One-word substitutes and spelling

English (Précis and Composition) · Vocabulary · Words. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

Test this topic free All English (Précis and Composition) topics

The idea

A one-word substitute replaces a whole phrase with a single exact word: a person who eats no meat is a vegetarian. The questions describe a person, a place, a form of government or an act, and you choose the word.

Most of these words are built from Greek and Latin roots. If you know that omni means all and -cide means killing, you can work out words you have never learnt. The wrong options usually share a root with the right one, so read every part of the word.

Spelling questions give four versions of one word. The traps are double letters, the vowel in an unstressed syllable, and the order of i and e. Write the word in syllables to check it.

Rules to remember

omni- = all: omniscient (all-knowing), omnipotent (all-powerful), omnipresent (present everywhere).
-cracy and -archy = rule: democracy (the people), autocracy (one person), oligarchy (a few), theocracy (religious leaders).
-cide = killing: regicide (a king), patricide (one's father), fratricide (one's brother or sister), genocide (a whole people).
Places: aviary (birds), apiary (bees), aquarium (fish), orphanage (orphans), granary (grain).
People: philanthropist (helps mankind), misanthrope (hates mankind), atheist (believes there is no God), agnostic (holds that we cannot know).
Double letters: accommodation (cc, mm), occurrence (cc, rr), committee (mm, tt, ee), embarrass (rr, ss).
Often misspelt: separate, definitely, privilege, maintenance, supersede, bureaucracy, conscientious.

Common mistake

Candidates stop at the first familiar root and choose omnipotent for all-knowing, or apiary for a place for birds. Read the ending of the word as carefully as its beginning.

Worked example

Choose the one word for: a person who believes that nothing can be known about the existence of God. A atheist, B agnostic, C heretic, D pagan.

The phrase is about knowledge, not about denial: the person says that we cannot know.
An atheist goes further and believes that there is no God, so A is too strong.
A heretic holds a belief against the accepted teaching of a religion; a pagan follows a religion outside the main world faiths.
Agnostic comes from Greek a (not) and gnosis (knowledge): not knowing.

Answer: B, agnostic.

Ask about this

Type what you are stuck on. The helper finds the explanation, worked examples and the notes to read, free and instant.

Read the full notes

Keep going

← Pairs of words (commonly confused)Idioms and their meanings →Take a English (Précis and Composition) test