English Language

Vocabulary and Synonyms

18,261 Questions

Vocabulary and synonyms are essential components of English language sections across competitive exams. This topic tests word associations, context meanings, and precise vocabulary skills. Regular practice helps test takers score higher in SSC, banking, and railway recruitment tests.

Finding exact synonymsWord substitutionVocabulary in contextAssociated word groups

Vocabulary and Synonyms Questions

Multiple choice softskills leadership

alacrity

  1. stamp-collector

  2. summarize

  3. cheerful promptness without reluctance

  4. very thin piece, usually of wood (cut from a surface with a sharp blade)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Alacrity means cheerful promptness, readiness, or willingness to do something without reluctance or delay. It describes performing a task with eagerness and quickness. Option C perfectly captures this meaning. Option A is philatelist, B is summarize (circular), and D is shaving/veneer.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

alchemy

  1. narrow-minded person, uncultured and exclusively interested in material gain

  2. reconstruct (a sentence, story, statue, etc.)

  3. medieval chemistry

  4. bundle of stalks of grain
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Alchemy was the medieval precursor to modern chemistry, focused on transforming substances, particularly attempts to transmute base metals into gold and discover the elixir of life. Option C correctly identifies it as medieval chemistry. Option A is philistine, B is reconstruct, and D is sheaf.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

alcove

  1. study of language or words

  2. quick or willing to receive (ideas, suggestions, etc.)

  3. nook

  4. remove (fleece or hair) by cutting
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

An alcove is a recess in a wall, often used for a bed or seating - essentially a small, sheltered nook. The other options are unrelated word meanings: A suggests a linguistic term, B describes a receptive attitude, and D refers to shearing sheep.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

alienate

  1. morbid fear

  2. withdrawal

  3. make unfriendly or hostile

  4. small roofed structure for storage and shelter
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Alienate means to make someone unfriendly or hostile, often by causing them to feel isolated. A is 'phobia', B is too vague and could mean physical withdrawal, and D describes a shed or outbuilding.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

allude

  1. plunder

  2. abstruse

  3. refer indirectly

  4. make or become shrunken and wrinkled (often by drying)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Allude means to refer to something indirectly or suggestively, without explicitly stating it. A is to loot, B means difficult to understand, and D describes something shriveling.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

allure

  1. punish by placing in a wooden frame or pillory

  2. survey of enemy by soldiers

  3. entice

  4. shake uncontrollably
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Allure means to entice, attract, or tempt someone, often with charm or appeal. A is an archaic punishment, B is a military reconnaissance, and D means to tremble violently.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

alms

  1. long for

  2. resorting to help when in trouble

  3. money or goods given to the poor

  4. keep away from
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Alms are 'money or goods given to the poor' as charity. 'Long for' is to yearn, and 'keep away from' is to shun or avoid.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

aloft

  1. restrain or immobilize by binding the wings or legs

  2. disloyal

  3. upward

  4. move (a railway train) from one track to another
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Aloft means upward, high up, or in the air. A refers to hobbling a bird, B is not loyal, and D is a railway switching operation.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

altruistic

  1. devout

  2. moral correctness

  3. unselfishly generous

  4. prophetic
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Altruistic means unselfishly generous or concerned for the welfare of others. 'Devout' means deeply religious, 'moral correctness' describes righteousness, and 'prophetic' refers to predicting the future.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

amalgamate

  1. irritation

  2. recover

  3. (of societies or groups) combine

  4. switch (a railroad car) to a siding
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Amalgamate means to combine or unite, especially societies or organizations. 'Irritation' is annoyance, 'recover' means to get better, and switching a railroad car is 'sidetrack' or 'switch'.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

amass

  1. pertaining to fishing

  2. occurring again and again

  3. collect (gradually, in a very large amount)

  4. put through a sieve to separate fine from coarse particles
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Amass means to collect or gather gradually in large quantities. 'Pertaining to fishing' is piscatorial, 'occurring again' is recurrent, and separating with a sieve is 'sift' or 'strain'.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

amazon

  1. hidden danger

  2. odorous

  3. female warrior

  4. expressing a meaning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

In classical mythology, an Amazon was a female warrior. 'Hidden danger' is better described by words like peril or trap, 'odorous' means having a smell, and 'expressing meaning' is semantic or significant.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

ambidextrous

  1. core or marrow

  2. formidable

  3. capable of using either hand with equal ease

  4. sediment deposited by running water (at the entrance to a harbor or by a bend in a river)
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Ambidextrous means able to use both hands with equal skill. 'Core or marrow' refers to the center, 'formidable' means impressive or intimidating, and sediment deposited by water is 'alluvium'.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

ambience

  1. concise and meaningful

  2. remedy

  3. environment

  4. monkeylike
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Ambience refers to the atmosphere or environment of a place. 'Concise and meaningful' describes pithy or succinct language, 'remedy' is a cure, and 'monkeylike' is simian.

Multiple choice softskills leadership

ambiguous

  1. small amount (of money)

  2. diminish

  3. unclear or doubtful in meaning

  4. comparison of one thing with another, using the word like or as
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Ambiguous means unclear or having multiple possible interpretations. 'Small amount of money' is pittance, 'diminish' means to make smaller, and 'comparison using like or as' is a simile.