Vocabulary for Bihar STET English: Idioms, One-Word Substitution, Synonyms and Antonyms

In the 2,583 previous-year English MCQs we analysed, vocabulary-type questions made up about 29 percent, the largest block of any kind: synonyms (200), idioms and phrases (197), one-word substitutes (124), spellings and misspelt words (116), antonyms (94) and phrasal verbs (18). Grammar rules can be learned in weeks. Vocabulary needs months of small daily doses, which is why it should start on day one.

1. Idioms and phrases

Idiom questions ask you to choose the meaning of a phrase or to pick the phrase that fits a situation. Learn in meaning groups, not alphabetically.

Meaning	Idioms
to start something new	break new ground, turn over a new leaf
to eat a lot	eat like a horse
to avoid the main point	beat about the bush
to waste effort	flog a dead horse
to suspect	smell a rat
to cancel	call off
to be extremely angry	up in arms, hit the roof
to be welcomed warmly	with open arms

Rule: when you meet an idiom in a practice set, write it with its meaning and one sentence of your own on a card. Revise cards at 1, 3 and 7 days.

2. Phrasal verbs

A phrasal verb is a verb plus a particle, and the meaning usually differs from the parts. Frequently tested: call off (cancel), give up (stop), give away (donate or reveal), put off (postpone), look into (investigate), carry out (perform), break down (stop working or collapse), break out (start suddenly, as war or fire), run out of (exhaust), turn down (reject), set up (establish).

Careful with look-alikes: break up (separate, end a relationship) and break out (start suddenly) are different, and exams use that difference.

3. One-word substitution

You are given a description and must pick the single word. Learn by suffix patterns, which is faster than memorising lists.

• -cide (killing): homicide, suicide, regicide, fratricide
• -ology (study of): entomology (insects), ornithology (birds), etymology (word origin)
• -cracy (rule by): democracy, autocracy, bureaucracy
• -phobia (fear): claustrophobia (closed spaces), acrophobia (heights)
• -vore / -vorous (eating): herbivorous, carnivorous, omnivorous

Useful single words: autobiography (life story written by oneself), bibliophile (lover of books), philanthropist (one who loves humanity and gives to it), omniscient (all-knowing), orphan (child without parents), posthumous (after death), anonymous (nameless).

4. Synonyms and antonyms

Examiners pick words from the Class 9-12 reading level and from newspaper English. Two techniques help:

1. Use context. The strike was abrupt gives a clue: sudden. Even if you do not know the target word, the sentence limits the options.
2. Learn in pairs. Gullible, naive vs shrewd, astute; frugal, thrifty vs extravagant, lavish; candid, frank vs evasive; mournful, doleful vs joyful; provoke, incite vs pacify, soothe.

Watch the traps: close-looking words with different meanings (imminent means about to happen; eminent means distinguished; immanent means inherent). Questions often put two of them in the same option set.

5. Spellings

The usual suspects are doubled letters and silent letters. Memorise by pattern: occasion (one c, two s), accommodate (two c, two m), necessary (one c, two s), embarrass (two r, two s), separate (an a in the middle), rhythm, rheumatic, pronunciation (nun, not noun), committee (two m, two t, two e), recommend (one c, two m).

A daily vocabulary routine (25 minutes)

• 10 minutes: five new items (a mix of idioms, phrasal verbs, one-word substitutes, word pairs) onto cards
• 10 minutes: revise yesterday's and last week's cards
• 5 minutes: five quick practice questions

Two months of this gives you about 300 items, enough to handle most of the vocabulary block at a comfortable level.

Practice vocabulary on Pareeksha

The Bihar STET English series has 25-question timed sets for this: Idioms and Phrases (7 sets), Phrasal Verbs (1), One Word Substitutes (5), Synonyms (8), Antonyms (4) and Spellings / Misspelt Words (5). Each set is a fixed paper, so you can compare your attempts over time. The exam page has the pattern and syllabus in one place.

These questions come from previous-year questions of comparable teacher exams (KVS, EMRS, NVS and state TGT/PGT papers) on the same topics, not from Bihar STET papers themselves.

Next steps

Read the topic weightage analysis, then plug this routine into the 60-day plan. Practise with timed sets in the free test series.