ONE WORD SUBSTITUTION

Single words often express the ideas of phrases. We should learn them as they are very useful when we
want to put our ideas in brief. Francis Bacon’s old statement, “Brevity is the soul of wit,” is apt even
today as conciseness and brevity are the call of modern communication. One word substitutes help us in
summarizing, précis writing and all types of official communication. Listed below are some commonly
used one word substitutes:

1. A partner in crime Accomplice

2. Written declaration made on an oath Affidavit

3. A list of things to be discussed at a meeting Agenda
4. One who doubts the existence of God Agnostic/ atheist
5. One who is a habitual drunkard Alcoholic
6. A legal defence by which an accused person tries to show that he was somewhere else when
the crime was committed Alibi
7. A person who lives in a foreign country Alien
8. One who takes part in sports and other activities for enjoyment only Amateur
9. A statement that is open to more than one interpretation Ambiguous
10. A general pardon of political offender Amnesty
11. One who is out to destroy the government Anarchist
12. Absence of government Anarchy
13. The science of the structure of human body Anatomy
14. An instrument used for measuring force of the wind Anemometer
15. A medicine which produces insensitivity Anesthetic
16. A book written by an unknown author Anonymous
17. A study of man Anthropology
18. A medicine used to counteract poison Antidote
19. One who studies things of the past Antiquarian
20. A substance which kills germs Antiseptic
21. An artificial pond or a tank used for keeping live fish, water plants etc. Aquarium
22. A study of ancient things Archaeology
23. One who prepares plans for buildings Architect
24. A place where government and public records are kept Archive
25. A government by the nobility Aristocracy
26. A study of stars and planets and their influence on human affairs Astrology
27. One who flies space vehicle Astronaut
28. The study of stars Astronomy
29. Animals that live in water Aquatic
30. Space or room which is immediately below the roof of a house Attic
31. Something that which can be heard Audible
32. A record of one’s life written by one self Autobiography
33. A government by one Autocracy
34. The right of self government Autonomy
35. A place for keeping birds Aviary
36. A record of one’s life written by somebody else Biography
37. One who mends shoes Cobbler
38. People who work together Colleagues
39. A government by the people Democracy
40. A language of a region with its own way Dialect
41. Shy, timid unwilling to face a situation Diffident
42. A book which contains telephone addresses Directory
43. A game in which no one wins Draw
44. Extremely dry weather without rainfall Drought
45. One who deals in cattle Drover
46. A person who is slow in learning Dunce
47. One who has strange habits Eccentric
48. Something that can be eaten Edible
49. One who thinks about himself/ herself Egoist
50. A poem written to mourn the death of someone Elegy
51. Something which cannot be read Illegible
52. One who cannot read or write Illiterate
53. One who settles in another country Immigrant
54. Free from infection Immune
55. Not planned ahead of time Impromptu
56. Something which cannot be heard Inaudible
57. Not of good omen Inauspicious
58. Something that cannot be corrected Incorrigible
59. Something that cannot be described Indescribable
60. Something that cannot be eaten Inedible
61. One who has an irresistible tendency to steal Kleptomaniac
62. A place where food is kept Larder
63. A book of account showing debit and credit Ledger
64. Something which is lawful Legal
65. Something which can be read Legible
66. One who compiles a dictionary Lexicographer
67. One who is able to make an eloquent speech Orator
68. Curved path of a planet, satellite Orbit
69. An authoritative decree or law of the government Ordinance
70. A study of birds Ornithology
71. The study of mountains Orology
72. A place where orphans are housed Orphanage
73. One who looks at the bright side of things in life Optimist
74. A cure for all diseases Panacea
75. Belief of God in Nature Pantheism
76. One that lives on others Parasite
77. A document allowing persons to travel abroad Passport
78. Murder of a father Patricide
79. One who loves one’s own country Patriot
80. One who shows too much concern for small details of learning or teaching Pedant
81. One who walks on foot Pedestrian
82. A doctor who specializes in treatment of children Pediatrician
83. One who looks at the dark side of things Pessimist
84. One who loves mankind Philanthropist
85. One who collects postage stamps Philatelist
86. The study of languages Philology
87. A study of human body Physiology
88. Deeply religious Pious
89. A writer who steals ideas from another writer Plagiarist
90. A government by the rich Plutocracy
91. The science of government Political Science
92. One who knows many languages Polyglot
93. Something which can be carried or moved easily Portable
94. Occurring after death Posthumous
95. Examination of a dead body Postmortem
96. A child of unusual or remarkable talent Prodigy
97. A speech made by the dramatist in the beginning of the play Prologue
98. A person who preaches religion and is considered to be a messenger of God Prophet
99. To write under a different name Pseudonym
100. A doctor who specializes in mental illness Psychiatrist
101. The study of human mind Psychology
102. One who retires from society to live a solitary life Recluse
103. Too much official formality Red tapism
104. An institution meant for reforming young offenders Reformatory
105. Murder of the king Regicide
106. A place for improving one’s health Resort
107. One who speaks less Reticent
108. A person who lives in a countryside far from the humdrum of society Rustic
109. One who gets pleasure in others’ trouble or pain Sadist
110. A room where idols of gold are kept Sanctorum
111. A very private room Sanctum
112. Bitter or ironic remark, specially one ironically worded Sarcasm
113. Person who is made to bear blame due to others Scapegoat
114. Someone who knows a lot about the subject Scholar
115. One who carves in stones Sculptor
116. A state in which all the religions have equal freedom Secular
117. A case in which sword is kept Sheath
118. A speech made to one self Soliloquy
119. One who walks in one’s sleep Somnambulist
120. One who talks in one’s sleep Somniloquist
121. An older woman who is unmarried and is not likely to get married Spinster
122. A sudden rush of a large number of frightened people or animals Stampede
123. Social position or rank Status
124. One who loads and unloads ships Stevedore
125. One who is indifferent to pain and pleasure Stoic
126. Murder of self Suicide
127. Name shared by all the members of a family Surname