VOCABULARY-ONE WORD SUBSTITUTES

A person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in

1 Agnostic
the existence of God.
2 Altruism Unselfish interest in the welfare of others
One who engages in a activity for enjoyment rather
3 Amateur
than a profession.
4 Ambidextrous Able to use both hands equally well (left & right)
Having more than one meaning and so unclear,
5 Ambiguous
confusing
6 Amphibious Living on land as well as in water
One who rebels against authority or established
7 Anarchist
order.
8 Anarchy The absence of government or control in a society
9 Annihilation Complete destruction of something
10 Anonymous A person not identified by name
11 Anthology A collection of poems or stories.
12 Antidote A substance that can at against the effect of poison
13 Antiseptic A medicine that prevents infection
The study of life & culture of ancient people
14 Archaeology
through the excavation of sites.
A person who doesn’t believe in the existence of
15 Atheist
God
A number of people listening to a lecture or a
16 Audience
concert
The life history of a person written by
17 Autobiography
himself/herself
An organization having the freedom to govern itself
18 Autonomous
or control its own affairs
19 Bacteriology A scientific study of bacteria
The life history of a person written by another
20 Biography
person
21 Biosphere Totality of living organisms & their environment
A bunch of flowers tied together to be given as a
22 Bouquet
present or to welcome someone
A late morning meal eaten instead of breakfast &
23 Brunch
lunch
24 Calligraphy The art of good handwriting
25 Cannibal A person who eats human flesh
26 Cantonment A permanent station for soldiers, garrison
27 Celibacy The state of being unmarried
Centenary/ The hundredth anniversary of an event
28
Centennial
A professional cook, typically a head cook in a
29 Chef
restaurant
30 Contemporary Living or occurring at the same time
 An outlook that is influenced by people from all
31 Cosmopolitan
over the world
32 Den The home of lions
33 Dermatologist A doctor who treats skin diseases
34 Drought Prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall
35 Edible Fit to be eaten as food by humans
A set of books giving information of many subjects
36 Encyclopedia
& typically arranged alphabetically
Disease regularly found in a particular
37 Endemic
area/among particular people
38 Ephemeral Lasting for a very short time
The spread of an infectious diseases in a very short
39 Epidemic
time in a place
40 Epitaph A short text written on a tombstone
41 Epitome The perfect example of something
42 Etiquette Rules of accepted polite behavior in a society
43 Etymology Study of the origin of words
44 Extempore Spoken or done without any preparation
A small organized dissenting group within a large
45 Faction
one {especially in politics}
A person with extreme & irrational beliefs in
46 Fanatic
politics & religion
47 Feast A large meal on a day of celebration
48 Feminist A person who fights for the rights of women
49 Florist One who sell flowers
50 Garage A place for keeping cars
51 Geocentric Having the earth at the center
52 Glutton One who eats excessively
53 Graphophobia Fear of writing
54 Gregarious Who love the company of others
55 Gymnasium A room that has equipment for physical exercises
56 Hematophobia Fear of blood
57 Herbarium A collection of dried plants
58 Hydrosphere All the water of the earth
One who attacks established & cherished beliefs;
59 Iconoclast
idol breaker
60 Imminent About to happen in immediate future
61 Immune Resistant to a particular disease or toxin
62 Incorrigible of people who can’t be corrected or changed
63 Indefatigable Able to work for a long time without becoming tired
64 Indelible Something that can’t be erased easily
65 Inevitable That which will happen & can’t be avoided
66 Infallible Incapable of making mistakes
67 Inflammable Catching fire quickly
68 Insolvent Unable to pay debts
69 Invincible Too strong to be defeated
70 Invisible That which can’t be seen
71 Irrevocable Something that can’t be changed
72 Kennel A house for a dog
73 Lethal Designed to cause death
74 Loquacious Talking a lot or too much
75 Maxim A short statement expressing the rule of conduct
Concerned with making money at the expense of
76 Mercenary
ethics
77 Misogynist A man who hates women
78 Mortuary/Morgue A place where dead bodies are preserved
79 Notorious Well known for some bad quality
80 Novice One who is inexperienced or new to a new job
A slight difference in meaning that is difficult to
81 Nuance
detect
82 Obsolete Something which is out of date
83 Omnipotent Having unlimited power
84 Omniscient Having complete or unlimited knowledge
85 Opaque That which can’t be seen through, not transparent
A person whose job is to examine people’s eyes and
86 Optician
to recommend and sell glasses
87 Optimist One who looks at bright side of life
88 Ornithology Scientific study of birds
One who treats conditions involving musculo-
89 Orthopaedician
skeletal system/bone specialist
90 Pediatrician A doctor who treats diseases of children
A word/phrase that reads the same backward or
91 Palindrome
forward
92 Pantheism The belief present in all things that God
93 Patent Sole right to produce or sell an invention
94 Pedestrian A person walking on a street
95 Penchant Strong taste or liking for something
96 Perennial Lasting for a long time, continually recurring
97 Peregrination A slow long journey, especially on foot
98 Pessimist One who look at the dark side of things
99 Philanthropist A person who helps the needy
One who attends sick people & prescribes
100 Physician
medicines
101 Pilgrimage A journey to a holy place for religious reasons
102 Polyglot One who can speak many languages
103 Professional A person with proven practical knowledge in a field
 104 Psychology The study of human mind & behavior
Confinement to one place t prevent the spread of
105 Quarantine
infection
106 Seismography An instrument for detecting earthquakes
107 Somnambulism The habit of walking in sleep
108 Spendthrift A person wastes money
109 Stalwart A loyal supporter of an organization
110 Stoic One who is indifferent to pleasure or pain
111 Teetotaler One who never takes alcoholic drinks
112 Theist A person who believes in the existence of god
113 Verbose Using more words than required
114 Veteran Someone who has a lot of experience in a field
115 Web The home of spiders

STUDY SKILLS-IDIOMS & PHRASES

 An idiom is an expression or phrase whose meaning does not relate
to the literal meaning of its words.
 In other words, “Idioms mean something different than the individual
words.”
 Many idiomatic expressions were meant literally in their original use,
but sometimes, the attribution of the literal meaning changed and
the phrase itself grew away from its original roots — typically leading
to a folk etymology.

Once in a blue moon Very rarely.

He comes to college once in blue moon now that he has kids.
An arm and a leg A lot of money/very expensive
It cost me an arm and leg to study in USA.
A piece of cake A very easy task or accomplishment.
Batting is a piece of cake for Virat these days.
A tiny amount, especially when compared to a much
A drop in the ocean
larger one
This small donation was just a drop in the ocean.

Bite one's tongue To stop oneself from saying something

Sitara wanted to speak about the unfair decision, but she bit my tongue.
Go the extra mile To go beyond what is necessary
My father always goes the extra mile to help the needy.

Get ducks in a row To be well prepared or well organized

I can’t hope to do well at my job until I get my ducks in a row.
Let the cat out of the
to allow a secret to be known, unintentionally
bag
Joel let the cat out of the bag about my surprise birthday party.
working against the
not have enough time to do something
clock
I’m really working against the clock now, I must hurry.
Flogging a dead horse Working on something that is over
We are flogging a dead horse. Our present business is making no money.
So let’s do something else.
On cloud nine very happy
Rahul is on cloud nine as he got a good job.
bolt from the blue something totally unexpected
The results of the recent polls were a bolt from the blue to many parties.
Strom in a tea cup Making a lot of fuss for something unimportant
There was a storm in a tea cup over who should be the Chief Guest on
Hostel Day.
Make hay while sun
shines Take advantage of favourable circumstances

Our boss is on a vacation. Let’s make hay while the sun shines and relax.

Beat black & blue badly bruised

Kiran was beaten black and blue by the violent crowd.
Fight an uphill battle Struggle against unfavorable conditions
The Kings XI Punjab must fight an uphill battle to win the IPL Title.
Donkey's years A long time.
I have been teaching grammar for donkey's years.
At the eleventh hour At the last possible moment

If you want to do your best, don’t do things at the eleventh hour.

Bee in one's bonnet An idea which constantly occupies one’s thoughts

Our English teacher has a bee in her bonnet about correct pronunciation.

Cook someone's goose Spoil someone’s plans or chances of success

This year’s severe drought cooked my goose.
Feather in one's cap An honor or accomplishment to be proud of;
Bahubali’s success is a feather in Rajamouli’s cap.
a person's rise from a state of extreme poverty to one
Rags to riches of great wealth.
Dhuribai Ambani’s life is a story of rags to riches.
In the blink of an eye happens very quickly.
The announcement of the Intermediate results reached every corner in the
blink of an eye.
By/in leaps and
Make progress very quickly
bounds
Our business flourished in leaps and bounds.
Risk life & limb to do something that is very dangerous
Don’t risk your life and limb by participating in reality shows.
Save one's skin/neck Rescue someone from danger or difficulty.
Satish got his friends into trouble in order to save his skin.
Birds of a feather
flock together having similar interests, ideas, or characteristics
Arun & Varun are sports enthusiasts and are often found together. So, our
friends usually speak of them as birds of a feather flock together.
Keep (one) at arm's
length Not to allow somebody to be friendly with you

I always keep cheats at arm’s length.

Bite off more than

you can chew To take on more responsibility than one can handle.
The tailor accepted more work than he could handle & realized that he had
bitten off more than he could chew.

Take the bull by the deal with a problem or difficult situation directly and
horns with clear, confident action.

The manager avoided taking a decision but finally took the bull by the horns.

Leave no stone unturned Make every possible effort to achieve something

President Kalam stone left no turned unturned to motivate the youth.

No spring chicken No longer young or youthful

I'm no spring chicken, you know. How can I dance?
Beyond (one's) wildest
dreams Unimaginable.

The bumper harvest was beyond the farmer’s wildest dreams.

Keep your nose to the
grindstone To work hard and industriously on something.
Uma is in the Intermediate class & has to keep her nose to the grindstone.
Not time for games & music.
Paddle your own canoe To act independently.

Sonu refused all help as he believed in paddling his own canoe.

Have a bone to pick To have an issue to discuss, argue about

Laxmi has a bone to pick with Revati as she wasn’t invited to the marriage.
Give a tongue-lashing scolding a person harshly
The teacher gave the lazy boy a tongue-lashing.
Dressed up to the nines Very well-dressed and fashionable
Actors dress up to the nines for public functions.
Make one's ears burn To make someone uncomfortable
The discussion about my childhood pranks made my ears burn.
Turn a deaf ear refuse to listen
Our boss turned a deaf ear to our request for changing the venue of the
meeting.
Back to the salt mines Resume work
After the vacation, the students had to go back to the salt mines.
the most important and practical details of
Nuts & Bolts
something
Unless I get to know the nuts and bolts of the business, I can’t venture into it.
Step into someone's
shoes To fill someone's position

When the manager retires, I’ll step into his shoes.

a difficult situation for which there is no easy or

Catch-22 possible solution
In big cities, if you don’t have a place to live in, you can’t get a job, & with
no job, you can’t get a place to live in! thus, It’s a catch-22 situation.
At the drop of a hat Happening instantly, without any delay.
The rich socialite throws parties at the drop of a hat.
spending time searching for something that is
Wild goose chase simply impossible to find
Without a proper address or phone number, it would be a wild goose
chase to locate someone in Hyderabad.
do the same bad thing to a person who has done
Taste of own medicine
it to you
The evil-minded will taste their own medicine sooner or later.
Blow one’s horn To boast, to praise oneself
People avoid her as she constantly blows her horn.
Burn the midnight oil To stay up late working
I’ve to present this report by tomorrow. So, it must burn the midnight oil
tonight.
Thrilled to bits Extremely pleased about something
I was thrilled to bits when I received a fancy gift.
A bed of roses Something very easy
Working with corporate companies isn’t going to be a bed of roses.
a white elephant Very expensive
His new house has become a white elephant.
Hit the nail on the
Talking exactly to the point
head
The lawyer argued his case as he hit the nail on the head.
Spill the beans To reveal a secret
The criminal spilled the beans during the interrogation.
Hot cakes Fast selling; easy to sell
The new mobiles of Nokia are sold like hot cakes.
Face the music Accept the unpleasant things
As he committed a criminal act he has to face the music.
Judge by a book by its
Forming an opinion primarily on appearance
cover
You can’t judge a book by its cover. Just because he looks strange,
doesn’t mean he isn’t a nice person.
Achilles heel A weakness or a black sopt
In Indira Gandhi’s tenure “emergency” stood as Achilles heel.
By a whisker With a low margin
We lost the match by a whisker but we played well.
Every cloud has a
Every misfortune has something good for us.
silver lining
If we hadn’t missed the plane, we wouldn’t have met you. It’s rightly said,
every cloud has a silver lining.
Part & parcel Basic element
Don’t be disappointed, it is a part & parcel of your profession, criticism &
praise.
A thick skin Ability to bear/ overcome criticism
A politician needs a thick skin.
A sea change A remarkable change in someone’s behavior.
After the remission from the prison, there’s a sea change in his behavior.
In a nut shell Brief or precisely
Let me explain the proceedings in a nutshell.
Get the nod Acceptance or permission to start something
Rahul got the nod after a lengthy discussion among the members.
Take the rap Take blame for not committing the blame
The corrupt officers should take the rap for their faults.
Dark horse One who is previously unknown & is now famous
There were many new entrepreneurs who were dark horses before the
Covid-19 pandemic.
A hot potato Controversial & sensitive sue
The government decision to recruit the Agniveer, Agnipath has become a
hot potato.
A square meal A complete nutritious meal
Everybody needs to have a square meal every day.
By fair means or foul Any possible method, moral or immoral
They want to win the case of their property by fair means or foul.
A labour of love Doing something for your pleasure, not for money
He runs a school for the poor children it is like a labour of love.
Keep the pot boiling Continue the activity
Keep the pot boiling by continuing the peace discussion with our
neighbouring countries.
Tie the knot Get married
My friend tied the knot last year
Top to bottom From beginning to end
I cleaned my room top to bottom