The Hindu Editorial (Light and sound) – Apr 04, 2020

Full of sound and piety but signifying little, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third and latest address to the nation on the COVID-19 pandemic hardly calmed frayed nerves. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (Light and sound) – Apr 04, 2020.

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Today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (Light and sound) – Apr 04, 2020

ceremony (noun) – show, display, spectacle, pomp.
symbolism (noun) – representation of ideas/qualities with symbols.
sustainable (adjective) – reasonable, sensible, well founded; reliable, dependable.
full of sound and fury signifying nothing (phrase) – The famous quote about life by William Shakespeare in his play Macbeth (tragedy). The title character, Macbeth says this phrase meaning “life is absurd and that nothing has any purpose or meaning” after hearing his wife’s death. (Earlier, Macbeth murdered the King to crown himself by the prophecy (prediction) of the witches (women with witchcraft (magic power)) & also by his wife’s support).
piety (noun) – dutifulness, compliance/obedience, respect; devotion/faith.
signify (verb) – indicate, suggest, signal.
address (noun) – speak, talk, discourse.
COVID-19 (noun) – coronavirus disease 2019.
pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
frayed (adjective) – strained, stressed, fraught, overtaxed.
nerves (noun) – anxiety, tension, nervousness, worry.
frayed nerves (phrase) – feeling worried/tensed.
trigger (verb) – give rise to, cause, invoke, bring about.
on the rise (phrase) – becoming greater over a period of time; increasing, growing.
lockdown (noun) – a state of isolation; confinement, restraint, encirclement.
bring something to a halt (phrase) – stop, conclude, terminate.
bleed (verb) – drain, deplete, empty, exhaust (resources).
scurry (verb) – hurry, rush, run.
keep their head above water (phrase) – manage, survive, look after.
stranded (adjective) – stuck (in difficulties), helpless, abandoned, deserted.
personnel (noun) – staff, employees, workforce.
stretch (verb) – put a strain on, put great demands on, overtax, overextend.
uncertain (adjective) – unsure, undetermined, undecided, unknown.
meanwhile (adverb) – for now, for the present, meantime.
call out (phrasal verb) – ask, request, advise, order.
angst (noun) – feeling, anxiety, apprehension, worry.
course (noun) – plan of action, line of action, strategy, approach.
mitigation (noun) – alleviation, reduction; lessening.
outbreak (noun) – sudden appearance/occurrence, outburst, epidemic.
keep alive (phrasal verb) – keep going/keep in existence, continue, sustain.
two-way (adjective) – involving communication in opposite sides.
aloof (adjective) – distant, detached, unresponsive/indifferent.
monologue (noun) – speech, address, lecture (by one person).
shun (verb) – avoid, ignore, reject, eschew.
rhetoric (noun) – bombast, loftiness, hyperbole/extravagant language.
rally (verb) – come together, get together, work/act together.
galvanise (verb) – inspire, spur, encourage.
combat (noun) – fight, tackle, confront/resist.
to the extent (phrase) – to the level, in a substantial way; largely.
sought past and past participle of seek (verb) – try to, aim to, attempt to.
gong & cymbal (phrase) – gong & cymbal are noisy musical percussion instruments and they are clearly something very loud. (“resounding/noisy gong or clanging cymbal” is a phrase in the New Testament about “even if I possess all and have not love, I gain nothing, but making noise only).
clang (verb) – reverberate, resound, ring (a sound).
drown out (phrasal verb) – overpower, overwhelm, override, engulf; make inaudible.
substantive (adjective) – important & meaningful.
counterproductive (adjective) – harmful, damaging, dangerous/destructive.
mind-boggling (adjective) – overwhelming; extraordinary, impressive, incredible.
puzzle (noun) – mystery, contradiction, irregularity/anomaly.
call for (phrasal verb) – require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand.
unsurprisingly (adverb) – as expected.
spring up (phrasal verb) – develop/appear (suddenly).
interpret (verb) – explain, clarify, make clear.
stroke of genius (phrase) – brilliant idea; master stroke.
celestial (adjective) – supremely good; heavenly, divine, godly.
fall for (phrasal verb) – be deceived by, be duped by, be fooled by.
stay away from (phrasal verb) – evade, avoid, reject, dodge.
rely on (phrasal verb) – depend on; resort to, have recourse to.
formidable (adjective) – impressive, strong, powerful, mighty.
carry weight (phrase) – be most important, be influential, be significant.
way out (noun) – a way to escape a bad situation.
free fall (noun) – relating to something declining rapidly.
at the sight of (phrase) – (just) by seeing.
infuse (verb) – add, impart, introduce.
corresponding (adjective) – equivalent, related, accompanying, comparable.