Free Vocabulary MCQs with Answers

• A. Scarce
• B. Plentiful
• C. Fragile
• D. Hidden

Explanation: "Abundant" means existing in large quantity, so "plentiful" is the closest synonym.

• A. Frank
• B. Evasive
• C. Honest
• D. Direct

Explanation: "Candid" means open and straightforward. Its opposite is "evasive", meaning inclined to avoid a direct answer.

• A. To waste time on trivial matters
• B. To take on a dangerous task for the common good
• C. To flatter someone in authority
• D. To make an easy profit

Explanation: The idiom comes from the fable in which mice agree that a bell around the cat’s neck would warn them, but none is willing to attach it.

• A. Ignorant
• B. Illiterate
• C. Illegible
• D. Illegitimate

Explanation: "Illiterate" describes a person unable to read or write. "Illegible" describes handwriting that cannot be read, and "ignorant" means…

• A. Malignant
• B. Harmless
• C. Aggressive
• D. Fatal

Explanation: Benign means gentle or harmless, and in medicine it describes a tumour that does not invade surrounding tissue or spread.

• A. Brief
• B. Fleeting
• C. Permanent
• D. Momentary

Explanation: Transient means lasting only a short time, so its opposite is permanent.

• A. media reporting of the disease
• B. the proportion of the population vaccinated
• C. the area affected by the outbreak
• D. insurance for medical treatment

Explanation: In a vaccination context coverage means the share of people who have been immunised, and the reference to herd immunity confirms it.

• A. kind
• B. hostile
• C. careless
• D. wealthy

Explanation: Benevolent means well meaning and generous, from the Latin bene meaning well and velle meaning to wish.

• A. confusing
• B. clear and easy to understand
• C. shining brightly
• D. lazy

Explanation: A lucid explanation is transparently clear, and the word shares its root with lucidity and elucidate, meaning to make clear.

• A. careless
• B. extremely careful about detail
• C. hurried
• D. generous

Explanation: A meticulous worker attends to the smallest details, so the word is close to scrupulous, painstaking and thorough.

• 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.

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

Explanation: Scarce means available in insufficient quantity, so its true opposite is abundant or plentiful.

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

Explanation: To condemn is to express strong disapproval, so praise or commend is the opposite.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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…

• 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…

• 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.