Free Vocabulary MCQs with Answers

11. Choose the word most similar in meaning to ALLEVIATE.

• A. worsen
• B. relieve or make less severe
• C. postpone
• D. accuse

Explanation: To alleviate pain is to lessen it, and the word shares its root with elevate, the idea being to lift a burden. Aggravate and exacerbate are its opposites and are frequently offered as distractors. Medical passages use it constantly, which is why it appears so often in MDCAT English.

12. Choose the word most opposite in meaning to SCARCE.

• A. rare
• B. abundant
• C. expensive
• D. hidden

Explanation: Scarce means available in insufficient quantity, so its true opposite is abundant or plentiful. Rare is a synonym rather than an antonym, which is the trap in the first option. Expensive is often a consequence of scarcity but is not its opposite.

13. Choose the word most opposite in meaning to CONDEMN.

• A. blame
• B. praise
• C. punish
• D. ignore

Explanation: To condemn is to express strong disapproval, so praise or commend is the opposite. Blame and punish move in the same direction as condemn and are therefore near synonyms. Watch for options that merely differ in intensity rather than in direction.

14. Choose the word most opposite in meaning to TRANSPARENT.

• A. clear
• B. opaque
• C. fragile
• D. colourless

Explanation: Transparent means letting light pass so that objects behind can be seen, and opaque means blocking light entirely. Translucent lies between the two, letting light through without a clear image. Fragile describes strength rather than the passage of light.

15. Choose the meaning of the idiom: to let the cat out of the bag.

• A. to release an animal
• B. to reveal a secret unintentionally
• C. to create confusion deliberately
• D. to escape from danger

Explanation: The idiom describes a secret slipping out by accident, and it comes from a market trick in which a cat was substituted for a piglet. Idioms are figurative, so the literal reading is always wrong. A close relative is to spill the beans, which carries the same meaning.

16. Choose the meaning of the idiom: once in a blue moon.

• A. very frequently
• B. very rarely
• C. at night only
• D. immediately

Explanation: A blue moon is a second full moon in one calendar month, an uncommon event, so the phrase means something that happens very seldom. It is the opposite of every now and then, which suggests moderate frequency. The colour plays no part in the meaning.

17. Choose the meaning of the idiom: to burn the midnight oil.

• A. to waste resources
• B. to work or study late into the night
• C. to start a fire accidentally
• D. to celebrate an occasion

Explanation: Before electric lighting, studying after dark meant burning oil in a lamp, so the phrase came to mean working late into the night. It carries a tone of diligence rather than waste. Students preparing for entry tests are its most natural modern users.

18. One word substitution: a person who does not believe in the existence of God.

• A. agnostic
• B. atheist
• C. theist
• D. sceptic

Explanation: An atheist denies the existence of God, while an agnostic holds that it cannot be known either way, which is the distinction the question is testing. A theist believes in God, and a sceptic doubts claims in general rather than religious ones specifically. The a prefix meaning without appears in many such words.

19. One word substitution: a medicine that counteracts a poison.

• A. antibiotic
• B. antidote
• C. antiseptic
• D. analgesic

Explanation: An antidote reverses the effect of a poison, while an antibiotic kills bacteria, an antiseptic prevents infection on a surface and an analgesic relieves pain. All four share the sense of acting against, but only one names the remedy for poisoning. Medical vocabulary of this kind is common in MDCAT papers.

20. One word substitution: a speech made without preparation.

• A. eloquent
• B. extempore
• C. verbose
• D. monologue

Explanation: An extempore or impromptu speech is delivered on the spur of the moment with no rehearsal. Eloquent describes how well something is said rather than whether it was prepared, and verbose means using too many words. A monologue is a long speech by one person, prepared or not.