CDS English · Spotting Errors
Word improvement: the right word for the sentence
One underlined word is always wrong, and four words are offered in its place: find the right one from the look of the word, the tone of the sentence, and the exact sense it needs.
Why this matters
This format appeared in both 2025 papers. It is a vocabulary test placed inside a sentence, and the options are hard words that share letters, so guessing by sound fails. Three clues solve almost every item: a look-alike of the printed word, the positive or negative tone of the sentence, and the exact term a process or idea demands. The lists below cover the words the paper used.
Concept 1 of 4: Reading the clue: look-alike, charge and exact sense
In this format the underlined word is always wrong: there is no 'No improvement' option. So the question is never 'is it right?' but 'what was meant?'. Often the printed word is a near-twin of the right one, swapped by sound or spelling. Find the twin that fits the sentence.
Definition
Three clues, in this order:
- Look-alike: say the printed word, then look for an option that sounds almost the same but fits the sense (intimated → intimidated).
- Charge: every word has a charge, a positive or negative tone. Read the tone of the sentence (a bonus → joy; bad behaviour → blame) and reject options with the wrong charge.
- Exact sense: when the sentence names a process, a document or a political idea, it wants the one exact term for it.
The look-alike pairs tested in 2025:
- intimated (hinted) → intimidated (frightened)
- perquisite (a perk of a job) → perspicacity (sharp insight)
- scrumptious (delicious, of food) → sumptuous (rich, splendid)
- lyre (a harp-like instrument) → lure (an attraction)
- enormity (great wickedness) → enormousness (great size)
- indefinite (not clear or fixed) → indifferent (showing no interest)
- diligent (hard-working) → indigent (very poor)
Decoys from those items, with their meanings: inculcated (taught by repetition), asphyxiated (choked), annulled (cancelled), perniciousness (harmfulness), peremptoriness (curt bossiness), presumptuousness (over-boldness), synergistic (working together for a bigger effect), stentorian (very loud), scrimpy (stingy), imperious (arrogantly bossy), imperilled (put in danger), disinvested (withdrew money), intransigent (refusing to change), indignant (angry at unfairness), apathetic (not caring), eternity (endless time), extremity (the furthest point), simulacrum (an imitation).
Worked example
Choose the word that improves the underlined word. The weather office warned that a cyclone was eminent and asked fishermen to stay ashore. (a) prominent (b) imminent (c) immense (d) impudent
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — English · Q1Moderate
Example 1 · Spotting Errors · Word Improvement in Context
Directions: Each of the sentences in the following items has an underlined word, followed by four choices. Select the most appropriate option that is an improvement of the underlined word in the context of the sentence, and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
The officer under suspension felt intimated by the committee members during his interrogation regarding the allegations against him.
There is no 'No improvement'
The underlined word is always wrong in this format. Do not look for the option closest in meaning to it. Look for the option that says what the sentence means.
Shared letters are the decoy
Options such as perniciousness, peremptoriness and presumptuousness all start like 'perquisite'. They are there to catch a guess by sound. Check the meaning of each option against the sentence.
Enormity does not mean great size
In careful English, enormity means great wickedness (the enormity of the crime). For great size, use enormousness or immensity.
Read the charge of the whole sentence
Words like 'much to their disappointment', 'inappropriate' or 'met with great joy' set the tone. Decide the charge from them before you read the options.
Concept 2 of 4: Words for feeling, attitude and manner
These items describe how someone feels or behaves. The printed word has the wrong feeling: joyful where the sentence is calm, thoughtful where it is careless. Name the feeling the sentence describes, then find the option that names it exactly.
Definition
How to use the table:
- The printed word column shows the wrong word and its meaning.
- The right word is the one the sentence needed.
- The decoys are the other options, with their meanings, so you know them when they return.
- Watch suffixes that add a judgement: paternal (fatherly) is neutral, paternalistic (controlling people 'for their own good') is critical.
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tumult (noisy disorder) | merriment | cheerful fun and laughter | trepidation (fear), upheaval (violent change), uproar (loud protest) | 2025 (I)Q |
| antipathy (strong dislike) | animus | strong hostility, ill will | sympathy, empathy (sharing feelings), indifference (no interest) | 2025 (II) |
| impassioned (full of emotion) | dispassionate | calm, not moved by strong feeling | perfunctory (careless), devolved (handed down), disambiguated (made clear) | 2025 (II)Q |
| paternal (fatherly) | paternalistic | controlling people 'for their own good' | prim (stiffly proper), petulant (sulky), presumptuous (over-bold) | 2025 (II)Q |
| reflective (thoughtful) | perfunctory | done quickly, without care or interest | precise, engaging (charming), egregious (shockingly bad) | 2025 (II)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (II) 2025 — English · Q5Moderate
Example 2 · Spotting Errors · Word Improvement in Context
Directions: Each of the sentences in the following items has an underlined word, followed by four choices. Select the most appropriate option that improves/corrects the underlined word in the context of the sentence, and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
He had cultivated such great temperance in his personality that he was impassioned in his dealing with the vicissitudes of life.
-istic adds a judgement
Paternal care is simply fatherly. Paternalistic behaviour controls people and takes away their choice. When the sentence says 'not allowing them to decide', it wants the critical word.
Tumult is noise and disorder, not joy
A tumult is a loud, confused commotion. Happy excitement after good news is merriment or jubilation.
'No more than a glance' signals carelessness
Phrases like 'no more than', 'barely' and 'much to their disappointment' tell you the action was careless or too little. 'Reflective' (thoughtful) is the opposite charge; perfunctory fits.
Concept 3 of 4: Words for praise, blame and justification
These items turn on one question: is the sentence praising, blaming, or judging whether something was justified? The printed word has the opposite charge. Often three options share one charge and only one has the other, which makes the answer easy to spot once you know the words.
Definition
What to know:
- Praise words: laudatory, plaudits, acclaim, eulogistic.
- Blame words: opprobrium, scurrilous, reviling, scathing, upbraiding.
- Justification words: salutary (having a good effect) and gratuitous (done without good reason, uncalled for) look unrelated but are tested as a pair.
- Read what caused the reaction: joy from the leadership means praise; inappropriate behaviour means blame.
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scurrilous (abusive, insulting) | laudatory | full of praise | reviling, scathing, upbraiding (all words of blame) | 2025 (I)Q |
| plaudits (praise) | opprobrium | harsh public criticism, disgrace | sanctimoniousness (smug moral superiority), triumph, banter (playful teasing) | 2025 (I)Q |
| salutary (having a good effect) | gratuitous | done without good reason, uncalled for | ingratiated (won favour by flattery), grating (irritating), gargantuan (huge) | 2025 (II)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (I) 2025 — English · Q9Hard
Example 3 · Spotting Errors · Word Improvement in Context
Directions: Each of the sentences in the following items has an underlined word, followed by four choices. Select the most appropriate option that is an improvement of the underlined word in the context of the sentence, and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
His inappropriate behaviour earned plaudits from his colleagues.
Three options with the same charge
When three options are all blame words and one is praise, and the sentence needs praise, the odd one out is the answer. Sort the options by charge first.
Salutary is not about saluting, gratuitous is not grateful
Salutary = good for you (a salutary warning). Gratuitous = without reason, uncalled for. Neither has anything to do with salutes or gratitude.
Fulsome praise is too much praise
Fulsome sounds like 'full', but in careful use it means excessive and insincere. It still counts as a praise word when sorting options by charge.
Concept 4 of 4: Exact terms for procedures, politics and documents
Some sentences name a thing that has one exact word: the training for new recruits is an induction, support from two rival parties is bipartisan, copying without credit is plagiarism. The printed word is close in meaning but not the term. Find the term.
Definition
What to check:
- Ask what the sentence is naming: a process, a political stance, a kind of document, an offence.
- Recall the exact term for it. Prefixes help: bi- = two, -partisan = of a party; palim- = again, -psest = scraped.
- A word that is not English at all (simulism) is always wrong.
- For an amount cut by a fixed share, reduce; minimise means bring down to the smallest possible.
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| instruction (teaching) | induction | formal introduction and training for new members | immersion (deep involvement), intimation (notice, hint), unction (anointing with oil) | 2025 (I)Q |
| minimise (bring to the smallest) | reduce | make smaller by some amount | supervise, surmise (guess), lower | 2025 (I) |
| bilateral (between two countries) | bipartisan | supported by two opposing parties | impartial (fair), intermittent (stopping and starting), perilous (dangerous) | 2025 (II)Q |
| postscript (a note added at the end of a letter) | palimpsest | a manuscript whose earlier writing was erased and written over | parchment (writing material made of skin), pastiche (an imitation of a style), montage (a combined set of images) | 2025 (II)Q |
| simulism (not an English word) | plagiarism | copying another's work without credit | sensationalism, institutionalism, spoonerism (swapping the first sounds of two words) | 2025 (II)Q |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2025 · CDS (II) 2025 — English · Q6Hard
Example 4 · Spotting Errors · Word Improvement in Context
Directions: Each of the sentences in the following items has an underlined word, followed by four choices. Select the most appropriate option that improves/corrects the underlined word in the context of the sentence, and mark your response on the Answer Sheet accordingly.
The document was discerned to be a postscript, where clearly an earlier manuscript had been replaced by a new one.
Bilateral is between countries
Bilateral talks are between two countries. Bipartisan support comes from two rival political parties inside one country.
Minimise is not 'cut a bit'
To minimise is to bring something down to the smallest amount possible. A cut of a fixed share, such as twenty per cent, is a reduction: reduce.
Teaching is not induction
Instruction is any teaching. Induction is the named process by which new recruits are brought into a service. When the sentence names the stage before joining, it wants the term.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Words for feeling, attitude and manner5 rows
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| tumult (noisy disorder) | merriment | cheerful fun and laughter | trepidation (fear), upheaval (violent change), uproar (loud protest) | 2025 (I)Q |
| antipathy (strong dislike) | animus | strong hostility, ill will | sympathy, empathy (sharing feelings), indifference (no interest) | 2025 (II) |
| impassioned (full of emotion) | dispassionate | calm, not moved by strong feeling | perfunctory (careless), devolved (handed down), disambiguated (made clear) | 2025 (II)Q |
| paternal (fatherly) | paternalistic | controlling people 'for their own good' | prim (stiffly proper), petulant (sulky), presumptuous (over-bold) | 2025 (II)Q |
| reflective (thoughtful) | perfunctory | done quickly, without care or interest | precise, engaging (charming), egregious (shockingly bad) | 2025 (II)Q |
Words for praise, blame and justification3 rows
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| scurrilous (abusive, insulting) | laudatory | full of praise | reviling, scathing, upbraiding (all words of blame) | 2025 (I)Q |
| plaudits (praise) | opprobrium | harsh public criticism, disgrace | sanctimoniousness (smug moral superiority), triumph, banter (playful teasing) | 2025 (I)Q |
| salutary (having a good effect) | gratuitous | done without good reason, uncalled for | ingratiated (won favour by flattery), grating (irritating), gargantuan (huge) | 2025 (II)Q |
Exact terms for procedures, politics and documents5 rows
| Printed word | Right word | Meaning | Decoys | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| instruction (teaching) | induction | formal introduction and training for new members | immersion (deep involvement), intimation (notice, hint), unction (anointing with oil) | 2025 (I)Q |
| minimise (bring to the smallest) | reduce | make smaller by some amount | supervise, surmise (guess), lower | 2025 (I) |
| bilateral (between two countries) | bipartisan | supported by two opposing parties | impartial (fair), intermittent (stopping and starting), perilous (dangerous) | 2025 (II)Q |
| postscript (a note added at the end of a letter) | palimpsest | a manuscript whose earlier writing was erased and written over | parchment (writing material made of skin), pastiche (an imitation of a style), montage (a combined set of images) | 2025 (II)Q |
| simulism (not an English word) | plagiarism | copying another's work without credit | sensationalism, institutionalism, spoonerism (swapping the first sounds of two words) | 2025 (II)Q |
Watch out for (13)
- There is no 'No improvement'→ Reading the clue: look-alike, charge and exact sense
- Shared letters are the decoy→ Reading the clue: look-alike, charge and exact sense
- Enormity does not mean great size→ Reading the clue: look-alike, charge and exact sense
- Read the charge of the whole sentence→ Reading the clue: look-alike, charge and exact sense
- -istic adds a judgement→ Words for feeling, attitude and manner
- Tumult is noise and disorder, not joy→ Words for feeling, attitude and manner
- 'No more than a glance' signals carelessness→ Words for feeling, attitude and manner
- Three options with the same charge→ Words for praise, blame and justification
- Salutary is not about saluting, gratuitous is not grateful→ Words for praise, blame and justification
- Fulsome praise is too much praise→ Words for praise, blame and justification
- Bilateral is between countries→ Exact terms for procedures, politics and documents
- Minimise is not 'cut a bit'→ Exact terms for procedures, politics and documents
- Teaching is not induction→ Exact terms for procedures, politics and documents
Test yourself on Spotting Errors
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