Daily Vocabulary Words: List of Daily Used Words
Hi there. Welcome to this special section @ Wordpandit.
Our endeavour here is straightforward: highlighting important daily vocabulary words, you would encounter in The Hindu. This is your repository of commonly used words; essentially, we are posting a list of daily used words. Hence, this has significant practical application as it teaches you words that are commonly used in a leading publication such as The Hindu.
Visit the website daily to learn words from The Hindu.
WORD-1: SURVEILLANCE
CONTEXT: The government’s arm of surveillance has widened with the introduction of the new citizen identification project, raising concerns over privacy infringement.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Surveillance is like when someone is watching or keeping an eye on you to see what you are doing. It’s like when your mom checks up on you when you are doing your homework.
MEANING: The close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal (noun).
PRONUNCIATION: sur-VEY-luhns
SYNONYMS: Monitoring, Observation, Watch, Supervision, Scrutiny, Inspection.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. The police put the suspect under SURVEILLANCE.
2. The CCTV cameras are used for SURVEILLANCE to protect the building.
3. The government’s SURVEILLANCE of communication is controversial.
4. The wildlife reserve uses SURVEILLANCE to track animal movements.
WORD-2: Philanthropy
CONTEXT: The generous philanthropy of the industrialist made it possible for the city to open its first public library.
SOURCE: The Times of India
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Philanthropy is when people give their money, their time, or things they no longer need to help other people who are not as lucky. It’s like giving your old toys that you don’t use anymore to kids who don’t have any toys.
MEANING: The desire to promote the welfare of others, often through donations of money or work (Noun).
PRONUNCIATION: fi-LAN-thruh-pee
SYNONYMS: Charitable, Altruism, Generosity, Donation, Humanitarianism, Benevolence, Benefaction.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. His PHILANTHROPY was recognized with several awards.
2. She is known for her PHILANTHROPY towards homeless shelters.
3. PHILANTHROPY runs in their family.
4. Big companies often indulge in PHILANTHROPY.
WORD-3: ABYSMAL
CONTEXT: The results of the latest education report paint an abysmal picture of the country’s rural schooling system, calling attention to the drastic need for change.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Abysmal is a word you use when something is really really bad. Like when you played a soccer game and missed the ball every time, that would be an abysmal game.
MEANING: Extremely bad or appalling (adjective).
PRONUNCIATION: uh-BIZ-muhl
SYNONYMS: Terrible, Dreadful, Awful, Horrible, Wretched, Dire.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. The quality of food at the restaurant was ABYSMAL.
2. Her singing was ABYSMAL and made everyone cringe.
3. The team’s performance was ABYSMAL resulting in their defeat.
4. He was feeling ABYSMAL after the breakup.
WORD-4: DISSENTING
CONTEXT: The judge expressed his dissenting opinion on the ruling, stating that the defendant’s right to a fair trial had been compromised.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Dissenting is when you don’t agree with what everyone else thinks or says. Like if everyone in your class likes spinach, but you don’t, you’re dissenting.
MEANING: Holding or expressing an opinion that differs from those previously, commonly, or officially expressed (adjective).
PRONUNCIATION: dih-SENT-ing
SYNONYMS: Disagreeing, Differing, Contrary, Opposing, Conflicting.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. His DISSENTING opinion caused a stir in the meeting.
2. She was the only DISSENTING voice in the agreement.
3. The judge read out a DISSENTING verdict.
4. The committee’s report included a DISSENTING opinion.
WORD-5: PRESUMED
CONTEXT: The missing man was presumed dead after police found his abandoned vehicle near the lake.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Presumed is when you think something is true even though you’re not 100% sure. Like when you see it’s raining outside, you presume it’s wet.
MEANING: Supposed or assumed to be true, based on probability (verb).
PRONUNCIATION: prih-ZOOMD
SYNONYMS: Assumed, Supposed, Believed, Expected, Surmised.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. The car’s owner is PRESUMED dead.
2. The missing child is PRESUMED lost.
3. He is PRESUMED to be the next CEO.
4. They are PRESUMED innocent until proven guilty.
WORD-6: BIOMETRIC
CONTEXT: Government agencies argue that biometric identification will help fight corruption, but critics worry about risks to individual privacy.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Biometric is a fancy word that’s about the unique things in our bodies, like our fingerprints, our voice or our eyes, which can be used to identify us.
MEANING: Pertaining to metrics related to human characteristics (Adjective).
PRONUNCIATION: bio-MET-rik
SYNONYMS: Anthropometric, Physical, Biological, Anatomical, Body.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. Many smartphones have BIOMETRIC security features.
2. BIOMETRIC data includes fingerprints and retina scans.
3. The new immigration process uses BIOMETRIC identification.
4. The country introduced a “BIOMETRIC passport”.
WORD-7: POLITY
CONTEXT: Democracy is not simply a term denoting a type of government; it reflects a polity wherein citizens participate in the decision-making process.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Polity is a really big word that’s all about how people in a country or a group run things together.
MEANING: An organised society, such as a nation, having a specific form of government (Noun).
PRONUNCIATION: PAHL-uh-tee
SYNONYMS: State, Nation, Country, Society, Commonwealth.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. Every POLITY has its own laws and regulations.
2. Democracy is a type of POLITY.
3. The POLITY underwent drastic changes during the revolution.
4. The new laws were not accepted by the POLITY.
WORD-8: SUBSERVIENCE
CONTEXT: It was glaringly clear in the company’s culture of subservience that communication between the management and employees was highly one-sided.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Subservience is when you do whatever someone tells you to, even if you don’t want to. It can be like when you always let your friend decide what games to play.
MEANING: The quality of being prepared to obey others unquestioningly (Noun).
PRONUNCIATION: suhb-SUR-vee-uhns
SYNONYMS: Submissiveness, Meekness, Servility, Obedience, Compliance.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. He resigned due to the SUBSERVIENCE of the corporation.
2. His SUBSERVIENCE to his elder brother was noticeable.
3. The general demanded complete SUBSERVIENCE from his troops.
4. The government does not encourage SUBSERVIENCE to older ideas.
WORD-9: ASSUAGE
CONTEXT: Big relief packages were rendered by the government to assuage the debilitating effects of the ongoing pandemic on the economy.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Assuage is a big word that you use when you are making something less bad, like when you put a band-aid on a cut to assuage the pain.
MEANING: To make (an unpleasant feeling) less intense; to satisfy (a desire or an appetite) to the full (Verb).
PRONUNCIATION: uh-SWAGE
SYNONYMS: Alleviate, Ease, Calm, Comfort, Soothe.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. He took the medicine to ASSUAGE his pain.
2. She did her best to ASSUAGE the child’s fears.
3. Her words helped to ASSUAGE his guilt.
4. To ASSUAGE his hunger, he ate an apple.
WORD-10: REALPOLITIK
CONTEXT: The recent foreign policy decisions are a shining example of realpolitik guiding principles, where practical considerations take precedence over moral or ideological concerns.
SOURCE: The Hindu
EXPLANATORY PARAGRAPH: Realpolitik is a word about how countries sometimes do things that aren’t very nice because they think it’s best for their country.
MEANING: A system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations (Noun).
PRONUNCIATION: rey-AHL-pol-ee-teek
SYNONYMS: Pragmatism, Practical Politics, Practicality, Machiavellianism, Realism.
USAGE EXAMPLE:
1. The cold war was characterized by REALPOLITIK.
2. They adopted a stance of REALPOLITIK in their foreign policy.
3. His tactics were more inclined towards REALPOLITIK than diplomacy.
4. They claim that REALPOLITIK justifies their controversial decisions.
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