Y10W14VC Theme Words — Misinformation & democracy

To erode means to gradually wear away or weaken something, either physically or figuratively through sustained pressure, neglect, or the passage of time.

Word family: erosion (n.), eroded (adj.)

Example: Repeated exposure to misinformation erodes public trust in legitimate sources of scientific and political authority.

Synonyms: wear away, undermine, diminish

Collocations: erode trust, erode confidence, erode support

Credibility is the quality of being trusted and believed, based on evidence, reliability, and a record of accurate and honest communication.

Word Breakdown: cred- (from Latin credere, meaning ‘to believe’)

Word family: credible (adj.), credibly (adv.)

Example: Repeated inaccuracies damaged the publication’s credibility, causing readers to question even well-sourced stories.

Synonyms: trustworthiness, reliability, authority

Collocations: undermine credibility, established credibility, question credibility

As an adjective, deliberate means done consciously and intentionally rather than by accident. As a verb, to deliberate means to consider something carefully before making a decision.

Word Breakdown: -ate (suffix functioning as both adjective and verb ending)

Word family: deliberately (adv.), deliberation (n.)

Example: The spread of deliberate misinformation represents a direct threat to the integrity of democratic processes.

Synonyms: intentional, calculated, conscious

Collocations: deliberate attempt, deliberate distortion, deliberate falsehood

To marginalise means to treat a person, group, or viewpoint as peripheral or unimportant, pushing them to the edges of public life or discourse.

Word Breakdown: mar- (from Latin margo, meaning ‘edge’ or ‘margin’)

Word family: marginalisation (n.), marginalised (adj.)

Example: Algorithms that promote outrage marginalise moderate voices, amplifying extreme positions instead.

Synonyms: exclude, sideline, silence

Collocations: marginalise communities, marginalised voices, further marginalise

To silence means to forcibly prevent someone from speaking or expressing their views, often through power, intimidation, or systemic exclusion.

Word family: silenced (adj.)

Example: Authoritarian governments often use legal mechanisms to silence opposition journalists and independent media outlets.

Synonyms: suppress, mute, shut down

Collocations: silence dissent, silence critics, systematically silenced

To exclude means to deliberately leave someone or something out, preventing their participation or inclusion in a group, process, or set of ideas.

Word Breakdown: ex- (prefix meaning ‘out’ or ‘outside’)

Word family: exclusion (n.), exclusive (adj.)

Example: Digital citizenship education that excludes those without reliable internet access risks widening existing inequalities.

Synonyms: omit, bar, shut out

Collocations: exclude from, excluded population, systematically exclude

To suppress means to prevent something from being known, expressed, or developed, often through the exercise of authority or power.

Word Breakdown: sup- (prefix meaning ‘under’, variant of sub-)

Word family: suppression (n.), suppressive (adj.)

Example: Governments that suppress investigative journalism undermine the democratic mechanisms that hold power to account.

Synonyms: stifle, silence, crush

Collocations: suppress the truth, suppress evidence, suppress dissent

To displace means to move something or someone from its usual position, or to replace one thing with another, pushing it out of its former place.

Word Breakdown: dis- (prefix meaning ‘away’ or ‘apart’)

Word family: displacement (n.), displaced (adj.)

Example: Social media has increasingly displaced traditional journalism as the primary source of news for younger audiences.

Synonyms: replace, remove, shift

Collocations: displace workers, displace communities, displace trusted sources

‘In other words’ is used in academic writing to restate or clarify a preceding point in simpler or more precise language, ensuring the reader understands the meaning intended.

Example: The data shows that only a small fraction of the population controls the majority of the nation’s wealth; in other words, economic inequality is extreme.

Synonyms: that is to say, to put it differently, to clarify

Collocations: in other words, the, in other words