Synonyms, Antonyms and One-Word Substitution

Chapter 1 · Vocabulary · 6 questions in the paper · 11 min read

Synonyms, Antonyms and One-Word Substitution

What the syllabus asks for 3
  • Synonyms and antonyms
  • One word for a group of words
  • Words often confused

Vocabulary is worth about 6 of the 40 English marks and is the part that cannot be crammed in a week. The Dean's Office model sets one-word substitutions ("that which cannot be divided" → indivisible), synonyms, and meanings of phrases.

The method is the same for all of them: learn word families, not isolated words, and use prefixes and roots to guess unknown words.

What the paper asks from this chapter
  • Synonyms and antonyms of common academic words (abundant, benevolent, candid, frugal).
  • One word for a group of words (bilingual, philanthropist, regicide, pedestrian, indivisible).
  • Confusable words: affect/effect, accept/except, principal/principle.

1.1 Synonyms and antonyms

Word Synonym Antonym
abundant plentiful, ample scarce, meagre
ancient old, antique modern
benevolent kind, charitable malevolent, cruel
brave courageous, bold timid, cowardly
candid frank, honest secretive, evasive
conceal hide reveal, expose
diligent hardworking lazy, idle
expand grow, enlarge contract, shrink
fragile delicate, brittle sturdy
frugal thrifty extravagant, wasteful
generous liberal stingy, miserly
lucid clear obscure, vague
permanent lasting temporary
rapid swift, quick slow
transparent clear opaque
verbose wordy concise, terse
ephemeral short-lived eternal, lasting
commence begin, start conclude, finish
Prefix clues

un-, in-, im-, dis-, non- usually reverse meaning (indivisible, disagree). mal-/mis- means bad (malevolent), bene- means good (benevolent), -cide means killing (regicide, suicide), -phobia means fear.

photograph
(a) Samuel Johnson: the Dictionary, 1755
photograph
(b) Roget: the Thesaurus, 1852
Plate 1.1. Two people who made English vocabulary easier to organise. (a) Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), painted by Joshua Reynolds, whose Dictionary of the English Language (1755) was the first great dictionary of English. (b) Peter Mark Roget (1779-1869), a doctor who published his Thesaurus in 1852, a book that groups words by meaning, so that you find synonyms and antonyms side by side (Fig 1.1).Photo credits: (a) Joshua Reynolds, Public domain; (b) Thomas Pettigrew, Public domain.

diagram
Figure 1.1. Words sit on a scale, not in a box. Each line puts synonyms and antonyms of one idea on a scale from less to more. On the quantity scale scarce and meagre are antonyms of ample, plentiful and abundant; on the attitude scale cruel and malevolent are the opposite of charitable and benevolent; on the clarity scale obscure and vague are the opposite of clear and lucid. Words in the same colour group are synonyms, but the stronger word is further along the scale (abundant is more than ample). Learn the direction of the word, then the shade.

1.2 One word for a group of words

Group of words One word
that which cannot be divided indivisible
that which cannot be erased indelible
that which cannot be dissolved insoluble
a person who speaks two languages bilingual
a person who loves mankind philanthropist
a person who hates mankind misanthrope
a person who does not believe in God atheist
a person who walks on foot pedestrian
a person new to a profession novice
a government by the people democracy
killing of a king regicide
killing of oneself suicide
a place where birds are kept aviary
a place where bees are kept apiary
life story written by oneself / by another autobiography / biography
a doctor who treats children paediatrician
fear of heights / closed spaces acrophobia / claustrophobia

photograph
(a) Apiary: a place for bees
photograph
(b) Aviary: a place for birds
Plate 1.2. Two real places for two one-word substitutions. (a) An apiary is a place where bees are kept: this is a bee house on a bee trail in Germany. (b) An aviary is a place where birds are kept, here a glass aviary in a garden. The prefixes api- (bee) and avi- (bird) with the ending -ary (a place) build both words (Fig 1.2).Photo credits: (a) Nemracc, CC BY-SA 4.0; (b) Alex McGregor, CC BY-SA 2.0.

diagram
Figure 1.2. One-word substitutions are built from parts, and the cell joins each pair of parts and checks the result: bi + lingual, phil + anthropist, mis + anthrope, a + theist, regi + cide, sui + cide, api + ary, avi + ary, in + divisible. Once you know that -cide means killing and -ary means a place for something, a word you have never met (like sororicide, the killing of a sister) can be guessed.

1.3 Words often confused

Pair Meaning and use
affect / effect affect (verb) = influence; effect (noun) = result
accept / except accept = receive; except = apart from
principal / principle principal = head, main; principle = rule
stationary / stationery not moving / writing material
advice / advise noun / verb
lose / loose misplace / not tight
complement / compliment completes / praise

diagram
Figure 1.3. Four confusable pairs with a memory hook for each. Affect is the action (verb) and effect is the end result (noun); principal means head or main and principle means rule (both principle and rule end in -le); stationary means standing still, while stationery is writing material (paper and envelope have an e); advice is the noun and advise is the verb. Use the hook in the exam, not the rule from memory.

1.4 Eight traps in vocabulary

Vocabulary marks are lost to small shades of meaning. These eight traps explain most of the wrong options in the model paper.

  1. Choose the shade, not just the topic. Frugal and stingy both describe a person who spends little, but frugal is praise and stingy is blame (Fig 1.1). If the sentence is positive, choose the positive word. Ask whether the word shows approval or disapproval before you look at the options.
  2. Not every word with in- is a negative. Indivisible means not able to be divided, but invaluable means extremely valuable, not worthless. Inflammable means it burns easily, the same as flammable. Check the root before you trust the prefix.
  3. Learn the strong endings. -cide means killing (regicide, suicide), -phobia means fear (acrophobia), -ary means a place for something (apiary, aviary), and -ology means study of. These endings let you build one-word substitutions you have never seen (Fig 1.2).
  4. Do not mix the two "man" words. A philanthropist loves mankind and gives to people in need, while a misanthrope hates mankind. Phil- means love and mis- means hate. Bilingual (two languages) is different from monolingual (one) and polyglot (many).
  5. Apiary is bees, aviary is birds. The two words differ by one letter, so students swap them under time pressure. Remember api from apiculture (bee keeping) and avi from aviation (flight, as birds fly). Do the same with autobiography (written by oneself) and biography (by another).
  6. Affect is the verb, effect is the noun. "Load-shedding can affect a student" uses a verb; "the effect of load-shedding" uses a noun (Fig 1.3). The exception, effect as a verb meaning to bring about, is rare in this paper. Use the hook: A for Action, E for End result.
  7. Principal and principle sound the same. The principal of a campus is a person or the main thing; a principle is a rule. If you can replace the word with rule, use principle. The same two-letter habit separates stationary (still) from stationery (paper).
  8. Use the sentence, not the single word. Many words have two meanings, so close, bank and fine change with the sentence. In an antonym question read the whole sentence and replace the word with each option. The one that changes the meaning to its opposite is correct.

1.4.1 Worked checks

Q. Give one word for "the killing of a king".

Answer. Regi- means king and -cide means killing, so the word is regicide (Fig 1.2). Suicide is killing of oneself.

Q. Choose the antonym of benevolent.

Answer. Benevolent means kind and wishing good (bene = good). Its opposite is malevolent (mal = bad), and cruel is also an antonym (Fig 1.1).

Q. Fill in the blank: "The new rule will not ____ the exam date." (affect / effect)

Answer. A verb is needed, so use affect (to influence): "The new rule will not affect the exam date." Effect would be a noun, as in "the effect of the rule".

Q. Name a place where bees are kept and a place where birds are kept.

Answer. A place for bees is an apiary (api- = bee) and a place for birds is an aviary (avi- = bird), both with the ending -ary for a place (Fig 1.2).

Formula and fact sheet

Prefix / suffix Meaning Example
bene- / mal- good / bad benevolent / malevolent
-cide killing regicide
-phobia fear acrophobia
in-, un- not indelible, unkind
bi- two bilingual

Chapter summary

  • Learn words in pairs (word, opposite) rather than singly.
  • Use prefixes and roots to decode unfamiliar words.
  • One-word substitutions are tested from a limited list; learn the table above.
  • Affect is usually a verb; effect is usually a noun.
  • Principal (person, main), principle (rule).

Practice questions

Set A — Recall (20 questions)

  1. The synonym of "abundant" isascarcebtinycweakdplentiful
  2. The antonym of "generous" isakindbstingycrichdnoble
  3. The synonym of "brave" isacourageousbtimidclazydrude
  4. The antonym of "ancient" isaoldbantiquecmoderndhistoric
  5. The synonym of "rapid" isaswiftbslowcsteadydheavy
  6. One word for "a person who can speak two languages":alinguistbpolyglotcinterpreterdbilingual
  7. One word for "that which cannot be divided":aindeliblebinsolublecindivisibledindefensible
  8. The antonym of "victory" isatriumphbdefeatcsuccessdwin
  9. One word for "a person who loves mankind":amisanthropebpessimistcoptimistdphilanthropist
  10. The synonym of "huge" isaenormousbtinycnarrowdmodest
  11. The antonym of "expand" isagrowbstretchccontractdswell
  12. One word for "a person who walks on foot":apassengerbpedestrianctravellerdcyclist
  13. The synonym of "begin" isacommencebconcludecfinishdcease
  14. One word for "government by the people":aautocracybaristocracycdemocracydbureaucracy
  15. The antonym of "transparent" isaclearbthincbrightdopaque
  16. The synonym of "conceal" isarevealbhidecshowdexpose
  17. One word for "a person who does not believe in God":atheistbpagancatheistdagnostic
  18. The synonym of "fragile" isadelicatebsturdycsoliddfirm
  19. The antonym of "optimistic" isahopefulbpessimisticccheerfuldconfident
  20. One word for "a place where birds are kept":akennelbstablecapiarydaviary
Answers and explanations — Set A

1. (d) — abundant means more than enough.

2. (b) — stingy is the opposite of generous.

3. (a) — courageous means brave.

4. (c) — modern is the opposite of ancient.

5. (a) — swift means fast.

6. (d) — bilingual (two); a polyglot speaks many.

7. (c) — indivisible; indelible means cannot be erased.

8. (b) — defeat is the opposite of victory.

9. (d) — philanthropist; a misanthrope hates people.

10. (a) — enormous means very big.

11. (c) — contract means to shrink.

12. (b) — pedestrian.

13. (a) — commence means start.

14. (c) — democracy; autocracy is rule by one.

15. (d) — opaque lets no light through.

16. (b) — conceal means hide.

17. (c) — atheist; an agnostic is unsure.

18. (a) — delicate means easily broken.

19. (b) — pessimistic expects the worst.

20. (d) — aviary; an apiary is for bees.

Set B — Understanding (12 questions)

  1. The synonym of "benevolent" isacruelbgreedyckinddlazy
  2. The antonym of "diligent" isalazybcarefulchardworkingdquick
  3. The synonym of "candid" isasecretivebrudecshydfrank
  4. The antonym of "scarce" isararebplentifulclittledlimited
  5. One word for "a doctor who treats children":aphysicianbsurgeoncpaediatriciandcardiologist
  6. One word for "the life story of a person written by another":abiographybautobiographycdiarydmemoir
  7. The synonym of "meagre" isarichbamplecplentifuldscanty
  8. One word for "the killing of a king":ahomicidebregicidecsuicidedgenocide
  9. The antonym of "permanent" isatemporaryblastingceternaldfixed
  10. Choose the correct word: "The new tax will ___ every family."aeffectbafflictcaffectdinfect
  11. Choose the correct word: "The medicine had a good ___ on him."aaffectbaffectscaffecteddeffect
  12. Choose the correct word: "Everyone ___ Ravi came to the class."aacceptbexceptcexpectdexcerpt
Answers and explanations — Set B

1. (c) — bene- means good; benevolent is kind.

2. (a) — diligent is hardworking, so lazy is opposite.

3. (d) — candid means frank.

4. (b) — scarce is in short supply; plentiful is the opposite.

5. (c) — paediatrician.

6. (a) — a biography is written by another; an autobiography by oneself.

7. (d) — meagre means small in amount, scanty.

8. (b) — regicide; -cide means killing.

9. (a) — temporary.

10. (c) — affect is the verb for influence.

11. (d) — effect, a noun, after "a good".

12. (b) — except means apart from.

Set C — Application (8 questions)

  1. The synonym of "verbose" isabriefbwordycsilentdrude
  2. The antonym of "obscure" isahiddenbvaguecdarkdclear
  3. One word for "fear of heights":aacrophobiabclaustrophobiachydrophobiadxenophobia
  4. One word for "a person who is new to a profession":aexpertbveterancnovicedmaster
  5. The synonym of "ephemeral" isaeternalblastingcsoliddshort-lived
  6. The antonym of "frugal" isaextravagantbthriftyccarefuldeconomical
  7. Choose the correct word: "The ___ of the school is very strict."aprinciplebprincecprincipaldprincipally
  8. The synonym of "lucid" isaconfusingbclearcdulldheavy
Answers and explanations — Set C

1. (b) — verbose means using too many words.

2. (d) — obscure means unclear; clear is the opposite.

3. (a) — acro- means high; claustrophobia is fear of closed spaces.

4. (c) — novice means beginner.

5. (d) — ephemeral lasts a very short time.

6. (a) — frugal means thrifty; extravagant is opposite.

7. (c) — principal is the head of a school.

8. (b) — lucid means clear.