English Vocabulary for SSC, Bank and Railway: A 60-Day System

You have probably tried it: a list of 500 words, a week of enthusiasm, and then nothing stays. In the exam, the question reads "Synonym of CORROBORATE" and your mind is blank. The problem is rarely your memory. It is the method. This post gives you a system, a 60-day schedule and verified lists you can start using today.

What the exams actually ask

For SSC CGL Tier 1, the English section carries 25 questions for 50 marks, with 0.50 marks deducted for each wrong answer. Bank and railway exams use different counts and timings, so check the latest notification of your exam for the exact pattern. What stays stable is the type of vocabulary questions you meet across these exams:

• Synonyms: pick the word closest in meaning to the given word.
• Antonyms: pick the word closest to the opposite.
• Idioms and phrases: choose the meaning of a fixed expression.
• One-word substitution: replace a phrase with a single word.
• Spelling: find the correctly (or wrongly) spelt word.
• Phrasal verbs and confusable words: usually inside fill-in-the-blank or sentence-improvement questions.

How many of the 25 questions are vocabulary changes from paper to paper. The honest way to find your own number is to take the last three papers of your target exam, tag every question by type, and count. Do this once; it tells you where your hours should go.

Why word lists fail

• No context. A meaning memorised alone does not tell you how the word behaves in a sentence, so you fail when the exam shows it in a new setting.
• Passive reading. Looking at a list feels like learning, but recognition is not recall. Testing yourself is what builds memory.
• One-shot exposure. Words seen once fade within days. Without scheduled review, most of the list is gone by the time you finish it.
• Too many words, too fast. Fifty words in one sitting means almost none are retained.
• Wrong words. Rare words from a thick dictionary are less useful than words that keep appearing in exam papers.

What works: five tools

1. Roots, prefixes and suffixes

One root unlocks many words. Know that "mal" means bad, and malice, malign, malfunction and malevolent become guessable. The tables later in this post cover the most useful parts. Use them to make intelligent guesses, but confirm the meaning, since English does not always follow its parts.

2. Context

Learn every new word with one sentence, preferably one you write about your own life. "My neighbour's frugal habits helped him save for a house" sticks better than "frugal = careful with money".

3. Active recall

Cover the meaning and try to produce it. Cover the word and try to produce it from the meaning. A wrong attempt followed by the answer teaches more than a correct reading.

4. Spaced repetition

Review each word after 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days and 30 days. Paper cards in five boxes work as well as any app: a correct answer moves the card to the next box, a wrong one sends it back to box 1.

5. Pairs of opposites

Learn a word together with its antonym. Every synonym question you prepare also helps an antonym question, and each word gets two anchors in memory.

The 60-day plan

This plan uses the lists in this post and then your own mistakes. Spend about 40 minutes a day: 25 minutes on new items, 15 minutes on review of old cards.

Days	New items per day	Source	Total
1-12	5 words	60-word list below	60 words
13-20	5 idioms	40-idiom list	40 idioms
21-28	5 substitutions	40-item list	40 items
29-38	3 pairs	30 confusable pairs	30 pairs
39-50	10 words	Your own mock and PYQ mistake log	about 120 words
51-60	0 new	Revision, timed sets, weak boxes	-

For every new item write one sentence of your own. Each evening, run through the cards due for review. In the last 10 days, do a timed 15-minute vocabulary set daily and move every miss to box 1.

60 high-frequency words

These are words that regularly appear in or around exam-level English. Each has a meaning, an opposite and a sentence. Five a day is enough.

Word	Meaning	Opposite	Example
Abate	become less strong	intensify	The storm abated by evening.
Abstain	hold back from doing	indulge	She abstained from voting.
Aberration	a departure from the normal	norm	One bad result was an aberration.
Acumen	sharp judgement	foolishness	His business acumen is well known.
Adamant	unwilling to change one's mind	flexible	He was adamant about leaving.
Adept	highly skilled	inept	She is adept at solving puzzles.
Ambiguous	open to more than one meaning	clear	The reply was ambiguous.
Ameliorate	make better	worsen	New roads ameliorated village life.
Arduous	needing great effort	easy	The climb was arduous.
Audacious	boldly daring	timid	It was an audacious plan.
Austere	plain and strict	luxurious	He lived an austere life.
Benevolent	kind and generous	malevolent	A benevolent donor funded the school.
Candid	frank and honest	evasive	Give me your candid opinion.
Censure	express strong disapproval	praise	The report censured the officials.
Cogent	clear and convincing	unconvincing	She made a cogent argument.
Conceal	hide	reveal	He tried to conceal his worry.
Copious	plentiful	scanty	She took copious notes.
Corroborate	confirm with evidence	contradict	The video corroborated his story.
Cursory	quick, not thorough	thorough	He gave the form a cursory glance.
Deter	discourage from acting	encourage	High fines deter littering.
Diligent	hardworking and careful	lazy	A diligent student revises daily.
Discern	recognise or perceive	overlook	I could discern a faint light.
Elusive	hard to find or catch	obvious	The answer remained elusive.
Eloquent	fluent and persuasive	inarticulate	She gave an eloquent speech.
Emulate	imitate to match or excel	ignore	Students emulate great scientists.
Enigma	a puzzle or mystery	certainty	His motive remains an enigma.
Ephemeral	lasting a very short time	permanent	Fame can be ephemeral.
Exacerbate	make worse	alleviate	Delay exacerbated the problem.
Fastidious	very hard to please	careless	He is fastidious about cleanliness.
Feasible	possible and practical	impractical	The plan is feasible.
Frugal	careful with money	extravagant	They lead a frugal life.
Futile	without result	fruitful	All efforts proved futile.
Gregarious	fond of company	reserved	A gregarious host, he loves parties.
Hostile	unfriendly, opposed	friendly	The crowd was hostile.
Impartial	fair, not taking sides	biased	A judge must be impartial.
Inevitable	certain to happen	avoidable	Change is inevitable.
Inept	clumsy, lacking skill	skilful	An inept manager lost the client.
Integrity	honesty and strong principles	dishonesty	She is known for her integrity.
Lucid	clear and easy to understand	obscure	He gave a lucid explanation.
Malice	desire to harm	goodwill	She spoke without malice.
Meticulous	extremely careful about details	careless	A meticulous clerk checks every entry.
Mitigate	make less severe	aggravate	Trees mitigate heat.
Mundane	ordinary, dull	exciting	He hated mundane tasks.
Obsolete	no longer in use	current	Floppy disks are obsolete.
Obstinate	stubborn	flexible	The obstinate child refused to eat.
Ostentatious	showy, meant to impress	modest	They held an ostentatious wedding.
Pragmatic	practical	idealistic	Take a pragmatic approach.
Prudent	wise and careful about the future	reckless	It is prudent to save.
Quell	put an end to, suppress	provoke	Police quelled the riot.
Reluctant	unwilling	eager	He was reluctant to speak.
Resilient	quick to recover	fragile	Resilient people bounce back.
Scrutinize	examine closely	glance	Auditors scrutinize accounts.
Spurious	fake, not genuine	genuine	He made a spurious claim.
Tenacious	holding firm, persistent	yielding	A tenacious runner, she never quit.
Trivial	of little importance	significant	Do not argue over trivial things.
Vindicate	clear of blame, prove right	condemn	The result vindicated her.
Volatile	changing quickly, unstable	stable	Oil prices are volatile.
Wane	decrease gradually	wax	His interest began to wane.
Zealous	full of eager enthusiasm	apathetic	A zealous volunteer, she worked daily.

40 idioms and phrases

Learn the meaning, then use the idiom in a sentence. Do not translate word by word.

Idiom	Meaning	Example
A blessing in disguise	something good that seemed bad at first	Losing that job was a blessing in disguise.
Beat around the bush	avoid the main point	Stop beating around the bush and answer.
Bite the bullet	face something unpleasant bravely	I bit the bullet and paid the fine.
Break the ice	ease first awkwardness	A joke broke the ice.
Burn the midnight oil	work late into the night	He burnt the midnight oil before the exam.
Call it a day	stop working	It is late, let us call it a day.
Cost an arm and a leg	be very expensive	That phone cost an arm and a leg.
Cut corners	skip steps to save effort or money	The builder cut corners on safety.
Once in a blue moon	very rarely	He visits once in a blue moon.
Hit the nail on the head	say exactly the right thing	You hit the nail on the head.
Let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret by mistake	She let the cat out of the bag.
Spill the beans	reveal a secret	Do not spill the beans yet.
A piece of cake	very easy	The paper was a piece of cake.
Under the weather	slightly unwell	I am under the weather today.
The ball is in your court	it is your turn to act	I have offered; the ball is in your court.
A bolt from the blue	a total surprise	The news came as a bolt from the blue.
Add fuel to the fire	make a bad situation worse	His remarks added fuel to the fire.
At the eleventh hour	at the last moment	They finished at the eleventh hour.
Back to square one	back to the beginning	The error put us back to square one.
Bell the cat	take on a risky task for the group	No one dared to bell the cat.
Black sheep	a disgraceful member of a group	He is the black sheep of the family.
Bury the hatchet	end a quarrel	The brothers buried the hatchet.
Crocodile tears	insincere sorrow	His tears were crocodile tears.
Cry over spilt milk	regret what cannot be undone	No use crying over spilt milk.
Draw the line	set a limit	I draw the line at lying.
Face the music	accept the consequences	He must now face the music.
Get cold feet	become nervous and back out	She got cold feet before the interview.
Give the cold shoulder	ignore deliberately	They gave him the cold shoulder.
In hot water	in trouble	He is in hot water with the boss.
Jump the gun	act too soon	Do not jump the gun before results.
Kill two birds with one stone	achieve two aims with one action	Walking to work killed two birds with one stone.
Leave no stone unturned	try every possible means	Police left no stone unturned.
Make a clean breast of	confess fully	He made a clean breast of his crime.
Pull someone's leg	tease or joke	Are you pulling my leg?
Red-letter day	a memorable, happy day	Her wedding was a red-letter day.
Rain cats and dogs	rain very heavily	It rained cats and dogs.
Take the bull by the horns	tackle a problem boldly	She took the bull by the horns.
Turn a blind eye	pretend not to notice	The guard turned a blind eye.
White elephant	a costly possession of little use	The unused stadium is a white elephant.
Wild goose chase	a fruitless search	The tip led to a wild goose chase.

40 one-word substitutions

Phrase	One word
One who knows everything	omniscient
One who is present everywhere	omnipresent
That which cannot be heard	inaudible
That which cannot be read	illegible
That which cannot be avoided	inevitable
Fit to be eaten	edible
Fear of open spaces	agoraphobia
Fear of enclosed spaces	claustrophobia
Government by the people	democracy
Rule by one person with absolute power	autocracy
Rule by the rich	plutocracy
Rule by a small group	oligarchy
Government by officials	bureaucracy
Study of birds	ornithology
Study of the origin of words	etymology
Study of ancient remains	archaeology
One who loves mankind and helps it	philanthropist
One who hates mankind	misanthrope
One who hates women	misogynist
One who walks in sleep	somnambulist
One who does not believe in God	atheist
One who holds that God's existence cannot be known	agnostic
Speaking to oneself aloud	soliloquy
Killing of a king	regicide
Killing of one's brother	fratricide
Killing of one's father	patricide
Killing of one's mother	matricide
Done or spoken without preparation	extempore
A beginner	novice
Lasting a very short time	ephemeral
A lover of books	bibliophile
One who lives alone, away from society	recluse
A place where birds are kept	aviary
A place where bees are kept	apiary
A collection of poems or writings	anthology
One who can use both hands equally well	ambidextrous
One who cannot pay his debts	insolvent
One who eats human flesh	cannibal
An animal that eats only plants	herbivore
An animal that eats both plants and meat	omnivore

Tip: group these by pattern. The "-cide" words (killing), the "-cracy" words (rule), the "-phobia" words (fear) and the "omni-" words (all) each come in families, so learn the suffix once.

30 confusable pairs

These look or sound alike but differ in meaning. They appear in fill-in-the-blank and error-spotting questions.

Pair	Difference and example
accept / except	accept = receive; except = leave out. "I accept all gifts except cash."
affect / effect	affect (verb) = influence; effect (noun) = result. "Rain affects crops; the effect is lower yield."
advice / advise	advice (noun) = suggestion; advise (verb) = to give advice. "I advise you to take his advice."
principal / principle	principal = head or main; principle = rule or belief. "The principal follows strict principles."
stationary / stationery	stationary = not moving; stationery = pens and paper. "The bus stood stationary outside the stationery shop."
complement / compliment	complement = completes; compliment = praise. "Rice complements dal; she complimented the cook."
council / counsel	council = a governing body; counsel = advice, or to advise. "The council sought legal counsel."
discreet / discrete	discreet = careful in speech or action; discrete = separate. "Be discreet; these are discrete issues."
eminent / imminent	eminent = distinguished; imminent = about to happen. "An eminent doctor warned that a flood was imminent."
elicit / illicit	elicit = draw out; illicit = illegal. "The police elicited a confession about illicit trade."
ensure / insure	ensure = make certain; insure = cover with insurance. "Ensure the car is insured."
farther / further	farther = greater physical distance; further = additional or to a greater degree. "Walk farther; ask for further details."
lose / loose	lose = fail to keep; loose = not tight. "Do not lose the loose coins."
personal / personnel	personal = private; personnel = staff. "Personnel must not discuss personal matters."
precede / proceed	precede = come before; proceed = go ahead. "Speeches precede the meal; then we proceed to dinner."
quiet / quite	quiet = silent; quite = fairly or completely. "It was quite a quiet night."
weather / whether	weather = climate condition; whether = if. "Whether we go depends on the weather."
born / borne	born = brought into life; borne = carried or endured. "She was born in Pune and has borne much hardship."
canvas / canvass	canvas = strong cloth; canvass = seek votes or opinions. "He canvassed door to door; his bag was canvas."
childish / childlike	childish = immature (negative); childlike = innocent (positive). "A childish tantrum; a childlike smile."
formally / formerly	formally = officially; formerly = earlier. "He was formerly a clerk and was formally promoted."
later / latter	later = after some time; latter = the second of two. "Of tea and coffee, I prefer the latter."
moral / morale	moral = lesson or ethical; morale = confidence of a group. "The story's moral raised the team's morale."
emigrate / immigrate	emigrate = leave one's country; immigrate = enter another country to settle. "He emigrated from India and immigrated to Canada."
allusion / illusion	allusion = indirect reference; illusion = false impression. "The poem has an allusion to Ram; a mirage is an illusion."
device / devise	device (noun) = a tool; devise (verb) = plan or invent. "Devise a plan to use this device."
assent / ascent	assent = agreement; ascent = climb. "He gave his assent to the ascent."
waive / wave	waive = give up a right or requirement; wave = move the hand. "The bank waived the fee."
breath / breathe	breath (noun) = air taken in; breathe (verb) = take in air. "Take a deep breath and breathe slowly."
prescribe / proscribe	prescribe = recommend or order; proscribe = forbid. "Doctors prescribe medicine; the law proscribes theft."

Phrasal verbs that keep appearing

Phrasal verb	Meaning
call off	cancel
put off	postpone
put up with	tolerate
carry out	perform or complete
give up	stop trying; surrender
look into	investigate
turn down	reject
bring up	raise a topic, or raise a child
break down	stop working; collapse
run out of	have no more of
take after	resemble a family member
set off	begin a journey

Learn each with a sentence, and remember that the particle changes the meaning completely: "look after" (care for) is not "look into" (investigate).

Prefix, suffix and root tables

Common prefixes

Prefix	Meaning	Examples
anti-	against	antidote, antisocial
auto-	self	autobiography, autonomy
bene-	good	benefit, benevolent
mal-	bad	malice, malfunction
circum-	around	circumference, circumvent
contra-	against	contradict, contrary
dis- / un- / in-	not, opposite	dislike, unfair, inactive
inter-	between	international, intervene
intra-	within	intranet, intravenous
mis-	wrongly	misjudge, misuse
omni-	all	omnipotent, omniscient
poly- / mono-	many / one	polygon, monologue
pre- / post-	before / after	prehistoric, postpone
pseudo-	false	pseudonym
retro-	backward	retrospect
trans-	across	transport, transfer

Common suffixes

Suffix	Meaning or use	Examples
-able / -ible	capable of being	readable, audible
-less	without	careless, fearless
-ful	full of	hopeful, cheerful
-ous	having the quality of	dangerous, courageous
-ity / -ness / -ment	forms nouns	purity, kindness, judgement
-ize / -ify / -en	forms verbs	modernize, simplify, widen
-cide	killing	suicide, pesticide
-cracy	rule	democracy, autocracy
-ology	study of	biology, zoology
-phobia	fear	hydrophobia, xenophobia

Useful roots

Root	Meaning	Examples
cred	believe	credible, credulous
dict	say	dictate, verdict
duc / duct	lead	educate, conduct
graph / scrib / script	write	autograph, describe, manuscript
mit / miss	send	transmit, mission
port	carry	transport, export
spec / spect	look	inspect, spectator
ven / vent	come	convene, intervene
voc	call	vocal, advocate
chron	time	chronic, chronology
anthrop	human	philanthropy, misanthrope
path	feeling	sympathy, apathy

Spelling: the usual suspects

Spelling questions repeat the same troublemakers. Learn these correct forms: accommodation (double c, double m), occurrence (double c, double r), separate (the "a rat" in the middle), definitely, necessary (one c, two s), embarrass (double r, double s), conscience, privilege, rhythm, receipt, maintenance, government, environment, recommend, independent, acquaintance, committee, millennium. Write each three times from memory, not by copying.

Common traps

• Choosing the familiar word. Under pressure, you pick the option you recognise. Check meaning, not familiarity.
• Synonym versus antonym. Read whether the question asks for "similar" or "opposite" before looking at options. Examiners often put the antonym among the options of a synonym question.
• Disinterested versus uninterested. Disinterested means impartial; uninterested means not interested.
• Words with two meanings. "Sanction" can mean permission or penalty; "cleave" can mean split or cling. Let the sentence decide.
• Literal idiom reading. "Bell the cat" has nothing to do with cats.
• Look-alike spellings. Complement and compliment, principal and principle: read each option letter by letter.
• Guessing from prefixes alone. "Inflammable" means easily set on fire, not fireproof. Use parts as a hint, not as proof.
• Ignoring negative marking. If you can remove two options, guess; if you know nothing, skipping is fine.

How to attack each question type

• Synonyms and antonyms: first try to recall the meaning without looking at options. If you cannot, use roots and the sentence tone (positive or negative) to eliminate options.
• Idioms: read the sentence, guess the sense from context, then match to an option. Avoid the literal option.
• One-word substitution: spot the keyword in the phrase (killing, rule, fear, study) and link it to its suffix family.
• Spelling: say the word in syllables and look for doubled letters.
• Confusables and phrasal verbs: substitute your own meaning into the blank and see which option fits.

20 practice questions with explained answers

These are original practice questions, not actual exam questions. Try them without looking at the answers.

1. Synonym of ABATE: (a) increase (b) lessen (c) postpone (d) invite
2. Antonym of FRUGAL: (a) thrifty (b) extravagant (c) careful (d) humble
3. "To bury the hatchet" means: (a) make peace (b) hide evidence (c) start a fight (d) work hard
4. One word for "one who walks in sleep": (a) sleepwalker-like (b) insomniac (c) somnambulist (d) soliloquist
5. Choose the correct spelling: (a) accomodation (b) accommodation (c) acommodation (d) accomodetion
6. The committee decided to ___ the fee for senior citizens. (a) wave (b) waive (c) weave (d) weigh
7. Synonym of CORROBORATE: (a) deny (b) confirm (c) delay (d) copy
8. Antonym of OBSOLETE: (a) outdated (b) current (c) ancient (d) rare
9. "A wild goose chase" means: (a) a fruitless search (b) a hunting trip (c) a quick success (d) a noisy event
10. One word for "rule by a small group": (a) democracy (b) autocracy (c) oligarchy (d) bureaucracy
11. The new rule had a good ___ on attendance. (a) affect (b) effect (c) effort (d) affair
12. Synonym of SPURIOUS: (a) fake (b) strange (c) rapid (d) honest
13. Antonym of AUDACIOUS: (a) bold (b) timid (c) proud (d) loud
14. "Call off" means: (a) telephone (b) cancel (c) invite (d) visit
15. "To cry over spilt milk" means: (a) waste food (b) regret what cannot be undone (c) be careless (d) complain loudly
16. Find the wrongly spelt word: (a) necessary (b) occurence (c) separate (d) definitely
17. The ___ of the college addressed the students. (a) principle (b) principal (c) principel (d) principals'
18. Synonym of EPHEMERAL: (a) eternal (b) short-lived (c) heavenly (d) ordinary
19. "Put up with" means: (a) tolerate (b) display (c) build (d) argue
20. One word for "one who hates mankind": (a) misogynist (b) misanthrope (c) philanthropist (d) atheist

Answers and explanations

1. (b) Abate means to become less strong, so lessen.
2. (b) Frugal means careful with money; its opposite is extravagant. Thrifty is a synonym.
3. (a) Burying the hatchet means ending a quarrel.
4. (c) Somnambulist. An insomniac cannot sleep; a soliloquist speaks to oneself.
5. (b) Accommodation has double c and double m.
6. (b) Waive means give up a requirement. Wave is a hand movement.
7. (b) Corroborate means confirm with evidence.
8. (b) Obsolete means no longer in use; current is the opposite. Outdated is a synonym.
9. (a) It means a search that leads nowhere.
10. (c) Oligarchy is rule by a few. Autocracy is rule by one person.
11. (b) Effect is the noun meaning result. Affect is a verb.
12. (a) Spurious means not genuine, so fake.
13. (b) Audacious means boldly daring; timid is the opposite. Bold is a synonym.
14. (b) Call off means cancel.
15. (b) It means regretting something that is past and cannot be changed.
16. (b) The correct spelling is occurrence, with double c and double r.
17. (b) Principal is the head of an institution. Principle is a rule.
18. (b) Ephemeral means lasting a very short time.
19. (a) Put up with means tolerate.
20. (b) Misanthrope hates mankind. A misogynist hates women; a philanthropist loves mankind.

Score yourself. Anything below 16 means go back to the matching list and mark those items for box 1 of your cards.

Frequently asked questions

How many words should I learn per day? Five new items with review is a sound pace. Learning more than ten new items a day usually means poor retention unless you have a lot of review time.

Is it enough to learn from a PYQ list? It is a strong base, since exams repeat themes, but do not rely on repeats alone. Use PYQs to find high-frequency words and then learn their opposites and related words.

Should I read newspapers for vocabulary? Yes, as a supplement. Note down only words you find in the editorial pages that you did not know, and add them to your cards. Do not underline everything.

Are apps better than paper cards? Either works. What matters is the review schedule and active recall. Choose whichever you will open every day.

How do I remember idioms? Link each to a small picture or a personal situation. Review idioms in groups, such as animal idioms or secret idioms (spill the beans, let the cat out of the bag).

Can I learn vocabulary in the last month? Yes, but focus on one-word substitutions, idioms and common confusables first, because they are finite and repeat the most.

What if I forget words I already revised? That is normal. Send the card back to box 1 and review it again tomorrow. Forgetting and relearning is how memory is built.

How many vocabulary questions come in the exam? It varies by exam and year. Check the latest notification for the pattern and tag past papers yourself to find the real share.

Should I guess when unsure? With negative marking, guess only if you can reduce the options to two. Check the marking scheme of your exam.

Do I need to know pronunciation? Not for these exams. Focus on meaning, spelling and usage.

Put it into practice

A system works only when it is tested under exam conditions. Start your cards today, keep the daily 40 minutes, and attempt full-length mocks and sectional English tests on Pareeksha so you can see which question types still cost you marks. Feed every miss back into your cards.