Synonyms

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.

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The idea

A synonym is a word that means the same, or nearly the same, as another word. The paper tests it in two ways: a single word in capitals, or a word used in a sentence where you must choose what it most nearly means there.

Fix the meaning in your own plain words before you look at the options. Then pick the option that matches both the meaning and the part of speech: a verb needs a verb, an adjective needs an adjective.

Examiners like to place the opposite of the word among the options, and also a word that only looks or sounds similar. In a sentence question, the other words give you context clues, so read the whole sentence.

Rules to remember

Say the meaning in simple words first, then look for the option that matches it.
The answer has the same part of speech as the given word: verb for verb, noun for noun.
One option is often the antonym; cross it out at once.
Look-alike words are traps: ingenuous is not ingenious, and prescribe is not proscribe.
Roots help: bene = good (benevolent), mal = bad (malevolent), loqu = speak (loquacious), ver = truth (veracity).
Check the tone: thrifty is approving, miserly is disapproving, although both concern saving money.
In a sentence question, put your choice into the sentence; it must still make sense.

Common mistake

Candidates choose a word that looks like the given word, or pick the antonym because it is the first familiar word they see. Decide the meaning before reading the options.

Worked example

The minister's fame proved ephemeral; within a year nobody remembered his name. Here ephemeral most nearly means: A eternal, B short-lived, C well-deserved, D sudden.

The clue is in the second half: he was forgotten within a year, so the fame did not last.
In plain words, ephemeral means lasting only a short time.
A is the opposite. C and D say nothing about how long the fame lasted.
B matches the meaning and is an adjective, like the given word.

Answer: B, short-lived.

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