1. Detention [dih-ten-shuh n]
Noun: the act of detaining; the state of being detained; maintenance of a person in custody or confinement, especially while awaiting a court decision; the withholding of what belongs to or is claimed by another.
Adjective: of or relating to detention or used to detain.
Synonyms: arrest, custody, delay, incarceration, internment, quarantine, apprehension, bust, detainment, hindrance, immurement, impediment, pen, pickup, pinch, restraint, retention, withholding, arrestation, holding back, holding pen, keeping in.
Antonyms: aidassistance, help, freedom.
Example: Despite all the evidence and testimonies detailing Saeed’s visits to the 26/11 terror training camps, his instructions during the attacks, and his call for violent attacks in India, the Pakistani government has allowed, if not enabled, him to build a virtual citadel in the town of Muridke near the provincial capital Lahore.
2. Testimony [tes-tuh-moh-nee, or, esp. British, -muh-nee]
Noun: Law. The statement or declaration of a witness under oath or affirmation, usually in court; evidence in support of a fact or statement; proof; open declaration or profession, as of faith.
Synonyms: affidavit, data, demonstration, deposition, documentation, evidence, information, statement, testament, witness, affirmation, attestation, avowal, confirmation, corroboration, facts, grounds.
Antonyms: denial, opposition, veto.
3. Virtual [vur-choo-uh l]
Adjective: being such in power, force, or effect, though not actually or expressly such; temporarily simulated or extended by computer software.
Synonyms: basic, constructive, essential, fundamental, implicit, implied, in all but name, in conduct, in effect, in practice, indirect, potential, practical.
Antonyms: actual, authentic, real.
4. Citadel [sit-uh-dl, -uh-del]
Noun: a fortress that commands a city and is used in the control of the inhabitants and in defense during attack or siege; any strongly fortified place; stronghold.
Synonyms: bastion, fortification, fortress, blockhouse, castle, fastness, fort, keep, manor, redoubt, stronghold.
Example: President has openly praised Pakistan for cooperating in the release of American hostages.
5. Hostage [hos-tij]
Noun: a person given or held as security for the fulfillment of certain conditions or terms, promises, etc., by another.
Verb: to give (someone) as a hostage.
Synonyms: captive, prisoner, victim, earnest, guaranty, pawn, pledge, scapegoat, security, surety.
Antonym: captor.
Example: This is, in essence, a test of U.S. President Donald Trump’s new South Asia policy, in which he has vowed reprisals if Pakistan fails to take action against all terror groups on its territory, not just those targeting the U.S. in Afghanistan.
6. Vow [vou]
Noun: a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment:
Marriage vows; a vow of secrecy; a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition; a solemn or earnest declaration.
Verb: to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint:
To vow a crusade or a pilgrimage; to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.
Synonyms: assertion, oath, pledge, affiance, asseveration, profession, troth, word of honor.
Antonyms: break, breach.
Example: If India’s persistent endeavor to bring Saeed to justice for his role in the Mumbai attacks continues to fall on deaf ears in Pakistan, then all the international declarations on terrorism will carry little weight.
7. Endeavor [en-dev-er]
Verb: to exert oneself to do or effect something; make an effort; strive.
Synonyms: aim, effort, enterprise, struggle, undertaking, venture, essay, exertion, fling, go, header, labor, lick, push, shot, stab, striving, toil, travail, trial, try, try-on.
Antonyms: idleness, inactivity, passivity, entertainment.
Example: Somalia must immediately work towards building a sense of civic solidarity among the various clans in the country and use the popular revulsion following the bombing to isolate al-Shabaab and its backers.
8. Solidarity [sol-i-dar-i-tee]
Noun: union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities and interests, as between members of a group or between classes, peoples, etc.; community of feelings, purposes, etc; community of responsibilities and interests.
Synonyms: agreement, consensus, harmony, support, teamwork, unanimity, unification, accord, alliance, comradeship, confederation, federation, fellowship, oneness, sameness, uniformity.
Antonyms: disagreement, agonist, discord, divorce.
9. Clan [klan]
Noun: a group of families or households, as among the Scottish Highlanders, the heads of which claim descent from a common ancestor; a group of people of common descent; family.
Synonyms: band, faction, gang, mob, sect, society, tribe, association, bunch, club, coterie, crew, crowd, crush, folks, group, house, insiders, kinfolks, moiety, organization, outfit, race, ring.
Antonym: individual.
10. Revulsion [ri-vuhl-shuh n]
Noun: a strong feeling of repugnance, distaste, or dislike:
Cruelty fills me with revulsion; a sudden and violent change of feeling or response in sentiment, taste, etc; the act of drawing something back or away.
Synonyms: dislike, distaste, horror, loathing, repulsion, abhorrence, abomination, aversion, detestation, hate, recoil, repugnance.
Antonyms: like, liking, love, loving.