CDS English · Vocabulary
Antonyms: words for time, change and action
Words for being active or still, lasting or passing, starting or stopping, joining or separating, with the opposites CDS has asked for.
Why this matters
These are direction words: they say which way something moves, not whether it is good or bad. The options usually hold three words moving the same way as the tested word and one moving against it. Picture the movement, and the odd one out shows itself.
Concept 1 of 4: Active and idle, alive and dead
Moving against still, alive against dead, strong against open to harm. Science words help here: inertia is a body's resistance to moving, and a dormant volcano is one that is sleeping.
Definition
- Still: inert, inertia, dormant (sleeping), latent, quiescent, sluggish, torpor.
- Moving: lively, active, activity.
- Life and decline: decay and deceased (rotting, dead) against survival and alive.
- Strength: invincible (cannot be beaten) against vulnerable (open to harm); vulnerable against resilient (recovers quickly).
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| inert | without movement or energy | lively | quiescent, dormant, apathetic (synonyms) | 2019 (I)Q |
| inertia | unwillingness to move or change | activity | sluggishness, indolence, torpor (synonyms) | 2020 (I)Q |
| dormant | inactive, as if asleep | active | latent, inert, sluggish (synonyms) | 2022 (I)Q |
| decay | rotting, slow decline | survival | waste away, decomposition, spoil (synonyms) | 2020 (I)Q The fullest opposite would be growth or flourishing; of these options only survival runs against decline. |
| deceased | dead | alive | dead (synonym), injured, survived | 2021 (I)Q |
| invincible | impossible to defeat | vulnerable | impregnable, unbeatable, insurmountable (synonyms) | 2023 (II)Q |
| vulnerable | open to harm or pressure | resilient | weak, unguarded, exposed (synonyms) | 2018 (I)Q |
Vulnerable appears on both sides: it was the answer for invincible and the word tested against resilient.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2022 · CDS (I) 2022 — English · Q70Easy
Example 1 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Time, Change and Action
Directions: word opposite in meaning to the underlined word
Some animals live a dormant life.
Hidden is not the same as active
'Latent' means present but not yet showing, like a talent no one has seen. It is close to 'dormant', not its opposite. Strike it with the other still words.
Concept 2 of 4: Lasting and passing
Does it go on and on, or does it come and go? Does it stay in one place, or keep moving? Is it old or new? Each pair here is a line through time.
Definition
- Goes on: incessant (never stopping), perpetual (never ending), ceaseless, continual, eternal.
- Comes and goes: sporadic (now and then), transitory (short-lived), intermittent.
- Old against new: archaic, antiquated, outmoded against modern.
- Moving against staying: itinerant, nomadic, roving against settled.
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| incessant | never stopping | sporadic | persistent, continual, ceaseless (synonyms) | 2019 (II)Q |
| perpetual | never ending | transitory | eternal, continuous, unceasing (synonyms) | 2026 (I)Q |
| archaic | very old, out of date | modern | antiquated, outmoded, beyond the times (synonyms) | 2020 (II)Q |
| itinerant | travelling from place to place | settled | vagrant, roving, nomadic (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
Continual, ceaseless, continuous and unceasing were all offered as synonyms to strike.
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (II) 2019 — English · Q75Moderate
Example 2 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Time, Change and Action
Directions: opposite in meaning to the underlined word
Incessant rains have resulted in failure of crops during this season.
Continual and continuous are on the same side
'Continual' (happening again and again) and 'continuous' (without a break) differ slightly, but both mean 'going on'. For a never-ending word, both are synonyms. The opposite is a 'now and then' word such as 'sporadic' or a 'short-lived' word such as 'transitory'.
Concept 3 of 4: Starting, growing, stopping
Helping something begin and grow, against holding it back or ending it. The tested words are usually verbs, so the answer is a verb in the same tense.
Definition
- Start and help grow: usher in (bring in), originate (begin), foster and cultivate (encourage growth), perpetuate (keep going), support.
- Hold back or end: obstruct, suppress, constrain and restrict (hold back), culminate (reach the end), cease (stop).
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ushered in | started, brought in | obstructed | led, conducted, directed | 2023 (II)Q |
| fostered | encouraged the growth of | suppressed | cultivated, endorsed, incubated (synonyms) | 2023 (II)Q |
| constrain | restrict, hold back | support | restrict (synonym), oblige, pressure | 2019 (II)Q |
| originates | begins, starts from | culminates | emanates, initiates, inaugurates (the 'beginning' idea) | 2021 (II)Q |
| perpetuate | keep going, make last | cease | conserve, sustain, maintain (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
Culminate is the opposite of originate in the sense of a beginning and an end, not of good and bad.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2023 · CDS (II) 2023 — English · Q78Moderate
Example 3 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Time, Change and Action
Directions: word opposite in meaning to the underlined word
The emperor as a centralised entity indisputably went beyond regional conflicts and fostered a certain mode of elite culture.
Every 'beginning' word is on the same side
For 'originates', the options 'emanates', 'initiates' and 'inaugurates' all speak of starting. They are the lookalikes. Only 'culminates' (reaches its end) points the other way.
Concept 4 of 4: Mixing and spreading
Putting things together against pulling them apart, and spreading something out against gathering it in. Think of a kitchen: you whisk eggs and milk together, or you separate the yolk from the white.
Definition
- Together: blend, fusion, mingle, coalesce, amalgamate, join, bond.
- Apart: separate, separation.
- Spread out: diffuse, scatter, disperse, strew.
- Gather in: concentrate.
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blend | mix together | separate | mingle, coalesce, amalgamate (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
| fusion | joining into one | separation | joining, bonding, blending (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
| diffuse | spread out, scatter | concentrate | scatter, disperse, strew (synonyms) | 2020 (II)Q The sentence really wants defuse (calm tension); the word tested is diffuse, spread out, whose opposite is concentrate. |
The verb takes 'separate' and the noun takes 'separation': match the form.
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2023 · CDS (I) 2023 — English · Q72Easy
Example 4 · Vocabulary · Antonyms: Time, Change and Action
Directions: opposite in meaning to the underlined word
Blend the grains to make a smooth paste.
Diffuse is not defuse
'Defuse' means to calm a tense situation (or remove a bomb's fuse). 'Diffuse' means to spread out. Writers often confuse them, but the tested word is the one printed. Its opposite is 'concentrate', not an 'excite' word.
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 (4)
Active and idle, alive and dead7 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| inert | without movement or energy | lively | quiescent, dormant, apathetic (synonyms) | 2019 (I)Q |
| inertia | unwillingness to move or change | activity | sluggishness, indolence, torpor (synonyms) | 2020 (I)Q |
| dormant | inactive, as if asleep | active | latent, inert, sluggish (synonyms) | 2022 (I)Q |
| decay | rotting, slow decline | survival | waste away, decomposition, spoil (synonyms) | 2020 (I)Q The fullest opposite would be growth or flourishing; of these options only survival runs against decline. |
| deceased | dead | alive | dead (synonym), injured, survived | 2021 (I)Q |
| invincible | impossible to defeat | vulnerable | impregnable, unbeatable, insurmountable (synonyms) | 2023 (II)Q |
| vulnerable | open to harm or pressure | resilient | weak, unguarded, exposed (synonyms) | 2018 (I)Q |
Vulnerable appears on both sides: it was the answer for invincible and the word tested against resilient.
Lasting and passing4 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| incessant | never stopping | sporadic | persistent, continual, ceaseless (synonyms) | 2019 (II)Q |
| perpetual | never ending | transitory | eternal, continuous, unceasing (synonyms) | 2026 (I)Q |
| archaic | very old, out of date | modern | antiquated, outmoded, beyond the times (synonyms) | 2020 (II)Q |
| itinerant | travelling from place to place | settled | vagrant, roving, nomadic (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
Continual, ceaseless, continuous and unceasing were all offered as synonyms to strike.
Starting, growing, stopping5 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ushered in | started, brought in | obstructed | led, conducted, directed | 2023 (II)Q |
| fostered | encouraged the growth of | suppressed | cultivated, endorsed, incubated (synonyms) | 2023 (II)Q |
| constrain | restrict, hold back | support | restrict (synonym), oblige, pressure | 2019 (II)Q |
| originates | begins, starts from | culminates | emanates, initiates, inaugurates (the 'beginning' idea) | 2021 (II)Q |
| perpetuate | keep going, make last | cease | conserve, sustain, maintain (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
Culminate is the opposite of originate in the sense of a beginning and an end, not of good and bad.
Mixing and spreading3 rows
| Word | Meaning | Opposite | Other options | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| blend | mix together | separate | mingle, coalesce, amalgamate (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
| fusion | joining into one | separation | joining, bonding, blending (synonyms) | 2023 (I)Q |
| diffuse | spread out, scatter | concentrate | scatter, disperse, strew (synonyms) | 2020 (II)Q The sentence really wants defuse (calm tension); the word tested is diffuse, spread out, whose opposite is concentrate. |
The verb takes 'separate' and the noun takes 'separation': match the form.
Watch out for (4)
- Hidden is not the same as active→ Active and idle, alive and dead
- Continual and continuous are on the same side→ Lasting and passing
- Every 'beginning' word is on the same side→ Starting, growing, stopping
- Diffuse is not defuse→ Mixing and spreading
Test yourself on Vocabulary
20 past CDS questions from this chapter, timed at 20 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.