France in the crosshairs of terror – The Hindu (July 16, 2016)

France in the crosshairs of terror – The Hindu (July 16, 2016)

Festivities in France to celebrate Bastille Day were brutally cut short when a truck careened through a packed crowd in the French Riviera town of Nice. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

Today’s Word List:

1. in the crosshairs (phrase) – something which is being aimed at by. (cross hairs – a very thin crossed wires, in the microscope/gun/etc, used to focus/aim something preciously).
2. Bastille Day (noun) –  French National Day which is celebrated on 14 July each year.
3. Cut short (phrase) – interrupt, break off, bring to a premature end, leave unfinished.
4. Careen (verb) – fast & uncontrolled movement (of something).
5. Strew (verb) – scatter, spread, disperse, distribute.
6. Promenade des Anglais – it is a celebrated promenade along the Mediterranean at Nice, France.
7. Satirical (adjective) – related to satire, sarcastic, sharp, critical, ironical.
8. Aftermath (noun) – repercussions, after-effects, by-product, fallout.
9. Call for (phrasal verb) – require, need, necessitate, make necessary,
10. Lone wolf (noun) – a person/group who is acting alone.
11. Solitary (adjective) – lonely, companionless, unaccompanied.
12. Bigotry (noun) – racism, racialism, homophobia; prejudice, bias, partiality, discrimination.
13. Nihilistic (adjective) – meaningless, useless, futile, aimless.
14. Case in point (phrase) – example, instance, representative case.
15. Call upon (phrasal verb) – make use of, use, utilize; appeal to, ask, request,urge.
16. The faithful (noun) – people who are faithful, loyal followers.
17. Run over (phrasal verb) – run down, knock down, knock over, hit.
18. Disbeliever (noun) – unbeliever, sceptic, doubter, agnostic, questioner, challenger.
19. Complacent (adjective) – smug, self-satisfied, self-admiring; proud.
20. Alleged (adjective) – supposed, claimed, professed, so-called.
21. Sympathiser (noun) – supporter, well wisher, ally.
22. Alienation (noun) – isolation, detachment, estrangement, separation; variance.
23. Engulf (verb) – affect, overwhelm; inundate, overflow, flow over.
24. Vulnerable (adjective) – exposed to, wide open to, susceptible to, subject to.
25. Radicalisation (noun) – the process of causing someone to follow radical ways particularly in politics ( & society).
26. Introspection (noun) – brooding, self-analysis; contemplation, thoughtfulness
27. Deep-seated (adjective) – firmly established (at the root level).
28. Ethno (combingform) – Ethnic (adjective) – inherited, ancestral, traditional, national.
29. Dissonance (noun) – difference, dissimilarity; incongruity, disparity, discrepancy, disagreement.
30. Take the edge off (idiom) – allay, alleviate, reduce, diminish, decrease, lessen.
31. Extremist (noun) – militant, activist, radical, fanatic, sectarian, partisan.
32. Lurk (verb) – hide, conceal oneself, take cover, keep out of sight.
33. In the shadow of (idiom) – close to, nearby.

Note:

• 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/ .
• Definitions (elementary level)  & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.