SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 16 September 2025, Shift 2 · English Comprehension · Question 2 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.

Select the most appropriate antonym of the given word. Incessant

(a)Constant
(b)Ceaseless
(c)Intermittent
(d)Perpetual

Answer

Why

Correct — C. Incessant means continuing without a pause. It is in- (not) plus the Latin cessare, to cease, so it literally means 'not ceasing'.

The opposite is something that keeps stopping and starting: intermittent, occurring at irregular intervals.

Incessant rain never lets up; intermittent rain comes and goes → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Constant — Constant means happening all the time without a break. That is a synonym of incessant, and the first trap for anyone who skims the word antonym.
(b)
Ceaseless — Ceaseless is the English twin of incessant: cease plus -less, 'without ceasing'. It repeats the prompt word's meaning, so it cannot be its opposite.
(d)
Perpetual — Perpetual means never ending, or recurring so often it seems endless. Both senses side with incessant; a perpetual complaint is an incessant one.

Concept

This antonym item is built from three synonyms and one opposite. Constant, ceaseless and perpetual all describe something that does not stop; intermittent describes something that stops and restarts.

So group the options first. The three that agree with each other are the synonyms, and the odd one out is the antonym.

The cease family is worth knowing whole: cease, ceaseless, incessant, and cessation, a stopping.

Incessant usually describes something unwelcome, such as incessant noise or incessant demands. The antonym here turns only on continuity, not on tone.

Key facts

Incessant means continuing without pause, and is usually said of something unwelcome.
It comes from in- (not) plus the Latin cessare, to cease.
Intermittent means occurring at irregular intervals, not continuous.
Cessation, from the same root, means a stopping, as in a cessation of hostilities.

Study next

The cease family: cease, ceaseless, incessant, cessationWords for things that stop and start: intermittent, sporadic, occasionalGrouping antonym options into a synonym cluster to find the odd one out

Common traps

Picking constant, ceaseless or perpetual. Each is a correct synonym of incessant, which is exactly why each is wrong under an antonym instruction.
Confusing incessant with insistent, which sounds alike but means demanding something firmly.

A bare word with an antonym instruction, where three of the four options are synonyms of the prompt, which punishes a candidate who skims the instruction.

Piquant, at English Q.3 of this shift, is built the same way: spicy, zesty and tart side with the prompt word, and bland opposes it.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Antonyms — all 137 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.