The Hindu Editorial (Decisive moment) – May 23, 2025

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The Hindu Editorial (Decisive moment) – May 23, 2025:

1. decisive (adjective) – key, significant, important, critical, crucial.
2. Maoist (noun) –  a follower of Maoism (Maoism is a form of communism developed by Mao Tse Tung. It is a doctrine to capture State power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilization and strategic alliances). The largest and the most violent Maoist formation in India is the Communist Party of India (Maoist).
3. defang (verb) – make something less harmful; make less powerful; make ineffectual, make powerless, make harmless (defang literally means to remove the fangs (sharp tooth) of some animals and particularly of poisonous snake).
4. serve as (verb) – act as, function as.
5. blow (noun) – shock, surprise; setback/misfortune.
6. outlawed (adjective) – illegitimate, unlawful, wrongful, forbidden, illicit, unconstitutional, prohibited
7. perhaps (adverb) – possibly, feasibly, may be, it may/could be, very likely.
8. insurgent (noun) – rebel, rioter, subversive, guerrilla.
9. head (noun) – leader, chief.
10. commission (noun) – committee, panel.
11. mastermind (verb) – initiate, organize, coordinate, mobilize, stage, engineer, orchestrate, choreograph.
12. paramilitary (adjective) – (of semi-militarized force) organized like a military force.
13. mark (verb) – indicate, represent, signify.
14. reiteration (noun) – the process of repeating something (some action) for clarity/emphasis; repetition, repeating, restatement, retelling, iteration.
15. militarist (adjective) – relating to militarism.
16. militarism (noun) – the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values.
17. strategy (noun) – plan of action (in order to achieve a more expansive set of political, economic, and security interests).
18. protracted (adjective) – lengthy, longish, extended, stretched, prolonged, elongated, long-drawn-out, never-ending, lingering, endless.
19. personnel (noun) – employees, workforce, force, staff.
20. on record (phrase) – publicly and officially; in public.
21. keen (adjective) – eager, ready, determined, desirous, willing.
22. suggest (verb) – indicate, denote, point to, signify.
23. the fact that (phrase) – used to refer to a specific situation under consideration/discussion.
24. reportedly (adverb) – supposedly, seemingly, apparently, allegedly, professedly, ostensibly, purportedly. ​
25. sought past tense of seek (verb) – ask for, request, appeal, demand.
26. talks (noun) – discussion, discourse, debate, dialogue, negotiation, deliberation, parley.
27. armed (adjective) – using firearms/weapons.
28. armed struggle (noun) – conflict/fight involving weapons.
29. call into question (phrase) – cast doubt on something, have doubts about, feel apprehensive about, make something seem less certain; distrust, mistrust, suspect.
30. activist (noun) – a person who supports a political change or cause; (or societal change/cause).
31. apprehend (verb) – arrest, catch, capture, incarcerate, imprison, take into custody.
32. rather than (phrase) – instead of.
33. eliminate (verb) – annihilate, remove, eradicate, destroy.
34. cadre (noun) – a member of an activist group; a small group of people who are specially chosen and trained for a particular purpose
35. case in point (phrase) – example, instance, typical case, sample.
36. root (noun) – origin, beginning.
37. People’s War Group (PWG) (noun) – It was an underground communist party in India. PWG was founded in Andhra Pradesh in 1980. It traces its ideology to the Chinese leader Mao Tse Tung’s theory of organised peasant (small farmer) insurrection. It rejects parliamentary democracy and believes in capturing political power through protracted armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. The eventual objective is to install a “people’s government” through the “people’s war”.
38. Naxal/Naxalite (noun) – Deriving its name from the Naxalbari village of West Bengal, Naxals or Naxalites are members of the Communist Party of India-Maoists (CPI-Maoist), classified under the banned LWE (Left Wing Extremism) groups.
39. movement (noun) – campaign, crusade, drive, push.
40. inclination (noun) – interest, liking, disposition, penchant, partiality, preference, affection.
41. give up (phrasal verb) – admit defeat, concede defeat, stop trying, give in, surrender, capitulate.
42. encounter (noun) – fight, clash, conflict, confrontation, engagement, skirmish, run-in.
43. inevitable (adjective) – necessary, compulsory, required, obligatory, mandatory; unavoidable, inescapable, unpreventable. 
44. admission (noun) – acknowledgement, acceptance, confession, revelation, recognision.
45. flagging (adjective) – weakening, failing, declining, waning, sinking, fading, decreasing. 
46. experience (verb) – encounter or undergo, go through, be subjected to, be faced with.
47. decade (noun) – a period of ten years.
48. insurgency (noun) – uprising, revolt, rebellion.
49. no longer (phrase) – not any more.
50. inclined (adjective) – ready, prepared, willing, agreeable, accommodating, compliant, in the mood.
51. adhere to (verb) – comply with, abide by, conform to, stand by, stick to, follow, obey, observe.
52. radical (adjective) – fanatic, militant, extremist, fundamentalist, sectarian, partisan.
53. state (noun) – government.
54. mere (adjective) – only.
55. facade (noun) – outward appearance, false display, posture, pretence.
56. taker (noun) – receiver, recipient.
57. forested (adjective) – covered with many trees; afforested, tree-covered.
58. hitherto (adverb) – until now, up to this point, so far, thus far, to date.
59. inaccessible (phrase) – unreachable, out of reach, unapproachable.
60. welfare (noun) – social security, government/state benefit, public assistance.
61. measure (noun) – action, step, procedure, initiative, plan.
62. outreach (noun) – the level of reaching out/activity/effort; involvement.
63. redouble (verb) – make something more intense/ stronger; to increase, strengthen, intensify something considerably
64. emphasis (noun) – importance, significance, priority.
65. guerrilla warfare (noun) – guerrilla struggle; military and paramilitary operations conducted in enemy-held or hostile territory by irregular, predominantly indigenous forces.
66. erosion (noun) – decline, decrease, deterioration, disintegration, weakening.
67. base (noun) – a group of people considered as supporting an organization/party.
68. gasp for (verb) – breathe hard, breathe heavily, struggle for air.
69. result in (verb) – cause, lead to, bring about, give rise to.
70. scores of (adjective) – a lot of something; several, various, many, countless, numerous, innumerable.
71. call (noun) – demand, requirement, appeal.
72. annihilation (noun) – the total destruction, elimination, obliteration, eradication, wiping out, removal, devastation.
73. engender (verb) – cause, give rise to, bring about, produce, create, (a particular feeling, atmosphere, or situation)
74. resentment (noun) – bitterness, indignation, irritation, hatred, hard feelings, hostility, enmity, antipathy; disappointment, dissatisfaction, disgruntlement, discontent, unhappiness, displeasure.

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 (Decisive moment) – May 23, 2025: