Daily Vocab for Various Competitive Exams

I have an honest confession to make – I rarely read the terms and conditions or privacy policies of any websites that I visit. The policies are unintelligible, confusing and (1) replete with legal (2) jargon. Moreover, most policies are of a take-it-or-leave-it- fashion-if you want the service, you must agree to its terms.  A combination of temptation for the service and belief in the good faith of the service provider means that every time I part with personal information online, I know that I am possibly signing away my right to keep my personal life private.

The (3) startling revelation that Cambridge Analytica had access to personal data of over 87 million Facebook users is how the (4) chickens come home to roost. This includes data, according to a recent response by Facebook, of over 5 lakh Indians. To blame Facebook for its permissive privacy policy, or the user for providing her consent casually would be missing the wood for the trees. The real culprit is a (5) lax regulatory environment that astonishingly deems large scale, unethical data sharing to be legal. This is because the (6) cornerstone of the digital economy is user consent. But the operation of consent today is a far cry from its lofty philosophical foundations. Several service providers categorically state that if you use a Facebook account to login, they will have access to your personal information on Facebook. But users regularly consent, seldom having even read these terms. This allows companies to disclaim liability, despite the practices being (7) surreptitious and consent being uninformed.

So successful have their lobbying efforts been, that it is unthinkable today to (8) envisage an internet where people actually read privacy policies to individuals to spew venom at each other. The hands-off approach of the state is advocated in the name of freedom-that the internet has been transformative because it is (9) unfettered. Though difficult, it is imperative to understand the changed internet of our times. In the global regulatory context of this changed internet, there exists an India-sized void. Unlike other countries which have acted to secure their own interests over the last decade, India has chosen to wait-and-watch. India must, if its (10) laudable objective of being a digital leader in the 21st century is to be a reality, act to ensure that the internet is not just free, but it is also fair, genuinely empowering the farmer to avoid the middleman, the local entrepreneur to secure a quick loan and the child to access her textbooks, no hidden strings attached.

1. REPLETE (adjective) =परिपूर्ण
Meaning: filled or well-supplied with something.
Synonyms: bounding, abundant, fraught, teeming, thronging, brimming, bulging, crammed, filled, jammed, jam-packed, loaded, stuffed.
Antonyms: blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, depleted, deficient, incomplete, insufficient.

2. JARGON (noun)=शब्दजाल
Meaning: special words or expressions used by a profession or group that are difficult for others to understand.
Synonyms: slang, cant, argot, patter, patois, vernacular, bureaucratese, gibberish.
Antonyms: standard, formal, profoundness.

3. STARTLING (adjective)=चमत्कारपूर्ण
Meaning: very surprising, astonishing, or remarkable.
Synonyms: unexpected, unforeseen, shocking, stunning; extraordinary, disturbing, unsettling, perturbing, disconcerting, disquieting.
Antonyms: common, customary, normal, ordinary, typical, unexceptional, unremarkable, usual
unsurprising.

4. CHICKENS COME HOME TO ROOST: (phrase)= आपको अपने गलत कार्यों के परिणाम स्वयं देखने होंगे
Meaning: You have to face the consequences of your mistakes or bad deeds.

5. LAX (adjective)=शिथिल
Meaning: not sufficiently strict, severe, or careful.
Synonyms: slack, slipshod, negligent, careless, heedless, inattentive, slapdash, offhand, non-restrictive, indulgent, overindulgent.
Antonyms: heeding, mindful, observant, vigilant, wary, watchful, foresighted, forethoughtful, provident, attentive, careful, conscientious.

6. COUNTERSTONE (noun)=महत्वपूर्ण हिस्सा
Meaning: an important quality or feature on which a particular thing depends or is based.
Synonyms: foundation, basis, keystone, mainstay, linchpin, fundamental principle, core, focus, crux, prop, backbone.
Antonyms: abolition, avert, ceiling, distinguished, wreck.

7. SURREPTITIOUS (adjective)=छल से किया हुआ
Meaning: done in a secret way.
Synonyms: stealthy, clandestine, secretive, sneaky, sly, furtive, concealed, hidden, undercover, covert, veiled.
Antonyms: acknowledged, avowed, straightforward, clear, evident, manifest, obvious,
open, overt, public.

8. ENVISAGE (verb) =परिकल्पना करना
Meaning: contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event
Synonyms: foresee, predict, forecast, foretell, anticipate, expect, contemplate, visualize, envision, picture.
Antonyms: unforeseen, unseen, disregard, discard, misinterpret, overlook.

9. UNFETTERED (adjective)=निरंकुश
Meaning: not confined or restricted.
Synonyms: unrestrained, unrestricted, unconstrained, unbridled, unconfined, unimpeded, unhampered, uncontrolled, unbound, untied, unchained, unshackled.
Antonyms: shackle, trammel, imprison, incarcerate, intern, enslave, subdue, subjugate, confine, enchain, fetter, restrain.

10. LAUDABLE (adjective)=प्रशंसनीय
Meaning: (of an action, idea, or aim) deserving praise and commendation.
Synonyms: praiseworthy, commendable, admirable, meritorious, worthy, creditable, noteworthy, exemplary, reputable, honorable.
Antonyms: deplorable, despicable, detestable, lousy, vile, wretched, disgraceful, dishonorable, ignominious, shady, sordid, unsavory, censurable, discreditable, reprehensible.