Example: A meek reform.
1. Meek [meek]
Adjective: humbly patient or docile, as under provocation from others; overly submissive or compliant; spiritless; tame; gentle; kind.
Synonyms: deferential, docile, gentle, passive, serene, subdued, submissive, timid, unassuming.
Antonyms: bold, brave, disobedient, excited, intractable, troubled, unyielding.
Example: The ascent of Saudi Arabia’s 31-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has raised hopes of radical reform.
2. Ascent [uh-sent]
Noun: an act of ascending; upward movement; a rising movement; movement upward from a lower to a higher state, degree, grade, or status; advancement; the act of climbing or traveling up; the way or means of ascending; upward slope; acclivity.
Synonyms: ascendance, ascension, climb, ascending, climbing, lift, mounting.
Antonyms: decline, descent, lowering.
3. Radical [rad-i-kuh l]
Adjective: of or going to the root or origin; fundamental; thoroughgoing or extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms; favoring drastic political, economic, or social reforms.
Synonyms: profound, basal, bottom, cardinal, constitutional, essential, native, natural, organic, original, primary.
Antonyms: inessential, minor, secondary, unimportant, unnatural, conservative, extrinsic, moderate.
Example: Last year, the prince vowed to roll back government and unleash market forces.
4. Vow [vou]
Noun: a solemn promise, pledge, or personal commitment; a vow of secrecy; a solemn promise made to a deity or saint committing oneself to an act, service, or condition; a solemn or earnest declaration.
Verb: to make a vow of; promise by a vow, as to God or a saint; to pledge or resolve solemnly to do, make, give, observe, etc.
Synonyms: assertion, oath, pledge, affiance, asseveration, profession, troth.
Antonyms: break, breach.
5. Unleash [uhn-leesh]
Verb: to release from or as if from a leash; set loose to pursue or run at will; to abandon control of.
Synonyms: discharge, free, release, vent.
Antonyms: hold, keep, restrain.
Example: A free labour market, along with a free private sector, will help the economy become nimble and might even lead to a diverse Saudi economy.
6. Nimble [nim-buh l]
Adjective: quick and light in movement; moving with ease; agile; active; rapid; quick to understand, think, devise, etc; cleverly contrived.
Synonyms: adept, adroit, agile, bright, deft, lithe, lively, quick, skillful.
Antonyms: awkward, clumsy, ignorant, inept, slow, sluggish, stiff, stupid.
Example: Take, for example, the fact that Indian banks need to accept significant haircuts to resolve the NPA cases as several of them are in sectors where market conditions are in a slump, such as steel, power and textiles.
7. Slump [sluhmp]
Verb: to drop or fall heavily; collapse; to assume a slouching, bowed, or bent position or posture; to decrease or fall suddenly and markedly, as prices or the market; to decline or deteriorate, as health, business, quality, or efficiency; to sink into a bog, muddy place, etc., or through ice or snow.
Synonyms: collapse, crash, depreciation, dip, downtrend, downturn, drop, fall, low.
Antonyms: ascent, increase, rise, blessing, boon, happiness, success.
Example: Promoters understand this conundrum and have used it to their advantage in the past.
8. Conundrum [kuh-nuhn-druh m]
Noun: a riddle, the answer to which involves a pun or play on words; anything that puzzles.
Synonyms: enigma, mystery, riddle, brain-teaser, mystification, poser, problem, puzzlement.
Example: Govt. to shed stake in loss-making AI.
9. Shed [shed]
Verb: to fall off, as leaves; to drop out, as hair, seed, grain, etc.; to cast off hair, feathers, skin, or other covering or parts by natural process.
Noun: (on a loom) a triangular, transverse opening created between raised and lowered warp threads through which the shuttle passes in depositing the loose pick.
Synonyms: discard, drop, jettison, scrap, slip, take off.
Antonyms: keep, catch, collect, conceal, gather, hide, receive.
Example: The Narendra Modi government on Wednesday took the first step towards divesting its stake in ailing national carrier Air India.
10. Divest [dih-vest, dahy-]
Verb: to strip of ornament, etc.; to strip or deprive (someone or something), especially of property or rights; dispossess; to rid of or free from.
Synonyms: bankrupt, deprive, dismantle, rob, unload, bare, bereave, bleed, denudate.
Antonyms: give, offer, clothe, cover, hide, hold, keep.
