The Hindu Editorial (Skyrocketing tensions) – Jun 05, 2020

The U.S. government’s decision to bar passenger planes from China from June 16 is but another instance of rising tensions… For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (Skyrocketing tensions) – Jun 05, 2020.

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Today’s word list-1 for The Hindu Editorial (Skyrocketing tensions) – Jun 05, 2020

skyrocket (verb) – rise, increase, escalate, mount; mushroom, snowball.
tie (noun) – bond, association, relationship.
mutual trust (noun) – it refers to the confidence that each party will fulfill its obligations and behave as expected.
cold war (noun) – a state of conflict between nations that does not involve direct military action but is pursued primarily through economic and political actions, propaganda, acts of espionage (spying) or proxy wars (war through a representative/agent).
bar (verb) – block, ban, forbid/prohibit.
instance (noun) – example, case in point.
trade war/dispute (noun) – a condition in which a country increase tariffs on foreign goods and impose quota restrictions to restrict other countries’ trade.
pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
special trade status (Hong Kong) (noun) – The special status that Washington grants Hong Kong acknowledged this difference. Under the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992, Hong Kong is treated differently by U.S. law when it comes to financial transactions, immigration and trade. Under the special status, the U.S. dollar can be freely exchanged with the Hong Kong dollar, which makes the city a particularly attractive place for American companies to do business. Hong Kong gets preferential treatment on trade, meaning little to no tariffs or other costs. Americans enjoy visa-free travel, making it easy for business executives to come and go.
National Security Bill (for Hong Kong) (noun) – a draft by the Chinese Legislature under which it will write a new national security law for Hong Kong that would prohibit “acts of political secession (separation from a federation), subversion (overthrow/undermining government), sedition (illegal rebellion against government) that seriously threaten national security and foreign intervention”.
retaliatory (adjective) – revenging, vengeful, avenging.
resume (verb) – restart, recommence, begin again.
in the wake of (phrase) – as a result of some event, especially an unpleasant one; aftermath, as a consequence of.
curb (noun) – restraint, control/check, restriction, limitation.
in place (phrase) – operational, in position.
de-escalation (noun) – reduction, lessening, decrease (the intensity of a potentially violent situation).
rethink (noun) – reconsideration, review, reassessment, re-evaluation.
hostile (noun) – aggressive, confrontational, unfriendly, belligerent; opposed, inimical, ill-disposed.
Pentagon (noun) – the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, near Washington, DC. Pentagon is a metonym of “the United States Department of Defense”. (Metonym is used as an alternative for something else with which it is closely related/associated).
revisionist (adjective) – unorthodox, nonconformist, revolutionary, freethinking.
Revisionism (noun) – a country’s/state’s dissatisfaction with the international order. Instead of acting to preserve the international order, a revisionist or ‘revolutionary’ country/state has a strong will to change the norms accepted by status quo nations. ‘Revisionist states seek to undermine the established order for the purpose of increasing their power and prestige in the system.
The Cold War (noun) – The Cold War was a state of political and military tension after World War II between powers in the Western (Capitalist) Bloc and powers in the Eastern (Soviet) Bloc.
ideological (adjective) – relating to a system of ideas.
bloc (noun) – alliance, association, union.
possibility (noun) – chance, probability.
confrontation (noun) – conflict, fight, face-off.
pragmatism (noun) – expediency, realism, taking advantage/common sense.
reset (noun) – re-establishment of diplomatic relations.
make way (phrase) – clear the way, allow through, move aside, make room.
aggressive (adjective) – hostile, belligerent, bellicose, combative, hawkish, warlike.
deepen (verb) – increase, intensify, heighten, exacerbate, aggravate, worsen.
mistrust (noun) – distrust, doubt, misgivings, suspicion.
desperately (adverb) – seriously/urgently, pressingly, intensely.
look for (phrasal verb) – search for, try to find, seek.
misfortune (noun) – problem, difficulty, trouble.
fall on (phrasal verb) – (of a burden) be borne by, incurred by; to suffer/sustain/experience something (difficulties and problems).
batter (verb) – damage, spoil, impair/ruin; smash, hit/strike repeatedly.
downturn (noun) – decline, setback, blow/upset (in economic activity).
Great Depression (noun) – a worldwide economic depression that started in 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s (almost for 10 years until about 1939). Although it originated in the United States, the Great Depression caused drastic declines in output, severe unemployment, and acute deflation in almost every country of the world.
unless (conjunction) – expect that.
course (noun) – plan of action, course of action, strategy, approach; direction/way of doing something.