Shape Up your Vocabulary from Newspaper Wordlist: 8 April, 2019

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 Indian Express’. Read it, understand the context and go through the meanings of words given below to scale-up your knowledge.

Happy Reading!

Now attempt the GK questions related to this article to boost your general knowledge. Let's see how many you can answer correctly without referring to the article again.

G.K. Questions:

Q1. Which poet had said that if the light of language does not exist, we will be groping in a dark world?

Q2. What is the vehicle for the transmission of culture, scientific knowledge and a worldview across generations?

Q3. How many languages or dialects are spoken in India?

Languages and civilisation

Important Words from the Article!

1. Word: Daunting (चुनौतीपूर्ण)

• Pronunciation: dawnt-ing/ डॉन्टिंग
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: seeming difficult to deal with in prospect; intimidating.
• Synonyms: scary, intimidating, frightening
• Antonyms: encouraging, approachable, pleasant
• Usage in a sentence: They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.

2. Word: Incentive (उकसाव)

• Pronunciation: in-sen-tiv/ इन्सेन्टिव
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a thing that motivates or encourages someone to do something.
• Synonyms: stimulus, motivation, spur
• Antonyms: discouragement, hindrance, deterrent
• Usage in a sentence: Workers need to be given an incentive to improve their performance.

3. Word: Roll-out (उद्घाटन)

• Pronunciation: rohl-out/ रोल आउट
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: the official launch or introduction of a new product or service.
• Synonyms: unfurl, present, uprise
• Antonyms: contort, fall down
• Usage in a sentence: The company will roll out an enhanced version of its operating system in the new year.

4. Word: Variant (प्रकार)

• Pronunciation: vair-ee-uh nt/ वेरीअन्ट
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing or from a standard.
• Synonyms: alternative, version, variation
• Antonyms: acquiesce, base, root
• Usage in a sentence: The simplest variant of the theory is to split the labour market into two sectors.

5. Word: Antiquity (पुरावस्तु)

• Pronunciation: an-tik-wi-tee/ ऐन्टिक्विटी
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: the ancient past, especially the period of classical and other human civilizations before the Middle Ages.
• Synonyms: relic, history, artefact
• Antonyms: modernity, novation, freshness
• Usage in a sentence: The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.

6. Word: Copious (प्रचुर)

• Pronunciation: koh-pee-uhs/ कोपीअस
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: abundant in supply or quantity.
• Synonyms: abundant, plentiful, ample
• Antonyms: scarce, insufficient, meagre
• Usage in a sentence: She supports her theory with copious evidence.

7. Word: Affinity (अपनापन)

• Pronunciation: uh-fin-i-tee/ अफिनिटी
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a natural liking for and understanding of someone or something.
• Synonyms: sympathy, attraction, connection
• Antonyms: dislike, distaste, disinclination
• Usage in a sentence: A house design should have some affinity with the surrounding architecture.

8. Word: Distinct (अलग)

• Pronunciation: dih-stingkt / डिस्टिंगक्ट
• Part of Speech: Adjective
• Meaning: recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type.
• Synonyms: clear, diverse, separate
• Antonyms: similar, alike
• Usage in a sentence: The party is divided into two distinct camps over the legislation. 

9. Word: Revere (सम्मान करना)

• Pronunciation: ri-veer/ रिविर
• Part of Speech: Verb
• Meaning: feel deep respect or admiration for (something).
• Synonyms: adore, respect, admire
• Antonyms: hate, abuse, despise
• Usage in a sentence: Students revere the old professors.

10. Word: Rapture (उमंग)

• Pronunciation: rap-cher / रैप्चर
• Part of Speech: Noun
• Meaning: a feeling of intense pleasure or joy.
• Synonyms: happiness, ecstasy, bliss, joy
• Antonyms: agony, depression, despair
• Usage in a sentence: He listened to the music with an expression of pure rapture on his face.

'Writer's Corner'

Based on the words description, 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!

• Roll out
• Rapture
• Distinct
• Copious
• Daunting

Exercise 2: Match the columns.

Answer in the comment section.

Exercise 3. Unscramble Letters into Meaningful Words

Rearrange the letters of the following words to form words from the article.

• EICVNTNEI
• TYIAFTFIN
• URPARTE
• NATQIUYTI
• EVERER

Exercise 4. Find the Correct Pair.

Identify the two words which are nearly the same or opposite in meaning. Share your answer in the comment section. 

I.

A. Revere
B. Combine
C. Despise
D. Authenticate

1. A-D
2. B-C
3. A-C
4. C-D
5. B-D

II.

A. Incentive
B. Stimulation
C. Consequence
D. Elation

1. B-C
2. A-B
3. C-D
4. A-D
5. B-D

III.

A. Pleasant
B. Artefact
C. Abundant
D. Insufficient

1. A-B
2. C-D
3. B-C
4. B-D
5. A-D

Share your answers in the comment section below.

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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,

Team BYJU'S Exam Prep!