1. Espouse (Verb)
- Meaning: Adopt or support (a cause, belief, or way of life).
- Synonyms: Adopt, Embrace,
- Antonyms: Reject, Oppose
- Usage: These groups and their predecessors, many of which have given up arms and joined the formal political process, espouse causes ranging from secession to a Bodoland State carved out of Assam.
2. Defuse (Verb)
- Meaning: Make (a situation) less tense or dangerous.
- Synonyms: Reduce, Lessen, Diminish, Lighten
- Antonyms: Heighten, Intensify
- Usage: police officers how to defuse various dangerous situations.
3. Belligerence (Noun)
- Meaning: Aggressive or warlike behaviour, the tendency to fight
- Synonyms: Aggression, hot-head
- Antonyms: calm, composed
- Usage: He used belligerence to get out of any problem.
4. Impromptu (Adjective)
- Meaning: Done without being planned or rehearsed.
- Synonyms: Unrehearsed, Unprepared, Unscripted and Extempore
- Antonyms: Prepared, Rehearsed
- Usage: An impromptu press conference
5. Obstruct (Verb)
- Meaning: Block (an opening, path, road, etc.); be or get in the way of.
- Synonyms: Impede, Hinder
- Antonyms: Facilitate, Help, Further
- Usage: Her success was obstructed by the sudden illness.
6. Burnish (Verb)
- Meaning: Polish (something, especially metal) by rubbing.
- Synonyms: Shine, Brighten
- Antonyms: Dull
- Usage: A decade ago, she burnished her credentials as the Opposition leader who would dethrone the Left Front combine in West Bengal with her agitation over the Singur land acquisition.
7. Sordid (Adjective)
- Meaning: Involving immoral or dishonorable actions and motives; arousing moral distaste and contempt.
- Synonyms: wretched, dishonest
- Antonyms: High-minded, Respectable
- Usage: politics in India is nothing but a series of sordid incidents.
8. Tame (Adjective)
- Meaning: (of a person) willing to cooperate.
- Synonyms: Docile, Submissive, Compliant and Meek
- Antonyms: Independent, Uncooperative
- Usage: The government tried to tame bureaucrats as well as the highest court in the land.
9. Dubious (Adjective)
- Meaning: Hesitating or doubting./ something doubtful
- Synonyms: Doubtful, Uncertain, Unsure,
- Antonyms: Certain, Definite
- Usage: His sources of income are supposed to be dubious.
10. Intricate (Adjective)
- Meaning: Very complicated or detailed.
- Synonyms: Complex, Complicated, Convoluted, Tangled
- Antonyms: Simple, Straightforward
- Usage: This makes for good political sense when we remember that most human activity is structured by systems of rules — take the intricate and rule-bound game of chess or cricket.
