SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 13 September 2024, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 12 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 6 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. His approach was filled with such perseverance that it was difficult to overlook his merit.

(a)Reluctance
(b)Ignorance
(c)Doggedness
(d)Monotonous

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Perseverance is steady persistence in a course of action despite difficulty, and doggedness names exactly that quality — refusing to give up.

Both are abstract nouns, so option (c) also matches the slot: 'His approach was filled with such doggedness' reads as naturally as the original. The sentence supports the sense too, since it is the persistence that makes his merit hard to overlook.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Reluctance — Reluctance is unwillingness to act. It points the opposite way from persevering, and a reluctant approach would not be what makes someone's merit hard to overlook.
(b)
Ignorance — Ignorance is a lack of knowledge, which says nothing about how long someone keeps at a task. It shares no sense with perseverance beyond both being abstract nouns.
(d)
Monotonous — Monotonous is an adjective meaning dull and unvarying, so it cannot replace a noun in 'filled with such ___'. Being repetitive is not the same as being persistent.

Concept

Synonym items reward a precise gloss, not a rough one. Perseverance is not merely effort — it is continuing in spite of obstacles.

Doggedness carries the same core. Dogged means stubbornly persistent, which is why the two words swap cleanly in this sentence.

Watch the part of speech as well. The underlined word is a noun inside 'filled with such ___', so any adjective on the list is out before its meaning matters. That single test disposes of one option here with no vocabulary at all.

Dogged is mildly informal and can carry a hint of stubbornness that perseverance does not.

On this list it is still the closest match by a distance, because the remaining options are an antonym, an unrelated noun and an adjective.

Key facts

Perseverance means persistence in a course of action despite difficulty.
Doggedness means stubborn persistence and is the nearest synonym on this list.
Reluctance means unwillingness and sits nearer an antonym of perseverance.
Monotonous is an adjective and cannot fill a noun slot.

Study next

Noun forms of persistence words: tenacity, doggedness, resolve, perseveranceShades of persistence: tenacious, dogged, obstinate, pig-headedEliminating synonym options by part of speech before weighing meaning

Common traps

Rejecting doggedness because dogged sounds negative, when the sentence is praising him.
Picking monotonous because a persistent approach sounds repetitive.

Perseverance turns up as sentence material as well as vocabulary. At 25 Sep 2024, 16:00, EC Q.18 the fragments have to be ordered into 'hard work and perseverance lead to success no matter how difficult the journey may seem'.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.