Daily Vocabulary from Leading International Newspapers: September 1, 2023

Daily Vocabulary Words: List of Daily Used Words in Leading International Newspapers
Hi there. Welcome to this special section @ Wordpandit.
Our endeavour here is very simple: to highlight important daily vocabulary words, which you would come across in leading newspapers in the country. We have included the following newspapers in our selection:
• The New York Times
• The Washington Post
• Scientific American
• BBC
• The Guardian
• Psychology Today
• Wall Street Journal
• The Economist
We are putting in extensive work for developing your vocabulary. All you have got to do is be regular with this section and check out this post on a daily basis. This is your repository of words that are commonly used and essentially, we are posting a list of daily used words. Hence, this has significant practical application as it teaches you words that are used commonly in leading publications mentioned above.
Visit the website daily to learn words from leading international newspapers.

WORD-1: COUP

CONTEXT: It is no coincidence that military-ruled Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea declared their support for the coup in Niger (and now in Gabon). All three West African states have experienced putsches in recent years, reversing democratic gains that had seen the region briefly shed its tag as Africa’s “coup belt”.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Imagine you’re playing a game of chess, and you make a really clever move that surprises everyone and helps you win the game. In the grown-up world, sometimes people change who’s in charge of a country really quickly and surprisingly, like a clever chess move. That’s called a “coup.” It’s a big change that happens fast!

MEANING: A sudden, often violent change in leadership or government (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Koo

SYNONYMS: Overthrow, takeover, insurgency, rebellion, revolution

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The military carried out a coup to remove the president.
2. People were shocked by the sudden coup in the neighboring country.
3. The coup was plotted in secret for months.
4. News of the coup spread quickly around the world.

WORD-2: PUTSCH

CONTEXT: It is no coincidence that military-ruled Burkina Faso, Mali and Guinea declared their support for the coup in Niger (and now in Gabon). All three West African states have experienced putsches in recent years, reversing democratic gains that had seen the region briefly shed its tag as Africa’s “coup belt”.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: You know how in some games, like Capture the Flag, one team tries to sneak and take the other team’s flag? “Putsch” is a word grown-ups use when a small group of people try to sneakily take over the government.

MEANING: A secret or sudden attempt by a small group to overthrow a government (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Pootsh

SYNONYMS: Coup, rebellion, revolt, uprising, insurrection

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The putsch was quickly put down by the army.
2. A small group attempted a putsch against the current government.
3. Historians often study famous putsches to understand their impact.
4. The news of the failed putsch became a major headline.

WORD-3: STATUS QUO

CONTEXT:These were either “guardian coups”, which basically reoccur to maintain the status quo, such as the three military interventions in Turkey from 1960 to 1980, or the “veto coups”, which overthrow popularly elected governments, such as the bloody 1973 American-backed putsch against Salvador Allende’s government in Chile.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: “Status quo” is like when you have a favorite bedtime routine, and you don’t want it to change. You brush your teeth, read a book, and go to sleep. In the world of grown-ups, “status quo” means things staying the same and not changing.

MEANING: The existing state or condition of things (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Stay-tus kwoh

SYNONYMS: Norm, usual, standard, existing condition, current situation

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. Many people were unhappy with the status quo and wanted change.
2. The government sought to maintain the status quo.
3. Changing the status quo can be difficult.
4. The status quo was challenged by new ideas.

WORD-4: VETO

CONTEXT:These were either “guardian coups”, which basically reoccur to maintain the status quo, such as the three military interventions in Turkey from 1960 to 1980, or the “veto coups”, which overthrow popularly elected governments, such as the bloody 1973 American-backed putsch against Salvador Allende’s government in Chile.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Imagine you’re building a castle with blocks, and your sibling wants to add a tower that you don’t like. If you say “No, let’s not do that,” you’re using your “veto” power. Grown-ups use “veto” when someone in charge says no to a plan or idea.

MEANING: The power or right to stop or reject a decision or plan (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Vee-toh

SYNONYMS: Reject, disallow, prohibit, block, overrule

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The president used his veto power to block the legislation.
2. The council voted, but the mayor vetoed their decision.
3. She vetoed the idea of moving to a new city.
4. The proposal was passed, but then faced a veto.

WORD-5: JUBILANT

CONTEXT: “Ticket sales still 19% down on 2019.” “Can the Edinburgh fringe survive?” It was surprising to leave a jam-packed, jubilant festival to read those headlines, but then, that’s the fringe for you: so all-encompassing and vast that anything can be said of it – It’s thriving! It’s doomed! It’s art! It’s capitalism! – and still be true.

SOURCE: The Guardian

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: You know how you feel super happy and excited when you get a big scoop of your favourite ice cream? That’s how you feel when you’re “jubilant!” It means you’re so happy that you want to jump up and down and cheer!

MEANING: Feeling or showing extreme happiness and joy (adjective).

PRONUNCIATION: Joo-buh-luhnt

SYNONYMS: Elated, ecstatic, joyful, thrilled, exuberant

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. She was jubilant after winning the race.
2. The crowd was jubilant when the home team scored.
3. He felt jubilant upon hearing the good news.
4. The students were jubilant about the school trip.

WORD-6: FRINGE

CONTEXT: “Ticket sales still 19% down on 2019.” “Can the Edinburgh fringe survive?” It was surprising to leave a jam-packed, jubilant festival to read those headlines, but then, that’s the fringe for you: so all encompassing and vast that anything can be said of it – It’s thriving! It’s doomed! It’s art! It’s capitalism! – and still be true.

SOURCE: The Guardian

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Imagine the edge of a rug or the tassels on a scarf; that’s what we call “fringe.” In a bigger sense, “fringe” also means things that are on the edge or not the main part of something.

MEANING: The outer, marginal, or less important part of an area, group, or activity (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Frij

SYNONYMS: Edge, border, periphery, outskirts, margin

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. She wore a jacket with fringe on the sleeves.
2. The artist worked on the fringe of mainstream culture.
3. The city’s fringe areas are undergoing development.
4. Fringe groups often have unconventional views.

WORD-7: DOOMED

CONTEXT: “Ticket sales still 19% down in 2019.” “Can the Edinburgh fringe survive?” It was surprising to leave a jam-packed, jubilant festival to read those headlines, but then, that’s the fringe for you: so all-encompassing and vast that anything can be said of it – It’s thriving! It’s doomed! It’s art! It’s capitalism! – and still be true.

SOURCE: The Guardian

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: You know when you’re playing a game and you can tell you’re going to lose? Like your tower of blocks is wobbly and it’s going to fall? That’s when we say it’s “doomed.” It means something bad is sure to happen.

MEANING: Certain to fail or be destroyed (adjective)

PRONUNCIATION: Doomd

SYNONYMS: Fated, destined, condemned, ill-fated, unfortunate

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The doomed ship sank into the ocean.
2. His business was doomed from the start.
3. They entered the cave, unaware it was a doomed expedition.
4. The project was doomed due to lack of funding.

WORD-8: GLITTERING

CONTEXT: It was “the summer of girl power,” a tour de force by a glittering troika. With pink dream houses, songs and sequins, Barbie, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé buoyed the economy and sent women’s confidence soaring.

SOURCE: The New York Times

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Imagine you have a shiny, sparkly treasure chest full of jewels and gold. It would be “glittering!” Glittering means something is shiny and bright, like stars in the sky.

MEANING: Shining with a bright, shimmering light (adjective).

PRONUNCIATION: Glih-tur-ing

SYNONYMS: Shimmering, sparkling, dazzling, gleaming, shining

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. She wore a glittering dress to the party.
2. The city had a glittering skyline at night.
3. The awards ceremony was a glittering affair.
4. He admired the glittering jewels in the display.

WORD-9: TROIKA

CONTEXT: It was “the summer of girl power,” a tour de force by a glittering troika. With pink dream houses, songs and sequins, Barbie, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé buoyed the economy and sent women’s confidence soaring.

SOURCE: The New York Times

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: You know how sometimes you play games in teams? A “troika” is like a team but with only three people or things. It’s a special word that often means three people working together to do something important.

MEANING: A group of three people working together, especially in an administrative or managerial capacity (noun).

PRONUNCIATION: Troy-ka

SYNONYMS: Trio, threesome, triad, trinity, triptych

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The troika of leaders met to discuss the crisis.
2. They formed a troika to oversee the project.
3. The troika’s decisions were often controversial.
4. The troika presented their findings to the committee.

WORD-10: RAMPANT

CONTEXT: So I felt sad, talking to friends dropping daughters at college, to hear of rampant anxiety, campuses awash in S.S.R.I.s — serotonin boosters found in drugs like Prozac and Lexapro — and long waits for therapy.

SOURCE: The New York Times

EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: You know how weeds can grow really fast in a garden if you don’t pull them out? When something is “rampant,” it means it’s growing or spreading very quickly, like those weeds.

MEANING: Growing, spreading, or happening uncontrollably (adjective).

PRONUNCIATION: Ram-puhnt

SYNONYMS: Unrestrained, uncontrolled, widespread, unchecked, pervasive

USAGE EXAMPLES:
1. The rumors spread rampant throughout the school.
2. Corruption was rampant in the organization.
3. The plants grew rampant in the untended garden.
4. Rampant inflation hurt the country’s economy.