Real questions: TNPSC previous year questions (Group 2 2024, Group 2/2A Prelims 2025 and Group 4 2025 as marked in the PYQ bank, with the Group 2/2A Prelims 2025 official answers; 2025 official tentative key). Prefix and suffix examples partly from the Government of Tamil Nadu e-content "Prefix and Suffix". Meanings, word lists and practice questions: ArivArk Academy, checked against a standard dictionary.
The basics
One-word substitution = one word used in place of a group of words. A person who loves books = bibliophile.
The question gives a description ("a person who ...", "a place where ...", "the study of ...") and you pick the one word for it. Learn the words in groups (people, places, government) and learn the roots (-logy, -cide, -phile, -phobia, -cracy): one root opens many words.
Prefix = a part added at the START of a word (un + aware = unaware). Suffix = a part added at the END (happy + ness = happiness).
The one-line rule: a prefix usually changes the meaning; a suffix usually changes the word class (noun, verb, adjective).
How often does this come? Recent TNPSC papers asked 13 questions on these topics (all printed in this PDF): 5 ask for one word for a description, and 8 ask for a prefix, a suffix or a word formed with one. Study plan: learn one group from the tables a day, the PYQ words first, and make your own example with each prefix and suffix.
Group 1: people
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| bibliophile | a person who loves or collects books |
| optimist | a person who always expects good things to happen |
| pessimist | a person who always expects bad things to happen |
| philanthropist | a person who helps others, especially by giving money (loves mankind) |
| misanthrope | a person who dislikes and avoids other people (hates mankind) |
| polyglot | a person who knows several languages |
| atheist | a person who does not believe in God |
| glutton PYQ | a person who eats too much |
| gourmet PYQ | a person who knows a lot about good food and enjoys it |
| novice | a person who is new to a job or an activity |
| veteran | a person with long experience in a field |
| teetotaller | a person who never drinks alcohol |
| plagiarist | a person who copies another person's work and calls it their own |
| somnambulist | a person who walks in their sleep (somn = sleep) |
| hermaphrodite PYQ | a creature with both male and female organs |
Describing words from real papers
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| incognito PYQ | with your real identity hidden |
| ubiquitous PYQ | present everywhere |
| ostentatious PYQ | showy; meant to impress people |
| gregarious PYQ | liking to be with other people |
| groggy PYQ | weak and unsteady, as after illness or too little sleep |
| loquacious PYQ | talking a lot |
| bourgeoisie PYQ | the middle class, interested mainly in money and social position |
Roots: one root, many words
| Root | Meaning | Words |
|---|---|---|
| -logy | the study of | zoology (animals), pathology (diseases), psychology (the mind), ornithology (birds), entomology (insects), anthropology (human beings and their societies), etymology (the origin of words) |
| -cide | killing, killer | homicide (a human being), suicide (oneself), patricide (one's father), matricide (one's mother), regicide (a king), genocide (a whole people), pesticide (pests) |
| -phile | lover of | bibliophile (books), Anglophile (England and English things) |
| -phobia | fear of | hydrophobia (water), claustrophobia (closed spaces), acrophobia (heights), xenophobia (foreigners) |
| -cracy | rule, government | democracy (by the people), autocracy (one person with total power), bureaucracy (officials), theocracy (religious leaders), plutocracy (the rich), aristocracy (nobles) |
| -archy | rule | monarchy (a king or queen), oligarchy (a small group), anarchy (no government at all) |
| somn | sleep | insomnia (not able to sleep), somnambulist (a sleepwalker) |
| a- | without, not | amnesia (loss of memory), atheist (without belief in God) |
| loqu | speak | loquacious (talking a lot), eloquent (speaking well) |
Group 2: places
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| orphanage | a home for children without parents |
| granary | a building where grain is stored |
| aviary | a large cage or building for birds |
| apiary | a place where bees are kept |
| arsenal | a place where weapons are made or stored |
| mint | a place where coins are made |
| hangar | a large building where aircraft are kept |
| observatory | a building for watching the stars and planets |
| aquarium | a tank or building where fish and water animals are kept |
| monastery | a place where monks live |
| dormitory | a large room or building where many people sleep |
Group 3: government (-cracy, -archy)
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| democracy | government by the people, through elected representatives |
| autocracy | rule by one person who has total power |
| monarchy | rule by a king or queen |
| bureaucracy | a system where officials, not elected people, take most decisions |
| theocracy | government by religious leaders |
| plutocracy | government by the rich |
| anarchy | a state with no government or order |
Prefixes: added at the start, they change the meaning
| Prefix | Meaning | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| un- | not | aware → unaware, happy → unhappy, lucky → unlucky |
| in-, im-, il-, ir- | not | imitable → inimitable (PYQ), consistent → inconsistent (PYQ), possible → impossible, legal → illegal, regular → irregular (im- before b, m, p; il- before l; ir- before r) |
| dis- | not, the opposite of | agree → disagree, embark → disembark (PYQ), honest → dishonest |
| non- | not | violent → non-violent, sense → nonsense |
| re- | again | organise → reorganise, write → rewrite, build → rebuild |
| pre- | before | view → preview, historic → prehistoric |
| mis- | wrongly, badly | use → misuse, understand → misunderstand (PYQ), aligned → misaligned (PYQ) |
| super- | above, beyond | natural → supernatural (PYQ), human → superhuman |
| ultra- | beyond, extremely | violet → ultraviolet (PYQ), modern → ultramodern |
| sub- | under, below | way → subway, marine → submarine |
| inter- | between | national → international, state → interstate |
| co- | together | operate → cooperate, author → co-author |
| bi- | two | cycle → bicycle, lingual → bilingual |
| over- | too much | load → overload, eat → overeat |
Suffixes: added at the end, they change the word class
| Suffix | It makes | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| -ness | a noun (from an adjective) | happy → happiness, kind → kindness (PYQ), dark → darkness |
| -ment | a noun (from a verb) | appoint → appointment, govern → government, agree → agreement |
| -ity, -ety, -iety | a noun | able → ability, vary → variety (PYQ), anxious → anxiety |
| -tion, -sion | a noun (from a verb) | educate → education, decide → decision |
| -er, -or | a noun: the person who does it | write → writer (PYQ), teach → teacher, act → actor |
| -hood, -ship, -dom | a noun (a state) | child → childhood, friend → friendship, free → freedom |
| -ful | an adjective: full of | doubt → doubtful, care → careful (PYQ), hope → hopeful |
| -less | an adjective: without | hope → hopeless, care → careless, home → homeless |
| -ous, -ive, -able | an adjective | danger → dangerous, act → active, read → readable |
| -ify | a verb | pure → purify, class → classify, simple → simplify |
| -ise / -ize | a verb | popular → popularise (popularize), modern → modernise |
| -en | a verb | wide → widen, short → shorten, bright → brighten |
| -ly | an adverb | quick → quickly, careful → carefully |
Spelling changes when a suffix is added: y after a consonant becomes i (happy → happiness, vary → variety); a final e usually drops before a vowel (pure → purify, write → writer); a final e stays before a consonant (care → careful).
-ise or -ize? Both are correct (popularise, popularize); British English uses -ise more, American English -ize. Use one style in an answer.
Common mistakes
| Do not mix up | The difference |
|---|---|
| philanthropist vs misanthrope | phil = love: a philanthropist loves mankind and helps others. mis = hate: a misanthrope dislikes people. |
| aviary vs apiary | avi = bird: aviary is for birds. api = bee: apiary is for bees. |
| amnesia vs insomnia | amnesia = loss of memory; insomnia = not able to sleep (somn = sleep). |
| -logy vs -graphy | -logy = the study of (biology); -graphy = writing, a record (biography = the story of a person's life). |
| gregarious vs groggy | gregarious = liking company; groggy = weak and unsteady. A Group 4 2025 question swapped these two meanings. |
| incognito vs ostentatious | incognito = hiding who you are; ostentatious = showing off. They are almost opposites. |
| in- is not always "not" | inflammable = easily set on fire (the same as flammable); invaluable = very valuable, priceless. |
TNPSC PYQs: all 13 questions with answers
Answer: (D) Hermaphrodite. From Hermes (a male god) and Aphrodite (a female god). Uxorious = too fond of one's wife. (Official key.)
Answer: (C) Incognito. Incognito = with your identity hidden. Ubiquitous = everywhere; ostentatious = showy; gregarious = fond of company. (Official key.)
Answer: (C) Bourgeoisie. Bourgeoisie (b-o-u-r-g-e-o-i-s-i-e) = the middle class, seen as caring about money and position.
(a) Amnesia (b) Insomnia (c) Loquacious (d) Pathology
1. A study of disease 2. A continuous talker 3. Loss of sleep 4. Loss of memory
Answer: (B) 4 3 2 1. amnesia = loss of memory (4), insomnia = loss of sleep (3), loquacious = a continuous talker (2), pathology = a study of disease (1).
(1) Gregarious: a person who walks unsteadily (2) Glutton: a person who eats too much (3) Groggy: a person who likes to be with others (4) Gourmet: a person who enjoys food
Answer: (B) (1) and (3). The meanings of (1) and (3) are swapped: gregarious = liking to be with others; groggy = weak and unsteady.
His job is to investigate ____ natural phenomena.
Answer: (C) super. super = above, beyond: supernatural = beyond the laws of nature.
Answer: (A) ultra. ultra = beyond: ultraviolet light lies beyond violet in the spectrum. (This is the question from the end of the video.)
Answer: (C) mis. mis = wrongly: misunderstand = understand wrongly.
What is the negative case of consistent? What is the negative case of embark?
Answer: (B) inconsistent, disembark. in + consistent = inconsistent; dis + embark = disembark (get off a ship or plane). Unembark, inembark and nonembark are not words. (Official key.)
(a) Careful (b) Teach (c) Writer (d) Kindness
1. Verb formed from a noun 2. Noun formed from a verb 3. Noun formed from an adjective 4. Adjective formed from a verb
Answer: (C) 4 1 2 3. careful = care + ful, an adjective from a verb (4); writer = write + er, a noun from a verb (2); kindness = kind + ness, a noun from an adjective (3). Note: that leaves teach with (1) only by elimination; a dictionary does not treat teach as a verb formed from a noun. (C) is the only code that fits the other three, and it is the answer marked in the PYQ bank.
Answer: mis (misaligned). mis = wrongly: misaligned = not in a straight line. (Official key.)
Answer: -iety (variety). vary is a verb; its noun is variety (y changes to i). (Official key.)
Answer: in (inimitable). inimitable = so good that no one can copy it. (Official key.)
Practice MCQs
Why? Short explanations
| No. | Why | No. | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (A) | poly = many, glot = tongue: a polyglot knows several languages. | 11 (C) | somn = sleep, ambul = walk; an insomniac cannot sleep. |
| 2 (B) | Entomology is insects, anthropology human societies, etymology word origins. | 12 (D) | bureau = office: rule by officials. |
| 3 (C) | pater = father; matricide is the killing of one's mother. | 13 (C) | Before l, in- becomes il-: illegal. |
| 4 (D) | Acrophobia is heights, hydrophobia water, xenophobia foreigners. | 14 (A) | re = again: rewrite. |
| 5 (A) | Bureaucracy is officials, theocracy religious leaders, autocracy one person. | 15 (B) | -ness makes a noun from an adjective. |
| 6 (B) | api = bee; an aviary is for birds. | 16 (C) | -ous makes an adjective; endanger is a verb. |
| 7 (C) | A mint makes coins; a hangar keeps aircraft. | 17 (A) | -en makes a verb; width is a noun, widely an adverb. |
| 8 (D) | a = without, theos = God; a theist believes in God. | 18 (A) | friend + ship = friendship. |
| 9 (B) | phil = love, anthropos = man; a misanthrope hates people. | 19 (B) | -ify makes a verb: pure becomes purify. |
| 10 (B) | Ubiquitous: mobile phones are ubiquitous today. | 20 (C) | Aviary is birds, apiary bees, mint coins. |
More practice: search SUBSTITUTION on arivark.com for this PDF, and follow t.me/arivarkacademy for daily questions.
