Indefatigable chronicler of the oppressed – The Hindu (July 29, 2016)

Indefatigable chronicler of the oppressed – The Hindu (July 29, 2016)

“I don’t want to die,” she said, “I want to live forever.” There was so much to do, so much to write about. If she did die, however, she wanted to be buried and a mahua tree planted on her grave.

On July 28, Mahasweta Devi, 90, cut loose the ties that bound her to mortal life and set off to live forever. For further reading, visit “The Hindu”.

Word List:

1. Indefatigable (adjective) – tireless, unflagging; enthusiastic, energetic; relentless.
2. Chronicler (noun) – annalist, historian, archivist.
3. The oppressed (noun) – the people who are oppressed, suppressed, dejected, depressed (by the mainstream people).
4. Grave (noun) – burying place, tomb.
5. Cut loose (phrasal verb) – free from; (doing something) in a free way.
6. Set off (phrasal verb) – set out, start out, begin a journey, embark.
7. Champion (verb) – promote, support, plead for, advocate.
8. The marginalised (noun) – insignificant, unimportant, powerless people.
9. The dispossessed (noun) – the people who are deprived from the power, rights and possessions (by the mainstream people).
10. Stand by ( phrasal verb) – remain/be loyal to, support, uphold, defend, champion.
11. Crusader (noun) – campaigner, fighter, champion, reformer, enthusiast.
12. A means to an end (phrase) – something seems useless/nothing when being done, but produces an expected/aimed result.
13. Disseminate (verb) – spread, publicize, communicate.
14. Ruthless (adjective) – cruel, heartless; brutal, inhuman.
15. The disempowered (noun) – a group of people who are stopped  from power/authority (by the mainstream people).
16. Conscience (noun) – morals, standards, values, principles.
17. In-your-face (adjective) – very aggressive, forceful, proactive.
18. Lobbyist (noun) – a person who who attempts to convince law makers of the government to enact laws for his/her group.
19. Ethnicity (noun) – a category of people who identify with each other based on common language, ancestral, social, cultural, or national experiences. (Courtesy: Wikipedia).
20. Torment (verb) – afflict, torture, harass, trouble.
21. Intent on (verb) – bent, set, determined, fixed.
22. Trample upon (verb) – treat with contempt, disregard, treat disrespectfully.
23.  Greed (noun) – selfish desire, avidness, covetousness.
24. Apathy (noun) – lack of interest, indifference, unresponsiveness, dispassion, unconcern.

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/ .
• Definitions (elementary level)  & Synonyms provided for the words above are my personal work and not that of Oxford University Press.