SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 19 September 2024, Shift 1 · General Intelligence and Reasoning · Question 9 of 100

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.

‘Wander’ is related to ‘Ramble’ in the same way as ‘Stray’ is related to ‘________’. (The words must be considered as meaningful English words and must not be related to each other based on the number of letters/number of consonants/vowels in the word.)

(a)Constant
(b)Random
(c)Trek
(d)Steady

Answer

Why

Correct — B. Name the relation in the given pair before you touch the blank.

Rule: Wander and Ramble are synonyms — both mean to move about with no settled route.

So the blank needs a synonym of Stray, not an opposite and not a related activity.

'Stray' carries that same idea as an adjective: a stray remark or a stray shot is one that occurs at random, off any intended path.

Stray therefore pairs with Random -> option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Constant — Constant means unchanging and fixed, which is the opposite of straying. The given pair is built on sameness of meaning, not on contrast.
(c)
Trek — A trek is a long, deliberate journey towards a destination. Straying is aimless, so the two words part company on the point the analogy turns on.
(d)
Steady — Steady means regular and unwavering — another antonym. It only fits if you read Wander : Ramble as an opposites pair, which it is not.

Concept

An analogy is answered in two moves. Name the relation in the given pair, then apply exactly that relation to the third word.

Here the first move is easy: Wander and Ramble are synonyms, both meaning to move without a settled course.

The second move is harder, because 'stray' is most familiar as a verb. The option set needs its adjectival sense — the one in 'a stray remark' — where it means occurring at random or out of place.

Two of the four options, Constant and Steady, are antonyms of straying. Recognising the pair as a synonym pair removes both of them in one step.

Key facts

'Wander' and 'ramble' both mean to move about without a fixed course.
'Stray' as an adjective means occurring at random or out of place, as in a stray remark.
The rider printed in this stem bars answers based on letter counts or vowel counts, so only meaning can decide it.

Study next

Analogies where one word must be read in a less common part of speechTelling synonym pairs from degree pairs and antonym pairsSynonym clusters around aimless movement: wander, ramble, rove, meander

Common traps

Fixing on the verb sense of 'stray' and hunting for another verb.
Choosing an antonym because it feels strongly connected to the word.
Picking 'trek' because it is also about moving from place to place.

The rider about letters, consonants and vowels is printed in the stem so that a counting shortcut cannot be substituted for a meaning-based answer.

Reasoning Q.11 in this shift (19 Sep 2024, 09:00) is the other kind of analogy — RUCK : TWAI on +2, +2, −2, −2 alphabet shifts — and it carries no such rider, because there the alphabet is exactly what decides it.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.