One-Word Substitution

What does the question ask?

You get a long phrase. You must pick one word that means the same thing.

For example, ‘a person who loves or collects books’ is one word: bibliophile.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: bibliophile.

Why do exams love it?

One word replaces many. It tests whether you know exact words, not just rough meanings.

The same words appear again and again. A list of about a hundred covers most questions.

Which words describe people?

Misanthrope: a person who hates and avoids other people.

Philanthropist: a rich person who helps the poor and those in need, especially by giving money.

Atheist: a person who believes that God or gods do not exist.

Orphan: a child whose parents are dead.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: misanthrope; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: philanthropist; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: atheist; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: orphan.

How do you remember them?

Break the word into roots. Phil means love and anthrop means human. So a philanthropist loves humans.

A misanthrope has the opposite feeling: mis means hate.

Example: How do you break a word into roots?

Take the phrase ‘one who eats both plants and meat’. Look for a root that means all.

Omni means all, and vore means eating. So the word is omnivore.

Why this works: the root gives you the meaning first, and the options only confirm it.

Which other words come up often?

Autobiography: the story of a person’s life, written by that person.

Ambidextrous: able to use the left hand or the right hand equally well.

Omnivore: an animal or a person that eats all types of food, especially both plants and meat.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: autobiography; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: ambidextrous; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: omnivore.

What is the trap here?

Biography is also a life story, but it is written by someone else.

Herbivore eats plants only. Carnivore eats meat only. Omnivore eats both.

Why do roots help?

Many such words share Latin or Greek roots. Learn the root and you learn many words.

Omni means all. So omnivore eats all, and omnipotent means able to do anything.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: omnipotent.

Which roots are worth learning?

Bibli means book, so bibliophile loves books. Auto means self, so autobiography is a life story told by oneself.

Ambi means both. So ambidextrous means skilled with both hands.

In means not. So infallible means never wrong.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: infallible.

Learn the root once, and each new word becomes easier.

How do you solve one?

Take this: ‘a person who believes that God does not exist’. The options are Atheist, Agnostic, Optimist, Pacifist.

First, read the phrase fully. Second, name the idea in your head. Third, find the option that matches it. Atheist fits.

What if two options look close?

Go back to the exact words of the phrase. ‘Does not exist’ is firmer than ‘not sure’.

The exact phrase usually separates two close options.

In each pair the two words look alike, so the exact phrase decides.

Can you fix the wrong word?

Wrong: A person who writes about his own life is a biographer.
Right: A person who writes about his own life is writing an autobiography.

Wrong: An animal that eats only plants is a carnivore.
Right: An animal that eats only plants is a herbivore.

Why this works: Check who writes the story and what is eaten. Those two details separate the pairs.

How many words should you learn?

Learn five a day. In three weeks you will know more than a hundred.

Write the phrase on one side of a card and the word on the other.

How do you test yourself?

Cover the word and read the phrase. Say the word aloud.

Do the quiz below. Revise every miss twice.

Example: A second step-by-step question

The phrase is ‘a person who can use both hands equally well’. The options are Ambidextrous, Ambitious, Amateur, Ambiguous.

The root ambi means both, and dexter means right hand. So Ambidextrous fits. Ambitious looks alike but means eager to succeed.

Why this works: the root gives the meaning, and the look-alike options only share the first letters.

Example: A question about a mixed group

The phrase is ‘an animal that eats both plants and meat’. The options are Herbivore, Carnivore, Omnivore, Insectivore.

Omni means all, so Omnivore is right. Herbivore and Carnivore each cover only one food.

Why this works: both words in the phrase point to one root, which is omni.

Which extra words are worth knowing?

Polyglot means knowing, using or written in more than one language.

Nocturnal means active at night. Owls and bats are nocturnal animals.

Infallible means never wrong and never making mistakes.

Sources: Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: polyglot; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: nocturnal; Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: infallible.

How do these differ from the earlier words?

Some of these words describe things or animals, not only people. Read the phrase to see what is being described.

Notice the part of speech. Nocturnal and infallible describe a quality, so the phrase will start with words like ‘active’ or ‘never’.