Top 123 CAT Vocabulary Questions With Solutions

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

Run

[CAT 2008]

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

Round

[CAT 2008]

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

Buckle

[CAT 2008]

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

File

[CAT 2008]

Anita wore a beautiful broach (A)/brooch (B) on the lapel of her jacket.
If you want to complain about the amenities in your neighbourhood, please meet your councillor(A)/counsellor(B).
I would like your advice(A)/advise(B) on which job I should choose.
The last scene provided a climactic(A)/climatic(B) ending to the film.
Jeans that flair(A)/flare(B) at the bottom are in fashion these days.

The cake had lots of currents(A)/currants(B) and nuts in it.
If you engage in such exceptional(A)/exceptionable(B) behaviour, I will be forced to punish you.
He has the same capacity as an adult to consent(A)/assent(B) to surgical treatment.
The minister is obliged (A)/compelled(B) to report regularly to a parliamentary board.
His analysis of the situation is far too sanguine(A)/genuine(B).

She managed to bite back the ironic(A)/caustic(B) retort on the tip of her tongue.
He gave an impassioned and valid(A)/cogent(B) plea for judicial reform.
I am not adverse(A)/averse(B) to helping out.
The coupe(A)/coup(B) broke away as the train climbed the hill.
They heard the bells peeling(A)/pealing(B) far and wide.

We were not successful in defusing(A)/diffusing(B) the Guru’s ideas.
The students baited(A)/bated(B) the instructor with irrelevant questions.
The hoard(A)/horde(B) rushed into the campus.
The prisoner’s interment(A)/internment(B) came to an end with his early release.
The hockey team could not deal with his unsociable(A)/unsocial(B) tendencies.

The genocides in Bosnia and Rwanda, apart from being mis-described in the most sinister and _______ manner as ‘ethnic cleansing’, were also blamed, in further hand-washing rhetoric, on something dark and interior to _______ and perpetrators alike.

As navigators, calendar makers, and other __________ of the night sky accumulated evidence to the contrary, ancient astronomers were forced to __________ that certain bodies might move in circles about points, which in turn moved in circles about the earth.

Every human being, after the first few days of his life, is a product of two factors: on the one hand, there is his __________ endowment; and on the other hand, there is the effect of environment, including _____

Exhaustion of natural resources, destruction of individual initiative by governments, control over men’s minds by central _______ of education and propaganda are some of the major evils which appear to be on the increase as a result of the impact of science upon minds suited by _______ to an earlier kind of world.

The cricket council that was [A] / were [B] elected last March is [A] / are [B] at sixes and sevens over new rules.

The critics censored [A] / censured [B] the new movie because of its social inaccessibility.

Amit’s explanation for missing the meeting was credulous [A] / credible [B].

She coughed discreetly [A] / discretely [B] to announce her presence.

The further [A] / farther [B] he pushed himself, the more disillusioned he grew.

For the crowds it was more of a historical [A] / historic [B] event; for their leader, it was just another day.

The old man has a healthy distrust [A] / mistrust [B] for all new technology.

This film is based on a real [A] / true [B] story.

One suspects that the compliment [A] / complement [B] was backhanded

Regrettably [A] / Regretfully [B] I have to decline your invitation.

I am drawn to the poetic, sensual [A] / sensuous [B] quality of her paintings.

He was besides [A] / beside [B] himself with rage when I told him what I had done.

After brushing against a stationary [A] / stationery [B] truck my car turned turtle.

As the water began to rise over[A]/above[B] the danger mark, the signs of an imminent flood were clear.

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

"Near"

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

"Hand"

[CAT 2005]

Choose the option in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.

"For"

The following question has a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.

Intelligent design derives from an early 19th-century explanation of the natural world given by an English clergyman, William Paley. Paley was the populariser of the famous watchmaker analogy. Proponents of intelligent design are $${crupping}$$ Paley's argument with a new gloss from molecular biology.

The following question has a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.

Women squat, heads covered, beside huge piles of limp fodder and $$blunk$$ oil lamps, and just about all the cows in the three towns converge upon this spot. Sinners, supplicants and yes, even scallywags hand over a few coins for a crack at redemption and a handful of grass.

The following question has a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.

It is $$kiang$$ to a sensitive traveler who walks through this great town, when he sees the streets, the roads, and cabin doors crowded with beggars, mostly women, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for alms.

The following question has a paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.

Or there is the most $$fingummy$$ diplomatic note on record: when Philip of Macedon wrote to the Spartans that, if he came within their borders, he would leave not one stone of their city, they wrote back the one word - “If”.

Choose the option in which the usage of BOLT is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE?

Choose the option in which the usage of FALLOUT is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE?

Choose the option in which the usage of PASSING is INCORRECT or INAPPROPRIATE?

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Choose the option in which the usage of the word 'Bundle' is Incorrect or Inappropriate.

Choose the option in which the usage of the word 'Distinct' is Incorrect or Inappropriate.

Choose the option in which the usage of the word 'Implication' is Incorrect or Inappropriate.

Choose the option in which the usage of the word 'Host' is Incorrect or Inappropriate.

Choose the option in which the usage of the word 'Sort' is Incorrect or Inappropriate.

Fill in the Blanks: The British retailer, M&S, today formally ______ defeat in its attempt to ______ King’s, its US subsidiary, since no potential purchasers were ready to cough up the necessary cash.

Fill in the Blanks: Early ______ of maladjustment to college culture is ______ by the tendency to develop friendship networks outside college which mask signals of maladjustment.

Fill in the Blanks: The ______ regions of Spain all have unique cultures, but the ______ views within each region make the issue of an acceptable common language of instruction an even more contentious one.

Fill in the Blanks: A growing number of these expert professionals ______ having to train foreigners as the students end up ______ the teachers who have to then unhappily contend with no jobs at all or new jobs with drastically reduced pay packets.

Fill in the Blanks: Companies that try to improve employees’ performance by ______ rewards encourage negative kinds of behavior instead of ______ a genuine interest in doing the work well.

Out of the four possibilities given, select the one that has all the definitions and their usages most closely matched.

"Measure"

A. Size or quantity found by measuring

B. Vessel of standard capacity

C. Suitable action

D. Ascertain extent or quantity

E. A measure was instituted to prevent outsiders from entering the campus

F. Sheila was asked to measure each item that was delivered.

G. The measure of the cricket pitch was 22 yards.

H. Ramesh used a measure to take out one litre of oil.

Out of the four possibilities given, select the one that has all the definitions and their usages most closely matched.

"Bound"

A. Obliged, constrained

B. Limiting value

C. Move in a specified direction

D. Destined or certain to be

E. Dinesh felt bound to walk out when the discussion turned to kickbacks.

F. Buffeted by contradictory forces he was bound to lose his mind.

G. Vidya's story strains the bounds of credulity.

H. Bound for a career in law, Jyoti was reluctant to study Milton.

Out of the four possibilities given, select the one that has all the definitions and their usages most closely matched.

"Catch"

A. Capture

B. Grasp with senses of mind

C. Deception

D. Thing or person worth trapping

E. All her friends agreed that Prasad was a good catch.

F. The proposal sounds very good but where is the catch?

G. Hussain tries to catch the spirit of India in this painting.

H. Sorry, I couldn't catch you.

Out of the four possibilities given, select the one that has all the definitions and their usages most closely matched.

"Deal"

A. Manage, attend to

B. Stock, sell

C. Give out to a number of people

D. Be concerned with

E. Dinesh insisted on dealing the cards.

F. This contract deals with handmade cards.

G. My brother deals in cards.

H. I decided not to deal with handmade cards.

Out of the four possibilities given, select the one that has all the definitions and their usages most closely matched.

"Turn"

A. Give new direction to

B. Send

C. Change in form

D. Opportunity coming successively for each person

E. It was now his turn to be angry.

F. Leena never turned away a beggar.

G. Ashish asked Laxman to turn his face to the left.

H. The old school building has been turned into a museum.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Opprobrium: The police officer appears oblivious to the opprobrium generated by his blatantly partisan conduct.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Portend: It appears to many that the US ‘war on terrorism’ portends trouble in the Gulf.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Prevaricate: When a videotape of her meeting was played back to her and she was asked to explain her presence there, she started prevaricating.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Restive: The crowd became restive when the minister failed to appear even by 10 pm.

From the alternatives given pick the word or phrase that is closest in meaning in the given context.

Ostensible: Manohar’s ostensible job was to guard the building at night.

1

2

3

Fill in the blank at 1.

Fill in the blank at 2.

Fill in the blank at 3.

Fill in the Blanks: But _____ are now regularly written not just for tools, but well-established practices, organisations and institutions, not all of which seem to be _____ away.

Fill in the Blanks: The Darwin who _____ is most remarkable for the way in which he _____ the attributes of the world class thinker and head of the household.

Fill in the Blanks: Since her face was free of _____ there was no way to _____ if she appreciated what had happened.

Fill in the Blanks: In this context, the _____ of the British labour movement is particularly _____.

Fill in the Blanks: Indian intellectuals may boast, if they are so inclined, of being _____ to the most elitist among the intellectual _____ of the world.

Pick the word from the alternatives given that is most inappropriate in the given context.

Specious: A specious argument is not simply a false one but one that has the ring of truth.

Pick the word from the alternatives given that is most inappropriate in the given context.

Obviate: The new mass transit system may obviate the need for the use of personal cars.

Pick the word from the alternatives given that is most inappropriate in the given context.

Disuse: Some words fall into disuse as technology makes objects obsolete.

Pick the word from the alternatives given that is most inappropriate in the given context.

Parsimonious: The evidence was constructed from very parsimonious scraps of information.

Pick the word from the alternatives given that is most inappropriate in the given context.

Facetious: When I suggested that war is a method of controlling population, my father remarked that I was being facetious.

EXCEED

INFER

Mellow

Relief

Purge

In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

Though one eye is kept firmly on the _______, the company now also promotes _______ contemporary art.

[CAT 2000]

In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

The law prohibits a person from felling a sandalwood tree, even if it grows on one’s own land, without prior permission from the government. As poor people cannot deal with the government, this legal provision leads to a rip-roaring business for _______ , who care neither for the ________, nor for the trees.

[CAT 2000]

In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

It will take some time for many South Koreans to _______ the conflicting images of North Korea, let alone to _____ what to make of their northern cousins.

[CAT 2000]

In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

In these bleak and depressing times of _______ prices, non-performing governments and ________ crime rates, Sourav Ganguly has given us, Indians, a lot to cheer about.

[CAT 2000]

In each of the following sentences, parts of the sentence are left blank. Beneath each sentence, four different ways of completing the sentence are indicated. Choose the best alternative from among the four.

The manners and _______ of the nouveau riche is a recurrent ______ in literature.

[CAT 2000]

Fill in the blanks: Football evokes a ___ response in India compared to cricket, that almost ___ the nation.

Fill in the blanks: Social studies, science matters of health and safety, the very atmosphere of the classroom —these areas are few of the ___ for the ___ of proper emotional reactions.

Fill in the blanks: When children become more experienced with words as visual symbols, they find that they can gain meaning without making ___ sounds.

Fill in the blanks: Learning is more efficient when it is ___. It is less efficient when it is ___.

Fill in the blanks: Simple arithmetic tells us that there is more ___ than ___.

Fill in the blanks: 

Most political leaders acquire their position by causing a large number of people to believe that these leaders are ___ by altruistic desires.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Three of the words are related to in some way. Select the word that does not fit in the relation.

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair. Peel : Peal

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair. Doggerel : Poet

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair. Premise : Conclusion

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair.

Barge : Vessel

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair. Love : Obsession

Select the pair that best expresses a relationship similar to the one expressed in the question pair. Reptile : Adder

Choose the pair of words which best expresses the relationship similar to that of CAR :ROAD

Choose the pair of words which best expresses the relationship similar to that of FORESIGHT : FARSIGHTEDNESS

Choose the pair of words which best expresses the relationship similar to that of FLEET : NAVY

Choose the pair of words which best expresses the relationship similar to that of FEATHER : WING

Choose the pair which does not exhibit the relationship similar to that expressed in RENT : LEASE

Choose the pair which does not exhibit the relationship similar to that expressed in TEMPERATURE : HEAT

Choose the pair which does not exhibit the relationship similar to that expressed in PROGRESS : PROGRESSIVE

Choose the pair which does not exhibit the relationship similar to that expressed in STUBBORN : ADAPTABLE

Choose the pair which does not exhibit the relationship similar to that expressed in CLIPS : PAPER

Fill in the Blanks: The __________, those cellular bodies which contain the __________ particles, the genes, provide us with basic facts of genetic transmission.

Fill in the Blanks: The insurance claim was __________ by the relevant documents

Fill in the Blanks: I should not have __________ to talk in such a __________ strain especially when I had not studied the man to whom I was talking.

Fill in the Blanks: High prices are often the __________ of __________ of goods

Fill in the Blanks: The recent disturbances in the country will __________ and peace will be restored.

Choose from among the given alternatives the one which will be a suitable substitute for the expression in quotes. The "marriage of the princess with the commoner" caused a furore among the royalty.

Choose from among the given alternatives the one which will be a suitable substitute for the expression in quotes. The victim's "involuntary responses to stimulus" proved that he was still living.

Choose from among the given alternatives the one which will be a suitable substitute for the expression in quotes. "The art and science of good eating and drinking is now a lost art".

Choose from among the given alternatives the one which will be a suitable substitute for the expression in quotes. The thrilling narrative caused "the hair on the skin to stand erect".

Choose from among the given alternatives the one which will be a suitable substitute for the expression in quotes. "The body of Macedonian infantry drawn up in close order" was like a formidable castle of steel.