The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary 20th April 2020

1. COVID-19 (noun) – coronavirus disease 2019.
2. hotspot (noun) – a limited region/area in which a large number of people have tested positive for COVID-19 in several smaller groups or clusters. In general, hotspot means “a place of significant activity”.
3. lockdown (noun) – an emergency protocol implemented by the authorities that prevents people from leaving from a place; An extended state of confinement/encirclement/isolation of a person by the authority.
4. flattening the curve (phrase) – In epidemiology, the idea of slowing a virus’ spread so that fewer people need to seek treatment at any given time is known as “flattening the curve”.
5. put out (phrasal verb) – publish, release, publicize/circulate.
6. preceding (adjective) – previous, prior, earlier.
7. backdrop (noun) – situation, scenario, context.
8. vastly (adverb) – extremely, immensely, exceedingly, hugely/largely.
9. ramp up (phrasal verb) – increase.
10. populous (adjective) –densely populated, congested.
11. far fewer (phrase) – much less (with a large difference).
12. yet (adverb) – even so, still.
13. quarantine (verb) – separate, set apart, segregate, detach (people, animals and things (such as plants) from others for a period of time in order to control/restrict the spread of a contagious disease). Separate and restrict the movement of persons, who may have been exposed to infectious disease, but not yet known to be ill.
14. prevalence (noun) – it refers to the number of cases of a disease that are present in a particular population at a given time whereas “incidence” refers to the number of new cases that develop in a given period of time.
15. map (verb) – associate, link; record in detail.
16. urbanisation (noun) – a process of creating urban areas. It is a result of population migration from rural areas in addition to natural urban demographic growth.
17. drive up (phrasal verb) – to cause something to increase rapidly.
18. spike (noun) – a sharp rise/increase of something.
19. pointer (noun) – indication, hint, signal.
20. reconcile (verb) – settle, resolve, patch up.
21. alleviate (verb) – reduce, control, mitigate/moderate.
22. distress (noun) – difficulty, trouble, suffering.
23. uncertainty (noun) – unpredictability, unreliability, riskiness/precariousness.
24. novel coronavirus (nCoV) (SARS-CoV-2) (noun) – a new strain (type/variety) coronavirus that has not been previously identified in humans. (Courtesy: WHO)
25. outcome (noun) – result/effect, consequence, aftermath.
26. containment (noun) – an act of keeping something (harmful) under control (it means quickly identifying cases of coronavirus through testing, placing infected individuals in isolation, tracking who infected persons might have been in contact with and potentially quarantining those who came into contact with infection so that the disease doesn’t continue to spread).
27. alleviation (noun) – mitigation, appeasement, assuagement, moderation.
28. vulnerable (adjective) – relating to a weak/neglected person who is in need of special care/support; at risk, unsafe, easily affected by.
29. demonstrate (verb) – reveal, indicate, manifest, express.
30. pandemic (noun) – the worldwide spread of a new disease; The illness spreads around the world and typically affects a large number of people across a wide area.
31. expose (verb) – reveal, disclose, exhibit.
32. underlying (adjective) – fundamental, basic, primary.
33. inequality (noun) – Inequality is simply defined as “the state of not being equal, especially in status, rights and opportunities”; imbalance, unevenness, disproportion, disparity.
34. perspective (noun) – outlook, viewpoint, approach.
35. lay bare (phrasal verb) – reveal, expose, disclose.
36. inadequacy (noun) – insufficiency, deficiency, shortage.
37. roll-out (verb) – launch, introduce something officially.
38. respiratory (adjective) – relating to or affecting breathing (or organs of breathing).
39. look ahead (phrase verb) – to think about what will happen in the future.
40. phased (adjective) – relating to something carried out/performed/pursued in stages; staggered, timed at intervals (of something as they don’t happen at the same time).
41. real time (noun) – actual time (instantaneously, as soon as a process/event happens).
42. transparently (adverb) – directly/clearly, straightforwardly, undoubtedly, precisely.
43. aid (verb) – help, assist, support.
44. psychologist (noun) – a specialist in psychology.
45. point out (phrasal verb) – identify, recognize, draw attention to, mention.
46. stigmatisation (noun) – accusation, cursing, denouncement, discredit/dishonor, disparagement.
47. xenophobia (noun) – Greek phrase meaning fear/hatred of foreigners; racism.
48. carry out (phrasal verb) – conduct, perform, execute.
49. surveillance testing (noun) – it refer to the ongoing collection of information about a disease in a certain group of people and doing (certain) tests on a regular schedule.

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