Examples
1. Elicit, Illicit
Elicit means evoke or draw out (a reaction) from someone.
e.g.: The questionnaire was intended to elicit information on eating habits.
Illicit means forbidden by law, rules or custom.
e.g.: They were prosecuted for illicit liquor selling in the city.
2. Facilitate, Felicitate
Facilitate means make (an action or process) easier.
e.g.: The new airport will facilitate the development of tourism in Jaipur.
Felicitate means congratulate
e.g.: The government felicitated Olympic athletes on their participation.
3. Human, Humane
Human means relating to people
e.g.: Liver is a part of human body.
Humane means showing kindness or compassion
e.g.: Animals are now raised in more humane conditions
4. Hollow, Hallow, Halo
Hollow means having a hole or empty space inside.
e.g.: Bamboo is a sort of hollow plant.
Hallow means to make something holy
e.g.: The saint will be buried in a hallowed ground.
Halo means a circle of light shown around or above the head of a saint or holy person
e.g.: I have seen a faint halo around the sun.
5. Hare, Hear, Here
Hare means a fast-running, long-eared mammal
e.g.: The tortoise wins the race while the hare is sleeping.
Hear means listen or pay attention to
e.g.: Hear twice before you speak once
Here means (in, at or this) place or position
e.g.: Get the hell out of here!
6. Inapt, Inept
Inapt means not suitable or appropriate in the circumstances.
e.g.: He always makes inapt remarks on me.
Inept means having or showing no skill, clumsy.
e.g.: He was an inept politician.
7. Lighting, Lightening, Lightning
Lighting means equipment in a room, building or street for producing light.
e.g.: Good lighting will enhance any room.
Lightening means make or become lighter or brighter.
e.g.: Outside, the sky was already lightening because of the moon.
Lightning means the occurrence of a natural electrical discharge in the sky, accompanied by a bright flash.
e.g.: The big tree was struck by lightning.
8. Loose, Lose, Loss
Loose means not firmly or tightly fixed
e.g.: One of the screws is loosely fixed.
Lose means fail to gain or retain something
e.g.: Sometimes the best gain is to lose.
Loss means the fact of losing something or someone.
e.g.: The Titanic ship sank with great loss of life.
9. Memorable, Memorial
Memorable means worth remembering especially because of being special or unusual.
e.g.: My birthday is the most memorable day of my life.
Memorial means a statue or structure established to remind a person or an event.
e.g.: The war memorial was erected in 1948.
10. Moral, Morale
Moral means standards of behaviour, principles of right and wrong.
e.g.: Human beings are moral individuals.
Morale means the confidence, enthusiasm, of a person or group at a particular time.
e.g.: Mail from home is a great morale booster for soldiers.
11. Metal, Mettle
Metal means a solid material
e.g.: The school gate is made of metal.
Mettle means a person's ability to cope well with difficulties
e.g.: The team really showed their mettle under pressure.
12. Minor, Miner
Minor means very less
e.g.: The earthquake caused minor structural damage.
Miner means a person who works in a mine
e.g.: He worked as a miner all his life.
13. Ordinance, Ordnance
Ordinance means an authoritative order
e.g.: The government passed an ordinance to shut the shops by 11 P.M.
Ordnance means guns, artillery
e.g.: There is an ordnance factory near my hometown.
Model Questions
Directions (Qs. 1 - 5): In each question given below, a sentence is divided into four parts and in each part, four words (A), (B), (C) and (D) are printed in bold letters. One of these four words printed in bold might be wrongly spelt or inappropriate to the context of sentence. Find out the word that is inappropriate or wrongly spelt, if any. If there is no error in the sentence, then select option ‘E’ (No error) as your answer.
1. Suresh was found of sweets (A)./ Every time he found a sweet shop, he (B)/ wouldn’t leave without (C)/ consuming at least a sweet item (D)./ No error (E).
A) found of B) found a C) leave
D) sweet E) No error
Explanation: ‘fond of’ means liking of someone or something. ‘found’ means discovered someoneor something. ‘Fond of’ should be used in place of ‘found of’.
Ans: A
2. The transformer works (A)/ on the principal of Faraday’s law (B)/ of electromagnetic induction (C)/ and mutual induction (D)/ No error (E).
A) works B) principal C) electromagnetic
D) induction E) No error
Explanation: ‘Principle’ means a fundamental truth, concept or belief. ‘Principal’ means ‘main thing’ or ‘first in order of importance. ‘Principle’ should be used in place of ‘principal’.
Ans: B
3. We accept payments (A)/ from all credit and debit cards (B)/ expect AU Bank for the (C)/ sale of this product (D)/ No error (E).
A) accept B) cards C) expect
D) product E) No error
Explanation: ‘except’ means ‘not including’ or ‘other than’ someone or something. ‘Expect’ means ‘regard (something/ someone) as likely to happen. ‘Except’ should be used in place of ‘expect’.
Ans: C.
4. All candidates should (A)/ have to complete a coarse (B)/ related to power query, to go (C)/ to the next round (D)/ No error (E).
A) candidates B) coarse C) query
D) round E) No error
Explanation: ‘Coarse’ means ‘rough or harsh’ in texture. Here ‘course’ means ‘a series of lectures’ regarding a particular subject. ‘Course’ should be used in place of ‘coarse’.
Ans: B
5. The ordnance on public (A)/ health adapted by the (B)/ Hyderabad City Council last (C)/ month, will take effect in 3 days (D)/ No error (E).
A) ordnance, adapted B) council
C) effect D) adapted E) No error
Explanation: ‘Ordinance’ should be used in place of ‘ordnance’. ‘adopted’ should be used in place of ‘adapted’.
Ans: A
Directions (Qs. 6 - 10): In the given question, a word has been given in bold letters and three sentences have given in which the word in bold letters has been used in either three similar or different ways. Find out which of the sentences have correctly used the highlighted word, and choose your answer.
6. Desert
I) It is impossible to make plants grow in a desert without irrigation.
II) The remote deserted area has access only by helicopter.
III) I have a habit of eating an ice cream as a desert, at the end of my meal.
A) Only III B) Only I and II
C) Only II D) Only I E) All of these
Explanation: In sentence I, desert (noun) means a waterless land covered with sand. In sentence II, deserted (verb) means an empty or abandoned area. In sentence III, ‘dessert’ should be used in place of ‘desert’ because ‘dessert’ which means ‘a sweet dish eaten at the end of a meal’ suits appropriate in the sentence.
Ans: B
7. Eminent
I) Dr.A.P.J Abdul kalam is an eminent personality.
II) All countries warned that a terror attack was eminent in Afghanistan.
III) He is eminent both as a painter and sculptor.
A) Only I B) Only III C) Only I and III
D) Only II E) All of these
Explanation: In sentences I and III, the meaning of ‘eminent’ is ‘famous and respectable’. In sentence II, ‘imminent’ should be used in place of ‘eminent’. ‘Imminent’ means ‘about to happen (something)’.
Ans: C
8. Envelop
I) I never imagined of the whirlwind that would envelop me.
II) He put a letter in the envelop and placed it on the desk.
III) This envelop is made from recycled paper.
A) Only I B) Only I and III
C) Only II and III D) All of these
E) None of these
Explanation: Envelop (Verb) means wrap up, cover, or surround completely. Envelope (Noun) is a flat paper container with a sealable flap usually used for sending documents and other goods. So, in sentences II and III, the word ‘envelop’ should be replaced with ‘envelope’ for the correct usage.
Ans: A
9. Morale
I) Human beings are morale individuals.
II) A mail from home is a great morale booster for soldiers.
III) The unexpected win against the top team boosted the team's morale.
A) Only III B) Only I C) Only II
D) Only II and III E) All of these
Explanation: In sentence I, the word ‘morale’ should be replaced with ‘moral’ for the correct usage.
Ans: D
10. Raise
I) The sun raises in the east.
II) One who makes everything right must raise early.
III) We decided to raise money by conducting star night.
A) Only I and III B) Only I and II C) Only I
D) Only II and III E) Only III
Explanation: ‘Raise’ means ‘to lift or move (someone/ something) to a higher position or level’. ‘Rise’ means ‘moving from a lower position to higher position’. No one can lift or move the Sun from east to West and the phrase ‘rise early’ means ‘wakeup early’ in the morning. So, the word ‘rise’ should be used in place of ‘raise’ in sentences I and II.
Ans: E
