The Hindu Editorial (Tenuous plea) – June 15, 2023

To read this article, click “The Hindu”.

This preview is provided here with permission.

Courtesy: The Hindu

The Hindu Editorial (Tenuous plea) – June 15, 2023:

tenuous (adjective) – slight, insubstantial, negligible, weak/shaky; doubtful, dubious, questionable, vague, unspecific, indefinite.
plea (noun) – claim, assertion, argument, formal statement, explanation, justification.
indictment (noun) – a formal written accusation by a grand jury that a person has committed a serious crime; charge, arraignment, allegation, incrimination.
bipartisanship (noun) – a political situation that occurs when two opposing parties work together to achieve common goals.
in short supply (phrase) – available only in small quantities; scarce, deficient, rare, scant.
pled past participle of plea (verb) – claim, assert, argue, state.
guilty (adjective) – at fault, culpable, accountable/responsible for misconduct.
charge (noun) – accusation, allegation, indictment.
wilfully (adverb) – deliberately, purposefully, intentionally.
withhold (verb) – deny to give something back that is due/pending.
classified (adjective) – (officially) private, personal, intimate, secret.
espionage (noun) – the act of spying; obtaining secret or confidential (political or military) information of a country and/or disclosing it without the permission of that country; undercover work, infiltration, counter-intelligence.
Espionage Act (noun) – The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. The statute criminalizes a broad array of conduct related to the mishandling of sensitive government records connected to the “national defense,” a term generally referring to military records that if disclosed could damage U.S. national security.
violation (noun) – breach, contravention, infringement, breaking, non-observance.
potential (adjective) – possible, likely, probable.
sentence (noun) – conviction, judgement, verdict.
arraign (verb) – charge, allege, incriminate, accuse.
bond (noun) – a written agreement in which someone receives the bond (monetary payment) and promises to engage in a specific act, i.e., performing under a contract or appearing in court.
slap (verb) – apply/put quickly.
hush money (noun) – payment, payout, reward (given to someone to keep the information secret).
federal (adjective) – (in the US) relating to the system of government (both a national government and governments of the 50 states) as defined in the Constitution which is based on the separation of powers among three branches: the executive, the legislative and the judicial branch. (There are two types of juries serving different functions in the federal trial courts: trial juries, also known as petit juries, and grand juries).
campaign (noun) – canvassing, electioneering, an act of soliciting (asking for/requesting) votes; an organized effort that seeks to influence the decision-making progress within a specific group.
campaign finance laws (noun) – laws, in the U.S, that regulate the amounts of money political candidates or parties may receive from individuals or organizations.
felony (noun) – (a more serious) crime punishable by long-term imprisonments.
allegedly (adverb) – reportedly, supposedly, purportedly, ostensibly, apparently.
pertain to (verb) – concern, relate to, be connected with.
prosecutor (noun) – a lawyer who presents the government’s case against someone accused of a crime; counsel.
hoard (verb) – amass, accumulate, collect, garner, pile up, store up.
go on to (phrasal verb) – to start to do something; to start to deal with something.
conspiracy (noun) – unlawful plan, intrigue, collaboration/deception.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (noun) – The FBI stands for Federal Bureau of Investigation. “Federal” refers to the national government of the United States. “Bureau” is another word for department or division of government. “Investigation” is what we do—gathering facts and evidence to solve and prevent crimes.
inquiry (noun) – official investigation.
aide (noun) – companion, close friend, confidant, right-hand person.
fuel (verb) – intensify, inflame, provoke, goad, incite, exacerbate, whip up.
mobilisation (noun) – the act of bringing forces/people/resources together for a particular cause.
witch hunt (noun) – it means to find and punish people believed to be evil- even if they were not. It does also mean an unfair campaign by one side against its political opponents.
misinformation (noun) – falsification, manipulation, misreporting, misstatement, misrepresentation.
alleged (adjective) – supposed, so-called, claimed, professed, reported, ostensible.
culpability (noun) – guilt, blame/fault; responsibility.
Democrat (noun) – (in the US) a member or supporter of the Democratic Party (also referred to as the DEM); liberal.
The U.S. Secretary of State (noun) – a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser.
Senator (noun) – a member of the Senate (the upper house or chamber in some bicameral legislative systems. (for example in the US, Australia, Canada).
Republican (noun) – (in the US) a member or supporter of the Republican Party (also referred to as the GOP); conservative, right winger.
authorities (noun) – officials, officialdom, the people in charge, the bureaucracy.
turn of the screw (phrase) – increase of pressure on someone.
vitiate (verb) – destroy, impair, spoil, ruin.
ecosystem (noun) – complex situation/environment.
eye (noun) – opinion, viewpoint, thinking, point of view, perspective, standpoint.
electorate (noun) – all the people in a country who are eligible to vote in an election.
bitterly (adverb) – angrily, resentfully, dissatisfiedly, aggrievedly.
polarise (verb) – separate into two opposing groups.
hot-button (adjective) – relating to a subject/problem that is important to people and about which they have have very strong feelings/views/opinions.
reproductive rights (noun) – Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.
immigration (noun) – the act of leaving one’s countries and moving to another country of which they are not natives, nor citizens, to settle or reside there, especially as permanent residents or naturalized citizens.
barring (preposition) – except, except for, apart from, other than, besides, excluding.
debt (noun) – liability, financial obligation, borrowed capital.
national debt (noun) – the amount of money the federal government has borrowed to cover the outstanding balance of expenses incurred over time.
ceiling (noun) – limit, cap, upper limit, limitation.
debt ceiling (noun) – The debt limit/ceiling is the total amount of money that the United States government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing legal obligations, including Social Security and Medicare benefits, military salaries, interest on the national debt, tax refunds, and other payments.
narrowly (adverb) – only just, barely, scarcely.
spiralling (noun) – the process of increase/decrease of something.
credit rating (noun) – an assessment of the probability of default on payment of interest and principal on a debt instrument.
scarce (adjective) – meagre, insufficient, inadequate, negligible, paltry.
rebound (noun) – recovery, revival, rallying, picking up, coming back (in value of something after decline).
dampen (verb) – lessen, moderate, abate, diminish, reduce.
Inflationary (adjective) – relating to inflation; causing inflation.
fortify (verb) – support, bolster up, strengthen, buttress, reinforce, underpin.
public health (noun) – the branch of medicine handling public health; public health is also the science of protecting and improving the health of people and their communities through education, policy making and research for disease and injury prevention.
run/take its course (phrase) – to develop step by step and come to an end naturally; come to an end, cease to exist, draw to a close.
wrongdoing (noun) – crime, illegal/unlawful act, misdeed, offence.
the deep end (phrase) – a situation in which a person must deal with a difficult situation without any preparation/prior experience.
behove (verb) – be appropriate for, be expected of, be required of, be advisable for, be sensible for, be wise for, be fitting to, be suitable for, be proper for, be obligatory for, be incumbent on.
restraint (noun) – restriction, limitation, control.
put out (phrasal verb) – issue, publish, release, bring out, circulate, make known, make public, publicize.
extremist (noun) – radical, sectarian, partisan, dogmatist.