Vocabulary In News II

ex-officio: by virtue of one’s position or status

Asif Yaseen Malik has been appointed ex-officio chairman of PIA.

bar: block, restrict, thwart, obstruct, impede
Myanmar bars OIC from opening its office.

vandalise: damage, despoil, ravage, raze, wreck
Bangladesh has started rebuilding 19 Buddhist temples vandalised by Muslim mobs.

pedigree: lineage, descent, extraction, ancestry
India’s new foreign minister blends an illustrious pedigree and a formidable track record as a Congress politician.

erudition: knowledge, bookishness, intellectuality, savvy, studiousness
He will be remembered by his students for his erudition.

seamless: smooth, easy, unbroken, undisturbed
CAREC nations have agreed on a plan aimed at creating seamless connectivity and greater prosperity in the region.

daredevil: daring, bold, adventurous, audacious, death-defying
Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner made a record-breaking leap from the edge of space.

heist: burglary, robbery, larceny, pilferage, theft
Seven masterpieces were stolen in a pre-dawn heist at Rotterdam’s Kunsthal museum.

hone: acuminate, polish, enhance, upgrade, refine
Russia continued to hone effectiveness amid an escalating row with the United States.

rapporteur: (One who is designated to give a report, as at a meeting) reporter, commentator, representative
Richard Falk is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the occupied territories.

meticulously: correctly, flawlessly, precisely, scrupulously, veraciously
The US space shuttle Endeavour began its final journey in a meticulously planned trip.

charge d’affaires: temporary in charge of a diplomatic mission in the absence of ambassador
Laurence Pope has been appointed as the charge d’affaires in Tripoli.

venerable: respected, august, revered, esteemed
Newsweek would end an 80-year run as a print magazine, taking the venerable publication all-digital.

gusty: windy, stormy, blustering, tempestuous, inclement, squally
Hurricane Sandy brought tidal waves and gusty winds.

belligerent: aggressive, fiery, contentious, combative, unfriendly
Michael Lumb struck a belligerent unbeaten 82 in the Champions League Twenty20 final.

pugilist: boxer, prizefighter
Afghan pugilist wins in country’s first pro-boxing bout.

eerie: formidable, ghostly, spooky, uncanny, weird, The silence after the storm was eerie.

smothered: overwhelmed, surrounded, shrouded, inundated, submerged
NY, New Jersey were smothered by storm.

Stalwart: loyal, faithful, staunch, constant, resolute
Mohamed Morsi sacked prosecutor general a day after a court acquitted stalwarts of the old regime.
zenith: top, climax, pinnacle, apex, acme, vertex
300 weeks at zenith makes Federer feel proud.

southpaw: left-handed, lefthander, lefty
US southpaw Devon Alexander took the IBF Welterweight crown.

maul: beat, batter, thrash, flail, lacerate,
Sixers maul Lions to win Champions League T20.

chide: criticize, lecture, admonish, berate, blame
She chided him for not replying to her letters.
confound: astonish, bewilder, dumbfound, flabbergast,