25 Useful English Vocabulary Words for Banking Exams with Examples

You may recognise a word in a vocabulary list and still choose the wrong answer in a passage. Recognition is easier than understanding how a word behaves in a sentence. This lesson combines meaning, grammar and context.

These are useful editorial and exam-practice words, not a prediction of which words will appear in an upcoming paper.

How to use the word list

Read the example, hide the meaning and explain the sentence in simpler English. Then write a different example. A synonym is only a clue: two words with similar meanings are not always interchangeable in every context.

Twenty-five words with original examples

Contrast pairs that prevent avoidable errors

Adverse versus averse

Adverse describes something unfavourable: adverse weather, adverse effects or adverse conditions. Averse describes opposition or reluctance, usually with to: averse to unnecessary risk. A person can be averse to working in adverse conditions.

Feasible versus viable

Feasible often asks whether something can practically be done. Viable often asks whether it can work or remain successful. Their meanings overlap, so choose according to the sentence rather than treating them as strict opposites.

Mandatory versus tentative

A requirement can be mandatory while a schedule remains tentative. Read exactly what each adjective modifies. A tentative exam timetable does not automatically make application requirements optional.

Useful word partnerships

• Comply with a rule.
• Be averse to unnecessary risk.
• Come under scrutiny.
• Have an adverse effect on something.
• Mitigate a risk rather than necessarily eliminate it.

Practice questions

These original practice questions are for learning; they are not claimed as previous-year exam questions.

Question 1

Choose the best word: The instruction was _____ because it could be interpreted in two different ways.

1. mandatory
2. ambiguous
3. impartial
4. resilient

Answer: B. ambiguous. Ambiguous means open to more than one interpretation.

Question 2

Choose the best word: The organisation published a clear breakdown of charges to make its pricing more _____.

1. transparent
2. averse
3. adverse
4. inherent

Answer: A. transparent. A clear, open explanation makes the pricing transparent.

Question 3

Choose the correct sentence.

1. She is adverse to unnecessary risk.
2. She is averse to unnecessary risk.
3. She is averse with unnecessary risk.
4. She is adversity to unnecessary risk.

Answer: B. She is averse to unnecessary risk.. The adjective averse expresses opposition, and the usual construction is averse to.

Question 4

A measure that mitigates a problem necessarily does what?

1. Eliminates it completely
2. Makes it less severe
3. Delays all action
4. Creates an exemption

Answer: B. Makes it less severe. Mitigate means reduce severity. Complete elimination is a stronger claim.

Question 5

In "The schedule is tentative," tentative most nearly means:

1. permanent
2. compulsory
3. provisional
4. secret

Answer: C. provisional. A tentative schedule is not yet final and can change.

A revision method that takes the words out of the list

1. Choose a small group and recall each meaning without seeing the answer.
2. Read a short passage and look for the idea, not only the exact word.
3. Create a sentence where one confusing alternative would be wrong.
4. Revisit missed words the next day and after a longer gap.
5. Retire a word from frequent review only when you can use it correctly in a fresh sentence.

If you translate into your first language, check that the English example still fits. One translated word may cover several different English meanings.

Conclusion

Learn vocabulary as a combination of meaning, sentence pattern and context. Twenty-five words used accurately are more valuable than a long list that you cannot retrieve during reading.

Keep practising with PrepZen

Use PrepZen Word Lab and editorial reading to practise vocabulary beyond isolated definitions. Get PrepZen on Google Play and use its learning and practice features alongside your study plan.