15 October 2026 | FREE Editorial PDF

Today’s Highlight: Today’s standout word is Pyrrhic – it means a win that costs so much it feels like a loss, and it often appears in Banking and SSC reading passages. The inflation editorial is key for Economy and RBI policy questions, the green crackers editorial is useful for Environment, the narrowing diet editorial matters for food security, and the Manipur editorial is important for Internal Security.

Editorial 1: Spiralling Food Prices: On Rising Inflation

Source: The Hindu

Vocabulary

1. Broaden
Synonym: Widen | Antonym: Narrow
Example: Price pressures may broaden to more goods and services.

2. Resumed
Synonym: Restarted | Antonym: Halted
Example: Foreign selling resumed after a brief lull in the market.

3. Pause
Synonym: Halt | Antonym: Continuation
Example: The bank announced a pause in its rate hikes.

4. Ease
Synonym: Relieve | Antonym: Aggravate
Example: A tax cut may ease the burden on poor families.

5. Imported
Synonym: Foreign | Antonym: Domestic
Example: Imported oil keeps pushing up the cost of transport.

6. Festive
Synonym: Celebratory | Antonym: Gloomy
Example: Festive demand lifts the prices of sweets and flowers.

7. Rural
Synonym: Rustic | Antonym: Urban
Example: Rural families spend a larger share of income on food.

8. Precious
Synonym: Valuable | Antonym: Worthless
Example: Precious metals often rise when markets turn nervous.

9. Sellers
Synonym: Vendors | Antonym: Buyers
Example: Foreign investors turned net sellers of Indian shares.

10. Haven
Synonym: Refuge | Antonym: Hazard
Example: Investors treat gold as a haven in uncertain times.

Idioms

1. Rule out
Meaning: Say something is not possible

Editorial 2: The Sound and the Fiery: On Green Crackers, Pollution Control

Source: The Hindu

Vocabulary

1. Brace
Synonym: Prepare | Antonym: Relax
Example: Coastal towns brace for the coming cyclone.

2. Leash
Synonym: Restraint | Antonym: Freedom
Example: The regulator kept the lender on a tight leash.

3. Loosened
Synonym: Slackened | Antonym: Tightened
Example: The regulator loosened the rules for small shops.

4. Foe
Synonym: Enemy | Antonym: Ally
Example: Rising pollution is a foe that every city must fight.

5. Invoking
Synonym: Citing | Antonym: Ignoring
Example: The petitioner kept invoking an old clause of the contract.

6. Livelihoods
Synonym: Occupations | Antonym: Joblessness
Example: Floods have destroyed the livelihoods of many fishing families.

7. Peaked
Synonym: Culminated | Antonym: Bottomed out
Example: Pollution peaked a day after the festival ended.

8. Pyrrhic
Synonym: Costly | Antonym: Worthwhile
Example: Winning the case at that price was a Pyrrhic victory.

9. Toll
Synonym: Damage | Antonym: Benefit
Example: The long floods took a heavy toll on crops.

10. Gainsaying
Synonym: Denying | Antonym: Affirming
Example: There is no gainsaying the value of regular practice.

Idioms

1. Smoking gun
Meaning: Clear proof of blame

2. On a leash
Meaning: Kept under tight control

Editorial 3: There Are Plenty More Fish in the Sea

Source: The Indian Express

Vocabulary

1. Omnivorous
Synonym: All-eating | Antonym: Herbivorous
Example: Bears are omnivorous and eat berries as well as fish.

2. Palate
Synonym: Taste | Antonym: Distaste
Example: The chef designed the menu for a refined palate.

3. Monocultures
Synonym: Single-crop farms | Antonym: Polycultures
Example: Monocultures leave farms open to sudden pest attacks.

4. Ballooning
Synonym: Swelling | Antonym: Shrinking
Example: Ballooning costs forced the city to drop the project.

5. Blunts
Synonym: Dulls | Antonym: Sharpens
Example: Heavy debt blunts a firm’s ability to grow.

6. Epidemic
Synonym: Outbreak | Antonym: Eradication
Example: A cholera epidemic hit the flood-hit district.

7. Culling
Synonym: Slaughtering | Antonym: Protecting
Example: Culling of infected birds stopped the spread of flu.

8. Staples
Synonym: Basics | Antonym: Luxuries
Example: Rice and wheat remain staples in most Indian homes.

9. Wiped
Synonym: Erased | Antonym: Preserved
Example: Floods wiped out the entire paddy crop of the village.

10. Replaced
Synonym: Substituted | Antonym: Retained
Example: Digital payments have replaced cash in many small shops.

Idioms

1. Plenty of fish in the sea
Meaning: Many other options exist

2. In light of
Meaning: Considering a fact

Editorial 4: In Manipur, the Work of Peace Is Still to Be Done

Source: The Indian Express

Vocabulary

1. Schisms
Synonym: Rifts | Antonym: Unity
Example: Old schisms between the two groups resurfaced after the dispute.

2. Incapacity
Synonym: Inability | Antonym: Competence
Example: The report exposed the department’s incapacity to handle floods.

3. Heal
Synonym: Mend | Antonym: Wound
Example: Time and dialogue may heal the old divisions.

4. Ultimatum
Synonym: Final demand | Antonym: Request
Example: The union issued an ultimatum to the management.

5. Looted
Synonym: Plundered | Antonym: Returned
Example: Shops were looted during the night of unrest.

6. Demilitarise
Synonym: Disarm | Antonym: Arm
Example: Both sides agreed to demilitarise the border zone.

7. Torched
Synonym: Burnt | Antonym: Doused
Example: Rioters torched several vehicles near the market.

8. Appeals
Synonym: Pleas | Antonym: Refusals
Example: Repeated appeals for calm went unheeded.

9. Armed
Synonym: Equipped | Antonym: Unarmed
Example: Armed guards stood outside the bank.

10. Bloodshed
Synonym: Carnage | Antonym: Peace
Example: Talks were held to prevent further bloodshed in the region.

Idioms

1. Take hold
Meaning: Become firmly established

2. Fault line
Meaning: A deep division

Test Yourself – 5 Questions

Q1. Foreign portfolio selling RESUMED in October, adding to pressure on the rupee. Select the option that is the closest synonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Restarted
(B) Stopped
(C) Ended
(D) Halted
(E) Quit

Answer: A

Meaning: Resumed means started again after a break.
Logic: ‘Restarted’ is its closest synonym.
Elimination: Stopped, Ended, Halted and Quit are opposite in sense.

Q2. Delhi and the NCR must BRACE for the return of severe winter pollution. Select the option that is the closest synonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Ignore
(B) Forget
(C) Prepare
(D) Relax
(E) Dismiss

Answer: C

Meaning: Brace means to get ready for something unpleasant.
Logic: ‘Prepare’ is its closest synonym.
Elimination: Ignore, Forget, Relax and Dismiss are opposite in sense.

Q3. The editorial notes that the October hike ended a ______ in rate increases. Select the option that best fits the blank in the sentence.

(A) rhythm
(B) jersey
(C) camera
(D) pause
(E) feather

Answer: D

Meaning: Pause means a temporary stop in an activity.
Logic: the rate hike ended a break in increases.
Elimination: rhythm, jersey, camera and feather cannot be ended by a rate hike.

Q4. The regulator LOOSENED the rules for the sale of green crackers. Select the option that is the closest antonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Relaxed
(B) Eased
(C) Tightened
(D) Slackened
(E) Lifted

Answer: C

Meaning: Loosened means made less strict or less tight.
Logic: ‘Tightened’ is its closest antonym.
Elimination: Relaxed, Eased, Slackened and Lifted are all near-synonyms, not opposite.

Q5. The RBI’s special dollar facility may EASE pressure on the rupee for a while. Select the option that is the closest synonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Worsen
(B) Relieve
(C) Aggravate
(D) Intensify
(E) Heighten

Answer: B

Meaning: Ease means to make a problem less severe.
Logic: ‘Relieve’ is its closest synonym.
Elimination: Worsen, Aggravate, Intensify and Heighten are opposite in sense.

Quick Recap – Today’s Words

Broaden (Widen) | Resumed (Restarted) | Pause (Halt) | Ease (Relieve) | Imported (Foreign) | Festive (Celebratory) | Rural (Rustic) | Precious (Valuable) | Sellers (Vendors) | Haven (Refuge) | Brace (Prepare) | Leash (Restraint) | Loosened (Slackened) | Foe (Enemy) | Invoking (Citing) | Livelihoods (Occupations) | Peaked (Culminated) | Pyrrhic (Costly) | Toll (Damage) | Gainsaying (Denying) | Omnivorous (All-eating) | Palate (Taste) | Monocultures (Single-crop farms) | Ballooning (Swelling) | Blunts (Dulls) | Epidemic (Outbreak) | Culling (Slaughtering) | Staples (Basics) | Wiped (Erased) | Replaced (Substituted) | Schisms (Rifts) | Incapacity (Inability) | Heal (Mend) | Ultimatum (Final demand) | Looted (Plundered) | Demilitarise (Disarm) | Torched (Burnt) | Appeals (Pleas) | Armed (Equipped) | Bloodshed (Carnage)

Idioms: Rule out, Smoking gun, On a leash, Plenty of fish in the sea, In light of, Take hold, Fault line