SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 10 September 2024, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 1 of 98

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 10 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Select the most appropriate synonym of the underlined word in the given sentence. The Morbi bridge mishap has left Gujarat in a deplorable state.

(a)Complaining
(b)Despicable
(c)Rejoicing
(d)Jubilation

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The underlined word is deplorable, which means so bad that it deserves condemnation — shockingly bad, lamentable.

Despicable carries the same charge of disapproval: deserving contempt. Both words judge the thing they describe as wrong, not merely unpleasant.

Test it by substitution. A deplorable state and a despicable state are both conditions you condemn, while none of the other three choices passes judgement on the state at all. Option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Complaining — Complaining describes a person voicing grievances. Deplorable judges the condition itself, and a state cannot complain.
(c)
Rejoicing — Rejoicing means feeling great joy — the opposite pole from deplorable. It belongs to a celebration, not to the aftermath of a bridge collapse.
(d)
Jubilation — Jubilation fails twice: it is a noun, so it cannot slot in before 'state' where an adjective is needed, and it reverses the sense to triumphant joy.

Concept

A synonym item is decided by substitution, not by feel. Put the word into the sentence and check that the sense and the grammar both survive.

Deplorable sits in a family of words that pass judgement: deplorable, despicable, contemptible, reprehensible. The verb behind it is deplore, to feel or express strong disapproval.

That is the axis this item is built on. The three rejected choices name feelings or behaviour — complaining, rejoicing, jubilation — while the keyed word condemns, as deplorable does.

In everyday use 'a deplorable state' often means simply wretched or very bad, while despicable is a stronger word flavoured with contempt. They are not perfect twins, but of the four choices only despicable shares deplorable's core of condemnation, which is what the key rewards.

Key facts

Deplorable means shockingly bad and deserving of strong condemnation.
Despicable means deserving hatred or contempt.
The verb deplore means to feel or express strong disapproval of something.
Jubilation is a noun meaning great triumphant joy, so it cannot replace an adjective.

Study next

Words of condemnation: deplorable, despicable, contemptible, reprehensibleChecking that a synonym matches the word class, not only the meaningVocabulary of joy and grief: jubilation, elation, lamentation

Common traps

Reading 'deplorable state' as merely sad and reaching for a word about feelings
Choosing Complaining because deplore sounds like making a complaint

SSC prints the word inside a full sentence, so the answer must survive being dropped into that sentence. The same format keys 'overstrung' to Nervous at 11 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.8 and 'mesmerised' to Fascinated at 17 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.4.

The current-affairs sentence is only a carrier — nothing about the Morbi mishap is being tested here.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.