THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- October 21, 2016- Topic 2
What began last month with a
handshake and visible warmth between two very different U.S. presidential
candidates degenerated into disrespectful interruptions, unashamed baiting, and
abrasive name-calling as the third and final debate between Democrat Hillary
Clinton and Republican Donald Trump came to a frosty end. With less than three
weeks to go before the election, the campaigns saw explosive revelations about
both candidates. This included disturbing evidence of Mr. Trump boasting about
groping women without their consent, allegations of such behaviour and sexual
assault by at least nine women, and an avalanche of confidential emails of Ms.
Clinton’s campaign released by WikiLeaks that underscored her proximity to
deep-pocketed Wall Street donors. Yet, even as these damning facts have tumbled
into the public domain and the degree of hostility has soared, they have
probably done little to swing the election dramatically in either direction.
Ms. Clinton was leading by a little over two percentage points across an
average of major head-to-head polls around the time of the first debate. Her margin
grew to over 6.5 per cent after the “Access Hollywood” tapes of Mr. Trump’s
offensive remarks. Most poll simulation models predict she is well-positioned
to capture the minimum of 270 electoral college votes that are necessary to
secure the presidency, principally owing to her likely success in the swing
States.
However, the electorate is
plagued by intractable, bitter polarisation that is beginning to rot the core
ideals of a tolerant, pluralistic democracy. Even a resounding Clinton victory
in terms of electoral college votes would beg the question whether she will be
able to bring on board her stoutly Democratic agenda, given the vast number of
middle class and poor Americans, many of them white, who may not have voted for
her. To achieve her goals will she not be compelled to mend fences with the
discredited mainstream Republican Party leadership that will be busy trying to
rehabilitate itself after Hurricane Donald passes? Ms. Clinton, if she finds
herself in the White House, will have to strike a multitude of bargains across
the policy positions that Americans disagree most stridently on: the economy,
job-creation and the role of the government, national debt and tax cuts,
Medicare and Social Security, immigration and border control, women’s reproductive
rights, race relations, and a range of foreign policy issues. In the vitiated
atmosphere of the third debate, the candidates touched upon all of these
issues, yet neither enunciated a new approach or even hinted at a desire to
build bridges to make America whole again.
Vocabulary
Warmth: the quality, state, or sensation of being warm; moderate and comfortable
heat.
Example: The warmth of the sun on her skin
Synonyms: heat, warmness, hotness, fieriness, coziness
Degenerated: decline or deteriorate physically, mentally, or morally.
Example: The quality of life had degenerated
Synonyms: deteriorate, decline, slip, slide, worsen, lapse, slump, go
downhill
Abrasive: (of a person or manner) showing little concern for the feelings of others;
harsh.
Example: Her abrasive and arrogant personal style won her few friends
Synonyms: caustic, cutting, biting, acerbic, rough, harsh, hard, tough, sharp, grating
Frosty: cold and unfriendly in manner.
Example: Sam gave her a frosty look
Synonyms: cold, frigid, icy, glacial, unfriendly, inhospitable, unwelcoming
Revelation: a surprising and previously unknown fact, especially one that is made known
in a dramatic way.
Example: Revelations about his personal life
Synonyms: disclosure,announcement, report, admission, confession
Boasting: talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements,
possessions, or abilities.
Example: Ted used to boast, “I manage ten people”
Synonyms: brag, crow, swagger, swank, gloat, show off, exaggerate
Groping: feel about or search blindly or uncertainly with the hands.
Example: She got up and groped for her spectacles
Synonyms: fumble, scrabble, fish, ferret, rummage, feel, search, hunt
Avalanche: a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities.
Example: We have had an avalanche of applications
Synonyms: barrage, volley, flood, deluge, torrent, tide, shower, wave
Soared: fly or rise high in the air.
Example: The bird spread its wings and soared into the air
Synonyms: fly, wing, ascend, climb, rise, take off, take
flight
Plagued: cause continual trouble or distress to.
Example: The problems that plagued the company
Synonyms: afflict, bedevil, torment, trouble, beset, dog, curse
Intractable: hard to control or deal with.
Example: Intractable economic problems
Synonyms: unmanageable, uncontrollable, difficult, awkward, troublesome, demanding
Mend: repair (something that is broken or damaged).
Example: Workmen were mending faulty cabling
Synonyms: repair, fix, put back together, piece together, restore
Stridently: loud and harsh; grating.
Example: His voice had become increasingly sharp, almost strident
Synonyms: harsh, raucous, rough, grating, rasping, jarring, loud, shrill, screeching