The Hindu Lead Article (Gaps in the casting of India’s foreign policy) – Aug 15, 2020

At a time ‘when sorrows come’, not as ‘single spies, but in battalions’ with an unprecedented pandemic,… For further reading, visit “The Hindu”. Below is today’s advanced word list-1 for The Hindu Lead Article (Gaps in the casting of India’s foreign policy) – Aug 15, 2020.

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Today’s Advanced Word List 1 for The Hindu Lead Article (Gaps in the casting of India’s foreign policy) – Aug 15, 2020

1. cast (verb) – form, shape.
2. strategic depth (noun) – it is better obtained by shaping relations through engagement and by adding depth to a country’s economic capacity.
3. when sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions (phrase) – (phrase written by William Shakespeare). When bad incidents occur, they do not happen alone and many other bad happenings occur simultaneously to contribute to human tragedy.
4. unprecedented (adjective) – not done or experienced before.
5. 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.
6. squat (verb) – settle on a piece of land illegally.
7. Line of Actual Control (LAC) (noun) – the de-facto (effective) border between India and China. The LAC is a 4,057-km border running through three areas-Western (Ladakh, Ladakh (Kashmir)), middle (Uttarakhand, Himachal) and eastern (Sikkim, Arunachal).
8. cartographic (adjective) – relating to the science or art of making or drawing maps.
9. aggression (noun) – hostility, belligerence, combativeness, warmongering, hawkishness.
10. virtual (adjective) – effective, essential, practical, indirect, implied, implicit.
11. Line of control (LoC) (noun) – it is a 450 mile-long military control line lying between India and Pakistan’s controlled parts of the former (under the British) Jammu and Kashmir. This line is not actually a legally recognized international boundary but prevails as per de facto. After the Simla Agreement signed in July 1972, this line was officially renamed as “Line of Control” from “the Cease-fire Line”.
12. looming (adjective) – appearing, emerging (as a large/threatening one).
13. fervent (adjective) – passionate, intense, vehement.
14. call (noun) – appeal, request, plea, demand.
15. back to the drawing board (phrase) – used to indicate a new idea/plan has to be formed as the old one is not working well.
16. go without saying (phrase) – be obvious.
17. flux (noun) – continuous change, instability, unsteadiness, unpredictability.
18. take by surprise (phrase) – surprise, shock, stun, stagger, take aback.
19. influence (noun) – control, sway, hold/power.
20. fairy tale (noun) – story, myth; made-up story, fake news, alternative fact.
21. feel-good (adjective) – causing a feeling of joy & comfort.
22. interlocutor (noun) – a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation.
23. calibrated (adjective) – carefully assessed/analysed.
24. rosy (adjective) – promising, optimistic, hopeful, favourable, cheerful/happy
25. picture (noun) – situation, condition, circumstances.
26. commentator (noun) – critic, analyst, observer.
27. lap up (verb) – relish, revel in, delight in, enjoy, bask in, indulge in.
28. occasionally (adverb) – sometimes, now and then, once in a while, periodically.
29. pierce (verb) – pervade, penetrate through.
30. fire-fighting (noun) – an act of dealing problems as they come (instead of avoiding them strategically).
31. reset (verb) – re-establish.
32. normalcy (noun) – a normal condition; normality, regularity.
33. dormant (adjective) – inactive, passive, inoperative.
34. proverbially (adverb) – well knowingly, famously, traditionally.
35. cloud (verb) – confuse, muddle, make unclear, obscure.
36. galaxy (noun) – group, gang, horde.
37. inkling (noun) – sign, hint, idea/indication.
38. perfidy (noun) – duplicity, double-dealing, dishonesty.
39. romanticise (verb) – promote, enhance, increase, augment, boost.
40. Wuhan spirit (noun) – The two leaders [President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi] had a very successful meeting in Wuhan on April 27-28, 2018. They established mutual trust and they jointly planned for the future of improvement and the strengthening of the China-India relationship. This summit brought in an “increased stability and fresh momentum in relations”.
41. Chennai Connect (noun) – The two leaders [President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi] had a very successful meeting in Mamallapuram, Chennai on October 11-12, 2019. They have had great exchange on bilateral and global issues. This summit saw a new era of cooperation that has begun in the relations of the two countries.
42. transpire (verb) – happen, occur, take place.
43. summit (noun) – meeting, conference.
44. enthusiasm (noun) – eagerness, warmth, interest.
45. lull (verb) – mitigate, alleviate, pacify, ease.
46. come as a surprise (phrase) – to be unexpected, to make someone feel surprised.
47. amass (verb) – gather, accumulate, pile up.
48. characterise (verb) – represent, describe, outline.
49. expansionist (adjective) – relating to a policy by a government or country to increase its land or power.
50. call for (phrasal verb) – require, publicly ask/necessitate, demand.
51. reset (noun) – re-establishment.
52. legend (noun) – story, fable, fairy tale, narrative.
53. blunder (noun) – mistake, error, fault.
54. adventure (noun) – risk, riskiness.
55. disengagement (noun) – withdrawal, departure, retreat (of military troops from an area of conflict), chance.
56. ties (noun) – bond, association, relationship.
57. erstwhile (adjective) – old, previous, former, then.
58. intervene (verb) – interfere, intrude, get involved.
59. plea (noun) – appeal, request.
60. take for granted (phrase) – understand, assume, presume (something is true without cross-questioning it).
61. obviously (adverb) – clearly, evidently, manifestly, undoubtedly.
62. rose-tinted (adjective) – rose-coloured; referring to a viewpoint which is optimistic, confident, promising but with a lack of experience.
63. reliability (noun) – dependability, sureness, trustability.
64. quasi- (combining form) – to a certain degree, to a certain extent, partly, relatively, somewhat.
65. perception (noun) – understanding, insight, discernment.
66. veil (noun) – covering, cover, screen, shield, mask.
67. explicable (adjective) – understandable, comprehensible, definable.
68. sustainable (adjective) – acceptable, reasonable, sensible, legitimate, well founded.
69. intrigue (verb) – interest, fascinate, engross, engage someone’s attention.
70. to say the least (phrase) – to put it mildly.
71. high table (noun) – a group with most important people. It exactly means (particularly in a dining hall of a college) a table put on a raised platform for most important people.
72. optimistic (adjective) – positive, confident, hopeful.
73. emanate from (verb) – arise, originate, stem, derive.
74. unanimous (adjective) – in complete agreement/accord, with one voice, concordant/united.
75. vast (adjective) – huge, extensive, massive.
76. veto (noun) – an official right/power to reject a decision/proposal (by a governing body).
77. rather than (phrase) – instead of.
78. myth (noun) – (false) belief, idea, notion.
79. keep alive (phrasal verb) – keep going, continue, sustain.
80. illusion (noun) – false impression, deception, misconception, trickery.
81. speculation (noun) – prediction, guesswork, opinion/thought. 
82. the score (noun) – the situation/position, the facts, the truth of the matter. 
83. Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) (noun) – a group of nuclear supplier countries that seeks to contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons through the implementation of two sets of Guidelines for nuclear exports and nuclear-related exports.
84. North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (noun) – NATO was created in 1949 by the United States, Canada, and several Western European nations to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.
85. mirage (noun) – an unrealistic hope/wish; misconception/delusion.
86. set up (phrasal verb) – establish, start/begin, inaugurate, create.
87. signatory (noun) – the person who signed an official document/agreement.
88. Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) (noun) – The NPT is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
89. waiver (noun) – deferral, rejection, renunciation (with no stipulations/restrictions).
90. bilateral (adjective) – involving two groups or countries.
91. presumption (noun) – assumption, supposition, speculation, judgement.
92. hurdle (noun) – obstacle, difficulty, problem, impediment.
93. The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill (noun) – The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 seeks to create a mechanism for compensating victims of nuclear damage arising from a nuclear incident.
94. wither away (phrasal verb) – diminish, dwindle, lessen, weaken.
95. formulae (plural noun) – plural of formula.
96. smokescreen (noun) – a trick which is used to hide someone’s actual intentions, plans or activities; tactic, ruse, deception.
97. acquire (verb) – obtain, get, receive, buy.
98. refrain from (verb) – stop oneself, abstain, desist from, hold back.
99. unsubstantiated (adjective) – unconfirmed, unproven, unverified.
100. optimism (noun) – hopefulness, confidence, positiveness.
101. exaggerated (adjective) – excessive, overemphasized, amplified/overdone.
102. soft power (noun) – soft power is convincing & effective power deriving from attraction and imitation and be based on intangible (non-physical) resources such as culture, ideology, and institutions (Courtesy: E-International Relations (E-IR)).
103. hard power (noun) – hard power is coercive power executed through military threats and economic incentives and based on tangible resources such as the army or economic strength.
104. smart power (noun) – In international relations, the term smart power refers to the combination of hard power and soft power strategies.
105. instrument (noun) – mechanism, apparatus, system, means (to achieve/attain something).
106. nurse (verb) – encourage, nurture, cultivate, promote, boost.
107. constituency (noun) – a group of voters in a specified area.
108. non-aligned (adjective) – relating to a state (country) in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). (after the World War 2, the NAM was set up with an aim to “create an independent path in world politics that would not result in member States becoming pawns in the struggles between the major power blocs (Western/Capitalist bloc aligned with the USA or Eastern/Soviet bloc aligned with the former Soviet Union).
109. disillusionment (noun) – a feeling of disappointment.
110. belie (verb) – contradict, be at odds with, call into question, disprove.
111. cobweb (noun) – something confuses (alike spider’s web).
112. shroud (verb) – cover, cloak, veil, conceal/hide.

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 purpose only and they may vary in different context. 

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