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compulsory · CSS study notes

Bucket 17 — Difficulty & Hardship

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Best for: demanding situations, burdensome tasks and urgent crises. 10 words (1 repeat).

1. ARDUOUS (adj.)

  • Urdu: کٹھن، دشوار، مشقت طلب
  • Meaning: involving strenuous effort; difficult and tiring
  • Syn: gruelling, strenuous, laborious, onerous · Ant: easy, effortless, simple, facile
  • ✍️ Use: Rebuilding trust between the state and its citizens will be an arduous task.
  • 🧠 Hook: sounds like "hard for us".

2. EXACTING (adj.)

  • Urdu: سخت مطالبے والا، دقیق
  • Meaning: making great demands on skill, attention or effort
  • Syn: demanding, rigorous, stringent, meticulous · Ant: easy, lenient, undemanding, lax
  • ✍️ Use: The CSS written exam sets exacting standards for English expression.
  • 🧠 Hook: wants everything exactly right.

3. EXIGENT (adj.)

  • Urdu: فوری توجہ طلب، ہنگامی
  • Meaning: pressing; demanding immediate attention
  • Syn: urgent, pressing, critical, acute · Ant: unimportant, trivial, non-urgent, minor
  • ✍️ Use: Exigent circumstances allowed the government to bypass normal procurement rules.
  • 🧠 Hook: find the exit sign immediately in an emergency. Noun: exigency.

4. ONEROUS (adj.)

  • Urdu: بوجھل، گراں، تکلیف دہ
  • Meaning: involving a heavy burden or great effort
  • Syn: burdensome, oppressive, taxing, heavy · Ant: easy, light, effortless, trivial
  • ✍️ Use: Onerous IMF conditions fall hardest on the salaried middle class.
  • 🧠 Hook: Latin onus (burden) → "the onus is on us".

5. RIGOROUS (adj.)

  • Urdu: سخت، باریک بینی سے، کڑا
  • Meaning: extremely thorough and careful; strict
  • Syn: meticulous, thorough, strict, stringent · Ant: careless, lax, sloppy, lenient
  • ✍️ Use: Rigorous auditing is the first line of defence against corruption.
  • 🧠 Hook: rigid: it doesn't bend.

6. TAXING (adj.)

  • Urdu: تھکا دینے والا، مشکل
  • Meaning: physically or mentally demanding
  • Syn: demanding, exhausting, tiring, draining · Ant: easy, effortless, restful, undemanding
  • ✍️ Use: Managing two jobs and CSS preparation is taxing but possible with discipline.
  • 🧠 Hook: as draining as paying taxes.

7. VEX (v.)

  • Urdu: پریشان کرنا، ستانا، الجھانا
  • Meaning: make someone annoyed, frustrated or worried
  • Syn: annoy, irritate, trouble, perplex · Ant: please, soothe, calm, delight
  • ✍️ Use: The question of provincial water shares has vexed every government since 1947.
  • 🧠 Hook: your ex who still annoys you. "A vexed question" = hotly debated.

8. TRIBULATION (n.)

  • Urdu: مصیبت، آزمائش، دکھ
  • Meaning: a cause of great trouble or suffering
  • Syn: trouble, hardship, ordeal, adversity · Ant: happiness, ease, comfort, blessing
  • ✍️ Use: The trials and tribulations of Partition shaped a generation's worldview.
  • 🧠 Hook: a tribe going through a trial. Phrase: "trials and tribulations".

9. ADVERSE (adj.) 🔁

  • Urdu: ناموافق · harmful, unfavourable · Syn: detrimental · Ant: favourable · Full entry → Bucket 8

10. IMPEDIMENT (n.)

  • Urdu: رکاوٹ، حائل
  • Meaning: a hindrance or obstruction
  • Syn: obstacle, hindrance, barrier, hurdle · Ant: aid, help, advantage, facilitation
  • ✍️ Use: Red tape remains the biggest impediment to foreign investment.
  • 🧠 Hook: im + ped (foot) → something that traps your feet; it impedes you.