The verbal section's largest single block is vocabulary: a word, four options, one meaning. It is also the block that improves fastest, because it has no ceiling on how much you can prepare and no ambiguity about what is being asked. Two hundred well-chosen words, learned with roots and in sentences, is worth more marks than any technique in this course.
There is a technique half as well: even when the word is unfamiliar, the options can usually be cut from four to two using roots, tone and part of speech. That is the difference between a section at 50% and a section at 70%.
A synonym question asks for the option closest in meaning; an antonym question asks for the option most nearly opposite. Neither asks for an identical word, which is why degree and tone matter.
The order matters. Reading four options first anchors you on them and makes you choose whichever you recognise; predicting first forces you to use the word itself. Then eliminate by degree: if the word means "humid" and an option says "soaking", the option is too strong.
Antonym questions have their own trap: two options often fit the same direction — one a synonym, one a near-synonym — and the genuine opposite looks less familiar. Ask what the word's opposite pole is: not "unrelated to it", but the far end of its own axis.
| Root | Meaning | Words |
|---|---|---|
| bene / mal | good / bad | benevolent, benefit, malice, malfunction |
| ver | truth | verify, veracity, verdict |
| cred | believe | credible, incredulous, credentials |
| lum | light | lucid, luminous, illuminate |
| ten | hold | tenacious, tenant, retain |
| greg | flock, group | gregarious, congregate, segregate |
| loqu / locu | speak | loquacious, eloquent, elocution |
| path | feeling | apathy, sympathy, pathetic |
| phil | love | philanthropy, bibliophile |
| dict | say | predict, contradict, dictate |
| spec / vid | look / see | inspect, spectacle, evident, provide |
| mit / miss | send | transmit, dismiss, emissary |
| chron | time | chronology, chronic, synchronise |
| pseudo | false | pseudonym, pseudoscience |
| Word | Meaning | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| lucid | clear, easy to understand | obscure | unclear, little known |
| candid | frank, honest | evasive | avoiding a direct answer |
| gregarious | sociable | taciturn | reserved, saying little |
| laconic | using very few words | verbose | using too many words |
| ephemeral | short-lived | perpetual | never-ending |
| meticulous | extremely careful | negligent | careless |
| tenacious | persistent, holding on | irresolute | wavering |
| magnanimous | generous, forgiving | petty | small-minded |
| frugal | thrifty, sparing | extravagant | wasteful |
| mitigate | to make less severe | exacerbate | to make worse |
| impartial | fair, unbiased | biased | prejudiced |
| austere | plain, severe | lavish | richly abundant |
| pragmatic | practical | dogmatic | asserting unproven beliefs |
| diligent | hard-working | indolent | lazy |
| prevalent | widespread | scarce | hard to find |
| redundant | needlessly repeated | concise | brief and clear |
| capricious | unpredictably changing | steadfast | firmly constant |
| ubiquitous | found everywhere | rare | uncommon |
| dubious | doubtful | certain | beyond doubt |
| parsimonious | extremely stingy | generous | freely giving |
Predict first: candid means open and honest, like an unposed photograph. Options: deceitful, frank, hesitant, polished. "Deceitful" is the opposite pole, "hesitant" is unrelated, "polished" describes style. Frank is the match.
Frugal means sparing with money, so the opposite pole is wasteful. Options: thrifty, extravagant, careful, poor. "Thrifty" is a synonym (same direction, so eliminated), "careful" is adjacent, and "poor" describes a state, not a habit. Extravagant.
Decode with the root: mal = bad, vol = wish, so "wishing harm". Options: kind, spiteful, timid, powerful. Spiteful. Knowing three roots (bene, mal, vol) answers this in five seconds.
Used of a regulation, obscure means little known or hard to understand — not physically dark. Options: unclear, dim, hidden, complicated. Unclear fits the context best; "dim" is the physical sense, which does not apply to a regulation.
LACONIC most nearly means:
Choose the word most nearly opposite to MITIGATE:
You meet a word you have never seen. What is the best first move?
Choose the word most nearly opposite to TENACIOUS:
Without looking back: give one word meaning short-lived, one meaning careless, and the root that means "truth".
The answer: ephemeral, negligent, and ver (as in verify and veracity).
A word meaning short-lived is . A word meaning careless is . The root meaning truth is , and the root meaning bad is .
Decode these four words you have not memorised, using roots and prefixes only: incredulous, circumspect, maladroit, benevolent. Then say which two are close to opposite in meaning and why.
Incredulous = in (not) + cred (believe) + ous (full of) = unable to believe, sceptical. Circumspect = circum (around) + spec (look) = looking around, therefore cautious. Maladroit = mal (bad) + adroit (skilful) = clumsy. Benevolent = bene (good) + vol (wish) = wishing good, therefore kind.
The opposition pair is benevolent and maladroit in respect of the mal/bene contrast only — but careful: maladroit is about skill, not about goodwill, so it is not a true antonym of benevolent. The genuine opposite of benevolent is malevolent (wishing harm), and the genuine opposite of maladroit is adroit (skilful). That distinction is exactly the degree-and-axis check that separates a right answer from a tempting one.
Single words are done. The next lesson puts words into relationships — analogies — where a fixed bridge sentence between two words is worth more than knowing both definitions.