News Words: lenient

Welcome to the Voice of America’s News Words.

The American military recently released film evidence of risky air traffic over the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific Region.

INTERCEPT

Officials say it shows some of the more than 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft in the last two years. They say it is threatening behavior that could accidentally lead to conflict.

To intercept is to stop or interfere with an action in progress. An interception in sports is when a player seizes control of a game ball from an opponent.