One Word Substitution Questions and Answers

Answer: B

It is ignorant.

Ignorant means lacking knowledge, from the Latin ignorare, not to know. Credulous means too ready to believe, which is a different failing.

Answer: B

The word is 'illicit', which means forbidden by law or not permitted. Counterfeiting and smuggling are illegal trades, so illicit replaces 'prohibited by law'. 'Illusive' means deceptive or based on illusion, 'illegible' means that cannot be read, and 'illative' is a rare word concerning an inference or a grammatical case. None of these three means forbidden by law, so only 'illicit' fits the sentence.

Answer: C

The study of ancient things is archaeology, which is the study of human history through the remains of past cultures. Geology is the study of the earth, geography the study of places and their features, and zoology the study of animals, so none of the other three means the study of ancient things.

Answer: D

A huge fire for a celebration is a bonfire. A bonsai is a small tree grown in a pot, an arsenal is a store of weapons, and a field is an open area of land. None of these three means a large outdoor fire made for a celebration, so 'bonfire' is the only suitable word.

Answer: C

An usher is a person who shows people to their seats, for example in a cinema, a theatre or at a wedding. A cameraman operates a camera, a guard protects a place or a person, and a fisher catches fish, so they are not the right words. The answer is usher, option C.

Answer: A

The young one of a donkey is called a foal, the same word used for the young of a horse, since the donkey belongs to the horse family. The other words name the young of other creatures: a maggot is the larva of a fly, a squab is a young pigeon bred for food, and a fawn is a young deer. Only foal fits a donkey, so the single word that can substitute the given phrase is foal, option (A).

Answer: D

The word is Bourgeois.

A bourgeois is a person belonging to the middle class. A bureaucrat is an official, an aristocrat belongs to the nobility and the clergy are religious officials.

So only 'bourgeois' fits the group of words.

The word 'bourgeois' comes from French and refers to the middle class, usually in a social or economic sense. It is often used in discussions of capitalism and class. The other words describe an official, a noble and a group of priests.

Answer: C

The word is Abbreviation.

An abbreviation is a short form of a word or phrase. Correlation is a relationship, slang is informal language and expansion is the opposite of shortening.

So only abbreviation fits.

The word comes from the Latin 'abbreviare', to shorten. Examples are 'Dr.' for Doctor and 'etc.' for et cetera. An acronym such as NASA is a kind of abbreviation that is read as a word.

Answer: A

The word is Orology.

Orology is the study of mountains. Philology is the study of languages, geography is the study of the earth's surface and topography is the description of land features.

So only orology means the study of mountains.

The ending '-ology' means the study of, and the Greek 'oros' means mountain. So the study of mountains is orology. Do not confuse this with 'orography', the description of relief, or 'oology', the study of eggs.

Answer: B

The word is Ophthalmologist.

An ophthalmologist is a doctor who specialises in eye care. A virologist studies viruses, a serologist studies blood serum and a cytologist studies cells.

So only ophthalmologist fits.

An ophthalmologist is a medical doctor, unlike an optometrist, who tests sight and prescribes glasses. The word comes from the Greek for eye. A virologist studies viruses, a serologist studies serum and a cytologist studies cells.