When it comes to improving your vocabulary, The Hindu Editorial is considered the best. We at PracticeMock, keep publishing the daily analysis of The Hindu Editorials. In this analysis, we cherrypick the difficult words/phrases/terms used in the editorial. Now, these difficult words connote more than 1 sense of the word and it may become confusing to you which sense to use in the editorial. It’s only to ease your reading that we only provide the contextual meaning of the word in our analysis. Reading only the contextual meaning will ensure that you retain that very meaning which is relevant in the editorial.
Reading these editorial analyses on a daily basis will definitely help you improve your word power. As you come across difficult words on a daily basis (and some of them might get repeated in the editorial as well), you will slowly and steadily start remembering their meanings. In this article, we have compiled a list of all the difficult words/ phrases/ terms used in The Hindu Editorial in the month of May 2021. Keep revising this list to ensure that you don’t forget the meanings of these difficult words.
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📥 PDF- Difficult Words from Hindu Editorial- May 2021
Important Days/Dates 2020-21 with Themes for Banking/ SSC/ RRB NTPC/ Govt. Exams
| Difficult Word/ Phrase | Contextual Sense |
| Strife | angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict |
| Gloss over | try to conceal or disguise something unfavourable by treating it briefly or representing it misleadingly |
| Go to great lengths | to make a great or extreme effort to do something |
| Unilaterally | used to indicate that something is done by only one person, group, or country involved in a situation, without the agreement of others |
| Vindictive | having or showing a strong or unreasoning desire for revenge |
| Acrimony | bitterness or ill feeling |
| Hand in hand | in close association |
| Apportion | divide and allocate |
| Belittle | make (someone or something) seem unimportant |
| Trounce | defeat heavily in a contest |
| Windfall | a large amount of money that is won or received unexpectedly |
| Ferocious | savagely fierce |
| Upend | set or turn (something) on its end or upside down |
| Payout | a large payment of money |
| Truncate | shorten the duration of |
| Mop up | to gather as if by absorbing |
| Buffer | something or someone that helps protect from harm |
| Coffer | Treasury |
| Wiggle | move or cause to move up and down or from side to side with small rapid movements |
| Behove | it is a duty or responsibility for someone to do something; it is incumbent on |
| Vagueness | lack of certainty |
| Incitement | the action of provoking unlawful behavior or urging someone to behave unlawfully |
| Sexual orientation | a person’s identity in relation to the gender or genders to which they are sexually attracted; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, etc. |
| Immigration | the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country |
| Doctrine | a stated principle of government policy, mainly in foreign or military affairs |
| Vulnerable | easily hurt or harmed physically, mentally, or emotionally |
| Backdrop | the general situation in which particular events happen |
| Pitfall | a hidden or unsuspected danger or difficulty |
| Lacuna | a gap |
| Imminent | about to happen |
| Imperious | assuming power or authority without justification; arrogant and domineering |
| Archipelago | a group of islands |
| Idyllic | extremely happy, peaceful, or picturesque |
| Long arm | power, esp far-reaching power |
| Rummage | search unsystematically and untidily through a mass or receptacle |
| Upend | set or turn (something) on its end or upside down |
| Recast | To change the form of something |
| Impede | delay or prevent (someone or something) by obstructing them; hinder |
| Fragile | (of an object) easily broken or damaged |
| Ecosystem | a group of businesses or business activities that affect each other and work well together: |
| Curb | a check or restraint on something |
| Plethora | a large or excessive amount of (something) |
| Break down | (of a relationship, agreement, or process) cease to continue; collapse |
| Stand-off | a deadlock between two equally matched opponents in a dispute or conflict |
| Back-story | the things that have happened to someone before you first see or read about that person in a film or story |
| Strained | having problems |
| Stonewalling | delay or obstruct (a request, process, or person) by refusing to answer questions or by being evasive |
| Make a noise | speak or act in a way designed to attract a lot of attention or publicity |
| Take on board | to decide to accept or deal with (something, such as a suggestion or idea) |
| high-handed | using power or authority without considering the feelings of others |
| Functionary | a person who has to perform official functions or duties; an official |
| Legal leg to stand on | If you say that someone does not have a leg to stand on, or hasn’t got a leg to stand on, you mean that a statement or claim they have made cannot be justified or proved |
| Go any length | If you say that someone goes to great lengths to achieve something, you mean that they try very hard and perhaps do extreme things in order to achieve it |
| Tarnish | to make people think that someone or something is less good |
| Disparage | regard or represent as being of little worth |
| Forge | copied fraudulently; fake |
| Propagandist | a person who promotes or publicizes a particular organization or cause |
| Baffling | impossible to understand |
| Arbitrary | based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system |
| Intimidate | frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants |
| Throw up | abandon or give up something, especially one’s job |
| Mortality | death, especially on a large scale |
| Mould | a furry growth of minute fungal hyphae occurring typically in moist warm conditions, especially on food or other organic matter |
| Steroid | an artificial form of a natural chemical substance that is used for treating particular medical conditions |
| Spore | a minute, typically one-celled, reproductive unit capable of giving rise to a new individual without sexual fusion, characteristic of lower plants, fungi, and protozoans |
| Susceptible | likely or liable to be influenced or harmed by a particular thing |
| Inflammatory | (especially of speech or writing) arousing or intended to arouse angry or violent feelings |
| Dysfunction | abnormality or impairment in the function of a specified bodily organ or system |
| Corticosteroid | any of a group of steroid hormones produced in the adrenal cortex or made synthetically. There are two kinds: glucocorticoids and mineralocorticoids. They have various metabolic functions and some are used to treat inflammation |
| Wake-up call | a thing that alerts people to an unsatisfactory situation and prompts them to remedy it |
| Circumvention | the action of overcoming a problem or difficulty, typically in a clever and surreptitious way |
| Wield | have and be able to use (power or influence) |
| Federal country | a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism) |
| Obligation | an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment |
| Refrain | stop oneself from doing something |
| Ought | used to indicate something that is probable |
| Precedent | an earlier event or action that is regarded as an example or guide to be considered in subsequent similar circumstances |
| Stipulate | demand or specify (a requirement), typically as part of a bargain or agreement |
| Resentment | a feeling of anger or displeasure about someone or something unfair |
| Invoke | cite or appeal to (someone or something) as an authority for an action or in support of an argument |
| Anecdotal | (of an account) not necessarily true or reliable, because based on personal accounts rather than facts or research |
| Backslide | return to a worse condition |
| Discretionary spending | money spent by consumers on things other than necessary things such as food, clothes, and fuel |
| In the doldrums | if something is in the doldrums, nothing new is happening and it is not doing well |
| Unscathed | without suffering any injury, damage, or harm |
| Dry up | (of something perceived as a continuous flow or source) decrease and stop |
| Palpable | so obvious that it can easily be seen or known |
| Precarity | the state of being uncertain |
| Stagflation | stagflation or recession-inflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high |
| Expedited | make (an action or process) happen sooner or be accomplished more quickly |
| Bad bank | a bank set up to buy the bad loans and other illiquid holdings of another financial institution |
| NPAs | A nonperforming asset (NPA) refers to a classification for loans or advances that are in default or in arrears |
| Vicious cycle | a negative series of events that build on and reinforce each other |
| Legacy bad loans | A legacy asset is an asset that has remained on a company’s balance sheet for a long period time and has since become obsolete or has lost nearly all of it’s initial value |
| Abate | (of something perceived as hostile, threatening, or negative) become less intense or widespread |
| Dent | If one thing makes a dent in another, it reduces it by a large amount |
| Scrounge | seek to obtain something at the expense or through the generosity of others or by stealth |
| Rope in | to force or persuade someone to join a group or become involved in something |
| Fall prey to | to be harmed or affected in a bad way by (someone or something) |
| Inordinate | unusually or disproportionately large; excessive |
| Sedition | conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch |
| Dissenter | a person who does not agree with opinions that are officially or generally accepted |
| Detractor | a person who tries to make somebody/ something seem less good or valuable by criticizing them/ it |
| Vendetta | a strong desire to harm a person or group, often because of political reasons or feelings of hate |
| Stoke | encourage or incite (a strong emotion or tendency) |
| Rampant | (especially of something unwelcome or unpleasant) flourishing or spreading unchecked |
| Unedifying | distasteful; unpleasant |
| Offence | a breach of a law or rule; an illegal act |
| Imminent | about to happen |
| Vaguely | in a way that is uncertain, indefinite or unclear |
| Midst | In the middle of |
| Imperious | arrogant and domineering |
| Grandeur | splendor and impressiveness, especially of appearance or style |
| Irony | the expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect |
| Colossus | a statue that is much bigger than life size |
| Befallen | (of something bad) happen to someone |
| Razing | completely destroy (a building, town, or other site) |
| Manuscript | a book, document, or piece of music written by hand rather than typed or printed |
| Artefact | an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest |
| Ripple effect | the continuing and spreading results of an event or action |
| Respite | a short period of rest or relief from something difficult or unpleasant |
| Cast a pall on/over | to give (something) an unhappy mood |
| Softer | In a soft market/economy there are more goods for sale than there are people to buy them, so prices are usually low |
| Imputed | (of a value) assigned to something by inference from the value of the products or processes to which it contributes; estimated |
| Index of Industrial Production | an index which shows the growth rates in different industry groups of the economy in a stipulated period of time |
| Deflationary | Relating to a decrease in the amount of available money or credit in an economy that causes prices to go down |
| Stubbornly | in a manner that shows dogged determination not to change one’s attitude or position on something |
| Gauge | estimate or determine the magnitude, amount, or volume of |
| Trajectory | the way in which a process or event develops over a period of time |
| Haulage | the commercial transport of goods |
| Perennial | continually recurring |
| Salience | the quality of being particularly noticeable or important |
| Parole | the temporary or permanent release of a prisoner before the expiry of a sentence, on the promise of good behaviour |
| Inmate | a person confined to a prison |
| Stringent | strict, precise, and exacting |
| Complicity | the state of being involved with others in an illegal activity or wrongdoing |
| Vulnerability | the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally |
| Lay down | formulate and enforce or insist on a rule or principle |
| Undertrial | a person who is being held in custody awaiting trial for a crime |
| Arbitrarily | without restraint in the use of authority |
| Merit | deserve or be worthy of (something, especially reward, punishment, or attention) |
| Variant of concern | A variant for which there is evidence of an increase in transmissibility, more severe disease (e.g., increased hospitalizations or deaths), significant reduction in neutralization by antibodies generated during previous infection or vaccination, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failures |
| Flag | mark (an item) for attention or treatment in a specified way |
| Evade | escape or avoid, especially by trickery |
| Mutation | an alteration in the genetic material (the genome) of a cell of a living organism or of a virus that is more or less permanent and that can be transmitted to the cell’s or the virus’s descendants |
| Afflict | (of a problem or illness) cause pain or suffering to; affect or trouble |
| Lineage | descent in a line from a common progenitor |
| Variant of interest | a variant of interest is one that is “suspected” to either be more contagious than the initial strain, cause more severe disease, or escape the protection offered by vaccines |
| Strain | A strain of an organism is a particular type of it |
| On your toes | Someone or something that keeps you on your toes forces you to continue directing all your attention and energy to what you are doing |
| Culmination | the highest or climactic point of something, especially as attained after a long time |
| Eviction | the action of expelling someone, especially a tenant, from a property; expulsion |
| Disperse | to break up in random fashion |
| Break out | (of war, fighting, or similarly undesirable things) start suddenly |
| Sovereignty | supreme power or authority |
| Tactic | an action or strategy carefully planned to achieve a specific end |
| Carte blanche | complete freedom to act as one wishes |
| Repression | the action of subduing someone or something by force |
| Mend ways | to change or improve one’s behavior |
| Yoke | something that connects two things or people, usually in a way that unfairly limits freedom |
| Outreach | the extent or length of reaching out |
| Overreach | reach too far |
| Usurp | take (a position of power or importance) by force |
| Flailing | beset by difficulties |
| Apotheosis | the highest point in the development of something |
| Remit | the task or area of activity officially assigned to an organization |
| Calibrated | carefully assessed, set, or adjusted |
| Flak | strong criticism |
| Succour | assistance and support in times of hardship and distress |
| Suo motu | on its own motion; the term is usually applied to actions by a judge taken without a prior motion or request from the parties |
| Ebb | gradually lessen or reduce |
| Stimulus | a thing or event that evokes a specific functional reaction in an organ or tissue |
| Pool | a quantity of a particular thing, such as money, collected together for shared use by several people or organizations |
| Bond yield | the return an investor realizes on a bond |
| Dearth | a scarcity or lack of something |
| Erratic | not even or regular in pattern or movement; unpredictable |
| Upbeat | optimistic |
| Stock | to procure |
| Rebound | recover in value, amount, or strength after a decrease or decline |
| Ample | enough or more than enough |
| Ceiling | an upper limit |
| Strike down | to decide that a law is illegal and should not apply |
| Underscore | emphasizing the importance of something |
| Adhere | believe in and follow the practices of |
| Unpalatable | difficult to put up with or accept |
| Set aside | declare a legal decision or process to be invalid |
| Limb | a branching section |
| Denude | to deprive of something important |
| Clamour | a demand for something |
| In the offing | likely to happen or appear soon |
| Repose | place something, especially one’s confidence or trust, in |
| Unassailable | unable to be attacked, questioned, or defeated |
| Warhorse | a person with long experience in a field |
| Set the ball rolling | To set something, often a process, in motion |
| Make the cut | to be among the players allowed to continue playing |
| Marching order | instructions from someone in authority about what you should do |
| Crop | a group or amount of related people or things appearing or occurring at one time |
| Dash | strike or fling (something) somewhere with great force, especially so as to have a destructive effect |
| Take aback | to surprise or shock (someone) |
| Myriad | a countless or extremely great number |
| Transient | lasting only for a short time |
| Uptick | a small increase |
| In tandem | alongside each other |
| Spectre | something widely feared as a possible unpleasant or dangerous occurrence |
| Mere | that is solely or no more or better than what is specified |
| Recalibration | Adjustment of something again so that it can be used in an accurate and exact way |
| Plummet | fall or drop straight down at high speed |
| Build-up | an increase in the amount of something over a period of time |
| Foolhardy | recklessly bold or rash |
| Prickly | complicated and difficult to deal with |
| Douse | to end something |
| Incumbent | currently holding office |
| Herald | be a sign that (something) is about to happen |
| Come of age | relating to the fact or showing that something has become fully developed or successful |
| Juggernaut | a huge, powerful, and overwhelming force |
| Decimation | reducing something severely |
| Exacerbate | make (a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling) worse |
| Throng | (of a crowd) fill or be present in (a place or area) |
| Solemnity | the state or quality of being serious and dignified |
| Wrest | forcibly pull (something) from a person’s grasp |
| Difficult Word/ Phrase | Contextual Meaning |
| Clampdown | a severe or concerted attempt to suppress something |
| Dissemination | the action or fact of spreading something, especially information, widely |
| Besetting | (of a problem or difficulty) trouble or threaten persistently |
| Despotic | a ruler who has total power and who often uses that power in cruel and unfair ways |
| Profiteering | the practice of making or seeking to make an excessive or unfair profit, especially illegally or in a black market |
| Tarnish | to damage or ruin |
| Propensity | an inclination or natural tendency to behave in a particular way |
| Stifle | to withhold from circulation or expression |
| Precept | a general rule intended to regulate behavior or thought |
| Calamitious | Causing a disastrous event marked by great loss and lasting distress and suffering |
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📥 PDF- Difficult Words from Hindu Editorial- May 2021
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Nice vocab booster
Thanks Jagriti!