Word Meaning

Decadent - characterized by or reflecting a state of moral or cultural decline (Syn - dissolute, dissipated, degenerate, corrupt).

Ex - Most of the earlier intruders who came to India had settled within her frontiers, were absorbed by her superior culture and had become part of the land and its people. However, the British conquest was different. It came at a time when India, in contrast to an enlightened Europe of the eighteenth century affected in every aspect by science and scientific outlook, presented the picture of a stagnant civilisation and decadent society.

Obscurantism - the practice of deliberately preventing the facts or full details of something from becoming known.

Ex - Indian society in the nineteenth century was caught in vicious web created by religious superstitions and social obscurantism.

Clemency - mercy, lenience.
Ex - R&AW top officer B. Raman favouring clemency to Memon for co-operating with investigating agencies to unravel the blasts probe

animism - the attribution of a living soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.
Ex - Hinduism had become a compound of magic, animism and superstition.

deceptive - giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.(Syn - misleading, illusory, illusive, delusive)
Ex  - The priests exercised an overwhelming, and indeed, unhealthy influences on the minds of the people. Idoltary and polytheism helped to reinforce their position, and their monopoly of scriptural knowledge imparted a deceptive character to all religious systems.

debilitate - make (someone) very weak and infirm.
Ex - Another debilitating factor was caste.

Word Meaning

inextricably - Inextricably is an adverb that means in a manner that is impossible to unravel or separate from something else.
mite - a minute arachnid that has four pairs of legs when adult, related to the ticks. Many kinds live in the soil and a number are parasitic on plants or animals.
Ex- The pre-Aryans, the Indo Aryans, the Greeks, the Scythians, the Hunas the Turks, etc. made India their home. Each ethnic group contributed its mite to the evolution of Indian social system, art and architecture, and literature. All these peoples and their cultural traits mixed up so inextricably with one another that at present none of them can be clearly identified in their original form.

clamour -  a loud and confused noise, especially that of people shouting vehemently.
vehement - marked by forceful energy : powerful.
Ex- some people clamour for the restoration of ancient culture and civilization.

encumber - restrict or burden (someone or something) in such a way that free action or movement is difficult.
Ex- We cannot ignore the fact that the ancient Indian society was marked by social injustice. The lower orders, particularly the shudras and untouchables, were encumbered with disabilities which are shocking to the modern mind.

Vestige - a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists.
Ex- India cannot develop speedily unless such vestiges of the past are removed from its society.

vicious - deliberately cruel or violent.
Ex- The caste system was considered to be the most vicious form of social discrimination.

antagonism - active hostility or opposition.
Ex- The British in India had always held aloof from the Indians believing that social distance from Indians had to be maintained to preserve authority over them. They also felt themselves to be racially superior. This is the case of 'Racial Antagonism'.

repudiate - deny the truth or validity of.
Ex- The Brahmo Samaj made effort to reform Hindu religion by removing abuses and by basing it on the worship of one God and on the teachings of the Vedas and Upanishads even though it repudiated the doctrine of the infalliability of the Vedas.

penchant - a strong or habitual liking for something or tendency to do something.
Ex- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has a penchant for selfies, on Friday clicked one with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang in what could be termed as a power- packed selfie with premiers of two big nations in one frame.

Word meaning

Pertinent - relevant or applicable to particular matter; apposite; appropriate

Ex- The pertinent section is below, but you can read all the sections.

Uprecedented - never done or known before;unheard of;unknown;revolutionary;ground-breaking;pioneering

Ex- Indian coal worker went on strike of unprecedented nature.

Particularly - extremely; to a higher degree than is usual or average

Divisive - tending to cause disagreement or hostility between people

Ex- Awami League has set up war tribunals that sentenced death to several senior leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami and life terms to others including BNP leaders, has proved particularly divisive.

Peter out-  end weakly.

Ex- India also took steps to modernize its economy in 1980s but petered out.

Outlay - an amount of money spent on something.

Disburse - pay out

Ex- The Kerry-Lugar Bill lapsed in September,2014 but only half of the $7.5 billion outlay has been disbursed so far.

Unviable - not capable of working successfully; not feasible
Ex- The objective of the Saudi Arabia is to render the U.S. shale production unviable .

Intimidate - frighten or overawe (someone), especially in order to make them do what one wants ;  to make timid or fearful.

Ex- Mr. Tharoor said a police officer had repeatedly assaulted his domestic help to intimidate him into giving a statement that the two of them had murdered Sunanda. 

mendicant - beggar.
Ex- A large number of uprooted and homeless people joined Hindu or Muslim groups of religious mendicants, known as Sanyasi or Faqirs.

caricature - a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated in order to create a comic or grotesque effect.
Ex- Not to be intimidated, Charlie Hebdo publications continued to caricature Islam even after firebombing in 2011, just as it also persistently criticise Christianity and Judaism.

repose - be situated or kept in a particular place(verb); a state of rest, sleep, or tranquility(noun)
Ex- Mr. rajpaksha believed that Sihalese would once again repose their faith in him as the President.

imperious - arrogant and domineering
Ex- 18th Amendment, which made the office of the president of Sri Lanka enormously powerful and imperious.

amalgamation - the action, process, or result of combining or uniting
Ex- The shareholders of Kotak Mahindra Bank and ING Vysya have approved the amalgamation of ING Vysya with Kotak Mahindra Bank.

decisive - settling a matter or conflict; conclusive
Ex- The Arabs were decisively defeated by the Chalukya rulers of Gujarat in 738 and ceased to be a real danger.

impetus - the force or energy with which a body moves
Ex- The project will not only create thousands of jobs, but also provide a much-need impetus to the country's electrification programmes through solar energy.

nasty - highly unpleasant, especially to the senses.
Ex- Days before the model code of conduct goes into effect for the panchayat polls in Rajasthan, the BJP-led government sprang a nasty surprise.The governor promulgated the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment) Ordinance, 2014, which stipulates a minimum education qualification of secondary education (Class X) for candidates contesting zila parishad or panchayat samiti polls, and Class VIII pass to be eligible to run for the post of sarpanch

outfit - a group of people undertaking a particular activity together, especially a group of musicians, a team, or a business concern; organisation; set-up; enterprise; company; firm.
Ex- Under Fazlullah, who took charge of the terrorist outfit in November 2013, its militants claimed responsibility for the December 16, 2014 attack on Peshawar school killing at least 148 individuals, mostly students.

iron out - to ease a problem; to smooth out a problem.
Ex- New and Renewable Energy minister Piyush Goyal is confident of ironing out issue with the U.S. officials, while maintaining that India is committed to its recently announced target of 1,00,000 MW solar power by 2022.

transgression - an act that goes against a law, rule, or code of conduct; an offense.
Ex- Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami has been given marching order by the Narendra Modi government for trying to stall the arrest of Matang Sinh by speaking directly to Central Bureau of Investigation officers. With this the Modi government has sent out a strong signal to bureaucrats that the government will not tolerate such transgressions.

impropriety - a failure to observe standards or show due honesty or modesty; improper language, behavior, or character.
Ex- It is believed that the CBI Director produced enough material evidence to prove the impropriety of the Home Secretary in trying to stall the arrest of former Union Minister Matang Sinh in connection with the Saradha Scam.