BharatNotes Vicissitude
noun (usually plural: vicissitudes)Usage in a UPSC answer
A resilient welfare architecture must cushion the poorest households against the vicissitudes of the market, ensuring that a sudden price shock or a failed monsoon does not push the vulnerable into irreversible destitution.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Word Family
vicissitudes (n pl), vicissitudinous (adj), vicissitudinary (adj, rare)
Root
Latin vicissitudo = change, alternation; from vicissim = by turns; from vicis = a turn, change
Etymology
Early 17th-century English, from French, or from Latin vicissitudo "change, alternation," from vicissim "by turns, in turn," from vicis "a turn, change, alternation."
Memory Hook
Think of the Latin root vicis ('turn, change') seen in 'vice-versa' (the order turned around) - vicissitude is life turning, again and again, by turns of fortune.
How This Word Works in UPSC Writing
A change of circumstance or fortune, typically unwelcome and outside one's control. It is a formal word for the ups and downs of a long process, and it fits GS1 narratives of movements that advanced and receded over decades. Usually plural in practice, as in the vicissitudes of the national movement.
Don’t Confuse It With
Vicissitude is a change of fortune, often adverse. Fluctuation is neutral variation. Adversity is hardship itself rather than the change producing it. Upheaval is a large disruptive change rather than the ordinary turning of circumstance.
Hindi Meaning
उतार-चढ़ाव (utār-chadhāv) or भाग्य परिवर्तन.
Common Questions
- What does vicissitude mean?
- A change of circumstance or fortune, typically one that is unwelcome and beyond a person's control.
- Is vicissitude usually singular or plural?
- Usually plural, as in the vicissitudes of a long struggle, describing a sequence of changing fortunes.
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