The Hindu Editorial (​Mela and melee) – Feb 18, 2025

To read this article, click  “The Hindu”.

This preview is provided here with permission.

Courtesy: The Hindu

The Hindu Editorial (​Mela and melee) – Jan 18, 2025:

1. melee (noun) – a situation in which a lot of people rushing and pushing one another in a confused way; a confused hand-to-hand fight/struggle involving a large number of people.
2. Kumbh Mela (noun) – The Kumbh Mela, often referred to as the world’s largest religious gathering, is a festival of immense spiritual and cultural significance. It is celebrated in rotation across four cities in India: Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik-Trimbakeshwar. Each site corresponds to a point where, according to mythology, drops of amrita (the nectar of immortality) fell during a celestial battle between the Devas (gods) and Asuras (demons). It is celebrated approximately every 6 years (Ardh Kumbh), 12 years (Poorna Kumbh), and 144 years (Maha Kumbh). The main ritual of Kumbh or Maha Kumbh is snan (ritual bathing), which signifies cleansing or purification.
3. footfall (noun) – the number of people entering an area in a given time.
4. ongoing (adjective) – in progress, under way, going on, continuing, happening, taking place.
5. showcase (verb) – show, reveal, exhibit, display.
6. gaping maw (noun) – a greedy person’s (or voracious animal’s) big mouth (which swallows things up completely).
7. maw (noun) – the mouth of a voracious animal; a big mouth.
8. tout (verb) – endorse, praise, recommend, commend, speak of, urge.
9. surveillance (noun) – monitoring, observation, scrutiny, inspection.
10. artificial intelligence (AI) (noun) – an area of computer science that deals with giving machines the ability to seem like they have human intelligence.
11. makeshift (adjective) – temporary, provisional, standby, substitute, emergency, ad hoc.
12. replete with (adjective) – filled with, overloaded, well supplied/stocked with.
13. suffice (verb) – be enough, be sufficient, be adequate.
14. numerous (adjective) – a lot of, many, several, various.
15. to and from (phrase) – a continuous movement in two and opposite directions.
16. simmer (verv) – burn, fume, rage, smoulder.
17. outright (adjective) – out-and-out, complete, utter, categorical, unequivocal, undeniable
18. mismanagement (noun) – maladministration, misconduct, malpractice, dereliction, mishandling.
19. unwillingness (noun) – reluctance, disinclination, hesitation.
20. countenance (verb) – agree, admit (as acceptable/possible).
21. on the back of (phrase) – as a result of something that already exists or something you have already done. 
22. make up for (phrasal verb) – to do something as a method of correcting/improving something else.
23. over time (phrase) – if something happens over time, it happens gradually during a long period of time.
24. reluctant (adjective) – unwilling, hesitant, resistant, averse, disinclined.
25. unfair (adjective) – biased, intolerant, unreasonable, unjustifiable.
26. catastrophe (noun) – disaster, devastation, calamity, crisis, tragedy.
27. consensus (noun) – an idea or opinion that is shared by all the people in a group, agreement, concurrence, general opinion/view, common consent.
28. cause (noun) – reason, grounds, basis, motive.
29. panic (verb) –  be scared, be afraid, be nervous.
30. lack (verb) – be without, be deficient in, require, want.
31. due to (phrase) – because of, as a result of, thanks to, on account of, owing to.
32. pedestrian (noun) – walker, foot traveller.
33. render (verb) – make, cause to be/become
34. intervention (noun) – the process of intervening in something; involvement, interference.
35. multilingual (adjective) – using several languages.
36. proactive (adjective) – energetic, motivated, farsighted, cautious, careful.
37. mitigate (verb) – reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen, relieve, assuage, alleviate, allay, temper, moderate.
38. attention (noun) – observation, attentiveness, notice, scrutiny, consideration, care.
39. vis-à-vis (preposition) – concerning, with regard to, in relation to, as/in comparison with, in connection with (Vis-à-vis from Latin via. French, means literally “face-to-face).
40. post-haste (adverb) – as quickly as possible, as soon as possible, without delay, ASAP.
41. lead to (verb) – result in, cause, bring on/bring about.
42. hype (noun) – publicity, promotion, build-up.
43. host (verb) – have.
44. absurdly (adverb) – to a very surprising extent; unreasonably, illogically, irrationally, absolutely, entirely, totally, shockingly, foolishly.
45. sound (verb) – appear, look, seem.
46. tone down (phrasal verb) – moderate, temper, mitigate, decrease, reduce, lessen.
47. so as not to (phrase) – in order not to.
48. feed (verb) – support, encourage, strengthen, bolster, reinforce, fuel.
49. frenzy (noun) – madness, wildness, insanity, uncontrolled excitement/behaviour.
50. pay the price/cost (phrase) – experience the bad/unpleasant result of something; sacrifice, loss.
51. in terms of (phrase) – regarding, concerning, with regard to, with reference to, in the matter of, in connection with.

Note : 

1. Click each one of the words above for their definition, more synonyms, pronunciation, example sentences, phrases, derivatives, origin and etc. from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/.

2. Definitions (elementary level) & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press. Tentative definitions/meanings are provided for study purposes only and they may vary in a different context.  

3. This word list is for personal use only. Reproduction in any format and/or Commercial use of it is/are strictly prohibited.

The Hindu Editorial (​Mela and melee) – Jan 18, 2025: