BharatNotes Ballistic
adjectiveUsage in a UPSC answer
India's induction of submarine-launched ballistic missiles has fundamentally recalibrated the subcontinent's deterrence calculus, furnishing a credible second-strike capability that underpins its declared no-first-use doctrine.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
ballistic (adj), ballistics (n), ballistician (n), ballistically (adv), antiballistic (adj)
Root
Greek ballein (to throw) → Latin ballista (siege engine for throwing) + -ic; missile sense from 1949.
Etymology
From Latin ballista ("a military siege engine for throwing stones") + -ic, ultimately from Greek ballein ("to throw"); first used in English in the mid-18th century, with the missile-related sense emerging in 1949.
Memory Hook
Think of a BALL thrown hard — the Greek root "ballein" means "to throw"; a ballistic object follows the arc of a hurled ball, and an angry person "thrown" into a rage "goes ballistic".
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