21 August 2026 | FREE Editorial PDF

Date: 21-Aug-2026

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All words from today’s editorials, in one place.

EDITORIAL 1: VOTE OF TRUST: ON TRUMP’S APPRECIATION, CLEAN ELECTORAL ROLLS IN INDIA

Source: The Hindu

Vocabulary

Vocabs	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Divisive	Causing disagreement or hostility between people	Contentious	Unifying
Simple Example: Election integrity has become a highly divisive debate in both democracies.
Fragmented	Broken up into separate, disconnected parts	Disjointed	Unified
Simple Example: The US electoral process is governed by fragmented rules across different states.
Partisan	Strongly favouring one particular party or cause, often unfairly	Biased	Impartial
Simple Example: Partisan politics in both countries has fostered deep political mistrust.
Mistrust	A lack of trust or confidence in someone or something	Suspicion	Confidence
Simple Example: Partisan politics has bred lasting political mistrust among voters.
Streamline	To make a process simpler and more efficient	Simplify	Complicate
Simple Example: Both political strands want to streamline the electoral rolls, but in different ways.
Contradictory	Opposed to or inconsistent with something else	Conflicting	Consistent
Simple Example: Reform efforts in both countries pull in contradictory directions.
Decentralised	Organised so that authority is distributed away from a central point	Devolved	Centralised
Simple Example: The US’s decentralised electoral system leaves many enrolment loopholes.
Loopholes	Ambiguities or gaps that allow rules to be circumvented	Gaps	Safeguards
Simple Example: America’s decentralised system leaves too many loopholes in voter enrolment.
Weaponise	To use something as a means of attack or control	Exploit	Neutralise
Simple Example: The state must not selectively weaponise clean-roll requirements against opponents.
Nativist	Favouring the interests of native-born inhabitants over immigrants	Chauvinistic	Cosmopolitan
Simple Example: Conservative and nativist strands in both countries want to purify the electoral rolls.

Idioms

No idioms found in the editorial.

EDITORIAL 2: DUE DILIGENCE: ON SURROGATE ADVERTISING

Source: The Hindu

Vocabulary

Vocabs	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Counterpoise	A force or influence that balances or offsets another	Counterbalance	Reinforcement
Simple Example: Mundhe’s action is an encouraging counterpoise to today’s advertising landscape.
Asymmetry	A lack of balance or equality between two sides	Imbalance	Parity
Simple Example: The advertising landscape suffers from a gross asymmetry between persuasion and consequence.
Endorsement	Public approval or support of a product by a well-known figure	Backing	Disapproval
Simple Example: Celebrities’ endorsement of Vimal Elaichi is being probed as a surrogate for tobacco.
Inequities	Situations that are unfair or unjust	Injustices	Fairness
Simple Example: Uncritical endorsement is sustained partly by inequities in the health-care system.
Commendable	Deserving of praise	Praiseworthy	Blameworthy
Simple Example: Mr. Mundhe’s efforts to curb surrogate advertising are commendable.
Withstand	To remain unharmed or unaffected by something challenging	Endure	Succumb
Simple Example: The FDA’s inquiries must withstand judicial scrutiny to succeed.
Unsubstantiated	Not supported or proven by evidence	Unproven	Verified
Simple Example: Products making unsubstantiated claims, such as boosting immunity, face similar scrutiny.
Overreach	The act of going beyond acceptable or reasonable limits	Excess	Restraint
Simple Example: Unfair enforcement could become another example of regulatory overreach.
Undermined	Weakened gradually or covertly	Weakened	Strengthened
Simple Example: Endorser liability has undermined celebrities’ ability to plead ignorance.
Exemplified	Shown or illustrated by example	Illustrated	Contradicted
Simple Example: The problem exemplified by tobacco also extends to unsubstantiated health products.

Idioms

No idioms found in the editorial.

EDITORIAL 3: BECAUSE PARENTS, TOO, LIKE TO PLAY

Source: The Indian Express

Vocabulary

Vocabs	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Arsenal	A range of resources or tools available for a particular purpose	Repository	Void
Simple Example: Governments reach for the familiar arsenal of cash bonuses and tax breaks.
Glean	To extract information or insight, often gradually	Extract	Conceal
Simple Example: Other governments could glean something from NYC’s parental-leisure initiative.
Radical	Departing markedly from the usual or traditional	Revolutionary	Conventional
Simple Example: There is something radical about treating leisure as a parental right.
Privilege	A special right or advantage available only to some	Entitlement	Right
Simple Example: The scheme treats leisure as a parental right, not a privilege.
Dismissed	Regarded as not worthy of serious consideration	Disregarded	Valued
Simple Example: Leisure and companionship are easily dismissed as private luxuries.
Anxious	Feeling worried or apprehensive about an outcome	Apprehensive	Assured
Simple Example: Governments anxious about falling birth rates offer cash incentives to parents.
Rare	Not occurring often; uncommon	Uncommon	Frequent
Simple Example: The initiative gave parents the rare chance to go out on a date.
Unfamiliar	Not previously experienced or encountered	Unaccustomed	Familiar
Simple Example: Parents savoured the unfamiliar luxury of having nowhere they needed to be.
Inhabit	To occupy or exist within a particular state or place	Occupy	Vacate
Simple Example: For a few hours, parents could simply inhabit a life without obligations.
Luxury	Something desirable but not essential, often hard to obtain	Indulgence	Necessity
Simple Example: Free time became an unfamiliar luxury for busy parents.

Idioms

No idioms found in the editorial.

EDITORIAL 4: CHATGPT FOR TEENS IS A STEP FORWARD. IT’S NOT ENOUGH

Source: The Indian Express

Vocabulary

Vocabs	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Pernicious	Having a harmful effect, often in a gradual or subtle way	Damaging	Beneficial
Simple Example: For developing adolescents, AI’s mimicry of empathy often proves pernicious.
Anthropomorphic	Attributing human characteristics to something non-human	Humanlike	Mechanical
Simple Example: AI’s highly responsive, anthropomorphic quality can mislead young users.
Formidable	Inspiring fear or respect through being powerful or challenging	Daunting	Manageable
Simple Example: For young users, the dangers posed by AI are formidable.
Overdue	Not done or arriving by the expected or necessary time	Belated	Timely
Simple Example: ChatGPT for Teens is a welcome, if overdue, intervention.
Wilfully	Deliberately and often stubbornly	Deliberately	Unintentionally
Simple Example: Big Tech has consistently, and often wilfully, ignored young users’ distinct needs.
Vulnerabilities	Weaknesses that leave someone open to harm	Weaknesses	Strengths
Simple Example: Meta is accused of exploiting young users’ vulnerabilities to boost engagement.
Foolproof	Incapable of going wrong or being misused	Infallible	Flawed
Simple Example: OpenAI’s new safeguards for teens are not entirely foolproof.
Unchecked	Not controlled or restrained	Unrestrained	Regulated
Simple Example: There is a global pushback against the unchecked rollout of AI to children.
Patchwork	A varied combination of different, often incomplete, parts	Mosaic	Uniformity
Simple Example: India relies on a patchwork of laws to govern AI use by minors.
Sustained	Continued over an extended period without interruption	Prolonged	Intermittent
Simple Example: These safety protections arrived only after sustained public pressure.

Idioms

No idioms found in the editorial.

EDITORIAL 5: CANCEL WITH CAUTION, LIVELIHOODS ARE AT STAKE

Source: The Indian Express

Vocabulary

Vocabs	Simple Meaning	Synonym	Antonym
Dwindling	Gradually decreasing in size, amount or strength	Diminishing	Growing
Simple Example: The crisis reflects dysfunctional systems and dwindling employment opportunities.
Unconscionable	Not right or reasonable; unacceptably excessive	Excessive	Reasonable
Simple Example: Successful candidates had already suffered unconscionable delays before their appointment.
Limbo	A state of being left in an uncertain, unresolved position	Uncertainty	Resolution
Simple Example: Cancelled appointees now find themselves again in limbo.
Arduous	Involving great effort and difficulty	Strenuous	Effortless
Simple Example: It has been an arduous journey from Jantar Mantar to Ranchi for the protesters.
Stringent	Strict and rigorously enforced	Rigorous	Lax
Simple Example: Candidates who cleared stringent tests should not be discriminated against.
Discriminated	Treated unfairly, especially based on prejudice rather than merit	Disadvantaged	Favoured
Simple Example: Those who cleared court-upheld exams must not be discriminated against.
Frittered	Wasted gradually and carelessly, especially an opportunity	Squandered	Conserved
Simple Example: It would be tragic if this reform momentum were frittered away.
Blunt	Lacking subtlety or precision; crude in effect	Crude	Nuanced
Simple Example: Blanket cancellation of exams is arguably a blunt instrument for reform.
Skirts	Avoids dealing directly with something, such as an issue	Evades	Confronts
Simple Example: A blanket cancellation skirts vital distinctions between fair and compromised results.
Momentum	The strength or force gained by continued development or action	Impetus	Inertia
Simple Example: Protesters must ensure this reform momentum is not lost.

Idioms

Idiom	Actual Meaning	Simple Meaning
Gather steam	To gain increasing strength, speed or support over time	To pick up momentum and grow stronger

Test Yourself — 5 Questions

Answer all before you scroll down — then comment your score below!

Q1. Election integrity has become a highly DIVISIVE debate in both India and the United States, the editorial notes. Select the option that is the closest synonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Contentious   (B) Unifying   (C) Settled   (D) Trivial   (E) Agreeable

Answer: A

Meaning: Divisive means causing disagreement or hostility between people. Logic: ‘Contentious’ is its closest synonym. Elimination: Unifying, Settled, Trivial and Agreeable all convey harmony or unimportance, the opposite sense.

Q2. (A) Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s attempt to disrupt the marketing chain, by targeting celebrities who prop up brand recall, is an encouraging counterpoise to today’s advertising landscape, / (B) which have long suffered the consequences of a gross asymmetry between persuasive power and economic downsides, / (C) a situation sustained as much by uncritical endorsement as by inequities in the public health-care system, / (D) though the FDA must still prove its suspicions before any penalty can be imposed. Identify the segment containing the grammatical error.

(A) (A)   (B) (B)   (C) (C)   (D) (D)   (E) No error

Answer: B

Meaning: The segment contains a subject-verb agreement error. Logic: the singular subject ‘landscape’ requires ‘has long suffered’, not ‘have long suffered’. Elimination: segments A, C and D are grammatically correct.

Q3. Partisan politics in both countries has fostered deep political MISTRUST, the editorial observes. Select the option that is the closest synonym of the word given in capitals as used in the passage.

(A) Confidence   (B) Suspicion   (C) Respect   (D) Loyalty   (E) Assurance

Answer: B

Meaning: Mistrust means a lack of trust or confidence in someone or something. Logic: ‘Suspicion’ is its closest synonym. Elimination: Confidence, Respect, Loyalty and Assurance all convey trust, the opposite sense.

Q4. Identify the correctly spelt word among the options below.

(A) Assymetry   (B) Asymmetry   (C) Asymmetrey   (D) Asymetry   (E) Asimmetry

Answer: B

Meaning: Asymmetry means a lack of balance or equality between two sides. Logic: ‘Asymmetry’ correctly spells the prefix ‘a-‘ plus ‘symmetry’. Elimination: the remaining options double, drop or transpose a letter incorrectly.

Q5. Both liberal and conservative strands want to ______ the electoral rolls, though in different and often contradictory ways, the editorial notes. Select the option that best fits the blank in the sentence.

(A) Complicate   (B) Obscure   (C) Politicise   (D) Duplicate   (E) Streamline

Answer: E

Meaning: ‘Streamline’ means to make a process simpler and more efficient, matching the editorial’s account of both strands’ shared aim. Logic: fits the sense of purifying and simplifying the rolls. Elimination: Complicate, Obscure, Politicise and Duplicate do not fit a shared aim of simplification.

How many did you get right? Comment your score below — we read every one!

Quick Recap — Today’s Words

Divisive (Contentious) | Fragmented (Disjointed) | Partisan (Biased) | Mistrust (Suspicion) | Streamline (Simplify) | Contradictory (Conflicting) | Decentralised (Devolved) | Loopholes (Gaps) | Weaponise (Exploit) | Nativist (Chauvinistic) | Counterpoise (Counterbalance) | Asymmetry (Imbalance) | Endorsement (Backing) | Inequities (Injustices) | Commendable (Praiseworthy) | Withstand (Endure) | Unsubstantiated (Unproven) | Overreach (Excess) | Undermined (Weakened) | Exemplified (Illustrated) | Arsenal (Repository) | Glean (Extract) | Radical (Revolutionary) | Privilege (Entitlement) | Dismissed (Disregarded) | Anxious (Apprehensive) | Rare (Uncommon) | Unfamiliar (Unaccustomed) | Inhabit (Occupy) | Luxury (Indulgence) | Pernicious (Damaging) | Anthropomorphic (Humanlike) | Formidable (Daunting) | Overdue (Belated) | Wilfully (Deliberately) | Vulnerabilities (Weaknesses) | Foolproof (Infallible) | Unchecked (Unrestrained) | Patchwork (Mosaic) | Sustained (Prolonged) | Dwindling (Diminishing) | Unconscionable (Excessive) | Limbo (Uncertainty) | Arduous (Strenuous) | Stringent (Rigorous) | Discriminated (Disadvantaged) | Frittered (Squandered) | Blunt (Crude) | Skirts (Evades) | Momentum (Impetus)

Idioms: Gather steam

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