This article will provide a list of One Word Substitution PDF which forms an important part of competitive examination.
Candidates preparing for various Government exams are advised to go through the one-word substitution list carefully as English language is a part of the syllabus for most of these exams.Â
What is One Word Substitution in English Language?
One word substitution is the use of one word in place of a wordy phrase in order to make the sentence structure clearer. The meaning, with the replacement of the phrase remains identical while the sentence becomes shorter.Â
One Word Substitution Example:
My friend drives me in a car around town. Using one-word substitution in this sentence would give something like this – My friend chauffeurs me around town.
To avoid confusion, we have categorized the list of one-word substitution into 8 categories:
| Categories of one-word substitutions |
For their convenience, candidates may download the one-word substitution pdf containing more than 200 words from the links given below and at the bottom of the article.
List Of One Word Substitution PDF:-Download PDF Here
List of One Word Substitution
The table below highlights the one-word substitution related to generic terms, for competitive exams:
One Word Substitution For Generic Terms
| List Of One Word Substitution | |
| One Word Substitution | Generic terms |
| An act of abdicating or renouncing the throne | Abdication |
| An annual calendar containing important dates and statistical information such as astronomical data and tide tables | Almanac |
| A cold-blooded vertebrate animal that is born in water and breathes with gills | Amphibian |
| A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one | Allegory |
| A statement or proposition on which an abstractly defined structure is based | Axiom |
| A nation or person engaged in war or conflict, as recognized by international law | Belligerent |
| An examination of tissue removed from a living body to discover the presence, cause or extent of a disease | Biopsy |
| The action or offence of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things; profane talk | Blasphemy |
| The arrangement of events or dates in the order of their occurrence | Chronology |
| A vigorous campaign for political, social, or religious change | Crusade |
| Lasting for a very short time | Ephemeral |
| Spoken or done without preparation | Extempore |
| Release someone from a duty or obligation | Exonerate |
| Fond of company | Gregarious |
| Making marks that cannot be removed | Indelible |
| Incapable of making mistakes or being wrong | Infallible |
| Certain to happen | Inevitable |
| A sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past | Nostalgia |
| A solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases | Panacea |
| A doctrine which identifies God with the universe | Pantheism |
| Excessively concerned with minor details or rules | Pedantic |
| The practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own | Plagiarism |
| Safe to drink | Potable |
| The emblems or insignia of royalty | Regalia |
| Violation or misuse of what is regarded as sacred | Sacrilege |
| A position requiring little or no work but giving the holder status or financial benefit | Sinecure |
| A thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event | Souvenir |
| An imaginary ideal society free of poverty and suffering | Utopia |
| Denoting a sin that is not regarded as depriving the soul of divine grace | Venial |
| In exactly the same words as were used originally | Verbatim |
Candidates can download the comprehensive One word Substitution PDF for all the categories given after the lists. Below given is the one word substitution for Government Or Systems.Â
One Word Substitution For Government/Systems
| One Word Substitutes | Government/System |
| A state of disorder due to absence or non-recognition of authority or other controlling systems | Anarchy |
| A form of government in which power is held by the nobility | Aristocracy |
| A system of government by one person with absolute power | Autocracy |
| A self-governing country or region | Autonomy |
| A system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives | Bureaucracy |
| A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives | Democracy |
| A state, society, or group governed by old people | Gerontocracy |
| A state or country run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens | Kakistocracy |
| Government by new or inexperienced hands | Neocracy |
| Government by the populace | Ochlocracy |
| A small group of people having control of a country or organization | Oligarchy |
| Government by the wealthy | Plutocracy |
| Government not connected with religious or spiritual matters | Secular |
| A form of government with a monarch at the head | Monarchy |
| A political system based on the government of men by God | Thearchy |
Candidates preparing for any Government exam can check other important topics for English language section.
| List of Synonyms And Antonyms | Idioms & Phrases | Letter Writing Format |
| List of Prepositions | List of Homophones | Idioms & Phrases |
For more articles based on the concepts, rules and sample questions check General English For Competitive exams page.
One Word Substitution For Venue Or Spot
| List of One Word Substitutions | Venue/Spot |
| A collection of historical documents or records providing information about a place, institution, or group of people | Archives |
| A large cage, building, or enclosure to keep birds | Aviary |
| A building where animals are butchered | Abattoir |
| A place where bees are kept; a collection of beehives | Apiary |
| A building containing tanks of live fish of different species | Aquarium |
| A place or scene of activity, debate, or conflict | Arena |
| A collection of weapons and military equipment | Arsenal |
| An institution for the care of people who are mentally ill | Asylum |
| A hole or tunnel dug by a small animal, especially a rabbit, as a dwelling | Burrow |
| A collection of items of the same type stored in a hidden or inaccessible place | Cache |
| A public room or building where gambling games are played | Casino |
| A large burial ground, especially one not in a churchyard | Cemetery |
| A room in a public building where outdoor clothes or luggage may be left | Cloakroom |
| A place where a dead person’s body is cremated | Crematorium |
| A Christian community of nuns living together under monastic vows | Convent |
| Nursery where babies and young children are cared for during the working day | Creche |
| A stoppered glass container into which wine or spirit is decanted | Decanter |
| A large bedroom for a number of people in a school or institution | Dormitory |
| The nest of a squirrel, typically in the form of a mass of twigs in a tree | Drey |
| A room or building equipped for gymnastics, games, and other physical exercise | Gymnasium |
| A storehouse for threshed grain | Granary |
| A large building with an extensive floor area, typically for housing aircraft | Hangar |
| A box or cage, typically with a wire mesh front, for keeping rabbits or other small domesticated animals | Hutch |
| A place in a large institution for the care of those who are ill | Infirmary |
| A small shelter for a dog | Kennel |
| A place where wild animal live | Lair |
| A place where coins, medals, or tokens are made | Mint |
| A collection of wild animals kept in captivity for exhibition | Menagerie |
| A building or buildings occupied by a community of monks living under religious vows | Monastery |
| A place where bodies are kept for identification | Morgue |
| A piece of enclosed land planted with fruit trees | Orchard |
| A large natural or artificial lake used as a source of water supply | Reservoir |
| A small kitchen or room at the back of a house used for washing dishes and another dirty household work | Scullery |
| A close-fitting cover for the blade of a knife or sword | Sheath |
| A room or building for sick children in a boarding school | Sanatorium |
| A place where animal hides are tanned | Tannery |
| A large, tall cupboard in which clothes may be hung or stored | Wardrobe |
Candidates preparing for competitive exams must update themselves with the basic differences between the confusing but common words in English Language. Check the links given below:
| Difference Between Principal and Principle | Difference Between Award and Reward |
| Difference Between Program and Programme | Difference Between Fair and Fare |
More such articles on various concepts of English as well as other subjects, important topics, etc are given in the 100 Difference Between Articles on the given link.
One Word Substitution For Group/Collection
| One Word Substitution | Group/Collection |
| A group of guns or missile launchers operated together at one place | Battery |
| A large bundle bound for storage or transport | Bale |
| A large gathering of people of a particular type | Bevy |
| An arrangement of flowers that is usually given as a present | Bouquet |
| A family of young animals | Brood |
| A group of things that have been hidden in a secret place | Cache |
| A group of people, typically with vehicles or animals travelling together | Caravan |
| A closed political meeting | Caucus |
| An exclusive circle of people with a common purpose | Clique |
| A group of followers hired to applaud at a performance | Claque |
| A series of stars | Constellation |
| A funeral procession | Cortege |
| A group of worshippers | Congregation |
| A herd or flock of animals being driven in a body | Drove |
| A small fleet of ships or boats | Flotilla |
| A small growth of trees without underbrush | Grove |
| A community of people smaller than a village | Hamlet |
| A group of cattle or sheep or other domestic mammals | Herd |
| A large group of people | Horde |
| A temporary police force | Posse |
| A large number of fish swimming together | Shoal |
| A strong and fast-moving stream of water or other liquid | Torrent |
| Candidates preparing for Government exams can check the given links for preparation |
One Word Substitution List for a Person Or People
| One Word Substitution | Person/People |
| One who is not sure about God’s existence | Agnostic |
| A person who deliberately sets fire to a building | Arsonist |
| One who does a thing for pleasure and not as a profession | Amateur |
| One who can use either hand with ease | Ambidextrous |
| One who makes an official examination of accounts | Auditor |
| A person who believes in or tries to bring about a state of lawlessness | Anarchist |
| A person who has changed his faith | Apostate |
| One who does not believe in the existence of God | Atheist |
| A person appointed by two parties to solve a dispute | Arbitrator |
| One who leads an austere life | Ascetic |
| An unconventional style of living | Bohemian |
| One who is bad in spellings | Cacographer |
| One who feeds on human flesh | Cannibal |
| A person who is blindly devoted to an idea/ a person displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism | Chauvinist |
| A critical judge of any art and craft | Connoisseur |
| Persons living at the same time | Contemporaries |
| One who is recovering health after illness | Convalescent |
| A girl/woman who flirts with a man | Coquette |
| A person who regards the whole world as his country | Cosmopolitan |
| One who is a centre of attraction | Cynosure |
| One who sneers at the beliefs of others | Cynic |
| A leader or orator who espouses the cause of the common people | Demagogue |
| A person having a sophisticated charm | Debonair |
| A leader who sways his followers by his oratory | Demagogue |
| A dabbler (not serious) in art, science and literature | Dilettante |
| One who is for pleasure of eating and drinking | Epicure |
| One who often talks of his achievements | Egotist |
| Someone who leaves one country to settle in another | Emigrant |
| A man who is womanish in his habits | Effeminate |
| One who is hard to please (very selective in his habits) | Fastidious |
| One who runs away from justice | Fugitive |
| One who is filled with excessive enthusiasm in religious matters | Fanatic |
| One who believes in fate | Fatalist |
| A lover of good food | Gourmand |
| Conferred as an honour | Honorary |
| A person who acts against religion | Heretic |
| A person of intellectual or erudite tastes | Highbrow |
| A patient with imaginary symptoms and ailments | Hypochondriac |
| A person who is controlled by wife | Henpeck |
| One who shows sustained enthusiastic action with unflagging vitality | Indefatigable |
| Someone who attacks cherished ideas or traditional institutions | Iconoclast |
| One who does not express himself freely | Introvert |
| Who behaves without moral principles | Immoral |
| A person who is incapable of being tampered with | Impregnable |
| One who is unable to pay his debts | Insolvent |
| A person who is mentally ill | Lunatic |
| A person who dislikes humankind and avoids human society | Misanthrope |
| A person who is primarily concerned with making money at the expense of ethics | Mercenary |
| Someone in love with himself | Narcissist |
| One who collect coins as hobby | Numismatist |
| A person who likes or admires women | Philogynist |
| A lover of mankind | Philanthropist |
| A person who speaks more than one language | Polyglot |
| One who lives in solitude | Recluse |
| Someone who walks in sleep | Somnambulist |
| A person who is indifferent to the pains and pleasures of life | Stoic |
| A scolding nagging bad-tempered woman | Termagant |
| A person who shows a great or excessive fondness for one’s wife | Uxorious |
| One who possesses outstanding technical ability in a particular art or field | Virtuoso |
This table highlights the one word substitution pdf for words related to murder or death.
One Word Substitution For Death/Murder
| One Word Substitution | Murder/Death |
| A solemn procession, especially for a funeral | Cortege |
| A poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead | Elegy |
| A phrase or form of words written in memory of a person who has died | Epitaph |
| Killing of one’s son or daughter | Filicide |
| Destruction or abortion of a fetus | Foeticide |
| Killing of one’s brother or sister | Fratricide |
| Killing of a large group of people | Genocide |
| Killing of one person by another | Homicide |
| Killing of infants | Infanticide |
| Burial of a corpse in a grave or tomb | Interment |
| Killing of one’s mother | Matricide |
| A room or building in which dead bodies are kept | Mortuary |
| A news article that reports the recent death of a person | Obituary |
| Killing of a parent or other near relative | Parricide |
| Killing of one’s father | Patricide |
| An examination of a dead body to determine the cause of death | Postmortem |
| Action of killing a king | Regicide |
| Killing of one’s sister | Sororicide |
| Act of intentionally causing one’s own death | Suicide |
| Killing of one’s wife | Uxoricide |
List of One Word Substitutes For Profession/Research
| One Word Substitution | Profession/Research |
| The medieval forerunner of chemistry | Alchemy |
| A person who presents a radio/television programme | Anchor |
| One who studies the evolution of mankind | Anthropologist |
| A person who is trained to travel in a spacecraft | Astronaut |
| The scientific study of the physiology, structure, genetics, ecology, distribution, classification and economic importance of plants | Botany |
| A person who draws or produces maps | Cartographer |
| A person who writes beautiful writing | Calligrapher |
| A person who composes the sequence of steps and moves for a performance of dance | Choreographer |
| A person employed to drive a private or hired car | Chauffeur |
| A person who introduces the performers or contestants in a variety show | Compere |
| A keeper or custodian of a museum or other collection | Curator |
| The branch of biology concerned with cyclical physiological phenomena | Chronobiology |
| A secret or disguised way of writing | Cypher |
| The study of statistics | Demography |
| The use of the fingers and hands to communicate and convey ideas | Dactylology |
| A person who sells and arranges cut flowers | Florist |
| A line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor | Genealogy |
| The therapeutic use of sunlight | Heliotherapy |
| The art or practise of garden cultivation and management | Horticulture |
| One who supervises in the examination hall | Invigilator |
| The theory or philosophy of law | Jurisprudence |
| A person who compiles dictionaries | Lexicographer |
| The scientific study of the structure and diseases of teeth | Odontology |
| One who presents a radio programme | Radio Jockey |
| The art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing | Rhetoric |
| The branch of science concerned with the origin, structure and composition of rocks | Petrology |
| One who studies the elections and trends in voting | Psephologist |
| An artist who makes sculptures. | Sculptor |
| The scientific study of the behaviour, structure, physiology, classification and distribution of animals | Zoology |
 Candidates preparing for competitive exams must check the following for English language section:
One Word Substitution For Sound
| One Word Substitution | Sound |
| The branch of physics concerned with the properties of sound | Acoustics |
| The sound of Alligators | Bellow |
| The sound of Deers | Bell |
| The sound of Crows | Caw |
| The sound of Geese | Cackle |
| The sound of Hens | Cluck |
| The sound of Dolphins | Click |
| The sound of Frogs | Croak |
| The sound of Crickets | Creak |
| The sound of Monkeys | Gibber |
| The sound of Camels | Grunt |
| The sound of Owls | Hoot |
| The sound of Penguins | Honk |
| The sound of Cattle | Moo |
| The sound of Horses | Neigh |
| The sound of Nightingales | Pipe |
| The sound of Ducks | Quack |
| The sound of Parrots | Screech |
| The sound of Rats | Squeak |
| The sound of Birds | |
| The sound of Elephants | Trumpet |
| The sound of Mosquitoes | Whine |
To get all one-word substitution words, candidates are advised to download the One Word Substitution PDF, for convenience in preparation.
List Of One Word Substitution PDF:-Download PDF Here
Sample Question – One Word Substitutions For the English Language
To better understand the concept of one word substitution and its relevance for the competitive examination, it is important to know the types of questions asked in exams, based on the same.Â
Hence, given below are a few sample questions on one word substitution asked in various government examinations.
Directions – In questions given below, out of the four options, pick the one which can be substituted for the given words/ sentence.
Q.1. The Government wing responsible for making Rules
- Judiciary
- Executive
- Court
- Legislature
Answer (4) Legislature
Q.2. Life history of a person written by that person
- Autobiography
- Topography
- Flexography
- Biography
Answer (1) Autobiography
Q.3. One who does not take any alcoholic drink
- Saint
- Teetotaller
- Forestaller
- Vegetarian
Answer (2)Â Teetotaller
Q.4. A speech delivered without any previous preparation
- Elocution
- Dialogue
- Extempore
- Dialect
Answer (3) Extempore
Q.5. A disease which attacks many people in a particular area in one time
- Epidemic
- Pandemic
- Sardonic
- Academic
Answer (1) Epidemic
Apart from the above-given questions, one-word substitute can be asked in the form of spotting the error, word replacements as well as in reading comprehension passages. Candidates can go through the exercise on One Word Substitution Questions and Answers for practice and revision.Â
Also, go through the questions and answers of other relevant topics of English Language covered in the syllabus of various competitive exams.
- Tenses Questions And Answers
- Idioms and Phrases Questions and Answers
- Prepositions Questions And Answers
For more such articles on the questions and answers on various English topics check the Verbal Ability page.
Therefore, candidates should check the Previous Year Question Papers PDF with Solutions to understand the scope and difficulty level of questions that appear in the exams.
Almost all the exams such as SSC exam, Bank exam, RRB exam, Insurance exam or any other Government exams have a separate section for the English Language in both objective and descriptive paper.
Candidates preparing for the various government exams can refer to the detailed exam syllabus in the links given below:
| Bank Exam Syllabus | SSC Syllabus | RRB Syllabus | LIC Syllabus |
Comments