Vocabulary — SSC CGL English Notes

Concepts and rules

A synonym has the same or nearly the same meaning; an antonym has the opposite meaning. The correct option must also be the same part of speech: the synonym of the adjective 'frugal' is 'thrifty', not the noun 'thrift'.

Roots and prefixes help you guess: bene- (good: benevolent, benefactor), mal- (bad: malevolent, malice), anti- (against), phil- (love: philanthropist), mis- (wrong/hate: misanthrope), -phobia (fear), -cide (killing), omni- (all), loqu- (speak: loquacious), chron- (time: chronic).

Words with a negative prefix often form antonym pairs: benevolent/malevolent, legible/illegible, mortal/immortal, but not always: 'inflammable' means the same as 'flammable' (easily set on fire), and 'invaluable' means 'priceless', not 'worthless'.

High-frequency words (meaning; antonym): abundant (plentiful; scarce), frugal (thrifty; extravagant), candid (frank; evasive), benevolent (kind; malevolent), obstinate (stubborn; docile), diligent (hard-working; indolent), lucid (clear; obscure), meticulous (very careful; careless).

More words: ephemeral (short-lived; permanent), garrulous (talkative; taciturn), amicable (friendly; hostile), alleviate (lessen; aggravate), audacious (bold; timid), prudent (wise and careful; rash), zenith (highest point; nadir), concur (agree; differ), obsolete (out of date; modern), venerate (respect deeply; despise), vindicate (clear of blame; incriminate), obsequious (too eager to please; servile is its synonym).

Connotation matters: 'thrifty' praises careful spending while 'miserly' blames it; 'firm' is positive while 'obstinate' is negative. When two options look close, choose the one with the same tone as the given word.

In sentence-based questions the context fixes which meaning of the word is meant: 'a sound argument' (valid) versus 'a loud sound' (noise). Find the meaning from the sentence, not from memory alone.

Look-alike traps: options are often chosen to look or sound like the given word (ephemeral/ethereal, venerate/ventilate, obsequious/obvious). Similar spelling is not similar meaning.

Method and shortcuts

Step 1: say the meaning of the given word in your own words and note whether it is positive or negative.

Step 2: read whether the question asks for a synonym or an antonym; circle the word 'opposite' or 'similar'.

Step 3: cross out look-alike options and options of the wrong part of speech.

Step 4: for an antonym question, first find the synonyms among the options and remove them; the remaining option with the opposite tone is usually the answer.

If you do not know the word, use its root and the sentence. This method fails for words whose roots mislead (inflammable, invaluable, restive = restless, not restful), so learn those separately.

Example 1: direct synonym

Question: Give the synonym of 'Abundant'.

Solution: 'Abundant' means existing in large quantity; a word with the same meaning is 'plentiful'.

Answer: Plentiful

Example 2: direct antonym

Question: Give the antonym of 'Frugal'.

Solution: 'Frugal' means careful and economical with money. The opposite is spending wastefully: 'extravagant'.

Answer: Extravagant

Example 3: synonym from the sentence

Question: Give the synonym of the word in capitals: The minister gave a CANDID reply about the delay.

Solution: A candid reply is open and honest, hiding nothing. The synonym is 'frank'.

Answer: Frank

Example 4: look-alike trap

Question: Select the synonym of 'Ephemeral'. (a) eternal (b) transient (c) ethereal (d) essential

Solution: 'Ephemeral' means lasting a very short time. 'Eternal' is its opposite; 'ethereal' (light and delicate, heavenly) only looks similar; 'essential' is unrelated. 'Transient' means short-lived.

Answer: (b)

Example 5: antonym with synonym traps

Question: Select the antonym of 'Garrulous'. (a) loquacious (b) cheerful (c) taciturn (d) verbose

Solution: 'Garrulous' means excessively talkative. Remove the synonyms 'loquacious' and 'verbose'. 'Cheerful' is unrelated. 'Taciturn' means saying very little, the opposite.

Answer: (c)

Example 6: antonym in context with 3 synonyms

Question: Select the antonym of the word in capitals: The new medicine will ALLEVIATE the patient's pain. (a) assuage (b) mitigate (c) ameliorate (d) aggravate

Solution: 'Alleviate' means make (pain or trouble) less severe. 'Assuage', 'mitigate' and 'ameliorate' all mean lessen or improve, so they are synonyms. 'Aggravate' means make worse, the opposite.

Answer: (d)

Common mistakes

Answering the synonym in an antonym question; underline the instruction before reading options.

Choosing a look-alike: 'ethereal' for 'ephemeral', 'ventilate' for 'venerate'.

Trusting a misleading prefix: 'inflammable' is not the opposite of 'flammable', and 'invaluable' is not 'worthless'.

Ignoring tone: picking 'miserly' as a synonym of 'frugal' when 'thrifty' is offered.

Practice questions

Q1. Select the synonym of 'Meticulous'. (a) careless (b) painstaking (c) hasty (d) meaningful

Q2. Select the antonym of 'Zenith'. (a) nadir (b) apex (c) summit (d) pinnacle

Q3. Select the synonym of 'Venerate'. (a) despise (b) ventilate (c) revere (d) violate

Answers

Q1. (b) 'Meticulous' means showing great attention to detail, which is 'painstaking'; 'careless' and 'hasty' are opposites.

Q2. (a) 'Zenith' is the highest point; 'nadir' is the lowest point. Apex, summit and pinnacle are synonyms.

Q3. (c) 'Venerate' means regard with deep respect, which is 'revere'; 'despise' is the opposite and 'ventilate' only looks similar.

Quick revision

Meaning + tone + part of speech must all match.

Antonym question: strike out the synonyms first.

Look-alikes are traps: ephemeral/ethereal, venerate/ventilate.

Prefix exceptions: inflammable = flammable; invaluable = priceless; restive = restless.

Concepts and rules

Word-choice questions give a sentence with a blank or a marked word and 4 options that are close in form or meaning. Only one fits the meaning, the grammar and the usual word partners of the sentence.

economic = relating to the economy (economic growth); economical = not wasteful, saving money (an economical car).

industrial = relating to industry (industrial area); industrious = hard-working (an industrious student).

judicial = relating to courts and judges (judicial review); judicious = showing good judgement, wise (a judicious decision).

imaginary = not real (an imaginary friend); imaginative = full of creative ideas (an imaginative writer); imaginable = that can be imagined (every imaginable colour).

respectful = showing respect (respectful to elders); respectable = deserving respect, decent (a respectable family); respective = belonging to each one separately (they went to their respective homes).

credible = believable (a credible witness); credulous = too ready to believe (credulous villagers); creditable = deserving praise (a creditable performance).

continual = happening again and again with breaks (continual interruptions); continuous = going on without a break (continuous rain for 3 days).

sensible = having good sense (a sensible decision); sensitive = quickly affected or easily hurt (sensitive skin, a sensitive child).

Spelling is part of word choice: when options differ only in spelling (separate, seperate), the correctly spelt word is the answer. The spelling rules are in the spelling unit.

Method and shortcuts

Step 1: read the whole sentence and say in simple words what the blank must mean (for example 'saving money', 'hard-working').

Step 2: find clue words in the sentence: 'because', 'so', 'but', 'although', and descriptions such as 'studies 10 hours a day'.

Step 3: match your meaning to the option; check the grammar slot (adjective before a noun, noun after an article).

Step 4: for 2 blanks, solve the easier blank first and eliminate every option whose word in that blank is wrong.

Shortcut: '-ous' and '-ive' forms usually describe people's qualities (industrious, imaginative), while '-al' forms usually mean 'relating to' (industrial, judicial). This is only a guide; 'economical' is an '-al' word that means 'thrifty'.

Example 1: economic or economical

Question: Fill in the blank: Buying rice in bulk is more ______ for a large family. (economic / economical)

Solution: The sentence is about saving money, not about the economy, so the word meaning 'not wasteful' is needed.

Answer: economical

Example 2: industrial or industrious

Question: Fill in the blank: Ravi is an ______ student; he studies 10 hours a day. (industrial / industrious)

Solution: The clue 'studies 10 hours a day' shows hard work, so the quality word is needed.

Answer: industrious

Example 3: judicial or judicious

Question: Fill in the blank: The manager took a ______ decision after weighing all the facts. (judicial / judicious)

Solution: A manager is not a court; the clue 'after weighing all the facts' points to wisdom.

Answer: judicious

Example 4: imaginative, imaginary or imaginable

Question: Fill in the blank: The novelist has a highly ______ mind and invents fantastic worlds. (a) imaginative (b) imaginary (c) imaginable (d) imagined

Solution: The mind is real but creative. 'Imaginary' would make the mind unreal; 'imaginable' and 'imagined' mean 'able to be imagined' and 'thought of', which do not describe a creative mind.

Answer: (a)

Example 5: respective, respectful or respectable

Question: Fill in the blank: After the hearing, the 2 lawyers returned to their ______ offices. (a) respectful (b) respectable (c) respective (d) respected

Solution: Each lawyer went to his own office; the sentence needs 'belonging to each separately'. Offices cannot show respect (respectful), and nothing in the sentence is about their reputation (respectable, respected).

Answer: (c)

Example 6: 2 blanks from one root

Question: Fill in the blanks: The ______ villagers believed every rumour, but the inspector found none of the reports ______. (a) credible, credulous (b) credulous, credible (c) creditable, credulous (d) credulous, creditable

Solution: Blank 1: people who believe every rumour are 'credulous', which removes (a) and (c). Blank 2: reports are judged as believable or not, so 'credible'; 'creditable' means 'deserving praise' and does not fit a report's truth. So (b).

Answer: (b)

Common mistakes

Picking the word you see most often (economic) without checking the sentence's meaning (saving money → economical).

Confusing 'credible' (believable) with 'credulous' (too trusting).

Using 'continual' for something that never stops; that is 'continuous'.

Filling only one blank of a double-blank question and choosing the first option that fits it; always test both blanks.

Practice questions

Q1. Fill in the blank: The noise from the factory was ______; it did not stop even for a minute all night. (a) continuous (b) continual (c) contagious (d) contiguous

Q2. Fill in the blank: The government has launched a scheme for the ______ development of backward districts. (a) economics (b) economical (c) economy (d) economic

Q3. Fill in the blank: The 2 files must be kept ______ from each other. (a) seperate (b) separate (c) saparate (d) seperete

Answers

Q1. (a) 'Did not stop even for a minute' means without a break: continuous. 'Continual' allows breaks; 'contagious' (spreading by contact) and 'contiguous' (touching, next to) do not fit.

Q2. (d) The development relates to the economy, and an adjective is needed before 'development': economic.

Q3. (b) The correct spelling is 'separate' (memory aid: there is 'a rat' in sep-a-rat-e).

Quick revision

economic (economy) / economical (thrifty); industrial / industrious; judicial / judicious.

imaginary (unreal) / imaginative (creative); respectful / respectable / respective.

credible (believable) / credulous (gullible) / creditable (praiseworthy); continual (with breaks) / continuous (no break).

Say the needed meaning first, then match; test every blank.

Concepts and rules

Homophones sound the same but differ in spelling and meaning (principal/principle); homographs share spelling but differ in meaning and sometimes sound (lead the team / lead pipe); many exam pairs are simply near-homophones (accept/except).

affect (verb) = to influence: 'Smoking affects health.' effect (noun) = result: 'the effect of smoking'. Effect as a verb means 'to bring about': 'to effect a change' (formal).

accept = receive or agree to; except = leaving out. advice (noun) = suggestion; advise (verb) = to suggest. In British/Indian usage, practice (noun) and practise (verb), licence (noun) and license (verb) follow the same pattern.

principal = head of a school, or main (the principal reason); principle = a rule or belief (a man of principle).

stationary = not moving (a stationary bus); stationery = writing materials such as paper and pens (memory aid: e for envelope).

complement = something that completes or suits (the scarf complements the saree); compliment = praise (she paid him a compliment); complimentary = free or expressing praise.

eligible = qualified (eligible to vote); illegible = impossible to read (illegible handwriting); legible = readable.

emigrate = leave one's own country to live in another (emigrate from India); immigrate = come into a foreign country to live (immigrate to Canada).

lose (verb) = fail to keep; loose (adjective) = not tight. loath (adjective) = unwilling; loathe (verb) = hate. desert = dry sandy land (or to abandon); dessert = sweet dish after a meal.

Other pairs: council (a body of people) / counsel (advice, or a lawyer); personal (private) / personnel (staff); cite (quote) / site (place) / sight (vision); coarse (rough) / course (path, programme); berth (sleeping place) / birth; canvas (cloth) / canvass (seek votes); elicit (draw out) / illicit (illegal).

Homographs with 2 meanings: bank (of a river / for money), bear (an animal / to tolerate), minute (60 seconds / very small), present (gift / now / to give formally). Context decides.

Method and shortcuts

Step 1: decide what part of speech the blank needs: a noun after 'the/a', a verb after 'will/to', an adjective before a noun.

Step 2: keep only the options of that part of speech (advice is a noun, advise a verb; loose an adjective, lose a verb).

Step 3: match the meaning using the sentence clues.

Memory aids: 'A' for Action: Affect is the verb, Effect the end result. Principal is your 'pal'. Stationery has 'e' for envelope. Dessert has 2 s's because you want more sweets. Emigrate = Exit, Immigrate = In.

The part-of-speech shortcut fails for pairs that share a part of speech (stationary/stationery are adjective/noun, but complement/compliment are both nouns and verbs); there, rely on meaning only.

Example 1: affect or effect

Question: Fill in the blank: The new tax will ______ small traders. (affect / effect)

Solution: After 'will' a verb is needed, and the meaning is 'influence'.

Answer: affect

Example 2: stationary or stationery

Question: Fill in the blank: Please buy some ______: pens, paper and envelopes. (stationary / stationery)

Solution: The list names writing materials, a noun; 'stationary' is an adjective meaning 'not moving'.

Answer: stationery

Example 3: principal or principle

Question: Fill in the blank: The ______ of the school praised the students. (principal / principle)

Solution: A person who heads a school and can praise students is the principal; a principle is a rule.

Answer: principal

Example 4: eligible, illegible or legible

Question: Fill in the blank: Her handwriting is so ______ that nobody can read the letter. (a) eligible (b) illegible (c) ineligible (d) legible

Solution: 'Nobody can read' needs 'impossible to read'. 'Legible' is the opposite; 'eligible' and 'ineligible' are about qualification.

Answer: (b)

Example 5: 2 confused pairs together

Question: Fill in the blanks: The lawyer will ______ his client to ______ the settlement. (a) advice, except (b) advice, accept (c) advise, accept (d) advise, except

Solution: After 'will' a verb is needed: 'advise' (removes a, b). After 'to' another verb meaning 'agree to receive' is needed: 'accept'. 'Except' means 'leaving out' and does not fit.

Answer: (c)

Example 6: choose the correct usage

Question: In which sentence is the word used correctly? (a) The tailor complemented her on the dress. (b) His tie compliments his shirt perfectly. (c) The trip across the dessert took 3 days. (d) The red scarf complements her white saree.

Solution: (a) praising needs 'complimented'. (b) a tie suits a shirt, so 'complements'. (c) a sandy region is a 'desert'. (d) the scarf goes well with the saree, which is 'complements': correct.

Answer: (d)

Common mistakes

Using 'effect' as the everyday verb: 'Pollution effects health' should be 'affects'.

Writing 'advice' after 'to' or 'will': 'I advice you' should be 'I advise you'.

Mixing emigrate and immigrate: a person emigrates from the home country and immigrates to the new country.

Writing 'loose' for 'lose': 'Do not loose your ticket' should be 'lose'.

Practice questions

Q1. Fill in the blank: The car stood ______ at the red light. (a) stationery (b) stationary (c) statutory (d) stationed

Q2. Fill in the blank: Every year many doctors ______ from India in search of better pay abroad. (a) emigrate (b) immigrate (c) imigrate (d) emmigrate

Q3. Fill in the blank: Being proud, he was ______ to admit his mistake. (a) loathe (b) lose (c) loath (d) loose

Answers

Q1. (b) 'Stationary' means not moving. 'Statutory' means fixed by law, and 'stationed' means posted at a place, which does not suit a car halted at a signal.

Q2. (a) Leaving one's own country (from India) is 'emigrate'; (c) and (d) are misspellings.

Q3. (c) After 'was' an adjective meaning 'unwilling' is needed: 'loath'. 'Loathe' is a verb meaning 'hate'.

Quick revision

affect (verb) / effect (noun); advice (noun) / advise (verb); accept / except.

principal (head, main) / principle (rule); stationary (still) / stationery (paper).

complement (complete, suit) / compliment (praise); eligible / illegible.

emigrate from / immigrate to; lose / loose; loath (unwilling) / loathe (hate); desert / dessert.

Concepts and rules

Formats: 'Select the correctly spelt word' (3 wrong, 1 right) or 'Select the misspelt word' (3 right, 1 wrong), sometimes inside a sentence. Read the instruction carefully because the 2 formats ask opposite things.

ie / ei: 'i before e except after c' when the sound is 'ee': believe, achieve, field; receive, ceiling, deceive. Exceptions include seize, weird, either, neither, protein; and words where the sound is not 'ee' use ei: foreign, height, weight, neighbour.

Doubling the final consonant: in a one-syllable word ending consonant–vowel–consonant, double it before a vowel suffix: run → running, stop → stopped (but never double w, x or y: fix → fixed, play → played). In longer words double only if the last syllable is stressed: begin → beginning, occur → occurred, prefer → preferred; but offer → offered, visit → visited (stress on the first syllable).

British spelling (used in Indian exams) doubles a final 'l' after a single vowel even without stress: travel → travelled, cancel → cancelled, label → labelled.

Silent e: drop it before a vowel suffix (hope → hoping, write → writing, use → usable) and keep it before a consonant suffix (hope → hopeful, use → useful). Exceptions include argue → argument, true → truly, nine → ninth; and after soft c or g keep e before a or o: noticeable, manageable, courageous.

Final y: after a consonant, change y to i before a suffix (happy → happiness, carry → carried) but keep y before -ing (carrying). After a vowel, keep y (play → played, enjoy → enjoyment); exceptions include pay → paid, say → said, lay → laid, day → daily.

Prefixes do not change the root, so letters can double: mis + spell = misspell, dis + satisfied = dissatisfied, un + necessary = unnecessary, il + legal = illegal, im + mature = immature.

The suffix -ful has one l: grateful, successful, beautiful, careful. 'All' as a prefix drops one l: already, although, altogether, always.

Double-letter problem words: accommodate, committee, embarrass, occasion, occurrence, necessary, recommend, millennium, possess, address, questionnaire, harass (one r, 2 s's), and words with one double only: necessary (one c, 2 s's), occasion (2 c's, one s).

Other problem words: separate, definitely, privilege, guarantee, conscience, conscientious, bureaucracy, liaison, maintenance, pronunciation, acquaintance, indispensable, mischievous, hierarchy, exaggerate, rhythm, entrepreneur, lieutenant.

Related words can change spelling: maintain → maintenance, pronounce → pronunciation, explain → explanation, mischief → mischievous (not 'mischievious').

Method and shortcuts

Step 1: read the instruction: correctly spelt or misspelt?

Step 2: compare the options letter by letter; the options usually differ at one spot (a double letter, ie/ei, a/e in a suffix). Find that spot.

Step 3: apply the relevant rule (doubling, silent e, y to i, prefix) or recall the problem-word list.

Step 4: if still unsure, break the word into prefix + root + suffix (ac-com-mod-ate, oc-cur-rence) and spell each part.

Do not decide by how a word 'looks' after staring at it; wrong forms start to look right. Rely on the rule or the list.

Example 1: double letters

Question: Which is correct: accomodate, accommodate or acommodate?

Solution: The word has 2 c's and 2 m's: ac-com-mo-date.

Answer: accommodate

Example 2: doubling before a suffix

Question: Add -ing to 'begin' and -ed to 'offer'.

Solution: In 'begin' the stress is on the last syllable (be-GIN), so the n doubles: beginning. In 'offer' the stress is on the first syllable (OF-fer), so the r does not double: offered.

Answer: beginning, offered

Example 3: ie or ei

Question: Which is correct: recieve or receive?

Solution: The sound is 'ee' and it comes right after c, so the order is e then i.

Answer: receive

Example 4: correctly spelt word

Question: Select the correctly spelt word. (a) ocurrence (b) occurence (c) occurrence (d) occurrance

Solution: 'Occur' has 2 c's; its last syllable is stressed (oc-CUR), so the r doubles before -ence: occur + r + ence. (a) lacks a c, (b) lacks an r, (d) uses -ance.

Answer: (c)

Example 5: misspelt word

Question: Select the misspelt word. (a) Embarrass (b) Harrass (c) Necessary (d) Millennium

Solution: Embarrass (2 r's, 2 s's), necessary (one c, 2 s's) and millennium (2 l's, 2 n's) are correct. 'Harass' has one r and 2 s's, so 'Harrass' is wrong.

Answer: (b)

Example 6: misspelt word inside a sentence

Question: Identify the misspelt word in the sentence: The conscientious officer recommended a thorough inquiry into the mischievious act. (a) conscientious (b) recommended (c) thorough (d) mischievious

Solution: Conscientious (con-sci-en-tious), recommended (one c, 2 m's) and thorough are correct. The adjective from 'mischief' is 'mischievous', with no i between v and o.

Answer: (d)

Common mistakes

Doubling the wrong letter: 'reccomend' (correct: recommend, one c, 2 m's), 'neccessary' (correct: necessary).

Keeping the silent e before -ing: 'writeing', 'comeing' are wrong; but keep it in 'noticeable' and 'manageable'.

Adding an extra e or i by pronunciation: 'arguement', 'mischievious', 'pronounciation' are wrong.

Answering the correctly spelt word when the question asks for the misspelt one.

Practice questions

Q1. Select the correctly spelt word. (a) Questionaire (b) Questionnaire (c) Questionnare (d) Quessionnaire

Q2. Select the misspelt word. (a) Noticeable (b) Manageable (c) Arguement (d) Truly

Q3. Select the correctly spelt word. (a) Privilege (b) Priviledge (c) Privelege (d) Privilage

Answers

Q1. (b) 'Questionnaire' has 2 n's and ends in -aire.

Q2. (c) 'Argue' drops its e before -ment: 'argument'. Noticeable and manageable keep e after soft c and g; truly drops e.

Q3. (a) 'Privilege': i in the first 2 syllables, e in the third, and no d.

Quick revision

i before e except after c (ee sound); exceptions seize, weird, either, neither.

Double the final consonant only for a stressed last syllable (beginning, occurred; offered); British: travelled.

Drop silent e before a vowel suffix; argument, truly drop it; noticeable, manageable keep it.

accommodate, committee, embarrass, harass, necessary, occasion, occurrence, millennium, questionnaire, privilege, separate, mischievous.