The Hindu Editorial (​​​​Lessons from a quake) – Mar 31, 2025

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The Hindu Editorial (​​​​​​​​​​​Lessons from a quake) – Mar 31, 2025:

1. in full swing (phrase) – at the highest level of activity.
2. following (preposition) –  coming after as a result of.
3. devastating (adjective) – harmful, damaging, brutal, dangerous, disastrous.
4. magnitude (noun) – size, extent, measurement, intensity, volume.
5. centre in (verb) – happen mainly in or around (a particular place).
6. claim (verb) – cause the loss of, take.
7. toll (noun) – number, count, total (number of deaths).
8. trickle (in) (verb) – happen gradually and in small numbers.
9. casualty (noun) – victim, fatality, loss, mortality (people killed in a war).
10. rule out (phrasal verb) – reject, eliminate, disregard, dismiss, preclude.
11. stand at (verb) – to be at a specific level, amount, or position.
12. infrastructure (noun) – the basic physical or organisational structure or framework that a country or organization needs in order to function properly. For a whole nation, it includes all the physical systems such as buildings, roads & railways networks, utilities, etc.
13. overwhelm (verb) – overrun, overload, overburden, swamp, deluge, flood, inundate; disturb, beset, shatter, overpower.
14. camp (verb) – live/lodge temporarily.
15. reduce to rubble (phrase) – to completely destroy something.
16. rubble (noun) – remains, ruins, wreckage; debris.
17. neighbour (noun) – a country that is next to another country; (bordering) country.
18. swiftly (adverb) – quickly, instantly, promptly, immediately, suddenly, expeditiously.
19. dispatch (verb) – send, ship, transport, deliver, send off, freight.
20. warship (noun) – A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is built and primarily intended for naval warfare.
21. rescue (noun as modifier) – saving (from danger or difficulty).
22. personnel (noun) – staff, employees, workforce.
23. skyscraper (noun) – a very tall building.
24. epicentre (noun) – the point on the earth’s surface directly above an earthquake.
25. aid (noun) – assistance, support, backing.
26. sortie (noun) – operational flight; a short trip or journey.
27. ferry (verb) – to transport something from one place to another (across an area of water such as river, sea and etc.).
28. crew (noun) – unit, team, employees, workers, staff, a group of people (working on a ship/aircraft).
29. devastate (verb) – destroy, ruin, wreck, demolish, wreak havoc on.
30. overland (adverb) – by land.
31. province (noun) – a part of a country that has its own government; territory, region, area, state, 
32. embassy (noun) – An embassy is larger and more important than a consulate and is described as a permanent diplomatic mission, which is generally located in a country’s capital city. An embassy is responsible for representing the home country, for handling major diplomatic issues (such as negotiations), and for preserving the rights of its citizens abroad.
33. lie in (verb) – exist, be present.
34. seismically (adverb) – in a way that relates to earthquakes.
35. convergence (noun) – confluence, merging.
36. tectonic plate (noun) – massive slab of solid rock made up of Earth’s lithosphere (crust and upper mantle) (the lithosphere is the solid, outer part of Earth). Plate tectonics have deceptively slow movement. Just centimeters each year. But they’re never idle. These plates are constantly in motion — colliding with, diverging with, or sliding past one another.
37. Eurasian (adjective) – relating to Europe and Asia.
38. Eurasian plate (noun) – a tectonic plate that includes most of Eurasia. The Eurasian Plate is the third largest major plate. It consists of most of Europe, Russia, and parts of Asia. The Eurasian plate is moving north at only two cm (0.79 in) per year.
39. Indian Plate (noun) – It is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is moving northward at a rate of about 5 cm a year, continues  to converge with the Eurasian Plate, leading to compression, uplift, and folding of the Earth’s crust in the Himalayan region. The Indian plate collided with the Eurasian plate and the crust tilted upwards, creating the Himalayas.
40. crust (noun) – the outermost shell of a terrestrial planet; the outermost layer of rock.
41. microplate (noun) – small tectonic plates that exist within larger tectonic plate boundaries, often exhibiting distinct geological characteristics and movement patterns. These plates can play crucial roles in the dynamics of plate tectonics, influencing the occurrence of earthquakes and volcanic activity in their regions.
42. fault (noun) – it refers to a fracture or crack in the Earth’s crust where rocks on either side have moved past each other, often causing earthquakes. 
43. fault (noun) – a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other. This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake – or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
44. Sagaing Fault (noun) – a major tectonic boundary between the Indian Plate and the Burma microplate. This fault is constantly shifting, building up stress over time that is eventually released as powerful quakes. Myanmar has a long history of destructive earthquakes because of this geological setup.
45. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) (noun) – It is the nation’s largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency. It collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding of natural resource conditions, issues, and problems.
46. probability (noun) – probable event, chance, possibility, likelihood.
47. withstand (verb) – endure, survive, tolerate, cope with, live through, grapple with, put up with, stand up to.
48. seismic (adjective) – relating to earthquakes  earthshaking, earth-shattering, shocking, groundbreaking.
49. instability (noun) – uncertainty, unpredictability, vulnerability, changeability, unreliability, precariousness.
50. coup (noun) – a sudden and violent regime change, seizure of power, (illegal) takeover of power.
51. attention (noun) – concentration, notice, attentiveness, regard.
52. governance (noun) – administration.
53. irreversible (adjective) – irreparable, unrectifiable, unchangeable, irrecoverable, irretrievable.
54. ceasefire (noun) – a negotiated agreement that will be accompanied by other associated commitments to de-escalate the fighting; a temporary stoppage of war, truce, armistice.
55. truce (noun) – an ad-hoc (temporary/makeshift) arrangement, arrived at by the combatants (fighters), to pause the fighting. Temporary cessation/suspension (of hostilities); A deal to stop fighting for a certain time.
56. cessation of hostilities (phrase) – it means that the combatants are willing to stop fighting and to restrain their forces.
57. foster (verb) – encourage, promote, further, advance, strengthen, boost, support.
58. attract (verb) – draw, get, pull, obtain. 
59. expertise (noun) – skill, knowledge, competence, proficiency, capability.
60. regulatory (adjective) – relating to regulation. 
61. regulation (noun) – rule, law, act, directive, statute, decree, ordinance, fiat.
62. enforcement (noun) – imposition, implementation, execution.

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 (​​​​​​​​Lessons from a quake) – Mar 31, 2025: