31 October 2018

Furlough: Leave of absence, especially that granted to a member of the services or a missionary 

• Certainly there have been times where we could have made substantially more profits in the short term if we had furloughed people, but we didn't. (Herb Kelleher in Leader to Leader, page 48).

30 October 2018

• Propitious: Giving or indicating a good chance of success, favorable 
• Forty-three years after that propitious encounter, one of its beneficiary woke up in his two-room apartment in suburban Japan on a brilliant autumn morning, at a dawn of a new millennium, to spend a day with Dalai Lama. (Pico Iyer in The Open Road, pg 7)

25 October 2018

• Scruple: A feeling of doubt or hesitation with regard to the morality or propriety of a course of action 
• European countries show rising scruples over arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
   (Dawn)

21 October 2018

Forestall:  Prevent or obstruct (an anticipated event or action) by taking advance action. 

• Russians and Syrians warplanes pounded towns in Syria's opposition-held Idlib province on Saturday, a day after a summit of the presidents of Turkey, Iran and Russia failed to agree on a ceasefire that would forestall a Russian-backed offensive. (Dawn)

Perfunctory: Characterized by routine or superficiality

• My house filling up with familiar faces coming up to me again and again, delivering the perfunctory kiss on the cheek followed by those same words: "I am sorry for your loss." (Sheryl Sandberg)

18 October 2018

• Erstwhile: Former 
• The provinces will have to reduce their share in National Finance Commission (NFC) Award to give a three percent share for the development of erstwhile FATA.   (Dawn)