One-Word Substitution: A Revision List for Competitive Exams
29 Oct 2026
- One Word Substitution
Quick answer
A revision list pairing common definitions and phrases with the single precise word that replaces them, covering people, phobias, forms of government, places and more, for one-word substitution questions in SSC, Banking and RRB English.
One-word substitution questions give you a phrase or a definition and ask for the single word that means the same thing. The skill is recognition: the words recur from exam to exam, so a short daily read of a list like this one is worth more than a long study session once a month.
Use this list for revision, not as a first lesson. Read a section at a time, cover the right-hand column, and test yourself from the meaning. Pay special attention to the Note column, which flags the look-alikes and near-synonyms that most often trap candidates.
People — what they do, collect or believe
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| One who studies the stars, planets and other heavenly bodies | Astronomer | An astrologer predicts from the stars; an astronomer studies them. |
| One whose work is compiling dictionaries | Lexicographer | |
| One who draws maps and charts | Cartographer | |
| One who writes or practises beautiful handwriting | Calligrapher | |
| One who gives their time and money for the good of others | Philanthropist | |
| One who hates humankind | Misanthrope | Opposite of a philanthropist. |
| One who collects and studies coins | Numismatist | |
| One who collects postage stamps | Philatelist | |
| One who travels on foot | Pedestrian | |
| One who walks about in their sleep | Somnambulist | |
| A person of wide and varied learning | Polymath | |
| One who is new to a trade or skill | Novice | |
| One who abstains totally from alcohol | Teetotaller | |
| One who is unable to read or write | Illiterate | |
| One who leaves their own country to settle in another | Emigrant | Leaves = emigrant. |
| One who comes into a foreign country to settle there | Immigrant | Comes in = immigrant. |
| One who always looks on the bright side of things | Optimist | |
| One who always looks on the gloomy side of things | Pessimist |
Belief about God
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| One who denies the existence of God | Atheist | |
| One who believes in the existence of God | Theist | |
| One who holds that the existence of God cannot be known | Agnostic | Not the same as an atheist, who denies it outright. |
Food and eating
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| One who eats everything, both plant and animal food | Omnivore | |
| One who eats far more than they need | Glutton | |
| One who eats human flesh | Cannibal | |
| One who is a refined judge of fine food and drink | Gourmet |
Fears and manias
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| An abnormal fear of water | Hydrophobia | |
| An abnormal fear of high places | Acrophobia | |
| An abnormal fear of enclosed spaces | Claustrophobia | |
| An abnormal fear of open or public spaces | Agoraphobia | |
| A fear or hatred of foreigners and strangers | Xenophobia | |
| An abnormal fear of darkness | Nyctophobia | |
| An irresistible urge to steal | Kleptomania | |
| An irresistible urge to set things on fire | Pyromania | |
| A hatred of marriage | Misogamy | Marriage = misogamy. |
| A hatred of women | Misogyny | Women = misogyny; do not confuse with misogamy. |
Government and rule
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Government by the people, through elected representatives | Democracy | |
| Government by a king or queen | Monarchy | |
| Government by the nobility or a privileged class | Aristocracy | |
| Government by one person with unlimited power | Autocracy | |
| Government by officials | Bureaucracy | |
| Government by the wealthy | Plutocracy | |
| Government by a small privileged group | Oligarchy | |
| Government by priests, or in the name of God | Theocracy | |
| Absence of government; a state of lawlessness | Anarchy |
Groups and places
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A large enclosure in which birds are kept | Aviary | |
| A place where bees are kept | Apiary | Birds = aviary, bees = apiary. |
| A place where a country's coins and currency are made | Mint | |
| A place where weapons and ammunition are stored | Armoury | |
| A place where public records and documents are kept | Archives | |
| A place where dead bodies are kept before burial | Mortuary | |
| A place where animals are slaughtered for food | Abattoir | |
| A building in which aircraft are housed | Hangar | Not hanger (for clothes). |
Words, speech and writing
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A speech given on the spur of the moment, without preparation | Extempore | |
| A speech in which one talks to oneself | Soliloquy | |
| Using few words; brief and to the point in speech | Laconic | |
| Fond of talking; given to excessive talk | Loquacious | Opposite of taciturn. |
| Writing that cannot be read or deciphered | Illegible | Not ineligible (unqualified). |
| Open to more than one meaning | Ambiguous | |
| A word opposite in meaning to another | Antonym | A synonym means the same. |
| A speech or piece of writing in high praise of someone | Eulogy | |
| An account of a person's life written by themselves | Autobiography | |
| An account of a person's life written by someone else | Biography | |
| A list of the books and sources on a subject | Bibliography |
Life, time and death
| Phrase / meaning | One word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| A remedy that counteracts the effect of a poison | Antidote | |
| Present in all places at the same time | Omnipresent | |
| Having unlimited power | Omnipotent | |
| Knowing everything | Omniscient | |
| That which can never die | Immortal | |
| No longer in use; out of date | Obsolete | |
| A person too bad to be reformed or corrected | Incorrigible | |
| Happening once every two years | Biennial | Twice a year = biannual; learn the pair together. |
| Happening twice in a year | Biannual | |
| A period of one thousand years | Millennium | |
| The murder of a king | Regicide | |
| The killing of one's own brother | Fratricide | |
| The deliberate killing of a whole race or community | Genocide | |
| The act of killing oneself | Suicide |
How to revise this list
- Work one section a day, not the whole list at once. Cover the One word column and recall it from the meaning; a word you can produce from the phrase is far better learned than one you merely recognise.
- Drill the Note column hardest. Most marks are lost not to unknown words but to confused pairs: emigrant / immigrant, misogamy / misogyny, biennial / biannual, aviary / apiary, hangar / hanger.
- Say each word aloud and check the spelling. In the exam the right word spelt wrong is still a wrong answer.
- Revisit the whole list the day before the exam; by then each phrase should trigger its word in a second or two.
Ready to practise? Take the One-Word Substitution quiz
How this was made: Drafted with AI assistance; spot-checked by the editor on 29 October 2026.