Daily Vocabulary from International Newspapers ( 7 October 2025): DAILY QUIZ
🎯 Ready to Test Your Vocabulary Mastery?
Knowledge without practice is like a sword that stays in its sheath—powerful, but unused! Now that you’ve explored today’s carefully curated vocabulary from leading Indian newspapers, it’s time to put your learning to the test.
This daily quiz isn’t just about testing what you remember—it’s about reinforcing neural pathways, identifying gaps in your understanding, and building the confidence you need for competitive exams like CAT, GRE, UPSC, and IELTS. Each carefully crafted MCQ challenges you to apply the words in different contexts, moving beyond simple definitions to true mastery.
Why take this quiz? âś… Reinforce your learning through active recall
âś… Identify which words need more practice
âś… Build exam-ready confidence with contextual usage
âś… Track your daily progress toward vocabulary excellence
Remember: The difference between knowing a word and owning it lies in application. These 5 questions will help you make today’s five words—etched, vacillation, unveiled, seamlessly, and insatiable—a permanent part of your active vocabulary.
Read the article first, then attempt the quiz. Let’s see how well those words are etched in your memory! đź’Şđź“š
Daily Vocabulary from International Newspapers ( 7 October 2025): DAILY QUIZ
1. Which statement best illustrates why referring to someone as a “paragon of virtue” carries a potentially ironic or critical undertone in contemporary usage?
"Paragon" means a model of excellence or perfection, and while it can be used sincerely, sophisticated speakers often deploy it ironically because absolute perfection is philosophically untenable. Option A correctly identifies that labeling someone a "paragon of virtue" may suggest either impossible standards or hint at performative, rather than genuine, morality—a nuanced understanding required at GRE level. Option B is factually incorrect; "paragon" remains current in educated discourse and isn't restricted to historical contexts. Option C misrepresents the term entirely—"paragon" suggests supreme excellence, not mere comparative superiority. Option D contradicts the definition completely, as "paragon" denotes exceptional rather than average qualities. Option E makes an unsupported philosophical claim irrelevant to understanding "paragon" itself. Only A demonstrates sophisticated awareness of how aspirational language can function critically in contemporary contexts.
2. Select the sentence where “startlingly” is used INCORRECTLY:
"Startlingly" is an adverb meaning "in a way that causes sudden surprise or shock due to being remarkable or unexpected." It modifies adjectives (startlingly beautiful) or entire clauses to emphasize something surprising, but it cannot meaningfully modify manner-of-movement verbs like "walked" in the way option C attempts. In C, the sentence illogically suggests the manner of walking itself was surprising, when what's needed is an adverb like "carefully" or "gingerly." Options A, B, D, and E all use "startlingly" correctly: A modifies "original" (surprisingly original), B describes the surprising rapidity, D emphasizes the unexpected degree of similarity (though "startlingly similar" is slightly redundant, it remains grammatically acceptable), and E modifies how the landscape revealed itself (the revelation was surprising). Only C demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of the adverb's function, attempting to use it as a manner adverb rather than an intensifier expressing surprise.
3. In academic contexts, describing an intellectual environment as “rarefied” most precisely suggests:
"Rarefied" literally means "made less dense" (as in rarefied air at high altitudes) and metaphorically describes something exclusive, elevated, and accessible to few—often with connotations of both exclusivity and potential elitism. In intellectual contexts, a "rarefied environment" specifically indicates highly specialized, esoteric discourse that may alienate outsiders, creating an exclusive atmosphere where only initiated experts can meaningfully participate. Option B captures both the exclusivity and the potential critique implicit in calling something "rarefied." Option A describes material resources, which is unrelated to the term's meaning. Option C addresses ethics rather than exclusivity or specialization. Option D suggests inclusivity and accessibility—the opposite of "rarefied." Option E focuses on modernization, which has no connection to the concept of intellectual exclusivity. Only B demonstrates understanding that "rarefied" carries both descriptive weight (highly specialized) and subtle critique (potentially exclusionary).
4. Which scenario demonstrates a loss of “vitality” in its most comprehensive sense?
"Vitality" encompasses not merely physical energy but the quality of being full of life, vigor, spirit, and dynamic force—a holistic concept of animated existence and flourishing. Option B best captures comprehensive vitality loss because it describes multidimensional decline: economic (shuttered businesses), social (absent street life), cultural (declining programming), and atmospheric (stagnation). This represents the death of a community's animating spirit. Option A describes natural physical decline but doesn't represent vitality loss—the runner still actively participates, demonstrating continued life force. Option C describes temporary fatigue, not genuine vitality loss, as recovery is imminent. Option D uses a technical metaphor but lacks the organic, life-force dimension central to "vitality." Option E actually demonstrates vitality's resilience through recovery. Only B captures the profound, multifaceted absence of life force that "loss of vitality" implies at a sophisticated level.
5. An anthropologist studying organizational culture would most accurately use “facade” to describe:
While "facade" literally means the front face of a building, its sophisticated metaphorical usage denotes a deceptive outward appearance concealing a contradictory reality—a false front maintained to mislead observers. Option B perfectly captures this meaning: the company projects an ethical image (the facade) while operating unethically behind it (the reality), representing deliberate misrepresentation through superficial display. Option A describes only the literal architectural meaning without metaphorical dimension. Option C describes legitimate professional standards, not deceptive appearance—these dress codes aren't intended to conceal contradictory reality. Option D again uses only the literal architectural sense. Option E describes first impressions, which may be accurate or inaccurate but don't necessarily constitute a "facade" unless deliberately constructed to deceive. Only B demonstrates understanding that "facade" implies intentional construction of false appearance to mask contradictory truth—the critical element distinguishing mere "appearance" from "facade" in sophisticated usage.
