SSC CGL Reasoning · Classification
Word Classification
Four words or word pairs are given and three belong to one group: the same kind of thing, a narrower group inside it, the same meaning, or the same relation inside a pair. Name the group and find the word outside it.
Why this matters
Fifty-four questions in the bank, 48 of them from the 2025 shifts, with 51 EASY and 3 MODERATE. Most need a general-knowledge fact rather than a calculation, so these are the quickest marks in the chapter for a student who reads widely, and a trap for one who stops at the first group that fits.
Concept 1 of 4: Naming the kind of thing
Definition
1. Say the kind of each word in two or three words of your own: "a temperature scale", "a part of the eye". 2. Look for the kind that fits exactly three of the four. 3. The odd word is often from a neighbouring kind: a star among planets, a sea among oceans, software among hardware.
- A category word among its members: when one option names the group the other three belong to (Classical Languages beside Tamil, Sanskrit and Kannada), SSC's key picks the category word.
- Fast route: read the four words aloud as a list. The one that does not belong in the sentence "These are all ..." is usually clear before you name the group.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 1 · Classification · Word Classification
Stopping at a group that holds all four
Taking the category word for a member
Concept 2 of 4: Narrowing the group
Definition
1. If all four fit the first group you think of, the answer lies one level down. 2. Ask the next question about each word: which state, which era, which kind of instrument, which side of a list. 3. The narrower group must hold exactly three words.
- Common narrow groups: cities of one state; state capitals; Indus Valley sites; classical against folk dances; percussion against stringed instruments; programming against markup languages; Prime Ministers among other leaders.
- Fast route: look for the word that comes from a different place or time. It is the odd one far more often than a word that differs in some finer way.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 2 · Classification · Word Classification
Answering from the broad group
Confusing a big city with the capital
Concept 3 of 4: Grouping words by meaning
Definition
- Single words: find the shared meaning of three (all mean quiet, all mean detailed). The odd word usually means the opposite.
- Word pairs: decide whether each pair is two words of similar meaning or two opposites. Three pairs share one type; the odd pair has the other.
- The stem's note asks you to treat the words as meaningful English words, so ignore the number of letters or vowels.
- Fast route: look for the one word with a clearly opposite feel (Simple among Complex words, Clamorous among quiet words).
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 3 · Classification · Word Classification
Calling two near words opposites
Concept 4 of 4: The relation inside a word pair
Definition
1. Put the first pair into a short sentence: "pages are part of a book". 2. Test the same sentence on every other pair. The pair it does not fit is the odd one. 3. Keep the order of the words: "a book has pages" is not the same relation as "shoes are worn on feet". 4. When every pair has the same relation, check the facts: a wrong number of sides or players makes a pair odd.
- Fast route: a pair whose second word could not go into the sentence at all is the answer; you do not need to test it further.
Worked example
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
Example 4 · Classification · Word Classification
Reading the pair in the other order
Ignoring a wrong fact inside a correct relation
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.
Watch out for (7)
- Stopping at a group that holds all four→ Naming the kind of thing
- Taking the category word for a member→ Naming the kind of thing
- Answering from the broad group→ Narrowing the group
- Confusing a big city with the capital→ Narrowing the group
- Calling two near words opposites→ Grouping words by meaning
- Reading the pair in the other order→ The relation inside a word pair
- Ignoring a wrong fact inside a correct relation→ The relation inside a word pair
Test yourself on Classification
20 past SSC CGL questions from this chapter, timed at 12 minutes and marked the way the exam marks it. You see your score and every answer the moment you finish. Free to start.