Vocabulary from Economic Times: 29 July 2017

1. Stricture: व्यवहार को नियन्त्रित करनेवाला नियम 

A restriction on a person or activity; constraint, control, limitation, restraint
Example: The structures and strictures of democracy seem to work in Pakistan.

2. Mettle: साहस/दिलेरी 

A person's ability to cope well with difficulties; spirit, resilience, courage, tenacity
Example: Pak institutions prove their mettle.

3. Spurt: तेज़ गति 

Move with a sudden burst of speed
Example: He made a spurt to catch the bus.

4. Heed: ध्यान देना 

Pay attention to; take notice of; consider, mark
Example: That, however, is conditional on the court having acted independently, without paying heed to the wishes of the army.

5. Indelible: अमिट 

(Of ink or a pen) making marks that cannot be removed; ineradicable, permanent, lasting, inerasable, ineffaceable
Example: Whatever the motivations, the Pakistan Supreme Court’s ruling on Sharif will leave an indelible mark on the evolving shape of democracy in that country.

6. Haste: जल्दबाजी 

Excessive speed or urgency of movement or action; hurry, swiftness, rapidity, quickness
Example: Gopal soon regretted his haste.

7. Paean: विजय का गीत 

A song of praise or triumph; hymn, psalm, anthem, alleluia
Example: There’s been an unseemly haste to come up with paeans in honour of Mithali Raj and her team.

8. Infuriate: क्रुद्ध करना 

Make (someone) extremely angry and impatient; enrage, incense, madden, inflame
Example: The coverage was at times infuriating.

9. Streak: दौर 

A continuous period of specified success or luck; period, spell, stretch, run
Example: The theatre is on a winning streak.

10. Rant: निंदा करना 

Speak or shout at length in an angry, impassioned way; declaim
Example: This rant was prompted partly by a post on a Facebook page.

11. Flock: जमा होना 

Move or go together in a crowd; gather, congregate, assemble, get together
Example: Will you flock to the grounds to watch them?

12. Disservice: नुक़सान 

A harmful action; unkindness
Example: The biggest disservice we could do to the women’s game would be to start a league that quickly became a yawn-fest because many of the players were just making up the numbers.

13. Collusion: साठगाठ या मिलीभगत 

Secret or illegal cooperation or conspiracy in order to deceive others; connivance, complicity, intrigue, plotting
Example: The CBI has charged Yadav, his wife Rabri Devi and son Tejashwi of collusion in this ‘scam’.

14. Decimate: नुक्सान पहुँचाना 

Drastically reduce the strength or effectiveness of (something)
Example: This outfit was decimated by Yadav, who swept the 1995 polls.

15. Sidle: दुबक कर चलना 

Walk in a furtive, unobtrusive, or timid manner, especially sideways or obliquely; creep, sneak, slink, slip
Example: A few years after the Babri Masjid riots of 1993, Kumar quietly sidled up to the BJP.

16. Qualm: सन्देह 

Misgiving, doubt, reservation, worry
Example: Even after 2002’s horrifying riots in Gujarat, Kumar had no qualms about sticking to his ministries.

17. Prop: सहारा 

Support or keep in position; brace
Example: In 2003, Kumar propped up Fernandes as the frontman of the new JD(U).

18. Sulk: रूठ कर 

Be silent, morose, and bad-tempered out of annoyance or disappointment; mope, brood, be sullen
Example: Even if the BJP falls short of a majority in 2019, Narendra Modi, not Nitish Kumar, will be its PM. Kumar can continue to sulk in Patna.

19. Semantic: अर्थगत/शब्दार्थगत 

Relating to meaning in language or logic
Example: Several companies abroad have been trying to get their employees to drop semantics and traditional office decorum in favour of acidic plains peak.

20. Wield: उपयोग करना 

Have and be able to use (power or influence); exercise, exert, hold, maintain
Example: It is likely to shift the institutional balance in Pakistan’s politics towards the army, which wields real power.