturate 
• Antonyms: cheap, gradual, moderate 
• Usage in a sentence: Those prices are too steep for me.

10. Word: Contingent (आकस्मिक)

• Pronunciation: kuhn-tin-juhnt/ कन्टिन्जन्ट
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning:
  a. dependent for existence, occurrence, character, etc., on something not yet certain; conditional (often followed by on or upon):
  b. liable to happen or not; uncertain; possible:
  c. happening by chance or without known cause; fortuitous; accidental:
• Synonyms: conditional, accidental, possible 
• Antonyms: certain, unconditional, definite 
• Usage in a sentence: They had to plan for contingent expenses after suffering huge losses. 

'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!

• Fortnight
• Eclipse
• Sheer
• Innate
• Skepticism

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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