Vocabulary Exercise
English Skill Building – 153
Learn many new words along with example sentences
Fester
1. His wounds festered for days before he got medical attention.[verb]
2. Resentments are starting to fester. [verb]
3. The wound is festering, and gangrene has set in.
4. Many of the children are afflicted by festering sores.
5. The chops will fester and go to waste.
Fester [as noun]
It means a small wound, not very serious.
The young boy was lazy from his very early days. He didn’t like to take part in the sports and games in his school. Whenever the sports teacher goaded him to play or run, he would point to the tiny fester (noun) on his left foot and beg to be excused. The teacher knew he was shirking physical activities, and frowned upon the lazy boy with an angry face. [New words – Fester as noun, Goad as verb, Shirk as verb, Frown as verb]
Fester [as verb]
The soldier was wounded and was captured by the enemy. While in their captivity, he received no medical attention for his injury. The wound festered for weeks and oozed blood continuously causing him great pain. [New words – Captivity, Ooze, Fester as verb]
Reconcile
1. He was reconciled to his fate.
2. She had reconciled herself to never seeing him again.
3. We suggest that it is possible to reconcile these apparently opposing perspectives.
4. He never believed he and Susan would be reconciled.
Reconcile [as verb]
Tragedy struck the family when the man died suddenly due to Covid. His wife was widowed at a relatively young age of 27 then. She found it hard to reconcile herself to the loneliness and the pervasive insecurity, both physical and financial, that stalked her relentlessly. [New words .. Reconcile, Pervasive, Stalk, Relentlessly]
President Putin is slowly trying to reconcile to the idea that he can’t vanquish Ukraine in the battlefield. [Vanquish]
Reconciliation [as noun]
Some countries like China and Turkey are trying to bring about a reconciliation between Russia and Ukraine by coaxing the two leaders to sit down for talks. [New words and phrases used .. Bring about, Coax]
In banks, it’s the manager’s responsibility to reconcile the accounts before leaving the branch in the evening.
Ring [as noun]
Meaning 1 – The telephone ring disturbed my sleep.
Meaning 2 – The beau (boy friend) gave his beloved girl a diamond ring, but the latter quickly discovered that it was fake.
Meaning 3 – Rings (continuous sounds) of laughter emanated from the hall where the office staff were having a party.
Meaning 4 – The minister was protected from the agitated farmers by police men who formed a ring around him.
Ring [as verb]
Meaning 1 – The train began to leave as soon as the last bell rang (make its usual sound) in the station.
Meaning 2 – The girl told her lover, “All your expressions of love towards me rings hollow (clearly appears false), because I know you are meeting another girl on your way back from my house.”
Meaning 3 – I read the Ramayana only once when I was 15. Ten years later, the story rings (appears as true and real) in my mind every night before I go to bed.
One day, my mother discovered me drinking bear with my friends. Her admonitions (stern warning, or caution) still rings in my mind. Her heartfelt advice has helped me to shun (avoid, or abstain from) alcohol all my life.
Meaning 4 – The fiery (eloquently passionate) speech of Subhas Bose rang out (heard loudly and clearly) in the nook and corner of India making people to donate their lives’ savings for the Indian National Army mobilized to wrest (snatch) control of India from the British.
Ring in the form of idioms –
Ring down the curtain on
(It means ‘to bring something to a close.’) – The strong observations of the Supreme Court rang down the curtain on the government’s hesitation to bring to book (punish legally or prosecute) those who were making hate-filled speeches.
Throw one’s heart in the ring
(It means to be a candidate for an elected post.) – For the post of president of our college union, as many as five students, two of them girls, have thrown their heart in the ring.
Comfort
[As noun]
The politician now spending his time in judicial custody finds the living conditions inside the jail to be too grueling (hard / severe) to bear. None of the comforts he enjoyed in his palatial home is available to him.
[As verb]
The nurse in the military hospital comforted the wounded soldier saying that his injuries are not life-threatening, and he would recover in a matter of weeks.
[As adjective]
None of the assurances given by the lady police inspector to the inmates of the women’s hostel were comforting and credible. The girls decided to go back to their homes abandoning their classes.
Alternative use
The seats in a car are much more comfortable than that of buses.
Edict
Under an autocratic leader, it is too perilous to defy the government’s edict (order or a decree).
Modesty
As one goes up in life, one must never allow arrogance to override one’s modesty.
Gandhiji’s modesty won him the admiration and respect of millions worldwide.
Trim
[As verb]
The gardener trimmed the green hedges that rang the garden.
The young man trimmed his moustache before going to meet his Instagram lady friend.
[As noun]
The trim of the young army recruits impressed their visiting commander.
After the electricity maintenance crew cut the trees touching the wires, a tractor with trolley was brought to cart away (transport) the trims (cut branches, leaves etc.)
To lead a charge
In the Gujarat state assembly elections, Modi and Kejriwal led the charge on behalf of BJP and AAP respectively.
Cricket lovers still remember the way Dhoni used to lead the charge in the last few overs of the one-day matches bringing victory for India.
Brandish
(To show a weapon in order to threaten someone)
The burglar brandished a large knife at the bank’s cashier and demanded that the latter hand over the entire cash to him.
Invoke
Meaning 1 – (To pray for) – Before entering the examination hall, most students invoke the mercy of Lord Jagannath.
Meaning 2 – (To enforce) – The government invoked an ordinance declaring the strike of the water supply department workers as illegal.
Meaning 3 – (To appeal or send a petition for help) – During the Bengal famine, some Indians invoked the Queen of England to send emergency assistance to India.
Mandatory
It’s mandatory for students to come to school in uniforms.
Retreat
[As verb]
During a recent face-off with Indian soldiers, the Chinese soldiers retreated (go back) after encountering stiff resistance from the Indian side.
[As noun]
Meaning 1 – (a place for rest and privacy) – Monks go to the Himalays as they find the place ideal for retreats.
Meaning 2 – (The act of going back, especially in war) – The retreat of Russian soldiers from parts of occupied Ukraine has sparked huge resentment inside Russia.