Vocabulary - Previous Year CAT/MBA Questions
The best way to prepare for Vocabulary is by going through the previous year Vocabulary CAT questions. Here we bring you all previous year Vocabulary CAT questions along with detailed solutions.
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Each of the following questions has a sentence with two blanks. Given below each question are five pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.
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.
- (a)
innovative; communicator
- (b)
enchanting; leaders
- (c)
disingenuous; victims
- (d)
exigent; exploiters
- (e)
tragic; sufferers
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
The statement condemns the way the genocides have been described and states the description to be sinister. The word for the first blank has to be synonymous to sinister.
Options 1 and 2 with ‘innovative’ and ‘enchanting’ can be eliminated as they do not give any negative connotations.
Option 4 too can be eliminated as ‘exigent’ has more to do with ‘demanding and urgent’ than something terrible.
In option 5, “tragic” does not fit in the context with ‘mis-described’ and ‘hand-washing rhetoric’.
‘disingenuous’ - ‘insincere’, ‘deceitful’, ‘hypocritical’ fits contextually with the word “manner” which follows the blank. In the second blank, a contrasting word to “perpetrators” is required. ‘Victims’ is a better fit compared to the words in all the other options.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence with two blanks. Given below each question are five pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.
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.
- (a)
scrutinizers; believe
- (b)
observers; agree
- (c)
scrutinizers; suggest
- (d)
observers; concede
- (e)
students; conclude
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
The first blank can have any of the three words mentioned in the options - ‘scrutinizers’, ‘observers’, ‘students’.
‘Scrutinizer’ means ‘one who examines or observes with great care; inspects critically’.
‘Observer’ means ‘a person who watches, views or notes for a scientific, official, or other special purpose.’
‘Student’ means ‘an individual formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; pupil’
Out of these three, the part of the sentence prior to the first blank clearly suggests that the people involved in the exercise were experts in the subject under consideration. This eliminates the possibility of ‘students’ fitting into the first blank, and thus option 5.
The second blank has four possible alternatives.
‘Believe’ means ‘to have confidence in the truth, the existence or the reliability of something’.
‘Agree’ means ‘to have the same views’.
‘Suggest’ means ‘to mention or introduce’.
‘Concede’ means ‘admit; surrender or yield’.
The verb prior to the second blank denotes that the action is not voluntary but performed under duress.
It is not possible to be forced to place confidence in something. Therefore, it is difficult to be forced to ‘believe’ in something. This eliminates option 1.
The first part of the sentence makes it clear that contrary evidence was being gathered. If evidence opposite in nature or character is being gathered then it cannot be said that the ancient astronomers had the same view.
This removes ‘agree’ from further consideration as fitting into the second blank. This eliminates option 2.
The very element of force or compulsion eliminates ‘suggest’ as an appropriate fit for the second blank.
Therefore, option 3 is eliminated.
Both ‘observers’ and ‘concede’ fit in correctly.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence with two blanks. Given below each question are five pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.
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 ___________.
- (a)
constitutional; weather
- (b)
congenital; education
- (c)
personal; climate
- (d)
economic; learning
- (e)
genetic; pedagogy
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
The first word needs to be related to something that is ‘inborn’, because it is an endowment or gift. Two words come close to mean that- ‘congenital’ and ‘genetic’.
‘Congenital’, may be ‘innate’ or ‘inherited’ or caused by the “environment”.
“Genetic,” means ‘pertaining to origins’.
However, the “effect of the environment” is more related to general teaching or ‘education’ than to ‘pedagogy’. ‘Pedagogy’ is ‘the function or work of a teacher’ or ‘science of teaching; education; instructional methods’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence with two blanks. Given below each question are five pairs of words. Choose the pair that best completes the sentence.
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.
- (a)
tenets; fixation
- (b)
aspects; inhibitions
- (c)
institutions; inhibitions
- (d)
organs; tradition
- (e)
departments; repulsion
Answer: Option A
Text Explanation :
The first blank can have ‘institutions’, ‘departments’, ‘organs’ or ‘tenets’. ‘Aspects’, compared to other options can be eliminated.
The second blank has the key to the answer. The phrase ‘suited by’ can be best followed by ‘fixated’, to make the sense complete- minds which were suited by ‘fixation’ or a preoccupation with one subject, issue, an obsession “to an earlier kind of world”. Also, ‘fixation’ flows perfectly with the idea of ‘an earlier kind of world’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
In each of the questions, a word/phrase has been used in sentences in five different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word/phrase is incorrect or inappropriate.
Run
- (a)
I must run fast to catch up with him.
- (b)
Our team scored a goal against the run of play.
- (c)
You can’t run over him like that.
- (d)
The newly released book is enjoying a popular run.
- (e)
This film is a run-of-the-mill production.
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
Option 1 uses the verb ‘run’ appropriately with “fast” as an adverb qualifying it.
The phrase, ‘against the run of play’ is used in sports to describe an event or action against the flow of the game. For example, if Soccer team A has all the possession, all the chances and dictates the game, and team B has one chance and scores from it, then that goal is against the run of play. The term is used correctly in option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. A person cannot “run over” someone. It can be a vehicle that can run over someone.
A person can ‘run after‘ (chase) someone, ‘run with‘, ‘run up to‘ or ‘run around‘ someone.
In option 4, a book can have a “popular run”, if a great number of copies of that book are getting sold.
In option 5, “run-of-the-mill production” is an ‘average’ or ‘mediocre’ or ‘banal’, ‘commonplace’ production that is not interesting. The usage here is correct.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
In each of the questions, a word/phrase has been used in sentences in five different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word/phrase is incorrect or inappropriate.
Round
- (a)
The police fired a round of tear gas shells.
- (b)
The shop is located round the corner.
- (c)
We took a ride on the merry-go-round.
- (d)
The doctor is on a hospital round.
- (e)
I shall proceed further only after you come round to admitting it.
Answer: Option E
Text Explanation :
In option 1, “firing a round of tear gas shells” means ‘a single discharge by one firearm’ and the word ‘round’ is correctly used.
The phrase, ‘round the corner’ in option 2 means, ‘nearby, a short distance away’.
In option 3, the usage is correct. “Merry-go-around” is a ‘carrousel in amusement parks, carnivals, etc. A merry-go-round is a revolving, circular platform with wooden horses or other animals, benches, etc., on which people may sit or ride, usually to the accompaniment of mechanical or recorded music.’
In option 4, the usage “on a hospital round” is correct. This is used to signify that the doctor is surveying the wards checking on patients.
“Come round” in the fifth option means ‘to change one's opinion, decision, especially to agree with another’s.’ A better option would have been to come around to admitting it meaning to change one’s position or opinion.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
In each of the questions, a word/phrase has been used in sentences in five different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word/phrase is incorrect or inappropriate.
Buckle
- (a)
After the long hike our knees were beginning to buckle.
- (b)
The horse suddenly broke into a buckle.
- (c)
The accused did not buckle under police interrogation.
- (d)
Sometimes, an earthquake can make a bridge buckle.
- (e)
People should learn to buckle up as soon as they get into a car.
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
“Beginning to buckle” in option 1 indicates that their knees were ready to collapse or that they were extremely tired.
“Buckle” is inappropriately used in option 2. The horse can break into a trot or a gallop. It may buck or it may even break into somebody’s garden, but not “into a buckle”.
Option 3 uses “buckle” in the sense of ‘collapse’ or ‘surrender’.
In option 4, “buckle” again refers to ‘bend’ or ‘collapse’, even ‘break’.
“To buckle up”, in option 5, means ‘to fasten one's belt, seat belt, or buckles’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
In each of the questions, a word/phrase has been used in sentences in five different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word/phrase is incorrect or inappropriate.
File
- (a)
You will find the paper in the file under C.
- (b)
I need to file an insurance claim.
- (c)
The cadets were marching in a single file.
- (d)
File your nails before you apply nail polish.
- (e)
When the parade was on, a soldier broke the file.
Answer: Option E
Text Explanation :
“File” can be defined as ‘a folder, cabinet, or other container in which papers, letters, etc., are arranged in convenient order for storage or reference.’ Another definition is ‘a collection of papers, records, etc., arranged in convenient order’. Option 1 uses the word in this sense.
In option 2, “to file” means ‘to apply’. The usage is correct.
In option 3, “file” refers to ‘a line of persons or things arranged one behind another’. Marching in a single file is similar to marching in a single column.
A “file” can even be a tool with ridges to smoothen or even out rough surfaces. Option 4 uses this meaning.
There is no phrase or idiom “broke the file” as mentioned in option 5. A soldier can break ‘rank’ but not a “file”.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
Each of the questions below contains a number of sentences. Each sentence has pairs of word(s)/phrase(s) that are highlighted. From the highlighted word(s)/phrase(s), select the most appropriate word(s)/phrase(s) to form correct sentences. Then, from the options given, choose the best one.
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.
- (a)
BBAAA
- (b)
AAABA
- (c)
BBBBA
- (d)
AABBA
- (e)
BBBAA
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
The first sentence is the easiest to decide. Since the ‘cricket council’ is singular, singular verbs (was and is) are required. Hence, the answer choice should begin with A. This eliminates options 1, 3, and 5.
Comparing options 2 and 4, the difference is in the third choice – censored versus censured. Censored means examined in order to delete anything that is objectionable. Censured means criticised. Critics would criticise or censure a movie because of its social inaccessibility - hence, B. This eliminates option 2.
Credulous means ready to believe easily and credible means offering reasonable grounds for being believed. Hence, Amit’s explanation is credible – B.
Discrete means distinct; discreet means modest, unnoticeable.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Each of the questions below contains a number of sentences. Each sentence has pairs of word(s)/phrase(s) that are highlighted. From the highlighted word(s)/phrase(s), select the most appropriate word(s)/phrase(s) to form correct sentences. Then, from the options given, choose the best one.
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.
- (a)
BABAB
- (b)
ABBBA
- (c)
BAABA
- (d)
BBAAB
- (e)
ABABA
Answer: Option E
Text Explanation :
Further is temporal and farther is spatial. The choice of A in the first sentence eliminates options 1, 3 and 5. Comparing options 2 and 5 (ABBBA versus ABABA), one can see that the third sentence is decisive. Distrust: misgiving, lack or absence of trust. Mistrust: a lack of confidence or uncertainty; to regard as untrustworthy. The tinge of ‘suspicion’ that colours mistrust eliminates mistrust. Hence distrust is the correct use in the context.
Hence, the correct answer is option 5.
Workspace:
Each of the questions below contains a number of sentences. Each sentence has pairs of word(s)/phrase(s) that are highlighted. From the highlighted word(s)/phrase(s), select the most appropriate word(s)/phrase(s) to form correct sentences. Then, from the options given, choose the best one.
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.
- (a)
BAABA
- (b)
BBBAB
- (c)
AAABA
- (d)
BBAAB
- (e)
BABAB
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
In this set, the last two sentences are the easiest to decide: stationary truck and to rise above are correct uses. The answer choice has to end with AB. Options 1 and 3 are eliminated.
Beside oneself with rage is the correct idiom. Hence, third sentence is B.
Sensuous implies gratification of the senses for the sake of aesthetic pleasure- the sensuous delights of great music. Sensual tends to imply the gratification of the senses or the indulgence of the physical appetites as ends in themselves- a life devoted to sensual pleasures. Poetry is sensuous rather than sensual. Hence, the second sentence is B.
When we decline something we do it regretfully, when someone else has declined we find it regrettable. Hence, the first sentence is B.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence/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.
- (a)
destroying
- (b)
testing
- (c)
resurrecting
- (d)
questioning
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
Paley started it (the concept of intelligent design) in the 19th century. The proponents of it are ________ Paley’s argument. The word proponents directly controls the word in the blank.
Proponents destroying, questioning or even testing Paley’s concept is illogical.
Resurrect means to bring to view, attention, or use again; to raise from the dead.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence/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.
- (a)
shining
- (b)
bright
- (c)
sputtering
- (d)
effulgent
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
The word that is to be replaced is directly controlled by the word ‘oil lamp’, however the setting in which the lamp is placed with women squatting (a village scene) with piles of limp fodder etc. tells us that the oil lamps definitely not effulgent (option 4) meaning radiant/splendorous.
Options 1, 2 and 4 are synonyms so they are chosen together or eliminated together. Sputtering in the context (a natural choice) makes better sense than other options.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence/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 klang 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.
- (a)
amusing
- (b)
irritating
- (c)
disgusting
- (d)
distressing
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
The operative idea in the sentence that controls the word to be replaced is the idea of ‘the sensitive traveler’ followed by the scene he confronts.
The unpleasantness of the scene eliminates option 1 – amusing. Being sensitive – the capacity of being easily hurt, eliminates disgust and irritation (options 2 and 3) as these responses are not necessarily associated with being sensitive.
Distress (pain, suffering, or misery) is generally associated with being sensitive.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Each of the following questions has a sentence/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".
- (a)
witty
- (b)
rude
- (c)
simple
- (d)
terse
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
Terse means pointed and concise. What controls the replacement in the context is the word ‘if’ as used at the end of the sentence. We are looking for a word which would classify this word in the context of the threat and the counter threat.
Option 1 (witty) is eliminated first since it does not fit in, in the context of the “threats” in the paragraph.
Then we have rude and simple as options 2 and 3. Rude and simple are poor descriptions of the profound ‘if’ in the context.
Option 4 (terse) is the best choice.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
Fill up the blanks A, B, C ... F, in the two passages below with the most appropriate word from the options given for each blank.
At that time the White House was as serene as a resort hotel out of season. The corridors were _______A______. In the various offices, _____B______ gray men in waistcoats talked to one another in low-pitched voices. The only colour, or choler, curiously enough, was provided by President Eisenhower himself. Apparently, his _____C_______ was easily set off; he scowled when he ______D_______ the corridors.
For Blank A-
- (a)
striking
- (b)
hollow
- (c)
empty
- (d)
white
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
In an out-of-season resort hotel, there should be less people. Similarly if the white house resembled this serene hotel, it should have empty (option 3) corridors.
Hollowis incorrect, as it does not blend with the context very well.
The corridors could be white but then again, we need a word which goes with the idea of an out-of-season hotel.
‘Striking’ too goes out of context.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
For Blank B-
- (a)
quiet
- (b)
faded
- (c)
loud
- (d)
stentorian
Answer: Option A
Text Explanation :
If people were speaking in low-pitched voices, they would not be loud (option 3) or stentorian (marked by loud voice, option 4).
Quiet goes more with the idea of low-pitched voices, therefore, we can eliminate ‘faded’ (option 2) as well.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
For Blank C-
- (a)
laughter
- (b)
curiosity
- (c)
humour
- (d)
temper
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
The only colour or choler (anger, irritability) was provided by the president; therefore, his ‘temper’ (option 4) would easily set off. Since the author indicates anger, humour and laughter can be ruled out. ‘Curiously’ does not go with the idea of anger.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
For Blank D-
- (a)
paced
- (b)
strolled
- (c)
stormed
- (d)
prowled
Answer: Option A
Text Explanation :
The president was not prowling the corridors as there is no mention of the president wanting to catch hold of someone (no predatory instinct that is). A stroll is a leisurely walk and in his angry mood, the president cannot be taking a leisurely walk! ‘Stormed’ will not fit where usage is concerned. A person may storm in or out of a corridor. Paced is the correct word. Pace is a manner of walking in which a person may stride or walk back and forth.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
Fill up the blanks A, B, C ... F, in the two passages below with the most appropriate word from the options given for each blank.
"Between the year 1946 and the year 1955, I did not file any income tax returns". With that ______A______ statement, Ramesh embarked on an account of his encounter with the Income Tax Department. "I originally owed Rs. 20,000 in unpaid taxes. With _____B________ and _______C______, the 20,000 became 60,000. The Income Tax Department then went into action, and I learned firsthand just how much power the Tax Department wields. Royalties and trust funds can be ______D_______; automobiles may be _______E______, and auctioned off. Nothing belongs to the ______F_______ until the case is settled."
For Blank A-
- (a)
devious
- (b)
blunt
- (c)
tactful
- (d)
pretentious
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
The statement that the person himself did not file returns is a straightforward or a blunt statement, no deceitfulness (treachery) or tact (diplomacy) or pretension (to give a false appearance). Therefore, ‘blunt’ is the best adjective here.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
For Blank B-
- (a)
interest
- (b)
taxes
- (c)
principal
- (d)
returns
Answer: Option A
Text Explanation :
The principal tax has already been mentioned, so we can eliminate option 3. Ramesh has mentioned that he has not filed his returns; hence the answer is not option 4 either. If the 20,000 became 60, 000 it could be because of interest levied. Therefore, ‘interest’ is more suitable option than ‘taxes’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 1.
Workspace:
For Blank C-
- (a)
sanctions
- (b)
refunds
- (c)
fees
- (d)
fines
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
If Ramesh has not paid income tax for the years mentioned, most likely, the IT department will levy charges. The charges could take the form of interests and fines. One of the options (the precious question) was ‘interest’. It follows that the second could be ‘fines’. Working with the options also gives us the same answer. Ramesh will not get a refund (option 2) unless he files his returns. IT department does not charge fees (option 3). There are no sanctions (option 1) involved in income tax.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
For Blank D-
- (a)
closed
- (b)
detached
- (c)
attached
- (d)
impounded
Answer: Option C
Text Explanation :
In legal terms, attach means ‘to seize persons or property by legal writ’. Impound also has a similar meaning– ‘to seize and retain in legal custody’. The word is generally used in terms of confiscating illegal possessions. But, for royalties and trust funds when seized by the use of a legal writ are said to be attached. Detached being the opposite, does not apply. Nor does the word ‘closed’.
Hence, the correct answer is option 3.
Workspace:
For Blank E-
- (a)
smashed
- (b)
seized
- (c)
dismantled
- (d)
frozen
Answer: Option B
Text Explanation :
The income tax department is a not violent mob which would destroy (smash) or dismantle (take apart) automobiles. Nor will it freeze an automobile. The correct word is seized. It can seize or get hold of automobiles.
Hence, the correct answer is option 2.
Workspace:
For Blank F-
- (a)
purchaser
- (b)
victim
- (c)
investor
- (d)
offender
Answer: Option D
Text Explanation :
The person who does not file his or her IT returns becomes an offender. He is neither an investor (option 3) in Income tax nor is he a purchaser (option 1). Since, it is Ramesh’s fault (by not filing his IT returns), he does not become a victim (option 2).
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.
Workspace:
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