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CAT Vocabulary & Language Study — practice questions

Explore 18 free Vocabulary & Language Study questions in CAT English. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Vocabulary & Language Study questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–18 of 18.

Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **CORPULENT**.Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **BRIEF**.Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **EMBEZZLE**.Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **VENT**.Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **AUGUST**.Read the answer and worked solution →In a formal CAT passage, the writer is described as 'eloquent'. The connotation here is:Read the answer and worked solution →The prefix 'mal-' in words like 'malfunction' and 'malice' typically conveys:Read the answer and worked solution →The idiom 'to take the bull by the horns' means:Read the answer and worked solution →Choose the correct word: 'The principal _____ behind the school's new policy is fairness.'Read the answer and worked solution →The word 'circumlocution' is best understood by breaking it into:Read the answer and worked solution →Match each CAT-style word to its closest synonym.Read the answer and worked solution →Pop only the synonyms of LETHARGIC.Read the answer and worked solution →Match each idiom to its meaning.Read the answer and worked solution →Type the antonym (one word).Read the answer and worked solution →Match the word to its synonymRead the answer and worked solution →Match the word to its antonymRead the answer and worked solution →Spot the word that does NOT mean 'praise'Read the answer and worked solution →Sort: positive connotation or negative connotation?Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **CORPULENT**.

  1. Lean
  2. Gaunt
  3. Emaciated
  4. Obese
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Correct answer: D. Obese

Corpulent means having a large, bulky body — i.e. obese. The distractors A, B and C all mean the *opposite* (thin, wasted) so they fail the synonym test even though they're all related to body description.

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Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **BRIEF**.

  1. Limited
  2. Small
  3. Little
  4. Short
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Correct answer: D. Short

Brief = short in duration or length. 'Limited', 'small' and 'little' all describe quantity/size rather than duration — they don't capture the temporal sense that 'brief' carries.

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Choose the word that is closest in meaning to **EMBEZZLE**.

  1. Misappropriate
  2. Balance
  3. Remunerate
  4. Clear
Show answer and solution

Correct answer: A. Misappropriate

To embezzle is to fraudulently take funds entrusted to one's care — i.e. to *misappropriate*. 'Remunerate' (to pay for services) and 'clear' (to settle accounts) are tempting because they're financial terms, but they describe legitimate transactions, not theft.

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More English topics

Transformation of Sentences