SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 18 September 2024, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 13 of 99

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 given word. Exceptional

(a)Emotional
(b)Trivial
(c)Outstanding
(d)Total

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Exceptional means unusually good, far above the ordinary, and outstanding carries that sense exactly — literally standing out from what surrounds it.

The two words drop into the same slots without any change of force: an exceptional student, an outstanding student.

Exceptional also has a neutral sense, forming an exception, as in exceptional circumstances. No option offers that sense, so the praise sense is the one to match.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Emotional — Emotional means governed by or arousing emotion. It shares the -tional ending with the given word and nothing else — it says nothing about quality or degree.
(b)
Trivial — Trivial means of little value or importance. That is the opposite pole from exceptional, so it would answer an ANTONYM stem. This stem asks for a synonym.
(d)
Total — Total means complete or entire. It measures extent, not merit, so it can qualify a sum or a silence without praising anything.

Concept

A synonym item is decided by sense, not by shape. One option here echoes the given word's ending and another is close to its opposite, and neither is close to its meaning.

Exceptional carries two senses. The everyday one is unusually good — an exceptional performance. The literal one is out of the ordinary, forming an exception — exceptional circumstances, which may well be bad ones.

Outstanding covers the first sense fully and matches its register too: both are words of praise.

The word is printed alone, with no sentence to fix which sense is wanted. When that happens, let the options decide — whichever sense of the given word has a match among them is the sense being tested.

Key facts

Exceptional means unusually good or far above average.
Outstanding means standing out, and is used of quality or achievement.
Outstanding carries a second, unrelated sense — not yet paid or settled, as in an outstanding balance.
Trivial, meaning of little importance, is nearer an antonym of exceptional than a synonym.

Study next

Synonyms of high degree: remarkable, extraordinary, phenomenal, outstandingWords with both a praise sense and a neutral sense, such as exceptional and singularReading the stem for SYNONYM against ANTONYM before scanning the options

Common traps

Matching on the shared -tional ending and choosing Emotional
Answering the antonym question by reflex and choosing Trivial
Hunting for the neutral sense of exceptional, which no option carries

SSC prints the word bare, with no sentence to fix its sense, and rings it with one near-antonym and two words that merely look or sound related.

Bare-word synonym items are also set at 9 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.17 (Confiscate, keyed Seize). The same skill is tested with the word inside a sentence at 25 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.2 (judicious, keyed prudent).

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.