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English Vocabulary · Chapter 15 · Synonyms

Synonyms

A synonym is a word that means the same, or nearly the same, as another — "big" and "large", "brave" and "fearless". SSC asks you to pick the option closest in meaning to a given word. You cannot memorise every word in English, so the real skill is to guess the meaning smartly — from the word's root, its positive or negative "charge", and by eliminating wrong options. This chapter teaches those tricks, then drills the high-frequency words the exam repeats.एक पर्यायवाची (synonym) वह शब्द है जो किसी अन्य के समान या लगभग समान अर्थ रखता है — "big" और "large", "brave" और "fearless"। SSC आपसे दिए शब्द के निकटतम अर्थ वाला विकल्प चुनने को कहता है। हर शब्द रटना असंभव है, इसलिए असली कौशल है अर्थ का चतुराई से अनुमान — शब्द की जड़, उसके धनात्मक/ऋणात्मक "भाव" से, और गलत विकल्प हटाकर। यह अध्याय वे तरकीबें सिखाता है, फिर परीक्षा में दोहराए जाने वाले शब्द अभ्यास कराता है।
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Topic 01

Roots & Word Charge

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HANDWRITTEN PDF NOTES
Synonyms — downloadable PDF
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Trick 1 — break the word into roots. "Ornithology" = ornis (birds) + logos (study) → the study of birds. Trick 2 — read the charge. Many words carry a positive (+), negative (−) or neutral (=) feeling. If the given word is negative (e.g. "maligned", with the mal- prefix), the synonym must also be negative — so you can drop every positive option straight away.तरकीब 1 — शब्द को जड़ों में तोड़ें। "Ornithology" = ornis (पक्षी) + logos (अध्ययन) → पक्षियों का अध्ययन। तरकीब 2 — भाव पढ़ें। कई शब्द धनात्मक (+), ऋणात्मक (−) या तटस्थ (=) भाव रखते हैं। यदि दिया शब्द ऋणात्मक है (जैसे "maligned", mal- उपसर्ग), तो synonym भी ऋणात्मक होगा — अतः हर धनात्मक विकल्प तुरंत हटा दें।

Beware sound-alikes.ध्वनि-समान से सावधान। "Restive" sounds like "rest" but means restless. Judge by meaning, not sound. "Restive" "rest" जैसा लगता है पर अर्थ है बेचैन। अर्थ से पहचानें, ध्वनि से नहीं।
📝 Self-test — pick the synonymस्वयं-परीक्षण — पर्यायवाची चुनें 4 MCQs

RESTIVERESTIVE

  1. rested
  2. limitless
  3. limited
  4. restless
D. "Restive" means restless (not related to "rest").D. "Restive" = बेचैन ("rest" से नहीं)।

OBNOXIOUSOBNOXIOUS

  1. depressing
  2. disgusting
  3. arrogant
  4. filthy
B. Negatively charged → "disgusting".B. ऋणात्मक भाव → "disgusting"।

BENEVOLENCE (bene- = good)BENEVOLENCE (bene- = अच्छा)

  1. morbidity
  2. vision
  3. kindness
  4. ill-will
C. "bene-" is positive → "kindness".C. "bene-" धनात्मक → "kindness"।

MALIGNED (mal- = bad)MALIGNED (mal- = बुरा)

  1. generous
  2. slandered
  3. elegant
  4. praised
B. Negative "mal-" → "slandered" (spoken ill of).B. ऋणात्मक "mal-" → "slandered" (बदनाम किया)।
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Topic 02

Elimination & Sentence Substitution

Trick 3 — eliminate close synonyms of each other. If two options mean almost the same, neither can be the single answer — drop both. Trick 4 — put the word in a sentence. A true synonym should slot into the same sentence without changing its meaning: "Sahil's hesitation…" = "Sahil's reluctance…", so those two are synonyms.तरकीब 3 — आपस में समान विकल्प हटाएँ। यदि दो विकल्पों का अर्थ लगभग एक हो, तो कोई भी अकेला उत्तर नहीं — दोनों हटाएँ। तरकीब 4 — शब्द को वाक्य में रखें। सच्चा synonym उसी वाक्य में अर्थ बदले बिना बैठ जाना चाहिए।

📝 Self-test — pick the synonymस्वयं-परीक्षण — पर्यायवाची चुनें 4 MCQs

LACONICLACONIC

  1. concise
  2. verbose
  3. rambling
  4. loquacious
A. "Laconic" = using few words → "concise" (the other three are close synonyms of "wordy").A. "Laconic" = कम शब्दों में → "concise" (बाकी तीन "wordy" के निकट)।

DILIGENTDILIGENT

  1. intelligent
  2. energetic
  3. indifferent
  4. industrious
D. "Diligent" = hard-working → "industrious".D. "Diligent" = परिश्रमी → "industrious"।

AMICABLEAMICABLE

  1. friendly
  2. satisfying
  3. poisonous
  4. heartening
A. "Amicable" = friendly (from Latin amicus, friend).A. "Amicable" = मैत्रीपूर्ण (लैटिन amicus, मित्र)।

PRUDENTPRUDENT

  1. criminal
  2. skilled
  3. experienced
  4. cautious
D. "Prudent" = careful, wise → "cautious".D. "Prudent" = सतर्क, बुद्धिमान → "cautious"।
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Topic 03

Latin & Romance Roots

Trick 5 — use common roots. Latin/Spanish mal = bad → maligned, malevolent, malicious are all negative. bene/bueno = good → benevolent, beneficial, benefactor are all positive. ver = truth → veracity, verify. Roots unlock hundreds of words at once.तरकीब 5 — सामान्य जड़ों का प्रयोग। लैटिन/स्पेनिश mal = बुरा → maligned, malevolent सब ऋणात्मक। bene/bueno = अच्छा → benevolent, beneficial सब धनात्मक। ver = सत्य → veracity। जड़ें एक साथ सैकड़ों शब्द खोल देती हैं।

📝 Self-test — pick the synonymस्वयं-परीक्षण — पर्यायवाची चुनें 4 MCQs

VERACITYVERACITY

  1. truth
  2. wisdom
  3. loyalty
  4. freedom
A. Root "ver" = truth → "truth".A. जड़ "ver" = सत्य → "truth"।

FIDELITYFIDELITY

  1. affection
  2. loyalty
  3. allegiance
  4. accuracy
B. "Fidelity" = faithfulness → "loyalty" (root fides, faith).B. "Fidelity" = निष्ठा → "loyalty" (जड़ fides, विश्वास)।

BENEVOLENTBENEVOLENT

  1. kind
  2. harmful
  3. hostile
  4. selfish
A. "bene-" (good) + "vol" (wish) → "kind".A. "bene-" (अच्छा) + "vol" (इच्छा) → "kind"।

VINDICATEVINDICATE

  1. ventilate
  2. recommend
  3. justify
  4. open
C. "Vindicate" = to clear of blame → "justify".C. "Vindicate" = दोषमुक्त करना → "justify"।
Topic 04

High-Frequency Exam Words

Some words appear again and again in SSC papers. Learn these by heart: intrepid = fearless · censure = criticise · audacity = boldness · paucity = shortage · cajole = persuade · novice = beginner · frugal = economical · tranquil = peaceful · enigmatic = puzzling · loquacious = talkative · dearth = scarcity · abrogate = repeal.कुछ शब्द SSC प्रश्नपत्रों में बार-बार आते हैं। इन्हें कंठस्थ करें: intrepid = निर्भय · censure = आलोचना · audacity = साहस · paucity = कमी · cajole = मनाना · novice = नौसिखिया · frugal = मितव्ययी · tranquil = शांत · enigmatic = रहस्यमय · loquacious = बातूनी · dearth = अभाव · abrogate = निरस्त।

📝 Self-test — pick the synonymस्वयं-परीक्षण — पर्यायवाची चुनें 4 MCQs

INTREPIDINTREPID

  1. ambitious
  2. fearless
  3. talkative
  4. determined
B. "Intrepid" = fearless.B. "Intrepid" = निर्भय।

CENSURECENSURE

  1. evaluate
  2. appreciate
  3. criticise
  4. advise
C. "Censure" = to blame/criticise.C. "Censure" = निंदा/आलोचना।

PAUCITYPAUCITY

  1. meanness
  2. excess
  3. shortage
  4. surplus
C. "Paucity" = smallness in number → "shortage".C. "Paucity" = कमी → "shortage"।

CAJOLECAJOLE

  1. insist
  2. flatter
  3. recommend
  4. persuade
D. "Cajole" = coax gently → "persuade".D. "Cajole" = फुसलाना → "persuade"।

Test Yourself · Synonyms

12 questions — choose the word closest in meaning. Tap an option to check, then read Why.

12 प्रश्न — निकटतम अर्थ वाला शब्द चुनें। जाँचने के लिए विकल्प पर टैप करें, फिर Why पढ़ें।