SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 13 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 4 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 13 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Identify the misspelt word

(a)Acquiescence
(b)Bourgeoisie
(c)Consciencious
(d)Epitome

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The word is spelt conscientious, with a t before the ending: c-o-n-s-c-i-e-n-t-i-o-u-s.

The noun conscience has a c in that place, but the adjective does not keep it. It ends -tious, and the t goes back to Latin conscientia.

The printed Consciencious carries the noun's c into the ending, so it is the misspelt word → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Acquiescence — Acquiescence is correct: the verb acquiesce, with its c-q and its -sc-, plus the noun ending -ence. It means accepting something without protest.
(b)
Bourgeoisie — Bourgeoisie is correct, a French borrowing meaning the middle class. The -geoisie ending looks odd, but it is the standard English spelling.
(d)
Epitome — Epitome is correct. It means a perfect example of a type, and its final e is sounded: e-PIT-o-mee, four syllables.

Concept

A misspelt-word item prints four hard words with one planted error. Check each word's ending as carefully as its root.

Conscientious means careful and thorough, guided by conscience. Its root suggests a c, but the adjective ends -tious.

Keep it apart from conscious, meaning aware, which ends -scious. The printed Consciencious looks like a blend of the two spellings.

No sound tells you -tious from -cious: ambitious and gracious end in the same sound. Words like conscientious have to be learnt letter by letter.

Key facts

Conscientious is spelt c-o-n-s-c-i-e-n-t-i-o-u-s.
Conscious, meaning aware, ends in -scious, while conscientious, meaning dutiful, ends in -tious.
Acquiescence is the noun of acquiesce, to accept without protest.
Bourgeoisie is the noun for the middle class, and bourgeois is its adjective.

Study next

-tious and -cious endings, such as ambitious and cautious against gracious and spaciousFrench borrowings with unusual spellings, such as bourgeoisie and rendezvousLook-alike pairs such as conscious and conscientious

Common traps

Accepting Consciencious because the noun conscience has a c in that place
Marking Bourgeoisie as the error because its -geoisie ending looks wrong, when it is the standard spelling

Here the paper prints four words with no sentence around them and asks for the one that is misspelt.

Conscientious itself is keyed at 11 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.18, a correct-spelling item whose wrong options include Conscencious. It is also a correctly spelt option at 18 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.10, where the error to find is Mischievious.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Spelling — all 118 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.