One Word Substitution
🔒 Log in to trackOne word for people: traits, trades and types
🔒 Log in to trackMost one-word-substitution items start with 'One who' or 'A person who'. They name a person by a job, a habit, a feeling or a situation. Sort them into four boxes and watch out for the partner word planted as a trap.
The biggest group
The commonest stem begins with One who ... or A person who .... Learn these words in four boxes.
Box 1: jobs
Learn each job with the thing it works on.
| Word | Job |
|---|---|
| cartographer | makes maps |
| lexicographer | compiles dictionaries |
| cobbler | mends shoes |
| plumber | fits and repairs water pipes |
| surgeon | performs operations |
| dentist | treats teeth |
| oculist | treats eye disorders |
| pharmacist | prepares and sells medicines |
| astronomer | studies stars scientifically |
| astrologer | foretells events from stars |
Watch: The word scientifically points to the astronomer. The word foretells points to the astrologer.
Box 2: habits and character
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| teetotaller | never drinks alcohol |
| glutton | eats too much |
| miser | hoards money |
| spendthrift | wastes money |
| gullible | believes everything easily |
| sceptic | doubts everything |
| garrulous | talks too much |
| taciturn | speaks very little |
| misanthrope | hates mankind |
| pedant | shows off his learning |
Box 3: pairs and opposites
The examiner often puts the partner word in the options.
- widow (woman whose husband has died) and widower (man whose wife has died).
- novice (beginner) and veteran (long experience).
- miser and spendthrift.
- patriot (loves his country) and traitor (betrays it).
Tip: Read the gender or direction word in the stem before you choose.
Box 4: words built from roots
| Word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| polyglot | poly (many) + glot (tongue) | knows many languages |
| somnambulist | somn (sleep) + ambul (walk) | walks in sleep |
| somniloquist | somn (sleep) + loqu (speak) | talks in sleep |
| omniscient | omni (all) + scient (knowing) | knows everything |
| omnipotent | omni (all) + potent (power) | has unlimited power |
| omnipresent | omni (all) + present | present everywhere |
| philanthropist | phil (love) + anthrop (man) | loves mankind |
More words to bank
- illiterate: cannot read or write.
- recluse: lives shut off from the world.
- martyr: gives his life for a cause.
- apostate: deserts his religion.
- vandal: deliberately damages property.
- arbitrator: hears and settles a dispute.
- biographer writes another person's life. An autobiographer writes his own.
How to answer
- Underline the key detail: the object, the habit or the gender.
- Put the phrase in its box.
- Choose the option that matches the detail exactly. Reject the partner word and the look-alike.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
Person by job
The phrase says 'one who makes, mends, treats or studies' and names an object or a field.
Underline the object or field.
Recall the job word that goes with it.
Check the look-alike job words.
Mark the exact match.
Each job word is tied to one object.
One who makes maps: (a) cartographer (b) lexicographer (c) calligrapher (d) geographer
Show solutionHide solution
The object is maps.
Cartography is map-making.
Lexicographers compile dictionaries.
(a) cartographer
Person by habit or character
The phrase describes a habit or nature: never drinks, eats too much, believes anything.
Underline the habit.
Match it to a character word.
Reject the opposite character word.
Habit words come in pairs, so the stem detail must be exact.
One who never drinks alcohol: (a) glutton (b) teetotaller (c) miser (d) sceptic
Show solutionHide solution
The habit is not drinking alcohol.
A glutton eats too much. A miser hoards money.
A teetotaller never drinks.
(b) teetotaller
Partner-word trap
The options hold both members of a pair: widow and widower, miser and spendthrift, novice and veteran.
Find the pair in the options.
Read the gender or direction word in the stem.
Pick the member that fits.
The wrong member of the pair is planted to catch quick readers.
A man whose wife has died: (a) widow (b) widower (c) bachelor (d) veteran
Show solutionHide solution
Note the word man.
A widow is a woman.
A widower is a man.
(b) widower
Root-built person words
The answer is built from Greek or Latin parts: poly, mis, phil, omni, somn.
Match a root to a word in the phrase.
Translate each part.
Choose the option that joins the parts.
Two known parts give the whole meaning.
One who knows many languages: (a) polymath (b) polyglot (c) pedant (d) novice
Show solutionHide solution
Many is poly.
Language is glot, tongue.
Polyglot. A polymath knows many subjects.
(b) polyglot
Look-alike person words
Two options are one letter apart or share a field (astronomer and astrologer).
Underline the detail word: scientifically or foretells.
Match it to the exact member.
Reject the look-alike.
The look-alike is the most common wrong option.
One who studies the stars scientifically: (a) astrologer (b) astronomer (c) cartographer (d) psychologist
Show solutionHide solution
The word scientifically decides.
An astrologer foretells events.
An astronomer studies stars as a science.
(b) astronomer
Shortcuts that save time
Underline the object or habit in the stem before you read the options. It names the family at once.
One who cannot read or write: (a) illiterate (b) recluse (c) veteran (d) sceptic
Show solutionHide solution
The key detail is cannot read or write.
Illiterate matches.
A recluse lives away from people.
(a) illiterate
Take each word with its partner. Widow goes with widower. Miser goes with spendthrift. The pair is one memory item.
Say the parts aloud: somn, ambul, ist. Hearing the parts locks the meaning.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Choosing astrologer for 'studies the stars scientifically'.
Scientific study is astronomer. Foretelling is astrologer.
Ignoring the gender word (widow for a man).
Read man or woman in the stem before you choose.
Confusing miser and spendthrift.
Miser hoards money. Spendthrift wastes it.
Confusing polyglot and polymath.
Polyglot knows many languages. Polymath knows many subjects.
Learning words without the object.
Learn each job word with the thing it works on.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Jobs: cartographer maps, lexicographer dictionary, cobbler shoes, plumber pipes.
Habits: miser/spendthrift, garrulous/taciturn, gullible/sceptic.
Pairs: widow/widower, novice/veteran, patriot/traitor.
Roots: poly many, mis hate, phil love, omni all, somn sleep.
Astronomer studies stars. Astrologer foretells from stars.
Practice: 13 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 13 questions
Suggested time 5 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.