Editorials English Vocabulary Words Set 13

The following vocabulary words are taken from The Hindu Editorials which are important for the upcoming exams. Add some more words to your English vocabulary list.

1. Eerily – in a strange and frightening manner.

   • Synonyms: bizarrely, preternaturally, spookily, unnervingly
   • Antonyms: naturally, nicely, ordinarily, pleasantly
   • Usage: The robot looks eerily real.
     

2. Disgruntle – make (someone) angry or dissatisfied.

   • Synonyms: discontented, aggrieved, resentful, displeased, malcontent
   • Antonyms: happiness, pleasure, satisfaction
   • Usage: Nothing disgruntles anyone more than the feeling they are being cheated

3. Expediency – the quality of being convenient and practical despite possibly being improper or immoral; convenience.

   • Synonyms: practicality, contrivance, pragmatism, prudence
   • Antonyms: disadvantage
   • Usage: Expediency is not a word that comes to mind when thinking of Dhoni, who is a warrior.

4. Ambivalent – having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.

   • Synonyms: equivocal, irresolute, vacillating, warring
   • Antonyms: undoubted, definite, resolved
   • Usage: Their relationship has always been ambivalent.

5. Subvert – undermine the power and authority of (an established system or institution)

   • Synonyms: debase, countermine, capsize, wreck, deprave
   • Antonyms: perpetuate, sustain, uphold
   • Usage: My stepmother is slowly changing things in our house in an attempt to subvert my mother’s traditions.

6. Confidant – a person with whom one shares a secret or private matter, trusting them not to repeat it to others.

   • Synonyms: acquaintance, crony, adherent, 
   • Antonyms: foe, stranger, enemy
   • Usage: Amit Shah’s confidant may be Ahmedabad Mayor

7. Dodgy – dishonest, unreliable or dangerous

   • Synonyms: evasive, knavish, guileful, 
   • Antonyms: forthright, honorable, well-intended
   • Usage: Activities like these could be dodgy for your heart.

8. Cushion – something providing support or protection against impact.

   • Synonyms: buffer, bolster, fender
   • Antonyms: exacerbate, intensify
   • Usage: India cushions Suzuki Motor from dodgy test damage

9. Rapacious – aggressively greedy or grasping

   • Synonyms: avaricious, acquisitive, covetous, insatiable
   • Antonyms: generous
   • Usage: Institutions that should be catering to the needs of agriculturists have failed to do so and have now turned rapacious.

10. Obfuscate – make obscure, unclear, or unintelligible

    • Synonyms: muddle, bewilder, baffle, perplex
    • Antonyms: enlighten, illuminate, explicate
    • Usage: The new rule is more likely to obfuscate people than enlighten them.