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CSS 2026 — Synonyms & Antonyms (Solved)

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Answer key: Synonyms 1-D · 2-D · 3-A · 4-A · 5-B · 6-C · 7-D · 8-C · 9-A · 10-A │ Antonyms 11-B · 12-C · 13-D · 14-D · 15-B · 16-A · 17-D · 18-C · 19-D · 20-A

(a) Synonyms — choose the word nearly most SIMILAR in meaning

1. ENIGMA

(A) Stature (B) Axiom (C) Adage (D) Conundrum

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Answer: (D) Conundrum

  • Urdu: معمہ، پہیلی، راز
  • Meaning (n.): a person, thing or situation that is mysterious and difficult to understand
  • Synonyms: mystery, puzzle, riddle, conundrum, paradox, mystery
  • Antonyms: certainty, clarity, open book, obvious fact, explanation
  • Sentences:
    1. Why the Indus Valley cities were abandoned remains an enigma for archaeologists.
    2. Even after twenty years of marriage, her husband was an enigma to her.
  • Why not the others: stature = height or status · axiom = a self-evident truth · adage = a proverb.

2. HACKNEYED

(A) Unplanned (B) Intriguing (C) Stubborn (D) Clichéd

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Answer: (D) Clichéd

  • Urdu: گھسا پٹا، فرسودہ، بار بار دہرایا ہوا
  • Meaning (adj.): used so often that it has lost its freshness and impact
  • Synonyms: clichéd, trite, stale, banal, overworked, platitudinous
  • Antonyms: original, fresh, novel, innovative, imaginative
  • Sentences:
    1. Examiners are tired of hackneyed essay openings like "since time immemorial."
    2. The drama relied on a hackneyed plot about a rich boy and a poor girl.
  • Why not the others: intriguing = interesting (almost the opposite) · unplanned and stubborn are unrelated.

3. PANACEA

(A) Elixir (B) Destitution (C) Deprivation (D) Predicament

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Answer: (A) Elixir

  • Urdu: ہر مرض کی دوا، اکسیر، تریاق
  • Meaning (n.): a solution or remedy believed to cure all problems or diseases
  • Synonyms: cure-all, elixir, universal remedy, nostrum, magic bullet, sovereign remedy
  • Antonyms: bane, affliction, poison, curse, disease
  • Sentences:
    1. Privatisation is no panacea for loss-making state enterprises.
    2. Education is often presented as a panacea for every social ill.
  • Why not the others: destitution and deprivation = poverty · predicament = a difficult situation.
  • 🔁 Also asked in 2023 (Special).

4. CAJOLE

(A) Lure (B) Intimidate (C) Harass (D) Tease

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Answer: (A) Lure

  • Urdu: پھسلانا، چکنی چپڑی باتوں سے منانا، بہلانا
  • Meaning (v.): to persuade someone to do something by flattery or gentle coaxing
  • Synonyms: coax, wheedle, sweet-talk, entice, lure, inveigle
  • Antonyms: coerce, force, compel, intimidate, bully
  • Sentences:
    1. She cajoled her younger brother into finishing his homework.
    2. The shopkeeper cajoled customers with free samples and compliments.
  • Why not the others: intimidate = persuade by fear (the opposite method) · harass and tease = annoy.
  • 🔁 Also asked in 2009 and 2013.

5. INSCRUTABLE

(A) Unattainable (B) Mysterious (C) Obstinate (D) Vigilant

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Answer: (B) Mysterious

  • Urdu: ناقابلِ فہم، پراسرار، جس کا بھید نہ کھلے
  • Meaning (adj.): impossible to understand or interpret, especially a person's face or mood
  • Synonyms: mysterious, enigmatic, impenetrable, unreadable, cryptic, poker-faced
  • Antonyms: transparent, readable, obvious, open, comprehensible
  • Sentences:
    1. The judge listened with an inscrutable expression.
    2. The ways of fate often seem inscrutable to us.
  • Why not the others: unattainable = cannot be reached · obstinate = stubborn · vigilant = watchful.

6. REVERIE

(A) Palimpsest (B) Phantom (C) Daydream (D) Curio

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Answer: (C) Daydream

  • Urdu: خیالوں میں کھو جانا، محویت، دن کا خواب
  • Meaning (n.): a state of being pleasantly lost in one's thoughts
  • Synonyms: daydream, musing, trance, woolgathering, dreaminess, abstraction
  • Antonyms: alertness, attentiveness, reality, wakefulness, concentration
  • Sentences:
    1. The school bell jolted him out of his reverie.
    2. She sat by the window, lost in a reverie about her village.
  • Why not the others: palimpsest = a manuscript written over erased text · phantom = a ghost · curio = a rare decorative object.

7. SUMPTUOUS

(A) Delirious (B) Gorgeous (C) Perilous (D) Luxurious

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Answer: (D) Luxurious

  • Urdu: شاندار، پرتعیش، قیمتی
  • Meaning (adj.): splendid and expensive-looking
  • Synonyms: luxurious, lavish, opulent, magnificent, grand, costly
  • Antonyms: plain, austere, meagre, humble, cheap
  • Sentences:
    1. The guests were served a sumptuous feast at the wedding.
    2. The palace had sumptuous carpets and chandeliers.
  • Why not the others: gorgeous is close, but it means beautiful, while sumptuous stresses richness and cost · delirious = wildly excited · perilous = dangerous.

8. APPALL

(A) Delirious (B) Covered (C) Dismay (D) Confuse

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Answer: (C) Dismay

  • Urdu: ہیبت زدہ کرنا، سخت صدمہ پہنچانا، دہلا دینا
  • Meaning (v.): to fill with horror, shock or dismay
  • Synonyms: dismay, horrify, shock, outrage, sicken, disgust
  • Antonyms: delight, please, reassure, comfort, gratify
  • Sentences:
    1. The public was appalled by footage of the collapsed building.
    2. Teachers were appalled at the poor exam results.
  • Why not the others: confuse = bewilder, not horrify · the others are unrelated.

9. ABJECT

(A) Indigent (B) Desire (C) Despondent (D) Extreme

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Answer: (A) Indigent (coaching key)

  • Urdu: انتہائی ذلیل، بدحال، نہایت خستہ
  • Meaning (adj.): extremely bad and wretched (abject poverty); lacking pride or dignity (an abject apology)
  • Synonyms: wretched, miserable, destitute, hopeless, pitiful, indigent
  • Antonyms: exalted, dignified, proud, prosperous, noble
  • Sentences:
    1. Millions in the flood-hit districts still live in abject poverty.
    2. He made an abject apology to the court.
  • Note: "despondent" is argued for too (abject misery). Keys pick indigent because the fixed phrase in the exam is abject poverty.

10. BESPOKE

(A) Tailored (B) Quiet (C) Gentle (D) Handsome

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Answer: (A) Tailored

  • Urdu: آرڈر پر تیار کردہ، حسبِ فرمائش بنایا گیا
  • Meaning (adj.): made specially for a particular customer
  • Synonyms: tailored, custom-made, made-to-measure, tailor-made, personalised, one-off
  • Antonyms: ready-made, off-the-peg, mass-produced, standard, generic
  • Sentences:
    1. The firm builds bespoke software for banks.
    2. He ordered a bespoke suit for his wedding.
  • Why not the others: "bespoke" looks like "spoke" (spoke quietly or gently), which is a sound-alike trap.

(b) Antonyms — choose the word nearly most OPPOSITE in meaning

11. CANDOUR

(A) Rebuttal (B) Evasiveness (C) Restraint (D) Candidness

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Answer: (B) Evasiveness

  • Urdu: صاف گوئی، کھرا پن، بے باکی
  • Meaning (n.): the quality of being open, honest and frank
  • Synonyms: frankness, openness, honesty, sincerity, directness, bluntness
  • Antonyms: evasiveness, deceit, guile, dishonesty, secrecy
  • Sentences:
    1. The minister spoke with rare candour about the budget deficit.
    2. I appreciate your candour, even if the truth is hard.
  • Why not the others: candidness is a synonym · rebuttal = a counter-argument · restraint = self-control.

12. COLLOQUIAL

(A) Vernacular (B) Informal (C) Literary (D) Quarrelsome

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Answer: (C) Literary

  • Urdu: روزمرہ بول چال کا، عام گفتگو والا
  • Meaning (adj.): used in ordinary, informal conversation rather than formal writing
  • Synonyms: informal, conversational, everyday, vernacular, idiomatic, casual
  • Antonyms: literary, formal, elevated, bookish, standard written
  • Sentences:
    1. Avoid colloquial expressions like "gonna" in a CSS essay.
    2. The novel's dialogue uses colloquial Punjabi phrases.
  • Why not the others: vernacular and informal are synonyms · quarrelsome is unrelated.

13. EUPHORIA

(A) Ecstasy (B) Obnoxious (C) Nostalgic (D) Melancholy

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Answer: (D) Melancholy

  • Urdu: سرشاری، بے پناہ خوشی، وجد
  • Meaning (n.): a feeling of intense excitement and happiness
  • Synonyms: elation, ecstasy, bliss, rapture, exhilaration, jubilation
  • Antonyms: melancholy, despair, dejection, gloom, misery
  • Sentences:
    1. The euphoria after the result faded once training began.
    2. There was euphoria in Lahore after the cricket victory.
  • Why not the others: ecstasy is a synonym · obnoxious = offensive · nostalgic = longing for the past.

14. SURROGATE

(A) Proxy (B) Soothing (C) Forbidden (D) Real

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Answer: (D) Real

  • Urdu: متبادل، نائب، قائم مقام
  • Meaning (n./adj.): a substitute, especially someone acting in place of another
  • Synonyms: proxy, substitute, stand-in, deputy, replacement, surrogate
  • Antonyms: real, genuine, original, actual, authentic
  • Sentences:
    1. Militias often act as surrogates for regional powers.
    2. Television became a surrogate parent for many children.
  • Why not the others: proxy is a synonym · soothing and forbidden are unrelated.

15. OBLIVIOUS

(A) Ignorant (B) Conscious (C) Sober (D) Flamboyant

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Answer: (B) Conscious

  • Urdu: بے خبر، غافل، لاعلم
  • Meaning (adj.): not aware of what is happening around one
  • Synonyms: unaware, heedless, unmindful, ignorant, unconscious, insensible
  • Antonyms: conscious, aware, alert, mindful, attentive
  • Sentences:
    1. Absorbed in his phone, he was oblivious to the traffic.
    2. The elite seem oblivious to the struggles of the poor.
  • Why not the others: ignorant is a synonym · sober = serious or not drunk · flamboyant = showy.

16. AMELIORATE

(A) Impair (B) Rectify (C) Precipitate (D) Renew

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Answer: (A) Impair

  • Urdu: بہتر بنانا، سدھارنا
  • Meaning (v.): to make something bad or unsatisfactory better
  • Synonyms: improve, enhance, alleviate, better, mitigate, upgrade
  • Antonyms: impair, worsen, aggravate, exacerbate, damage
  • Sentences:
    1. Targeted subsidies can ameliorate the effects of inflation on the poor.
    2. New drugs ameliorate the symptoms of the disease.
  • Why not the others: rectify and renew are near-synonyms · precipitate = cause suddenly.

17. BENIGN

(A) Amiable (B) Effective (C) Boost (D) Malicious

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Answer: (D) Malicious

  • Urdu: مہربان، شفیق، بے ضرر (طب: غیر مہلک رسولی)
  • Meaning (adj.): gentle and kindly; (medical) not harmful
  • Synonyms: kindly, gentle, harmless, benevolent, gracious, amiable
  • Antonyms: malicious, malignant, hostile, harmful, cruel
  • Sentences:
    1. The doctor reassured her that the lump was benign.
    2. He had a benign smile that put everyone at ease.
  • Why not the others: amiable is a synonym · effective and boost are unrelated.

18. CACOPHONY

(A) Noise (B) Disaster (C) Stillness (D) Rattle

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Answer: (C) Stillness

  • Urdu: بے سرا شور، شور شرابا، کان پھاڑ آوازیں
  • Meaning (n.): a harsh, discordant mixture of sounds
  • Synonyms: din, racket, noise, discord, clamour, uproar
  • Antonyms: stillness, silence, harmony, euphony, quiet
  • Sentences:
    1. The cacophony of horns on Murree Road never stops.
    2. A cacophony of voices filled the crowded bazaar.
  • Why not the others: noise and rattle are synonyms · disaster is unrelated.

19. DOLEFUL

(A) Witty (B) Rich (C) Empty (D) Vivacious

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Answer: (D) Vivacious

  • Urdu: غمگین، افسردہ، رنجیدہ
  • Meaning (adj.): expressing sorrow; mournful
  • Synonyms: mournful, sorrowful, woeful, gloomy, lugubrious, melancholy
  • Antonyms: vivacious, cheerful, jovial, lively, merry
  • Sentences:
    1. The puppy gave us a doleful look when we left.
    2. A doleful song played at the funeral.
  • Why not the others: witty = clever and funny, not the opposite of sad · rich and empty are unrelated.

20. ÉLAN

(A) Inelegance (B) Stupidity (C) Obscure (D) Despair

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Answer: (A) Inelegance

  • Urdu: جوش، ولولہ، شان و انداز
  • Meaning (n.): energy, style and enthusiasm
  • Synonyms: flair, panache, verve, vigour, style, dash
  • Antonyms: inelegance, lethargy, dullness, awkwardness, apathy
  • Sentences:
    1. The orchestra played with great élan.
    2. She handled the interview with élan and confidence.
  • Note: no option is a perfect opposite. Inelegance (lack of style) is the closest.

Source: full 2026 paper