SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 26 September 2024, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 10 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.

Select the most appropriate synonym of the underlined word. He was the most honest and good-hearted man that she had ever met.

(a)Deceptive
(b)Sincere
(c)Fake
(d)Biased

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The response sheet does not carry the underlining, but the option set fixes the target word as honest.

Sincere means free from pretence — you mean what you say. That is the same ground honest covers, so it is the synonym → option (b).

A second check settles it faster: the sentence praises the man (honest and good-hearted), so the synonym has to be a word of praise. Sincere is the only one offered — Deceptive, Fake and Biased all criticise.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Deceptive — Deceptive means designed to mislead. It is the opposite of honest, and SSC routinely places the antonym in a synonym set to catch a hurried reader.
(c)
Fake — Fake means not genuine, which again reverses the sense instead of matching it. It also describes objects far more naturally than a man's character.
(d)
Biased — Biased is the opposite of impartial, not of honest. A witness can be perfectly honest and still be biased, so the two words are not on the same scale.

Concept

A synonym item asks for the word that carries the same sense in this sentence, not the word that feels closest in tone.

Two habits make it quick. First, check polarity: a sentence of praise needs a positive word, so anything critical can go at once.

Second, check the dimension the word measures — honest measures truthfulness, so a word about fairness or about genuineness of objects is on a different axis even when it sounds close.

Honest and sincere are not perfect twins in every use — honest is about telling the truth, sincere about meaning what you feel. Of the four words offered, only sincere is on that axis at all.

Key facts

Sincere means genuine and free from pretence, said of a person or of feelings.
Deceptive and fake both mean the opposite of genuine, so neither can be a synonym of honest.
Biased means prejudiced in favour of one side, the opposite of impartial or unbiased.

Study next

Character adjectives that cluster near honest: candid, forthright, upright, duplicitousPolarity screening as a first pass on synonym and antonym setsThe difference between sincere (means what he feels) and honest (tells the truth)

Common traps

Picking Deceptive because it is the most striking word on the list.
Reading biased as a loose equivalent of dishonest.
Ignoring good-hearted, which tells you the required word is complimentary.

SSC prints the sentence and underlines one ordinary word, then asks for its synonym — and stocks the option list with words of the opposite polarity. Decide the polarity before you weigh the meanings.

The same format runs at English Q.9 of this 26 Sep 2024, 9:00 am sitting, where frugal takes thrifty.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.