Stepping into the unknown – The Hindu (June 25, 2016)

Stepping into the unknown – The Hindu (June 25, 2016)

The scale of unknowable consequences that the United Kingdom has brought upon itself — and the rest of the world — with the vote in Thursday’s referendum to leave the European Union was best gauged by the relative sobriety with which one of the “Leave” camp’s most voluble campaigners reacted. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

Today’s Words:

1. Referendum (noun) – a public vote on a particular proposal (it may be a question on a political/social issue). public vote, plebiscite, popular vote, ballot.
2. Relative (adjective) – moderate, reasonable, a fair degree of, considerable, some.
3. Sobriety (noun) – seriousness, thoughtfulness, solemnness, earnestness, steadiness.
4. Voluble (adjective) – talkative, loquacious, articulate.
5. Claimant (noun) – applicant, candidate.
6. Tory (noun) – a member of conservative party (in the UK).
7. Ramification (noun) – consequence, result, aftermath, outcome, effect, development.
8. Isle (noun) – a small island/peninsula.
9. Quick-fix (noun) – temporary remedy, temporary expedient, temporary solution.
10. far right (adjective) – representing extreme right wing /most conservative views of a political party /group.
11. Bloc (noun) – alliance, association, coalition, federation, group.
12. Chaos (noun) – disorder, confusion, disarray, disorganization.
13. Emanate (verb) – emerge, ensue, come out, arise, originate, spread out.
14. Recklessness (noun) – rashness, not caring about the results of someone’s actions.
15. Populist (adjective) – related to populists who claim that they are representing the common/ordinary people.
16. Evasive (adjective) – elusive, equivocal, ambiguous, indefinite, indirect.
17. Westminster style – used to refer British Parliament. (Westminster is a place/town (borough) in London which contains the Houses of Parliament and many government offices).
18. Groundswell (noun) – a large, spontaneous growth in people’s support (for political actions).
19. Anti-establishment (adjective) – against the established authority.
20. Stark (adjective) – sharp, sharply defined, well focused, distinct, obvious, evident, clear.
21. Euroscepticism (noun) – opposition to increasing the power of European Union.
22. Status quo (noun) – the existing/current/present condition/state.
23. Austerity policies (noun) –  measures taken to save money during economic crisis.
24. Alienate (verb) – estrange, turn away, set/drive apart, isolate, divide.
25. Distraught (adjective) – worried, upset, distressed.
26. Tap (verb) – use, utilize, open up, draw on, make use of, put to use.
27. Resentment (noun) – bitterness, hostility, dissatisfaction, hatred.
28. Fear-mongering (noun) – trafficking/spreading/stirring up fear.
29. Jubilation (noun) – joy, rejoicing, triumph, exultation, elation, ecstasy.
30. Tumble (noun) – drop, fall, plunge, decline, collapse.
31. Brexit (noun) – a term used for the (supposed) departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

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/ .
• Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.