The Hindu Editorial (​Imperial war) – Mar 02, 2026

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The Hindu Editorial (​​Imperial war) – Mar 02, 2026:

1. imperial (adjective) – relating to a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through military force or diplomacy; domineering, overbearing, dictatorial, expansionist.
2. thuggery (noun) – brutal, violent, and aggressive behavior, often used to intimidate or coerce; hooliganism, intimidation, bullying, brutality.
3. lie in ashes (phrase) – to be completely destroyed, ruined, or reduced to nothing; be utterly destroyed, be in ruins, be decimated, be annihilated.
4. lie in (phrasal verb) – exist, reside, be found, be present.
5. ashes (noun) – the ruins or remains of something that has been destroyed; remains, ruins, debris, rubble.
6. far-right (adjective) – designating the extreme right-wing of a political spectrum, often associated with ultranationalism, authoritarianism, or reactionary policies; ultraconservative, right-wing extremist, radical right, reactionary.
7. Republican (noun) – a member or supporter of the Republican Party, one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States; right-winger, conservative, GOP member, rightist.
8. all-out (adjective) – absolute, total, full-scale, unrestrained.
9. reckless (adjective) – acting heedlessly or carelessly, without regard for the potentially disastrous consequences of an action; rash, careless, thoughtless, irresponsible.
10. warmonger (noun) – a sovereign or political leader who is overly eager to encourage a nation to go to war; hawk, militarist, jingoist, aggressor.
11. Oval Office (noun) – the official working space of the President of the United States, used as a metonym for the American presidency or administration; US presidency, White House, US administration, executive branch.
12. blood is on the hands (phrase) – a metaphorical expression indicating that a person or entity bears the moral guilt or responsibility for someone’s death or severe harm; responsible for murder, guilty of bloodshed, blameworthy, culpable.
13. mercurial hard nationalist (phrase) – an intensely unpredictable and rigidly aggressive promoter of a nation’s interests above all others; unpredictable extremist, volatile jingoist, erratic hardliner, unstable chauvinist.
14. mercurial hard (phrase) – fiercely volatile, intensely erratic, severely unpredictable, rigidly unstable.
15. mercurial (adjective) – subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood, mind, or policy; volatile, unpredictable, erratic, capricious.
16. nationalist (noun) – an individual who strongly identifies with their own nation and vigorously champions its interests, often exhibiting a sense of national superiority; patriot, flag-waver, chauvinist, jingoist.
17. rogue (adjective) – unprincipled, unpredictable, renegade, outlaw.
18. superpower (noun) – a state that possesses immense military, economic, and political power, enabling it to exert significant influence on a global scale; world power, major power, dominant nation, hegemon.
19. expansionist (adjective) – pertaining to a policy of aggressively expanding a nation’s territorial base or economic influence; imperialistic, aggressive, colonizing, invasive.
20. ethnonationalist (adjective) – relating to a form of nationalism wherein the concept of the nation is exclusively defined by shared ethnic identity or ancestry; racial nationalist, ethnic nationalist, tribalist, exclusivist.
21. war crime (noun) – a serious violation of the laws and customs of international conflict, leading to individual criminal responsibility; atrocity, crime against humanity, violation of international law, war atrocity.
22. International Criminal Court (ICC) (noun) – an intergovernmental permanent tribunal established to investigate, prosecute, and try individuals accused of the gravest crimes of international concern, including genocide and war crimes; global tribunal, international justice court, world court, Hague tribunal.
23. far outside (phrase) – significantly beyond the established boundaries, limits, or acceptable norms of a given system; well beyond, largely excluded from, completely external to, vastly beyond.
24. international law (noun) – a comprehensive body of rules, treaties, and customs that govern the interactions and relations between independent nations; global law, law of nations, international rules, global norms.
25. missile (noun) – a highly explosive, self-propelled weapon system directed by remote control or an internal guidance mechanism; projectile.
26. drone (noun) – unmanned aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), pilotless plane, remote-controlled aircraft.
27. base (noun) – a fortified location or installation utilized by a military force to station personnel, store equipment, and launch operations; military camp, installation, headquarters, garrison.
28. Persian Gulf (noun) – a critical arm of the Arabian Sea situated between the Arabian Peninsula and southwestern Iran, known for its immense strategic and economic importance; Arabian Gulf, the Gulf, Gulf of Iran.
29. widen (verb) – expand, broaden, extend, escalate.
30. Strait of Hormuz (noun) – a globally vital, narrow maritime chokepoint between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, critical for the transit of international energy supplies; strategic waterway, maritime chokepoint, vital transit route, shipping lane.
31. Strait (noun) – a naturally formed, narrow passage of water that connects two larger bodies of water; channel, sound, inlet, narrows.
32. move (noun) – action, step, measure.
33. fallout (noun) – the adverse, secondary results or lingering consequences of a disastrous or highly consequential event; repercussions, consequences, aftermath, reverberations.
34. to be clear (phrase) – for clarity, to clarify, explicitly speaking, unmistakably.
35. pre-emptive (adjective) – preventive, precautionary, anticipatory, defensive.
36. claim (verb) – assert, declare, profess, maintain.
37. on the contrary (phrase) – conversely, inversely, opposite to, in contrast.
38. negotiation (noun) – talks, dialogue, diplomacy, consultation.
39. Omani (adjective) – pertaining to the Sultanate of Oman, its government, or its citizens.
40. mediation (noun) – arbitration, conciliation, peacemaking, intervention.
41. within reach (phrase) – achievable, attainable, accessible, obtainable.
42. commitment (noun) – promise, pledge, vow, undertaking.
43. stockpile (verb) – accumulate, amass, hoard, store.
44. struck past tense of strike (verb) – attack, hit, bombard, assault.
45. head of state (noun) – the chief public representative and highest-ranking constitutional official of a sovereign nation; principal leader, premier, chief executive, supreme leader.
46. diplomacy (noun) – the established practice of managing international relations, particularly through the negotiation of alliances, treaties, and agreements; statesmanship, international relations, foreign policy, peacemaking.
47. overtake (verb) – outstrip, surpass, eclipse, overwhelm.
48. force (noun) – the application of coercion, military strength, or violent compulsion to compel compliance or assert dominance; coercion, compulsion, aggression.
49. single-handedly (adverb) – alone, independently, autonomously, unassisted.
50. sabotage (verb) – vandalize, wreck, damage, destroy.
51. 2015 nuclear agreement (noun) – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark international accord aimed at strictly limiting Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for sanctions relief; Iran nuclear deal, JCPOA, 2015 pact, nuclear accord.
52. negotiate (verb) – talk, discuss, parley, confer, consult.
53. unilateral (adjective) – an action or decision executed by a single nation or entity affecting others, completely disregarding the agreement or participation of international partners; one-sided, independent, unshared, autocratic.
54. trigger (verb) – precipitate, prompt, elicit, spark.
55. far more (phrase) – much more, significantly more, substantially more, profoundly more.
56. ties (noun) – relations, relationships, associations, bonds.
57. repressive (adjective) – oppressive, authoritarian, dictatorial, tyrannical.
58. monarchy (noun) – a political system or form of government fundamentally structured around a single sovereign or monarch serving as the head of state; kingdom, sovereign state, autocracy.
59. the equation (noun) – the situation, the calculation, the dynamic, the calculus.
60. qualm (noun) – misgiving, apprehension, hesitation, reluctance.
61. defenceless (adjective) – vulnerable, helpless, powerless, unprotected.
62. stateless (adjective) – displaced, nationless.
63. of choice (phrase) – preferred, favored, chosen, selected.
64. adversary (noun) – opponent, rival, enemy, foe.
65. interest (noun) – the strategic advantages, benefits, or national security objectives pursued by a state or organization; benefit, advantage, concern, profit.
66. imperial (adjective) – domineering, overbearing, dictatorial, expansionist.
67. duo (noun) – a pair of closely aligned entities or nations functioning in tandem toward shared objectives; pair, couple, partnership, twosome.
68. wreck (verb) – ruin, destroy, devastate.
69. step back (phrasal verb) – withdraw, retreat, disengage, pull back.
70. rein in (phrasal verb) – control, restrain, check, curb.
71. vestige (noun) – a small, lingering trace or remnant of a system, concept, or entity that is largely vanishing or extinct; remnant, fragment, relic, trace.
72. rules-based order (noun) – the established framework of multilateral agreements, laws, and normative behaviors designed to universally regulate international relations and prevent conflict; liberal international order, global governance, established international framework, international system.
73. shred (verb) – destroy, tear up, demolish, ruin.

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 (​Imperial war) – Mar 02, 2026: