200 One Word Substitution with Examples
What is One Word Substitution? One Word Substitution simply means using a specific word replacing a wordy phrase… The post 200 One Word Substitution with Examples appeared first on Leverage Edu.

What is One Word Substitution? One Word Substitution simply means using a specific word replacing a wordy phrase or sentence and making it shorter, concise and clearer to understand. This way, the word becomes identical with the sentence thus providing the same meaning as the wordy sentence. The best way to master this concept is to learn their meanings by putting them in a particular sentence or visualising them through an interesting story. One word substitution questions frequently occur in many national-level exams such as SBI PO, UPSC, CAPF, CDS, RRB, SSC etc.
Read this blog to find 200 one word substitution with examples as well as practice questions and quiz for competitive exams.
How to Solve One Word Substitution?
Before checking on the examples for One Word substitutions, let’s see how to solve them. These can be solved by identifying its ‘root word’ or core meaning and then identifying the prefix and suffix. Many words like Anthropology come from the root word anthrōpos which means humans (Here ‘Anthro’ is the prefix and ‘ology’ is the suffix). Hence anthropology means the study of humanity. To gain mastery in understanding root words, you should be familiar with the etymology and linguistic of the words.
Did you know? ‘ology‘ is the most common suffix in science which means “a branch of knowledge”. (Example: Psychology, Biology).
Another common suffix is “cracy” which comes from the Greek word “kratia” which means “rule or government”. (Example: Autocracy, Democracy)
Why Do We Need One Word Substitutions?
One word substitutions are important as they make communication of the English language much more concise, lucid, and easy. People can remember words and communicate bigger meanings through a simple word. For example, saying “She is someone who puts forth an idea which she herself doesn’t believe” is much harder as compared to just saying “She is a Hypocrite”. One word substitutions make our sentences more precise and reduce complexity. These substitutions also help us to classify words based on the suffixes which makes it easy to categorize them and put similar words together.
200+ One Word Substitution with Examples
There are different categories of One Word Substitution:
- Study-related
- Terms-related
- Group/Collection
- Government/Political Systems-related
- People/Person
- Profession/Occupation
- Science/Research
- Killing/Death-related
- Sound/Event/Spots
Here is the complete list of 100 One Word Substitution for competitive exams:
Study-related One Word Substitution with Examples
Study-related | One Word Substitution | Examples |
Study of Stars | Astronomy | I love this book on Astronomy. |
Study of statistics is known as | Demography | The demography of the whole town’s population has been mapped. |
The study of ancient writing and scriptures | Paleography | These three university professors have been immersed in the research and study of Paleography for over a decade. |
The study of rocks and soil | Geology | My Geology homework is not going to be completed by the final submission date. |
The ancient search for a universal panacea, and of the philosopher’s stone. The medieval version of the study of Chemistry | Alchemy | The magician wanted to learn Alchemy to master some ancient spells. |
The study of evolution of mankind | Anthropology | Anthropological research helps us trace our civilization. |
The study of Human Mind | Psychology | I am really interested in studying Psychology and how the mind works. |
The practice of writing dictionaries | Lexicography | She works in the Lexicography department of the publishing house. |
The study of plants | Botany | Her interests in plants motivated her to pursue this course in Botany. |
The study of rocks and soils | Geology | Do I need to study Geology before going rock climbing? |
The study of languages | Philology | How many languages does Philology covers? |
Group/Collection-related One Word Substitution
Group/Collection | One Word Substitution | Examples |
A group of sheep | Flock | I saw a shepherd down the hill with a flock of sheep. |
A family of young animals | Brood | Mr. Styles like spending hours bathing the brood of horses in the stable. |
A number of people travelling together in a big van or jeep | Caravan | A caravan of hippies just passed by. |
A series of stars | Constellation | This constellation looks like a burger! |
A large group of people | Horde | A horde of college students were gathered around the voting booth. |
A temporary police force | Posse | Jake went to arrest the criminal with his posse. |
A group of cattle or sheep | Herd | Keep your herd of cows in the backyard. |
A number of fish swimming together | Shoal | I saw a shoal of mackerel on that side of the river. |
A group of worshippers | Congregation | The congregation will happen at St. Mary’s Church at 4pm tomorrow. |
Along with one-word substitution examples, take a look at 50 Common Difficult Idioms with Examples
Person/People-related One Word Substitution
Person/People | One Word Substitution | Examples |
The one who loves mankind | Philanthropist | He became a renowned philanthropist after joining Buddhism. |
The one who looks at the brighter side of everything | Optimist | Louis has always been the biggest optimistic person I know. |
The one who looks at the negative/dark side of everything. | Pessimist | I am always on the edge of becoming a total pessimist. |
The one who does not believe in God. | Atheist | I am neither an Atheist nor a religious person. |
The one who eats human flesh | Cannibal | The police caught these cannibals from the jungle. |
Someone who regards the world as their country | Cosmopolitan | Globalisation will give rise to more cosmopolitans. |
The one who loves good food and knows a lot about it | Gourmet | I could have been a Gourmet if I liked spicy food! |
Someone who lives in solitude | Recluse | I want to become a recluse after I retire. |
Someone who speaks more than one language | Polyglot | I took up Turkish to become a Polyglot. |
A person who boasts of one’s achievements | Egotist | She saw him as a thoughtless egotist. |
People who can vote in an election: | Electorate | Last year’s electorate comprised of many first-time voters. |
A person who loves himself the most | Narcissist | John is a narcissist and will never love anyone else but himself. |
A person who draws maps | Cartographer | A cartographer can help you find the right way through a complex forest land through his mastery of maps. |
A person who abandons his religion | Apostate | Watching his daughter die of cancer made Steve become an apostate. |
A person was appointed to settle a dispute between two parties | Arbitrator | In their final judgement, the jury presented that it is necessary for the parties to have an arbitrator to reach mutual consent. |
The one who knows everything | Omniscient | He is such a know-it-all but he is not an omniscient. |
The one who is all powerful | Omnipotent | We often stereotype a superhero as an Omnipotent but it’s important to have some flaws to make them human. |
The one who is present everything | Omnipresent | Technology has become synonymous with omnipresent nowadays. |
Someone who is eighty years old. | Octogenarian | My grandpa is an octogenarian. |
The one who settles in another country. | Immigrant | It isn’t easy being an immigrant in the USA. |
Someone who cares about mankind. | Humanitarian | She is known for her humanitarian efforts. |
Profession-related One Word Substitution
Person/People | One Word Substitution | Examples |
Someone trained to travel and operate a spacecraft. | Astronaut | Kalpana Chawla is one of the greatest women astronauts. |
The one who makes maps or charts | Cartographer | We need a cartographer to decode these cryptic maps. |
Someone who sells or grows flowers or studies or writes about flowers. | Florist | Harry is my favorite florist and I like how he gives unique facts about what every flower symbolises. |
Someone with a beautiful handwriting | Calligrapher | I started as a calligrapher and then became a tattoo artist. |
The supervising person during an examination | Invigilator | The invigilator is too lazy to even check the students in the back. |
Someone who presents or hosts a radio show | Radio Jockey | A radio jockey needs to have brilliant communication skills. |
Someone who choreographs dances attuning certain sequences of steps and movements along music | Choreographer | Can you find me a wedding choreographer? |
Someone who is the custodian or the keeper of a museum | Curator | I like being a curator as I get to meet artists from different parts of the world. |
A person who doesn’t like humankind devoids himself of human society | Misanthrope | Grinch wasn’t the mean-spirited misanthrope most of us took him to be. |
A person who collects coins as a hobby | Numismatist | As a Numismatist, I have a huge collection of currencies from almost all the countries around the world. |
Someone employed to drive a hired car | Chauffeur | The chauffeur will come by 4 pm to the venue. |
Someone who walks by foot. | Pedestrian | This side of the road is for Pedestrians. |
Someone who is reserved and shy. | Introvert | I like being an introvert and I am happy with a small social circle. |
While going through our exclusive list of one word substitution, you must check out: 50 Difficult Phrases with Meanings!
Terms-related One Word Substitution
Terms | One Word Substitutions | Example |
Indefinite period of time | Aeon | Those days became boring, aeon and too long to pass. |
Appreciation of beauty, by a set of principles. | Aesthetics | I found this website quite appealing especially because of its aesthetics |
Spartan snowstorms with uncontrollable winds | Blizzard | On our way back to the hotel, we got caught in a blizzard. |
An eccentric manner of living | Bohemian | She felt embarrassed when her friends made fun of her bohemian clothing. |
Huge fire for celebration | Bonfire | The campers spent their night by the bonfire. |
Dwarfed varieties of trees and shrubs in pots | Bonsai | Her room was filled with bonsai plants |
Huge fire for celebration | Bonfire | The campers spent their night by the bonfire. |
Dwarfed varieties of trees and shrubs in pots | Bonsai | Her room was filled with bonsai plants. |
The remote regions of a country which are far away from the rivers | Hinterland | Her cottage was situated in a hinterland deprived of any beautiful scenery. |
Complex situation or a mix-up | Imbroglio | The romantic imbroglio happened when he met my landlords assuming they were my parents. |
Make someone feel young | Rejuvenate | This exfoliating scrub can completely rejuvenate your skin. |
Not showing enough care and attention | Remiss | I realised that she was totally remiss in finishing her daily tasks. |
A shelter for a Dog | Kennel | Our new pup spent all his day hiding inside the kennel. |
Where wild animals live: | Lair | I found a hidden lair in the forest but was too afraid to go inside it. |
A place where coins are made | Mint | This industrial facility is actually a mint which manufactures coins. |
Ordinary and Dull | Mundane | I am bored with the mundane life of the quarantined days. |
Published after someone’s death | Posthumous | Mr Smith’s posthumous works brought him an immense number of accolades. |
The profession of teaching or the approach or style of teaching | Pedagogy | It was his unique approach to pedagogy that made him every student’s favourite. |
The symbols of royalty | Regalia | The queen was adorned in full regalia. |
A political system solely based on the government of men by God | Thearchy | The village was ruled by the system of thearchy. |
A person promises to tell the truth in court | Oath | I couldn’t disrespect the oath and thus revealed everything. |
Beginning to exist and evolve | Nascent | Biotechnology bloomed from a nascent sector to a booming industry. |
Ethically good behaviour one has | Virtue | Patience is seen as the virtue of a man. |
Humour that describes the weaknesses | Satire | Ghasiram Kotwal is an incredibly written satire on the political scenario of Maharashtra in the early 20th century. |
Changing the direction of one’s path suddenly | Veer | He veered the car in the other direction as the deer came in the way. |
Enjoy something for an extended time | Savour | Don’t forget to savour this delectable wine! |
Someone who is wrongly blamed for things that others have done | Scapegoat | They used him as a scapegoat to accuse him of the whole conspiracy |
Space where animal hides are tanned | Tannery | The leather for this coat has been skinned in the tannery. |
Determined to achieve something | Tenacious | She was tenacious enough to chase after her dream of becoming a film actor. |
The sound of Parrots: | Screech | I woke up to the screeching of birds by the window. |
Using a word or name that is inappropriate | Misnomer | It’s quite a misnomer to call it a victory since he scored the lowest marks in the test. |
A government that has a monarch as the head | Monarchy | With a king ruling the country, the Monarchy is different from a democracy. |
The sound of Camels | Grunt | In the vastness of the desert, the only sound you can hear is the constant grunting of camels from far away. |
Events manifested by festivities | Fiesta | Last night’s party was a total fiesta. |
The ranting of a person | Whine | Aakriti is always whining about the weather. |
People who are extremely poor | Destitute | Ajay grew up in a destitute existence. |
Absolute freedom to act as one wishes: | Carte blanche | Her mother gave her carte blanche to follow the career path she wants to. |
A person who is unsure about God’s existence: | Agnostic | Though he was raised in a conservative Hindu family, he remained agnostic most of his life. |
Extreme physical or mental sufferings | Agony | He fell to the ground in agony. |
Japanese form of self-defense with the usage of locks holds | Aikido | He has mastered Aikido and his next goal is to learn Kung fu. |
A soldier who fights for the sake of money | Mercenary | You are a mercenary and you kill people with any guns! |
An accolade or honour bestowed in recognition for an achievement: | Laurel | She enjoyed the laurels of her acting achievements. |
A person who behaves without moral principles | Immoral | Lying is completely immoral even if it is done for a good purpose. |
Charging a politician with a serious crime | Impeach | Trump was impeached recently but it didn’t really affect his position as the president. |
Government instructions that limit trade in some way | Embargo | With the danger of virus hovering over the whole world, an embargo on international trade was mutually decided upon. |
Believer of fate | Fatalist | I am fatalist for I believe that our destiny has already been written. |
Loves being social and enjoys the company of others | Gregarious | Gurleen is a gregarious girl and we often call her the social butterfly of our class! |
Trees grow without underbrush. | Grove | This garden is filled with beautiful groves that amazingly complemented the tall trees |
An office with high salary but no work | Sinecure | After listening to the perks that Seema has at her office, Vishal assumes as if she works at a Sinecure. |
A person who betrays and descents and organisation or country | Renegade | It is currently flashing in the news that a renegade policeman shot three innocent people. |
One who is much concerned about details and accuracy | Fastidious | Virat is fastidious about his hair. He makes sure that he visits the salon at regular intervals. |
A place for storage of arms and ammunition | Arsenal | The officer informed the soldier about his new posting in Arsenal. |
One who is expelled from a religious community | Excommunicate | His misconduct at the previous religious gathering led to his ex-communication. |
A person who eats too much | Glutton | As soon as the guests left, Riya didn’t miss a chance to call our cousin glutton. |
Something which can be copied | Immitable | As the captain’s approach for the finale was imitable, he is still called a legend. |
Killing-related One Word Substitution
Killing-related | One Word Substitution | Examples |
When someone kills their own father | Patricide | Jean was arrested for patricide. |
The act of killing a king | Regicide | The monarchy fell with the regicide. |
The killing of a person by another | Homicide | He went to jail on the charge of homicide. |
The killing of one’s child | Filicide | The police filed a report about filicide that happened in the C block. |
Top 40 One Word Substitution Asked in Competitive Exams
One Word Substitution Sample Questions
Now that you have understood the concept of one word substitution, let us sample some sample questions so that you develop a strong command over it!
Q1. An individual who is unable to express or interact easily
A) Extrovert
B) Introvert
C) Ambivert
D) None of the Above
Q2. A stream of water moving very fast
A) Current
B) Tide
C) Torrent
D) Storms
Q3. Shikha spends a lot of money on clothes. Her cousins call her a:
A) Frugal
B) Economical
C) Miser
D) Spendthrift
Q4. Asmita works really hard for the upliftment of poor children. She even donates half of her salary to NGOs. She is:
A) Philanthropist
B) Selfish
C) Tightfisted
D) None of the Above
Q5. It is impossible to see through it.
A) Translucent
B) Fragile
C) Opaque
D) Transparent
Q6. Aman is really scared of thunderstorms. He suffers:
A) Acrophobia
B) Ophidiophobia
C) Nephophobia
D) Astraphobia
Q7. She caught the robbers
A) Courageously
B) Frightened
C) Cowardly
D) None of the above
Q8. Lalit has a good knowledge of Music. His father calls him:
A) Incompetent
B) Amateur
C) Maestro
D) Beginner
Q9. After attending a career counseling session, he understood that his ____ was cooking:
A) Niche
B) Supplant
C) Replacement
D) None of the above
Q10. You can’t park your truck here. It is:
A) Lawful
B) Allowed
C) Unauthorized
D) None of the Above
- B
- C
- D
- A
- C
- D
- A
- C
- A
- C
[BONUS] One Word Substitution Quiz
One Word Substitution Quiz

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