Spanish steps – The Hindu (Sep 11, 2017)

Spanish steps – The Hindu (Sep 11, 2017)

The long-standing conflict in Spain over independence for Catalonia has escalated into a full-blown political crisis. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

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Courtesy: The Hindu

Word List-2 (To Improve English Vocabulary)

1. Catalan (adjective) – relating to Catalonia, its people, or its language.
2. secession (noun) – the withdrawal of a group from a larger federation/organisation, from a political state.
3. referendum (noun) – public vote; a direct vote in which people cast ballots to decide on a specific issue or policy (Courtesy: VOA Learning English).
4. calibrate (verb) – carefully assess/modify/regulate.
5. escalate (verb) – accelerate, increase/intensify, make serious.
6. full-blown (adjective) – fully developed, complete, thorough/entire.
7. back (verb) – support, endorse, sanction.
8. plebiscite (noun) – vote, referendum, poll.
9. swiftly (adverb) – quickly, rapidly, fast.
10. imminent (adjective) – impending, approaching, about to happen.
11. invoke (verb) – call for, cite/appeal to, adduce.
12. confer (verb) – grant to, give to, bestow on.
13. gear (verb) – prepare, get ready.
14. dire (adjective) – terrible, dreadful, bad.
15. hardline (adjective) – uncompromising, strict/tough, inflexible.
16. stoke (verb) – (of emotional activity/tendency) encourage, incite, increase.
17. defiant (adjective) – uncooperative/non-compliant, confrontational, challenging.
18. consolidation (noun) – the process of strengthening something or the act of making something stronger.
19. shrink (verb) – get smaller, lessen, reduce.
20. implication (noun) – consequence, result, ramification/repercussion.
21. confiscation (noun) – seizure, taking away, appropriation.
22. conversely (adverb) – inversely, the other way round, oppositely/reciprocally.
23. carte blanche (noun) – (French word) freedom, scope, leeway.
24. bloc (noun) – alliance, association, coalition.
25. nevertheless (adverb) – in spite of that, however, notwithstanding.
26. overt (adjective) – clear, apparent, noticeable.
27. affluent (adjective) – wealthy, rich, well to do.
28. overturn (verb) – cancel, reverse, repeal.
29. statute (noun) – law, regulation, enactment/act.
30. apportion (verb) – share out, divide out, allocate/distribute.
31. Austerity (noun) –  difficult economic crisis/financial distress, privation; severity.
32. eurozone crisis (noun) – a multi-year debt crisis that has been taking place in the European Union since the end of 2009. (Courtesy: Wikipedia).
33. tap (into) (verb) – draw on/exploit, make use of/utilize.
34. conciliatory (adjective) – propitiatory, appeasing, pacifying/peacemaking.
35. imperative (adjective) – vitally important, crucial, necessary.
36. populist (adjective) – related to politicians who claim that they are representing the common/ordinary people.
37.  upsurge (noun) – growth, sudden increase, rise.

Note:  

1. Click each one en.oxforddictionaries.com/…ition/foremostof 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 purpose only and they may vary in different context. Use it with the corresponding article published on the source (website) via the link provided. 

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