Daily English Vocab
PDF 2nd Feb 2017
American carnage: Trump’s road to ruin
The Trump presidency in the U.S. is less than two weeks old, but it is already clear that it represents
an unusually fierce (क्रुद्ध/भयानक) assault (attack) on civic, political, and moral values
As a student of international politics, I can certainly suggest various ways in which U.S. President
Donald J. Trump may be good for one country or another. From the vantage point of New Delhi,
his focus on terrorism, his business interests in India, and his radical indifference to nonproliferation (प्रसार/फैलाव) all present strategic opportunities. From my perch in London, I also
understand why Theresa May, Prime Minister of the U.K., is aggressively courting the Trump
administration. A trade deal with Washington would bolster the government’s hand in departure
negotiations with the European Union, and American support for the North Atlantic Treaty
Organisation remains crucial to Britain’s interests. This is all legitimate diplomacy, of course. If
we work with those who imprison journalists (Turkey), shoot demonstrators (Iran) or ban political
parties (Saudi Arabia) — feting (honor or entertain (someone) lavishly.) their leaders,
welcoming their capital, and cooperating with their soldiers and spies — then it’s difficult to make
a strong case against engagement with a man who earned the votes of nearly 63 million Americans
in a free and, barring Russian involvement, largely fair election.
Not about geopolitics alone
But as citizens, as lower-case ‘d’ democrats, as those with myriad ties of culture, kinship, and
intellect with the United States and its institutions, the geopolitical dimension is not the only
relevant one. The Trump presidency is less than two weeks old, but it is already clear that it
represents an unusually fierce assault on civic, political, and moral values, far in excess of that
which might have occurred under the most extreme alternatives, from Bernie Sanders on the hard
left to Ted Cruz on the hard right. To call Mr. Trump a fascist (फासीवादी) (an authoritarian and
nationalistic right-wing system of government and social organization) is to trivialize (महत्वहीन
बनाना) the term and insult those who have lived under truly oppressive systems; but to insist that
the President’s critics are hysterical (उन्मत्त), motivated by partisan (पक्षपातपूर्ण) animus(feeling of
ill will arousing active hostility), or crying wolf is to blind oneself to the evidence that is rapidly
mounting.
Most striking of all is the President’s extraordinary narcissistic personality disorder. Its most recent
manifestation is his protracted obsession with the size of crowds at his inauguration. Mr. Trump
despatched his press secretary to disseminate outright and easily disproved lies (“largest audience
to witness an inauguration, period”), in the manner of the Iraqi information minister who famously
insisted that American tanks, audible in the background, were nowhere near Baghdad in 2003. He
then spent much of his speech to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) boasting (बढ़-बढ़कर बातें
करना) of this, and went on to shut down the Twitter account of the National Park Service after it
circulated dissenting photographs. Behaviour like this is better subject to psychiatry than political
analysis.
Then we come to the pathological fibbing (झठू बोलना). Mr. Trump, who began his political career
by insisting that the U.S.’s first black President was a Kenyan-born Muslim, lies habitually and
with disturbing ease, about matters both trivial and serious. He lied dozens of times in the past few
weeks alone, claiming falsely that mass voter fraud explains Hillary Clinton’s higher number of
votes, that the U.S. did not accept Christian refugees, and that his ‘Muslim ban’ was comparable
to the Obama administration’s suspension of visa waivers. These “alternative facts”, to use the
Orwellian term coined by the President’s adviser Kellyanne Conway, are demonstrably untrue. If
a President lies on matters that can be fact-checked in seconds, is he likely to tell the truth on less
visible matters of state? Moreover, when reporters call out these lies, they are repeatedly attacked
as “fake news”, blacklisted and silenced at press conferences, and warned — in Mr. Trump’s own
words — that they will “pay a big price”. A democracy cannot subsist on a diet of dishonesty.
Militarisation and politicisation
No less concerning is the damage being done to American institutions. Last week, the entire senior
management of the State Department resigned en masse (in a group; all together.), in an
unprecedented move. Hundreds of other diplomats are writing a dissent memo — like the so-called
Blood Telegram from Dhaka in 1971 — on the Muslim ban. “This ban,” they write, “stands in
opposition to the core American and constitutional values.” No surprise, then, that Mr. Trump has
filled only 33 of 700 critical positions across the federal government. Meanwhile, National
Security Advisor General Michael Flynn, who routinely tweets conspiracy theories and led
campaign chants of “lock her up” targeting Ms. Clinton, is building up the most militarydominated National Security Council (NSC) staff of recent times. Eliot Cohen, a prominent
neoconservative scholar who wrote a landmark book on the relationship between politicians and
generals and served in the George W. Bush administration, warned: “A serious civil-military issue
is emerging.”
And atop this militarisation, there comes a remarkable act of politicisation. On Saturday, Mr.
Trump issued another executive order that removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and
the Director of National Intelligence as permanent members of the NSC’s apex Principals
Committee. In their place came Stephen Bannon, his Senior Counselor — and co-author of the
President’s dystopian (relating to or denoting an imagined place or state in which everything
is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one.) inaugural
address — as a permanent member of the committee, alongside the Secretaries of State and
Defence. This move shocked former Defence Secretary Leon Panetta (“I’ve never seen it happen,
and it shouldn’t happen”) and George W. Bush’s Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, who had barred Mr.
Bush’s own political adviser Karl Rove from NSC meetings. More disturbing still is that Mr.
Bannon is no ordinary political flack. He was head of the far-right, white nationalist
website Breitbart News . He has complained about the number of Asians in Silicon Valley, cheered
on a “historic struggle against Islam”, and published misogynistic and anti-Semitic headlines. It
was surely Mr. Bannon who deliberately excluded mention of Jews from the White House
statement on Holocaust Remembrance Day on Friday — like much else, entirely without
precedent.
Dealing without the dealmaker
Finally, we come to the pivotal role of Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. It is Mr. Kushner,
the President assures us, who will bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. When British
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson sought clarity on the scope of the Muslim ban, it was Mr.
Kushner, rather than the State Department, that he called. If Mr. Trump’s adult sons feel slighted,
they can take consolation (आश्वासन/साांत्वना) from the fact that they have been given control of a trust
controlling their father’s vast business empire which the President refuses to divest from. As he
still profits from it, this creates permanent conflicts of interest in foreign and domestic policy.
Azerbaijan, Bahrain, and Kuwait have all booked rooms at the Trump International Hotel in
Washington, D.C., effectively funnelling money to the President. Is this the government of the
world’s largest democracy, or the Corleone family?
None of this is normal. Not the sweeping cruelty of the Muslim ban, not the failed extortion (he
practice of obtaining something through force or threats.) of Mexico, not the press secretary
printing out hostile tweets and flaunting (display (something) ostentatiously) them at a press
conference, not the Attorney General being fired for upholding the law.
By all means, haggle (dispute or bargain persistently) with the self-professed dealmaker.
Perhaps he’ll stick to the agreement. Perhaps, as in his business dealings, he won’t. Either way, do
not delude (भ्रममत करना) yourself that everything is fine. President Trump is not an authoritarian
leader. But the wall between populist demagogue (जनोत्तेजक नेता) and budding autocrat (तानाशाह) is
less firm than we would like to imagine. It has been knocked down by countless leaders, such as
Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin, and Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Like all populists, they have brought
economic ruin and political turmoil (खलबली/उथल-पुथल). To quote President Trump’s inaugural:
“American carnage (नाश)”.
Courtesy: The Hindu (International).
1. Fierce (adjective): Having or displaying a violent or ferocious aggressiveness (क्रुद्ध/भयानक)
Synonyms: Ferocious, Savage, Furious, Relentless, Frightening.
Antonyms: Gentle, Moderate, Calm, Pleasant, Unthreatening.
Example: To appear fiercer, the warriors of ancient Britain painted their bodies and colored their
hair.
Related Words:
Fiercely (adverb): तीक्ष्णता से / भयंकर रूप से
Fierceness (noun): निर्दयता
2. Trivialize (verb): To make something seem unimportant. (महत्वहीन बनाना)
Synonyms: Underplay, Undervalue, Devalue, Belittle, Disparage.
Antonyms: Overrate, Overestimate, Overvalue.
Example: After the crash, the driver tried to trivialize the accident by calling it a fender bender.
Verb forms: Trivialize, Trivialized, Trivialized.
Related words:
Trivially (adverb) - िगण्यतापर्ू दक
Triviality (noun) - तच्ु छता
Trivial (adjective) - तुच्छता
3. Hysterical (adjective): Affected by or deriving from wildly uncontrolled emotion. (उन्मत्त)
Synonyms: Overwrought, Uncontrolled, Unrestrained, Frenzied.
Antonyms: Balanced, Calm, Controlled, Indifferent, Mild, Moderate, Peaceful, Pleased.
Example: The hostages were in a state of hysteria when they were rescued by the police.
Related words:
Hysteria (noun) - उन्मार्
4. Partisan (adjective): Prejudiced in favor of a particular cause. (पक्षपातपूर्ण)
Synonyms: Biased, Prejudiced, Discriminatory, Preferential, Partial, Factional.
Antonyms: Fair, Unbiased, Impartial.
Example: Partisan political views may cause to overlook the best candidates at the polls.
Related words:
Partisanship (noun) – पक्षपात
5. Fib (verb): To tell a lie. (झूठ बोलना)
Synonyms: Lie, Untruth, Falsification, Dissemble.
Antonyms: Truth, Directness, Upright.
Example: I have to admit in front of her that I told a fib when I said I enjoyed the movie.
Verb forms: Fib, Fibbed, Fibbed.
Related words:
Fib (noun) – नमथ्या
6. Consolation (noun): The act of consoling; giving relief in affliction / the comfort you feel
when consoled in times of disappointment. (आश्वासन/साांत्वना)
Synonyms: Solace; Sympathy, Compassion, Commiseration, Fellow Feeling.
Antonyms: Disdain, Indifference, Mercilessness, Antagonism.
Example: The court’s decision to award me two million dollars in damages was no consolation
for the loss of my husband.
Verb forms: Console, Consoled, Consoled.
Related words:
Consolatory (adjective) - सान््र्िाप्रर्
Console (verb) – सां्र्िा र्ेिा
7. Delude (verb): Make (someone) believe something that is not true/ to manipulate someone’s
judgment (भ्रममत करना)
Synonyms: Mislead, Deceive, Fool, Trick, Dupe, Hoodwink, Beguile.
Antonyms: Be Honest, Be Truthful.
Example: Although Mary has no vocal talent, her parents have allowed her to delude herself into
believing she is a great singer.
Verb forms: Delude, Deluded, Deluded.
8. Autocrat (noun): A ruler who has absolute power/ an individual who rules without considering
others. (तानाशाह)
Synonyms: Absolute Ruler, Dictator, Despot, Tyrant.
Antonyms: Republican, Democrat.
Example: The people happily embraced democracy after being at the mercy of a heartless
autocrat.
Related words:
Autocratic (adjective) - निरंकुश
Autocratically (adverb) - स्र्ेच्छाचारी ढंग से
9. Turmoil (noun): A state of great disturbance, confusion, or uncertainty. (खलबली/उथल-पुथल)
Synonyms: turbulence, tumult, disorder, commotion, disturbance, disruption.
Antonyms: calmness, composure, contentment, happiness, tranquility.
Example: During the riots, there was widespread turmoil in the city.
10. Carnage (noun): The killing of a large number of people/ that which is left after an extremely
violent event. (नाश)
Synonyms: Massacre, Mass Murder, Decimation, Holocaust.
Antonyms: Peace, Calmness, Harmony.
Example: According to the Red Cross, it will take months to clean up the carnage left by the
Nepalese earthquake.
11. Flaunt (verb): Display (something) ostentatiously (मदखाना)
Synonyms: Exhibit, Vaunt, Show Off, Ostentate.
Antonyms: Hide, Conceal, Cover, Secret, Withhold.
Example: Donald Trump loves to flaunt his wealth and grandiose, whenever he has the chance.
Verb forms: Flaunt, Flaunted, Flaunted.
12. Haggle (verb): Dispute or bargain persistently/ to engage in conversation to reach a deal.
(मोलभार् करिा)
Synonyms: Negotiate, Bargain, Discuss Terms.
Antonyms: Agree, Concur, Comply.
Example: During the investment meeting, the company CEO and the potential investor will
haggle over the value of the organization.
Verb forms: Haggle, Haggled, Haggled.
13. Fascist (noun): An advocate or follower of the political philosophy or system of fascism.(
Fascism - an authoritarian and nationalistic right-wing system of government and social
organization.) (फासीवादी)
Synonyms: Authoritarian, Totalitarian, Autocrat, Totalitarian, Extreme/Far Right-Winger.
Example: Adolf Hitler was inspired by fascism in his formation of Nazi Germany.
Related words:
Fascism (noun) - A government that is ruled by a powerful dictator having control of
everyone/everything.
14. Boast (verb): Talk with excessive pride and self-satisfaction about one's achievements,
possessions, or abilities. (डींग मारना/अमभमान युक्त बात करना/बढ़-बढ़कर बातें करना)
Synonyms: Brag, Swank, Ostentation, Bragging, Splurge.
Antonyms: Humility, Modesty.
Example: When people boast about their accomplishments, it makes the conversation take an
awkward turn.
Verb Forms: Boast, Boasted, Boasted.
Related Words:
Boastful (adjective) - शेखीबाज
Boastfully (adverb) - डींग मारते हुए
Boaster (noun) - शेखीबाज
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