Synonyms
About 5 min · English Comprehension · English
Time worked out from the lesson's 277 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.
Synonyms are words that have the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. These questions test your vocabulary breadth and your ability to understand nuances in word meaning. Success here requires systematic vocabulary building combined with context awareness—knowing that synonyms must match both the core meaning and the register (formal/informal tone) of the original word.
Key ideas
- Definition: A synonym is a word that means exactly or nearly the same as another word in the same language. Example: "happy" and "joyful" are synonyms.
- Context matters: The best synonym depends on the sentence context. "Bright" can mean intelligent (bright student) or luminous (bright light). The synonym must fit the intended meaning.
- Part of speech consistency: The synonym must match the grammatical function. If the given word is a verb, choose a verb synonym; if it's an adjective, choose an adjective.
- Degree and intensity: Words like "angry," "furious," and "irritated" are related but differ in intensity. The correct synonym matches not just meaning but also degree.
- Register and tone: Formal words need formal synonyms. "Commence" (formal) pairs with "begin," not "kick off" (informal).
Quick reference
- Synonym = closest meaning + same part of speech + same context
- Eliminate antonyms first, then unrelated words, then wrong-tone options
- High-value SSC words: abate, arduous, candid, ephemeral, frugal, gregarious, meticulous, plethora
- Learn roots: bene (good), mal (bad), duc (lead), scrib (write), port (carry)
- Watch for false friends: ingenious ≠ ingenuous, elicit ≠ illicit
Check yourself: 3 questions
1. Choose the word most nearly similar in meaning to: ABUNDANT
2. Choose the word most nearly similar in meaning to: COURAGEOUS
3. Choose the word most nearly similar in meaning to: ENORMOUS
This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 17 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.
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