English Vocabulary Set-6 by Neerja Raheja

Table of Contents

Agitprop

Meaning: Political propaganda promulgated chiefly in literature, drama, music or art

Etymology/ Origin: It is borrowed from the Russian word Agitacionnopropagandistskij otdel”Agitation-Propaganda Section. It was first used in 1938 as a combination of two words: agitation and propaganda. The goal was to spread the ideals of communism throughout the world

Usage: The conservative agitprop is pervasively critical of the new regime

Pause and solve

Which of the following is the best example of agitprop?

A piece of music played during a party
A painting showing a politician in a positive light
A romantic comedy with an unusual twist at the end
An tragedy with a happy ending

Antifa

Noun

Meaning: A political protest movement comprising of autonomous groups affiliated by their militant opposition to fascism and other forms of extreme right wing ideology; refers to anyone or anything opposed to fascism

Usage: The antifa enthusiasts have garnered mass criticism due to their allegiance with violence The bad press acquired by antifa activists is due to the misleading details about how they engage in violent protests

Origin: It is the short of anti-fascist; antifa activists are often willing to engage in violence or the destruction of property making them controversial figures It was coined in German prior to the beginning of the second world war as an equivalent shortening of antifashistisch that was used to refer to opponents of the fascist Nazi party

Low-hanging fruit

Meaning: Doing the simplest or easiest work first or for a quick fix that produces ripe, delectable results; in sales it means a target that is easy to achieve; a problem that is easy to solve; the most easily achieved of a set of tasks, measures, goals, etc

Usage: We should finish the project work as it is a low hanging fruit which can fetch us more marks in the internals

serendipity

Meaning: By fluke; good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries; when you accidentally find something good

Usage: It was sheer serendipity when I accidentally discovered a two thousand rupee note from my old wallet We have all experienced the serendipity of relevant information arriving when we are least expecting it .

Origin: Serendipity was created by a British nobleman in the mid 1700s from an ancient Persian fairy tale. (coined by Horace Walpole) The meaning of the word, good luck in finding valuable things unintentionally, refers to the fairy tale characters who were always making discoveries through chance. For instance if you find a pencil at an empty desk just as you walk into an exam and realize that you forgot yours.

Pause and solve:

Which of the following would be considered an instance of serendipity?

Diving into the swimming pool
Hearing a church bell
Finding money and gold on the ground

disinformation:

Noun

Meaning: False information supplied by a government to the media with the intention of influencing the policies or opinions of those who receive it

Usage: The entire government apparatus has been systematically manipulated with disinformation The disinformation supplied by the political parties results in the proliferation of inauthentic data