Synonyms — High-Frequency Word List Set 3 (M–R)

Synonyms — High-Frequency Word List Set 3 (M–R)

This chapter covers 50 words beginning with the letters M to R that appear repeatedly in SSC, RRB and Banking synonym questions. As with the earlier chapters, the words are grouped by theme rather than presented as a bare alphabetical list: words about care and carelessness, words about danger and importance, words about calm and turbulence, words about scale and spread, and words about disapproval and control. Work through one theme group at a time, then use the Quick Test Yourself section at the end to check what has actually stuck before moving on to Chapter 5. As before, each entry lists the part of speech first — a quick way to eliminate wrong options in a synonym or antonym MCQ, since a noun cannot correctly substitute for a verb or an adjective no matter how close its meaning may seem at a glance.

Words About Care, Attention and Neglect

These words describe how carefully — or carelessly — something is done, a category that appears constantly in both synonym MCQs and error-spotting questions about workplace conduct.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Synonym(s)	Example Sentence
Meagre	adjective	lacking in quantity; scanty or insufficient	scanty, sparse	The family survived on a meagre income for years.
Meddle	verb	to interfere in matters that are not one's concern	interfere, intrude	She dislikes anyone meddling in her personal affairs.
Meticulous	adjective	showing great attention to detail; very careful	careful, thorough	He is meticulous about keeping accurate financial records.
Mitigate	verb	to make something less severe, harmful or painful	alleviate, lessen	New irrigation policies aim to mitigate the effects of drought.
Negligent	adjective	failing to take proper care; careless in one's duty	careless, neglectful	The driver was negligent and caused the accident.
Nurture	verb	to care for and encourage the growth or development of something	foster, cultivate	Good teachers nurture the hidden talents of their students.
Prudent	adjective	acting with care and thought for the future	cautious, sensible	It is prudent to save a fixed portion of your salary every month.
Rebuke	verb	to express sharp disapproval toward someone	reprimand, scold	The coach rebuked the players for their careless play.
Reckless	adjective	acting without thinking of the consequences	careless, rash	Reckless driving on the highway caused the collision.
Rigorous	adjective	extremely thorough, strict and careful	strict, thorough	Candidates go through a rigorous selection process before joining.

Words About Danger, Urgency and Importance

This group covers words used to signal risk, urgency or significance — a natural fit for cloze passages describing crises, warnings and priorities.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Synonym(s)	Example Sentence
Ominous	adjective	giving the impression that something bad is about to happen	threatening, foreboding	Dark clouds gave an ominous warning of the approaching storm.
Ordeal	noun	a painful or difficult experience, often prolonged	hardship, trial	Recovering from the accident was a long and painful ordeal.
Paramount	adjective	more important than anything else; supreme	supreme, foremost	Safety is of paramount importance inside the factory.
Perilous	adjective	full of danger; risky	dangerous, risky	The mountain trail becomes perilous during the winter months.
Pertinent	adjective	relevant to the matter being discussed	relevant, applicable	She asked several pertinent questions during the meeting.
Precarious	adjective	not securely held or fixed; likely to collapse or fail	unstable, risky	The company's finances remained in a precarious state after the loss.
Rampant	adjective	flourishing or spreading in an unchecked, uncontrolled way	widespread, uncontrolled	Corruption was rampant in that department for years.
Redundant	adjective	not needed; more than what is necessary	superfluous, unnecessary	Some of the clauses in the contract are simply redundant.
Relentless	adjective	continuing without weakening or stopping; persistent	persistent, unyielding	The rescue team made a relentless effort to find survivors.
Ruthless	adjective	having no pity or compassion for others	merciless, cruel	The ruthless dictator crushed every form of opposition.

Words About Calm, Turbulence and Emotion

These words describe emotional states, from calm composure to remorse and nostalgia — a favourite theme in reading comprehension extracts built around personal reflection.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Synonym(s)	Example Sentence
Nostalgic	adjective	feeling a sentimental longing for the past	sentimental, wistful	The old song made her feel deeply nostalgic.
Placid	adjective	calm and peaceful; not easily upset or excited	calm, serene	The lake was placid in the early morning light.
Ponder	verb	to think about something carefully and at length	contemplate, deliberate	She paused to ponder over the unexpected job offer.
Remorse	noun	deep regret or guilt for a wrong one has committed	regret, guilt	He showed no remorse for his careless actions.
Quell	verb	to put an end to; to suppress or subdue	suppress, subdue	Additional troops were sent in to quell the riot.

Words About Scale, Spread and Abundance

These words describe how widespread, extreme or plentiful something is — closely related to the size-and-degree cluster from Chapter 2 and frequently tested alongside it.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Synonym(s)	Example Sentence
Obsolete	adjective	no longer in use or produced; outdated	outdated, outmoded	The old telephone exchange equipment has become obsolete.
Opulent	adjective	grand, luxurious and expensively furnished	lavish, luxurious	They lived in an opulent mansion overlooking the river.
Perpetual	adjective	never ending; continuing indefinitely	eternal, ceaseless	The city seems stuck in a state of perpetual traffic congestion.
Pervasive	adjective	spreading widely throughout an area or group	widespread, prevalent	A pervasive sense of unease spread through the office after the news.
Prevalent	adjective	widespread or common in a particular area or time	widespread, common	Malaria is more prevalent during the monsoon season.
Prodigal	adjective	wastefully extravagant, especially with money or resources	wasteful, extravagant	The prodigal son squandered his entire inheritance within a year.
Prolific	adjective	producing much or many; highly productive	productive, fruitful	She is a prolific writer with dozens of published novels.

Words About Disapproval, Resistance and Control

This final group covers words about criticism, stubbornness and asserting or resisting authority — a cluster that overlaps with one-word substitution and idiom chapters later in the book.

Word	Part of Speech	Meaning	Synonym(s)	Example Sentence
Malign	verb	to speak ill of someone; to slander	defame, slander	He was accused of maligning his rival's reputation in public.
Mundane	adjective	lacking excitement or interest; ordinary	ordinary, routine	He grew tired of the mundane office routine.
Naive	adjective	showing a lack of experience, wisdom or judgment	gullible, innocent	It was naive of him to trust a stranger with his savings.
Nefarious	adjective	wicked or criminal in nature	wicked, villainous	The gang was involved in several nefarious activities across the city.
Notorious	adjective	famous or well known for something bad	infamous, disreputable	That stretch of road is notorious for frequent accidents.
Obscure	adjective	not clearly expressed or easily understood	unclear, vague	The exact meaning of the ancient poem remains obscure.
Obstinate	adjective	stubbornly refusing to change one's mind or course	stubborn, headstrong	He remained obstinate despite everyone's repeated advice.
Outspoken	adjective	frank and direct in stating one's opinions, even if controversial	candid, forthright	She is outspoken about the need for workers' rights.
Pacify	verb	to calm or soothe someone who is angry or upset	appease, calm	The manager tried to pacify the angry customers at the counter.
Plausible	adjective	seeming reasonable, likely or probable	credible, believable	He gave a plausible explanation for the unexpected delay.
Pragmatic	adjective	dealing with problems in a sensible and practical way	practical, realistic	The government adopted a pragmatic approach to the water crisis.
Pungent	adjective	having a sharply strong smell or taste	sharp, acrid	The pungent smell of spices filled the entire kitchen.
Quaint	adjective	attractively unusual, especially in an old-fashioned way	charming, old-fashioned	They stayed in a quaint little cottage near the hills.
Retaliate	verb	to attack or act against someone in return for an attack	revenge, avenge	The rival company retaliated by lowering its own prices sharply.
Renowned	adjective	famous or well known, usually for something admirable	famous, celebrated	She is a renowned scientist in the field of genetics.
Resilient	adjective	able to recover quickly from difficulties or setbacks	tough, adaptable	Children are often remarkably resilient after a difficult change.
Rigid	adjective	unable or unwilling to bend or change; strict	inflexible, strict	The company follows rigid rules about attendance and punctuality.

Common Traps to Watch For in This Word Set

• Notorious vs Renowned: Both mean "widely known," but "notorious" is used for something bad, while "renowned" is used for something admirable. Exams frequently pair these as opposite-connotation distractors within the same question.
• Prevalent vs Pervasive: Very close in meaning, but "prevalent" usually describes how common something is at a given time or place, while "pervasive" emphasises spreading into every part of something. Both can be correct depending on the exact sentence, so read the full context before choosing.
• Mitigate vs Meditate: These share no meaning at all but are sometimes confused because of their similar spelling under time pressure — "mitigate" means to lessen severity, "meditate" means to think deeply or practise contemplation.
• Prodigal vs Prodigy: "Prodigal" describes wasteful extravagance; "prodigy" (a related but different word) describes a young person of exceptional talent. They come from different roots and mean entirely different things despite looking alike.
• Rigid vs Rigorous: "Rigid" describes inflexibility of rules, objects or attitudes; "rigorous" describes thoroughness and strictness of a process, such as testing or training. A rigorous exam is thorough, not necessarily unbending in the way a rigid rule is.
• Negligent vs Negligible: "Negligent" describes a careless person who fails in their duty; "negligible" describes an amount so small that it can be ignored. A negligent officer causes real harm, while a negligible amount causes almost none — mixing up these two is a classic exam trap because they share the same root.
• Ordeal vs Ordinary: These share no meaning despite a similar opening sound. "Ordeal" means a painful or testing experience; "ordinary" means normal or unremarkable. A rushed reading of the options is the only reason a candidate would ever confuse them, so slow down when both appear together.

Memory Aids for the Trickier Words

• Meticulous — connect it to "metric," the idea of precise measurement; a meticulous person measures every detail carefully before acting.
• Ominous — think of an "omen," a sign of things to come; anything ominous carries the sign of a bad omen.
• Paramount — picture something placed at the very top of a mountain ("para-" plus "mount"); what is paramount stands above everything else in importance.
• Pervasive — shares the root "vad-" (to go) with "invade"; something pervasive has effectively invaded every corner of a space or situation.
• Prodigal — remember the biblical parable of the "prodigal son," who wastefully spent his inheritance before returning home; the word has carried the sense of wasteful extravagance ever since.
• Resilient — think of a rubber ball that bounces back ("re-" plus "salire," to leap) no matter how hard it is thrown down; a resilient person or economy "bounces back" the same way after a setback.
• Nefarious — connect it to "nefas," Latin for something forbidden by divine or moral law; nefarious acts break the deepest moral rules, not just ordinary regulations.

Seeing These Words in Exam-Style Context

"The new policy was, on the whole, a pragmatic and prudent response to a precarious financial situation. Critics who called the plan reckless were largely silenced once its results proved that a rigorous, meticulous rollout could mitigate even a rampant budget crisis. Still, some obstinate voices in the opposition remained unconvinced, calling the entire approach obsolete before the results were even known."

This kind of passage is exactly how M–R words tend to surface together in reading comprehension extracts about governance, business or public policy — a genre that appears constantly across SSC and Banking papers. Notice again how the words cluster by theme: "pragmatic," "prudent," "reckless," "rigorous," "meticulous" and "obstinate" all describe manner and judgment, while "precarious," "rampant" and "obsolete" describe the state of the underlying situation.

Quick Test Yourself

Attempt these questions before moving to the next chapter, then check your answers against the key below.

1. The word most similar in meaning to METICULOUS is: (a) Careless (b) Thorough (c) Reckless (d) Ordinary
2. Fill in the blank: The area became ______ for frequent thefts, and residents stopped venturing out after dark. (renowned / notorious / plausible / placid)
3. The word most similar in meaning to OBSTINATE is: (a) Flexible (b) Stubborn (c) Naive (d) Prudent
4. Fill in the blank: New drainage systems were built to ______ the effects of the annual floods. (mitigate / malign / meddle / nurture)
5. The word most similar in meaning to PARAMOUNT is: (a) Trivial (b) Supreme (c) Obscure (d) Rampant
6. Fill in the blank: His ______ explanation for the missing funds convinced no one on the board. (plausible / relentless / pervasive / rigid)
7. The word most similar in meaning to RUTHLESS is: (a) Merciful (b) Merciless (c) Nostalgic (d) Prudent
8. Fill in the blank: Despite heavy losses, the team made a ______ effort to reach the final. (relentless / mundane / obsolete / naive)
9. The word most similar in meaning to PRECARIOUS is: (a) Stable (b) Unstable (c) Renowned (d) Prolific
10. Fill in the blank: The company's ______ rules left no room for flexible working hours. (rigid / resilient / prodigal / pungent)
11. The word most similar in meaning to PERTINENT is: (a) Irrelevant (b) Relevant (c) Perilous (d) Prodigal
12. Fill in the blank: After the scandal, the once ______ businessman found his name associated only with disgrace. (renowned / notorious / resilient / pragmatic)

Answer key: 1) Thorough; 2) notorious; 3) Stubborn; 4) mitigate; 5) Supreme; 6) plausible; 7) Merciless; 8) relentless; 9) Unstable; 10) rigid; 11) Relevant; 12) notorious.

This M–R list pairs directly with the M–R antonym list in Chapter 8. Before moving to Chapter 5, try stating the opposite of each word here from memory — the opposite of "obscure" is "clear," the opposite of "reckless" is "cautious," and so on. This two-directional recall is what actually separates a candidate who "has seen the word before" from one who can answer a synonym or antonym question correctly within seconds under exam pressure.

Finally, notice how many words in this M–R range describe institutions and public life rather than personal character — "paramount," "pervasive," "prevalent," "rampant" and "notorious" all appear naturally in sentences about governance, crime and the economy. Newspaper editorials on current affairs are an excellent free source of extra practice for exactly this vocabulary range; reading even one editorial a day and underlining unfamiliar words is a habit that pays off directly in the cloze test and reading comprehension sections covered later in Chapters 27 and 28. Keep a small notebook of these self-discovered words alongside the core lists in this book — by the time you reach the final practice set in Chapter 30, that personal list will likely be just as valuable as anything printed here, because it reflects the exact gaps in your own vocabulary rather than a generic average across every candidate.