English II: "Eulogy for President Reagan" by Margaret Thatcher

Ronald Reagan served as the 40th president of the United States in the 1980s. At his funeral in 2004, former U.K. prime minister Margaret Thatcher shared what the loss of her friend meant to her.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. daunting
    discouraging through fear
    In his lifetime, Ronald Reagan was such a cheerful and invigorating presence that it was easy to forget what daunting historic tasks he set himself.
  2. aftermath
    the consequences of an event, especially a catastrophic one
    In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria one great heart at least remained sane and jocular.
  3. hysteria
    excessive or uncontrollable fear
    In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria one great heart at least remained sane and jocular.
  4. jocular
    characterized by jokes and good humor
    In the terrible hours after the attempt on his life, his easy jokes gave reassurance to an anxious world. They were evidence that in the aftermath of terror and in the midst of hysteria one great heart at least remained sane and jocular.
  5. prophesy
    predict or reveal, as if through divine inspiration
    Others prophesied the decline of the West. He inspired America and its allies with renewed faith in their mission of freedom.
  6. stagnant
    not growing or changing; without force or vitality
    He transformed a stagnant economy into an engine of opportunity.
  7. cold war
    a state of political hostility between countries
    He won the Cold War, not only without firing a shot, but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends.
  8. candid
    characterized by directness in manner or speech
    I cannot imagine how any diplomat or any dramatist could improve on his words to Mikhail Gorbachev at the Geneva summit. "Let me tell you why it is we distrust you." Those words are candid and tough, and they cannot have been easy to hear.
  9. expound
    state
    Ronald Reagan knew his own mind. He had firm principles and, I believe, right ones. He expounded them clearly. He acted upon them decisively.
  10. simplistic
    characterized by extreme and misleading lack of complexity
    Yet his ideas, so clear, were never simplistic. He saw the many sides of truth.
  11. insatiable
    impossible to fulfill, appease, or gratify
    Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion, but he also sensed that it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform.
  12. expansion
    the act of increasing in size or volume or quantity or scope
    Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion, but he also sensed that it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform.
  13. systemic
    affecting an entire structure, network, or complex of parts
    Yes, he warned that the Soviet Union had an insatiable drive for military power and territorial expansion, but he also sensed that it was being eaten away by systemic failures impossible to reform.
  14. magnanimity
    nobility and generosity of spirit
    Nothing was more typical of Ronald Reagan than that large-hearted magnanimity, and nothing was more American.
  15. liberator
    someone who releases people from captivity or bondage
    And so today, the world—in Prague, in Budapest, in Warsaw and Sofia, in Bucharest, in Kiev, and in Moscow itself, the world mourns the passing of the great liberator and echoes his prayer: God bless America.
Created on Sat Apr 25 22:50:27 EDT 2026 (updated Fri Jun 05 15:59:05 EDT 2026)

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