English for AP Exams · Chapter 5

Vocabulary: Synonyms, Antonyms and One-Word Substitutes

What to remember

Learn words in groups by theme, not one by one. A group of five words with the same idea is easier to recall than five random words.
A synonym is a word with a similar meaning; an antonym is a word with the opposite meaning. Always check the sentence: many words have more than one meaning.
A one-word substitute replaces a long phrase with one exact word. Learn the phrase and the word as a pair.

1. How vocabulary questions are asked

Exam papers use three common forms.

Synonym: "Choose the word closest in meaning to the underlined word."
Antonym: "Choose the word opposite in meaning to the underlined word."
One-word substitute: "Choose one word for the given phrase."

Method for all three:

1. Read the whole sentence first. The sentence gives the mood (good or bad).
2. Decide if the word is positive, negative or neutral. Remove options with the wrong mood.
3. Try each remaining option in the sentence.
4. In antonym questions, do not pick a synonym by mistake. Read the question line twice.

Word parts help. A prefix is a group of letters added at the start. A suffix is added at the end.

Part	Meaning	Example
un-, in-, im-, dis-	not	unkind, incorrect, impossible, dislike
mal-	bad	malnutrition, malfunction
bene-	good	benefit, benevolent
anti-	against	antibiotic, antisocial
pre-	before	prehistoric, preview
post-	after	postpone, postwar
-less	without	careless, fearless
-ful	full of	helpful, careful

2. Synonyms and antonyms by theme

Theme: good qualities and praise

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Benevolent	kind, generous	cruel, malevolent
Diligent	hardworking	lazy, idle
Candid	frank, honest	secretive, deceitful
Humble	modest	proud, arrogant
Valiant	brave	cowardly
Prudent	wise, careful	reckless, foolish

Theme: bad qualities and blame

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Arrogant	proud, haughty	humble, modest
Obstinate	stubborn	flexible, yielding
Frugal	thrifty	wasteful, extravagant
Hostile	unfriendly	friendly, kind
Lethargic	sluggish, lazy	energetic, active
Deceive	cheat, mislead	guide, tell the truth

Theme: size, amount and strength

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Abundant	plentiful	scarce, rare
Meagre	small, poor in amount	ample, plentiful
Enormous	huge	tiny
Feeble	weak	strong, robust
Robust	strong, healthy	weak, frail
Scant	very little	abundant

Theme: speed, time and change

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Swift	fast	slow
Delay	postpone	hasten
Temporary	short-lived	permanent
Ancient	very old	modern
Abrupt	sudden	gradual
Vanish	disappear	appear

Theme: feelings

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Elated	very happy	depressed, sad
Gloomy	sad, dark	cheerful
Furious	very angry	calm
Anxious	worried	calm, relaxed
Eager	keen	unwilling
Content	satisfied	dissatisfied

Theme: help, harm and conflict

Word	Synonym	Antonym
Assist	help	hinder
Hinder	block, obstruct	help, aid
Abolish	end, cancel	establish
Conceal	hide	reveal
Expand	grow, enlarge	shrink
Condemn	blame strongly	praise
Approve	agree to	reject
Reluctant	unwilling	willing

3. One-word substitutes

Learn the phrase and the word together. Many are made from Greek or Latin roots.

Phrase	One word
A person who does not believe in God	Atheist
A person who believes in God	Theist
A person who knows everything	Omniscient
One who is present everywhere	Omnipresent
One who has all power	Omnipotent
A government by the people	Democracy
A government by one ruler with total power	Autocracy
Rule by a small group	Oligarchy
A person who walks on foot	Pedestrian
A speech made without preparation	Extempore
A place where birds are kept	Aviary
A place where animals are kept for show	Zoo / Menagerie
A person who loves books	Bibliophile
One who hates people	Misanthrope
One who hates women	Misogynist
A medical doctor of children	Paediatrician
A person who studies old remains and objects	Archaeologist
A person who cannot be corrected	Incorrigible
Something that cannot be avoided	Inevitable
Something that cannot be read clearly	Illegible
Something that cannot be heard	Inaudible
Something that cannot be seen	Invisible
Something that can be eaten	Edible
A person who is new to a task	Novice
A person who looks at the bright side	Optimist
A person who looks at the dark side	Pessimist
Killing of a king	Regicide
Killing of a brother	Fratricide
Killing of oneself	Suicide
Fear of open spaces	Agoraphobia
Fear of closed places	Claustrophobia
Fear of water	Hydrophobia
A person who speaks two languages	Bilingual
Sleep-walking person	Somnambulist
Study of birds	Ornithology
Study of the mind	Psychology
Study of living things	Biology

4. Words that look alike (often confused)

Word 1	Word 2
Affect (to influence)	Effect (a result)
Accept (to receive)	Except (leaving out)
Principal (head; main)	Principle (a rule)
Stationary (not moving)	Stationery (paper, pens)
Complement (to complete)	Compliment (praise)
Council (a body)	Counsel (advice)
Eminent (famous)	Imminent (about to happen)
Adapt (to adjust)	Adopt (to take as one's own)

5. Words in sentences

Seeing a word in a sentence fixes its meaning in your mind. Read each example and say the meaning aloud.

The diligent student revised every day, so she passed easily. (hardworking)
The village had an abundant harvest this year. (plentiful)
He gave a candid answer and did not hide the truth. (frank)
The workers were reluctant to leave their homes. (unwilling)
The old man lived a frugal life and saved every rupee. (thrifty)
A sudden, abrupt turn in the road surprised the driver. (unexpected)
The teacher commended the class for good work. (praised)
Heavy rain hindered the rescue work. (blocked)
The minister tried to conceal the mistake, but it came out. (hide)
Her meagre salary was not enough for the month. (very small)

Tips for fast learning:

1. Learn five words a day, with one synonym and one antonym each.
2. Write your own sentence for every new word.
3. Revise old words every week; most forgetting happens in the first week.
4. Read an English newspaper editorial each day and note two new words.
5. Group words by root: "bene" (good), "mal" (bad), "phobia" (fear), "cide" (killing), "phile" (lover of).

Exam traps

Synonym vs antonym: read the question line; students often pick the wrong type.
Frugal is not stingy-bad only: it means careful with money. Its antonym is extravagant, not "poor".
Eminent and imminent look alike but mean "famous" and "about to happen".
Atheist and theist are opposites. Atheist = no belief in God.
Optimist and pessimist: the optimist sees the bright side.
Democracy, autocracy and oligarchy: the number of rulers is the key: all, one, few.
Hinder is a synonym of obstruct; its antonym is help or aid.
Omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent: knows all, is everywhere, has all power.

One-liners

1. Benevolent means kind; malevolent means wishing harm.
2. Diligent means hardworking; its antonym is lazy.
3. Candid means frank and open.
4. Abundant means plentiful; scarce is the opposite.
5. Feeble means weak; robust means strong.
6. Conceal means hide; reveal is the opposite.
7. Abolish means to end something officially.
8. A bibliophile loves books.
9. Fratricide is the killing of a brother.
10. Claustrophobia is fear of closed places.
11. An extempore speech is made without preparation.
12. Inevitable means impossible to avoid.

Practice questions

Choose the word closest in meaning to BENEVOLENT.
1. Lazy
2. Kind
3. Proud
4. Cruel
Answer
B. Kind
Benevolent means kind and well-wishing.
Choose the word opposite in meaning to DILIGENT.
1. Hardworking
2. Careful
3. Idle
4. Honest
Answer
C. Idle
Diligent means hardworking; idle is its opposite.
Choose the synonym of CANDID.
1. Angry
2. Shy
3. Frank
4. Secretive
Answer
C. Frank
Candid means open and honest.
Choose the antonym of ABUNDANT.
1. Plentiful
2. Scarce
3. Rich
4. Huge
Answer
B. Scarce
Abundant means plentiful; scarce means hard to find.
Choose the synonym of FEEBLE.
1. Strong
2. Quick
3. Rich
4. Weak
Answer
D. Weak
Feeble means weak.
Choose the antonym of CONCEAL.
1. Keep
2. Hide
3. Cover
4. Reveal
Answer
D. Reveal
Conceal means hide; reveal means show.
Choose the synonym of OBSTINATE.
1. Gentle
2. Clever
3. Stubborn
4. Flexible
Answer
C. Stubborn
Obstinate means unwilling to change one's mind.
Choose the antonym of FRUGAL.
1. Careful
2. Extravagant
3. Poor
4. Thrifty
Answer
B. Extravagant
Frugal means careful with money; extravagant means wasteful.
Choose the synonym of ELATED.
1. Very happy
2. Very tired
3. Very angry
4. Very afraid
Answer
A. Very happy
Elated means joyful and excited.
Choose the word closest in meaning to HINDER.
1. Praise
2. Obstruct
3. Assist
4. Allow
Answer
B. Obstruct
Hinder means to block or slow down.
Choose the antonym of ROBUST.
1. Firm
2. Healthy
3. Frail
4. Strong
Answer
C. Frail
Robust means strong; frail means weak.
Choose the synonym of ABOLISH.
1. Begin
2. Support
3. Repair
4. End
Answer
D. End
Abolish means to put an end to something officially.
One word for: a person who loves books.
1. Bibliophile
2. Misanthrope
3. Bibliographer
4. Librarian
Answer
A. Bibliophile
A bibliophile is a lover of books.
One word for: a person who does not believe in God.
1. Theist
2. Atheist
3. Optimist
4. Pessimist
Answer
B. Atheist
An atheist does not believe in God.
One word for: one who is present everywhere.
1. Omniscient
2. Ominous
3. Omnipresent
4. Omnipotent
Answer
C. Omnipresent
Omnipresent means present in all places.
One word for: a government by one ruler with total power.
1. Democracy
2. Oligarchy
3. Theocracy
4. Autocracy
Answer
D. Autocracy
Autocracy means rule by a single person with unlimited power.
One word for: killing of a brother.
1. Patricide
2. Regicide
3. Fratricide
4. Suicide
Answer
C. Fratricide
Fratri- refers to brother; -cide means killing.
One word for: fear of closed places.
1. Hydrophobia
2. Agoraphobia
3. Xenophobia
4. Claustrophobia
Answer
D. Claustrophobia
Claustrophobia is fear of confined spaces.
One word for: a speech made without any preparation.
1. Monologue
2. Extempore
3. Oration
4. Soliloquy
Answer
B. Extempore
An extempore speech is delivered on the spot.
One word for: something that cannot be avoided.
1. Inevitable
2. Inaudible
3. Illegible
4. Invisible
Answer
A. Inevitable
Inevitable means certain to happen.
One word for: a person who hates people.
1. Misanthrope
2. Misogynist
3. Egoist
4. Bibliophile
Answer
A. Misanthrope
Misanthrope hates mankind; misogynist hates women.
One word for: one who has all power.
1. Obstinate
2. Omnipresent
3. Omnipotent
4. Omniscient
Answer
C. Omnipotent
Omni- means all; potent means powerful.
One word for: a person who looks at the bright side of things.
1. Sceptic
2. Optimist
3. Cynic
4. Pessimist
Answer
B. Optimist
An optimist expects good outcomes.
Which word means 'about to happen'?
1. Dominant
2. Eminent
3. Prominent
4. Imminent
Answer
D. Imminent
Imminent means very close to happening; eminent means famous.
Fill in the blank with the correct word: The bad weather had a strong ____ on the crops.
1. effect
2. affect
3. defect
4. reflect
Answer
A. effect
Effect is a noun meaning result; affect is a verb.
Fill in the blank: The school ____ addressed the students on Monday.
1. principally
2. principle
3. principal
4. principality
Answer
C. principal
Principal means head of a school; principle means a rule.
Fill in the blank: Everyone ____ Ravi came to the meeting.
1. excerpt
2. except
3. accept
4. expect
Answer
B. except
Except means leaving out; accept means receive.
In 'The workers were RELUCTANT to move', the word reluctant means
1. able
2. eager
3. ready
4. unwilling
Answer
D. unwilling
Reluctant means unwilling.
Which prefix gives the meaning 'bad' to a word, as in malfunction?
1. bene-
2. mal-
3. pre-
4. post-
Answer
B. mal-
Mal- means bad; bene- means good.
Which pair shows words that are opposite in meaning?
1. Assist - Help
2. Huge - Enormous
3. Elated - Depressed
4. Swift - Fast
Answer
C. Elated - Depressed
Elated is happy; depressed is sad. The other pairs are synonyms.
Which pair shows words that are SYNONYMS?
1. Approve - Reject
2. Expand - Shrink
3. Abrupt - Gradual
4. Vanish - Disappear
Answer
D. Vanish - Disappear
Vanish and disappear both mean to go out of sight.
Choose the antonym of TEMPORARY.
1. Permanent
2. Passing
3. Brief
4. Short
Answer
A. Permanent
Temporary means for a short time; permanent means lasting.
Choose the synonym of LETHARGIC.
1. Sluggish
2. Brisk
3. Lively
4. Active
Answer
A. Sluggish
Lethargic means lacking energy.
Choose the antonym of CONDEMN.
1. Judge
2. Blame
3. Praise
4. Punish
Answer
C. Praise
Condemn means to blame strongly; praise is the opposite.
Choose the synonym of MEAGRE.
1. Rich
2. Ample
3. Plenty
4. Scanty
Answer
D. Scanty
Meagre means small in amount.
Choose the antonym of PRUDENT.
1. Careful
2. Reckless
3. Sensible
4. Wise
Answer
B. Reckless
Prudent means careful and wise; reckless means careless.
Consider the statements about one-word substitutes. 1. An atheist is a person who believes in God. 2. Omniscient means knowing everything.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
B. 2 only
An atheist does not believe in God; omniscient means all-knowing.
Consider the statements about word meanings. 1. Eminent means famous. 2. Imminent means famous.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
A. 1 only
Eminent = famous; imminent = about to happen.
Consider the statements about government types. 1. Democracy means rule by the people. 2. Oligarchy means rule by a small group.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
C. Both 1 and 2
Both are correct definitions.
Consider the statements. 1. Frugal is a synonym of extravagant. 2. Hinder is a synonym of obstruct.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
B. 2 only
Frugal is thrifty; its antonym is extravagant. Hinder = obstruct.
Consider the statements about word parts. 1. The prefix 'anti-' means against. 2. The suffix '-less' means full of.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
A. 1 only
-less means without; -ful means full of.
Consider the statements. 1. Regicide is the killing of a king. 2. Agoraphobia is fear of water.
1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer
A. 1 only
Agoraphobia is fear of open spaces; hydrophobia is fear of water.
Match: Stationary - ?
1. Writing material
2. A kind of advice
3. A body of members
4. Not moving
Answer
D. Not moving
Stationary means not moving; stationery means paper and pens.
Which word means 'a person who is new to a task'?
1. Veteran
2. Sage
3. Expert
4. Novice
Answer
D. Novice
A novice is a beginner.
Choose the antonym of ABRUPT.
1. Quick
2. Sudden
3. Gradual
4. Sharp
Answer
C. Gradual
Abrupt means sudden; gradual means slow and step by step.

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1.One word for "A person who comes to a country to settle there" is:
2.Choose the word that means the same as the phrase: "A shelter for the destitute or homeless"
3.Select the one-word substitute for: "A shelter for the destitute or homeless"
4.Choose the word that means the same as the phrase: "One who can foretell the future"
5.Choose the word that means the same as the phrase: "A person who leaves their own country to settle in another"
6.Choose the word that means the same as the phrase: "A person who is new to a profession or activity"
7.One word for "One who can speak two languages" is:
8.Select the one-word substitute for: "One who loves books"
9.One word for "One who eats too much" is:
10.Choose the word that means the same as the phrase: "A word that reads the same backward and forward"

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