Daily Vocab For Various Competitive Exams: 25th June 2018

Vocabulary is an important part of English that helps you deal with all kinds of questions in objective as well as descriptive papers of various exams. You can learn new words daily from our Daily Word List. Learn the words and make your own sentences on the basis of the given word list. Here are a few words and phrases from articles published in a reputed Newspaper.

THE FOOTBALL STORY SO FAR

The FIFA World Cup is at a fascinating stage. Defending champions Germany’s last gap victory on Saturday night against a (1) plucky Sweden must have soothed the nerves of their fans. A draw would have left them staring at a first round exit. Incidentally the last time Germany exited after the first round in the World Cup was way back in 1938. France, Belgium, Croatia, Mexico, Russia and England are already through to the next round with two wins each. Brazil, Portugal and Spain are all at four points, each needing a victory in their last group match to ensure their progress. But it is Group D which is turning out to be the Group of Death in this World Cup.

Both Argentina and Iceland with a point each have a chance if they win their final Group match and hope the results of the other games go their way. The (2) dreaded goal difference would also come into play if Argentina beat Nigeria and Iceland beat Croatia. Nigeria, after convincingly beating Iceland on Saturday enhanced their chances, also giving Argentina a (3) glimmer of hope. Argentina has to win its last group match against Nigeria with a good margin. In the 1978 World Cup, Argentina, needing to beat Peru by a margin of four goals, beat them 6-0 to go to the next round.
There were dark whispers of the much-hated Argentinian (4) Junta promising grain and money to the Peruvian government to (5) tank the match. The circumstances now are happily different. So can Messi and his team mates forget the horror show against Croatia and turn things around? Brazil, the (6) perennial favorites, haven’t really been convincing so far. They won against a (7) resolute Costa Rica with a bit of luck and much theatrics. Philippe Coutinho has looked the best player so far and not the (8) petulant, perpetually-moaning Neymar. So among the top teams, Spain, who play Morocco next, and Germany, who play South Korea, seem the best (9) poised to go through. This World Cup is really (10) hotting up.

1. PLUCKY (adjective)  हिम्मती
Meaning: having or showing determined courage in the face of difficulties.
Synonyms: brave, courageous, bold, daring, fearless, intrepid, spirited, valiant, valorous, gallant, stout, dauntless, stalwart, audacious, unafraid, doughty, mettlesome.
Antonyms: cowardly, timid, timorous, gutless, horrified, trepid, terrible, frightful, bird-hearted.

2. DREADED (adjective)  ख़ौफ़नाक
Meaning: regarded with great fear or apprehension.
Synonyms: dreadful, fearful, direful, appalling, darn, deadly, heinous, scared, gruesome, grisly, fearsome.
Antonyms: pleasant, intrepid, valiant, valorous, courageous, audacious.

3. Glimmer (noun)  क्षीण प्रकाश
Meaning: a very small amount.
Synonyms: crumb, dab, dram, driblet, hint, mite, nip, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shred, smack, snap, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling.
Antonyms: abundance, barrel, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, loads, lot, mass, oodles, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, scads.

4. JUNTA (noun)  सैनिक सरकार
Meaning: a military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force.
Synonyms: faction, group, cabal, clique, party, league, confederacy, directory, cadre, council, pack, clan, caucus, coalition, sect.
Antonyms: empire, estate, federation, dominion, kingdom, democracy, community.

5. TANK (verb)  पतन होना
Meaning: to make no effort to win: lose intentionally.
Synonyms: bomb, collapse, fail, flop, flunk, miss, wash out, flounder, struggle, decline, sink, skid, slip, slump, wane, crumble, miscarry.
Antonyms: flourish, prosper, thrive, prevail, triumph, win, click, come off, pan out, succeed.

6. PERENNIAL (adjective)  चिरस्थायी
Meaning: lasting or existing for a long or apparently infinite time; enduring or continually recurring.
Synonyms: everlasting, perpetual, eternal, continuing, unending, endless, undying, ceaseless, abiding, persisting, permanent, continual, timeless.
Antonyms: antiquated, archaic, dated, obsolete, outdated, outmoded, out-of-date, outworn, passé.

7. RESOLUTE (adjective)  दृढ़
Meaning: admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering.
Synonyms: resolved, decided, adamant, firm, fixed, set, intent, insistent, steadfast, staunch, stalwart, earnest, unfaltering, unflinching, persevering, persistent, pertinacious, tenacious, steely, obstinate, relentless, intransigent, implacable, unrelenting.
Antonyms: skeptical, suspicious, uncertain, unconvinced, undecided, unsettled, unsure
disinclined, indisposed, faltering, hesitant, indecisive, irresolute, undetermined, unresolved, vacillating, wavering.

8. PETULANT (adjective)  चिड़चिड़ा
Meaning: easily irritated or annoyed.
Synonyms: choleric, crabby, cranky, crotchety, fiery, grouchy, grumpy, irascible, irritable, peevish, pettish, prickly, snappish, snappy, snippy, stuffy, testy.
Antonyms: affable, cordial, extroverted, friendly, genial, gregarious, outgoing, sociable
agreeable, amiable, well-disposed, easygoing.

9. POISED (adjective)  संतुलित 
Meaning: having a composed and self-assured manner.
Synonyms: composed, assured, calm, cool, tranquil, serene, unperturbed, unruffled, impassive, nonchalant, confident, dignified, suave, urbane, elegant, unfazed.
Antonyms: unbalanced, discomposed, contemptuous, slothful, unreliable, inelegant, graceless, rustic.

10. HOT UP: (verb)   जोर पकड़ना
Meaning: to increase in intensity, pace, or excitement.
Synonyms: intensify, build up, heighten, warm up, sharpen strengthen, reinforce, augment, amplify, accelerate.
Antonyms:  moderate, inactive, slummock, stagnate, maunder, tootle.