This Week in Words: March 10 - 16, 2018

No time to scour the headlines or watch the news? No problem! We’ve rounded up the top words heard, read, debated, and discussed this week.

This was a week of upheaval. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired on the eve of diplomatic negotiations with North Korea, possibly imperiling those talks. The president's personal assistant was also let go, as the cadre of Trump's trusted advisors gets smaller and smaller. There was more chaos in Syria, as the citizens there brace for even more fighting and reconciliation in their civil war seems unlikely.

Take a look back at the week that was, vocabulary style.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. enclave
    an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct
    The Syrian regime has seized more than half of a rebel enclave outside Damascus that has been under a tightening military and economic siege, part of a final onslaught on one of the last areas held by forces that have fought for seven years to topple President Bashar al-Assad. - The Wall Street Journal (Mar 11, 2018)
    The Syrian civil war continues with government forces gaining territory this week. The Syrian military attacked one of the rebel's last strongholds — a move that could lead to a decisive victory for President Assad and his regime.
  2. modest
    limited in size or scope
    The proposal to raise the minimum age for buying guns from 18 to 21 was not part of a modest set of gun safety proposals announced on Sunday night by Trump administration officials, which included training teachers to carry guns in schools and improving background checks. -Reuters (Mar 12, 2018)
    The Trump administration announced a new set of gun safety proposals, and it does not include some of the measures which were discussed in the wake of the Florida school shooting last month. Notably absent from the proposal were a provision to raise the legal age to buy a gun and any closing of the loopholes in the background check laws already on the books.
  3. mantle
    the layer of the earth between the crust and the core
    Pockets of water may lie as deep as 500 Miles into the earth’s mantle, unique diamond impurities reveal. -newsweek.com (Mar 12, 2018)
    Scientists have discovered that a type of water thought only to exist in outer space does in fact have a presence on earth, inside the earth's mantle. The frozen water, known as Ice VII, is revealed by irregularities in the structure of diamonds also found deep inside the earth. The types of ice are distinguished by their molecular structure, some configurations of which can only be formed under intense pressure, like the kind that forms diamonds.
  4. reconciliation
    the reestablishment of cordial relations
    Joon Won founded the orchestra in 2009 to promote reconciliation. He dreams of organizing a performance with musicians and singers from both sides of the border. - goodnewsnetwork.org (Mar 12, 2018)
    The talks between North Korea and the United States on nuclear disarmament may or may not happen, but an orchestra has been showing the way towards peace for nine years. The Lindenbaum Festival Orchestra has played concerts on the border between North and South Korea, in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), in hopes that the beauty of music will open the lines of communication.
  5. meddle
    intrude in other people's affairs or business
    There are still two committees in the Senate that are investigating Russia's 2016 election meddling: the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees. -cnn.com (Mar 12, 2018)
    The House Intelligence Committee released a report this week which finds no evidence of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 election. The report has been the subject of much partisan debate, with Democrats mocking the report's findings because the proper witnesses were not called to testify. Republicans have defended their inquiry as thorough, claiming that what the Democrats really want is a witch hunt which embarrasses the president at all costs.
  6. imperil
    pose a threat to; present a danger to
    President Donald Trump blocked Singapore chipmaker Broadcom from pursuing a hostile takeover of U.S. rival Qualcomm, ruling the proposed combination would imperil national security. - The Chicago Tribune (Mar 13, 2018)
    The Trump Administration this week intervened in a proposed deal between computer chip makers Broadcom and Qualcomm. Broadcom had offered to buy Qualcomm for $117 billion dollars but the president has indicated he would not let the deal proceed, citing national security concerns. Broadcom is based in Singapore, and Qualcomm's products are in such wide use throughout the United States that to have that much power over the chip market in a foreign company's hands may be dangerous.
  7. brace
    prepare for something unpleasant or difficult
    The officials said they are bracing for more staff changes, citing Trump's comment Tuesday as he prepared to fly to California: "I'm really at a point where we're getting very close to having the Cabinet and other things that I want."- USA Today (Mar 13, 2018)
    Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was fired this week after a brief, tumultuous term. C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo is President Trump's nominee for Secretary of State. Mr. Pompeo will have to be approved by Congress before he can officially assume the role.
  8. clandestine
    conducted with or marked by hidden aims or methods
    As a clandestine officer at the Central Intelligence Agency in 2002, Gina Haspel oversaw the torture of two terrorism suspects and later took part in an order to destroy videotapes documenting their brutal interrogations at a secret prison in Thailand. -The New York Times (Mar 13, 2018)
    When C.I.A. Director Mike Pompeo becomes Secretary of State, the current "number two" at the C.I.A., Gina Haspel, is expected to ascend to fill the vacancy left by Pompeo's departure. Haspel would be the first woman to head the C.I.A. There are already some concerns about Ms. Haspel's conduct in the past, and whether she was involved in overseeing interrogations that amounted to torture. This concern is bound to arise at Haspel's congressional confirmation hearings.
  9. cadre
    a small unit serving as part of a larger political movement
    Over the course of the chaotic campaign, Mr. McEntee became close with Mr. Trump and joined the small cadre of loyal, trusted aides around him. - The New York Times (Mar 13, 2018)
    President Trump's personal assistant was fired this week amid an investigation into his finances. John McEntee was the staffer who travelled everywhere with the president. Mr. McEntee was immediately hired to work on the Trump's 2020 reelection campaign as a senior advisor.
  10. galvanize
    stimulate to action
    The walkout has galvanized teens nationwide and raised big questions for schools about how to handle protests. - npr.org (Mar 14, 2018)
    To protest gun violence in America, students across the country walked out of school on Wednesday morning. Although the activities surrounding the walkout varied from region to region, many included commemoration of those killed in the school shooting in Parkland, Florida last month. Other student groups marched to their statehouses to demand stricter gun control laws, which they see as essential to stopping the violence.
Created on Sun Mar 11 20:37:53 EDT 2018 (updated Thu Mar 15 16:33:17 EDT 2018)

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