CSE Vocabulary and Analogy Reviewer: 300 Words, 60 Analogies, Answer Keys

How to use this reviewer

This is a free vocabulary and analogy reviewer for the Philippines Civil Service Exam (CSE-PPT): 300 words with meanings, a synonym and an opposite, of which 30 are commonly confused pairs, plus 60 analogies in six timed sets with full answer keys. Everything here is written by TalkDrill. CSC publishes no word list, so the words are grouped by theme rather than by how often they appear, and the choice of words is our judgement of the level CSE-style vocabulary items use. Learn 20 words a day, say each one aloud in a sentence, and do one analogy set every other day. The next sitting is 14 March 2027; applications open on 2 November 2026 and run until the 350,000 target slots fill, per CSC Examination Announcement No. 05, s. 2026.

If you have not yet seen how the English items work, start with the CSE English reviewer, which explains all four item families. To test the words under time, use the practice bank: every set opens with vocabulary and analogy items.

How vocabulary is tested

Vocabulary on the CSE is never "write the definition". It is always multiple choice, and the wrong options are chosen to catch specific mistakes. Knowing the formats tells you which mistake each item is fishing for.

Format	What it looks like	The usual trap
Synonym	A word in capitals; choose the closest meaning	A look-alike word (indigent and indigenous) or a word from the same topic
Antonym	A word in capitals; choose the opposite	The synonym, for readers who skip the word OPPOSITE; or the opposite of a near-synonym (generous for frugal)
Word in context	A sentence with one word in capitals	The word's most common meaning, when the sentence uses another one
Idiom	An expression such as "out of the blue"	Reading the words literally (blue as sad)
Analogy	WORD : WORD :: WORD : ______	An option from the right topic with the wrong relationship, or the pair reversed

Two habits beat every trap. First, say the meaning of the capital-letter word to yourself before you look at the options. Second, in a sentence item, read the whole sentence and find the clue that proves the meaning: a result clause, a contrast, an example. The practice bank explains the trap in every vocabulary item it contains.

The 300-word list

Each table gives the word, a plain meaning, a synonym and an opposite. Where English has no common one-word opposite, the table says so rather than forcing one. Cover the last three columns with a card to test yourself. Groups 1 to 9 are below; group 10, the confusable words, has its own section. We write in British spelling (analyse, sceptical, judgement); Philippine schools and newspapers mostly use American spelling (analyze, skeptical, judgment). Both are standard English, so learn the meaning and use the spelling you were taught.

Group 1: Government, law and public service (30 words)

Words you will also meet in General Information items, office memos and the interview.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
abolish	to end a law, system or practice officially	do away with	establish
accountable	required to explain and answer for your actions	answerable	unaccountable
amend	to change a law or document to improve it	revise	leave unchanged
appease	to calm someone by giving them what they demand	pacify	provoke
arbitrary	based on personal choice rather than reason or rules	random	reasoned
autonomy	the right of a group or region to govern itself	self-rule	dependence
bureaucracy	a system run by officials who follow fixed rules and procedures	officialdom	none common
clemency	mercy shown when giving a punishment	leniency	severity
coerce	to force someone to act by using threats	compel	none common
compliance	the act of obeying a rule or request	obedience	defiance
constituent	a voter in a district; also one part of a whole	voter; component	none common
corrupt	dishonest, using power for personal gain	crooked	honest
decree	an official order that has the force of law	edict	none common
enact	to make a bill into law	pass	repeal
exempt	free from a duty, tax or rule that applies to others	excused	liable
fiscal	relating to public money, taxes and spending	financial	none common
impartial	not favouring one side over another	fair	biased
integrity	honesty and firm moral principles	honesty	dishonesty
jurisdiction	the official power to make legal decisions in an area	authority	none common
legislation	laws, or the process of making them	law	none common
mandate	the authority voters give a leader; an official order	authority	none common
nepotism	giving jobs or favours to relatives	favouritism	impartiality
ordinance	a local law, such as one passed by a city or barangay council	local law	none common
prerogative	a special right that belongs to a position	privilege	none common
probity	complete honesty and decency	integrity	dishonesty
ratify	to approve a treaty or agreement formally	approve	reject
repeal	to cancel a law officially	revoke	enact
sovereignty	a state's full power to govern itself	independence	subjection
transparency	openness that lets the public see and check what is done	openness	secrecy
verdict	the decision of a court on a case	ruling	none common

Group 2: Character: qualities a panel wants to hear (30 words)

Useful twice: in synonym and antonym items, and when you describe yourself with evidence in an interview.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
affable	friendly and easy to talk to	genial	unfriendly
altruistic	caring about others more than yourself	selfless	selfish
amiable	pleasant and friendly	agreeable	hostile
assiduous	working with steady care and effort	diligent	careless
benevolent	kind and wanting to do good	kind	malevolent
candid	open and honest in what you say	frank	guarded
conscientious	careful to do your work well and correctly	dutiful	negligent
courteous	polite and respectful	polite	rude
dependable	able to be trusted to do what is expected	reliable	unreliable
diligent	showing steady, careful effort	hardworking	lazy
earnest	serious and sincere	sincere	flippant
frugal	careful with money and resources	thrifty	wasteful
gracious	kind, polite and generous in manner	courteous	ungracious
gregarious	enjoying the company of others	sociable	reserved
humble	not thinking you are better than others	modest	arrogant
industrious	hardworking and busy	hardworking	idle
magnanimous	generous and forgiving, especially towards a rival	big-hearted	petty
meticulous	paying great attention to detail	thorough	careless
modest	not boasting about your abilities; not large	humble	boastful
prudent	careful and sensible about the future	wise	rash
punctual	arriving or doing things at the agreed time	on time	late
resilient	able to recover quickly from difficulty	tough	fragile
resourceful	good at finding ways to solve problems	inventive	helpless
scrupulous	careful to do what is honest and correct	principled	unscrupulous
sincere	meaning what you say	genuine	insincere
steadfast	firm and loyal, not changing	unwavering	fickle
tactful	careful not to upset others when speaking	diplomatic	tactless
tenacious	not giving up easily	persistent	irresolute
versatile	able to do many different things well	adaptable	limited
zealous	full of energy and enthusiasm for a cause	fervent	apathetic

Group 3: Character: qualities nobody wants in a colleague (30 words)

Many of these appear as the opposite in antonym items for the words in the group above.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
abrasive	rough and rude in manner	harsh	gentle
aloof	distant and unfriendly	detached	warm
arrogant	acting as if you are better than others	haughty	humble
belligerent	eager to fight or argue	aggressive	peaceable
callous	not caring about the suffering of others	heartless	compassionate
capricious	changing mood or mind suddenly	fickle	steady
complacent	too satisfied with yourself to try harder	smug	driven
cynical	believing people act only out of self-interest	distrustful	trusting
deceitful	trying to make others believe what is false	dishonest	truthful
domineering	trying to control other people	bossy	submissive
erratic	not regular or predictable	unpredictable	consistent
fickle	changing loyalties or opinions often	changeable	loyal
frivolous	not serious; silly	trivial	serious
gullible	easily tricked	naive	sceptical
haughty	proud and looking down on others	arrogant	humble
impetuous	acting quickly without thinking	rash	cautious
indolent	lazy, avoiding work	lazy	industrious
insolent	rude and disrespectful	impudent	respectful
irascible	easily made angry	short-tempered	calm
lethargic	slow and lacking energy	sluggish	energetic
malicious	wanting to harm others	spiteful	kind
negligent	failing to take proper care	careless	careful
obstinate	refusing to change your mind	stubborn	flexible
petulant	childishly bad-tempered	sulky	good-humoured
pompous	acting important in a showy way	self-important	modest
reckless	not thinking about danger or results	rash	careful
sullen	silent and bad-tempered	sulky	cheerful
sycophantic	praising powerful people to win their favour	flattering	sincere
timid	shy and easily frightened	shy	bold
vindictive	wanting revenge	vengeful	forgiving

Group 4: Speech, writing and communication (30 words)

Reading items ask about tone and style in exactly these words.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
allude	to mention something indirectly	hint	state outright
ambiguous	open to more than one meaning	unclear	clear
articulate	able to express ideas clearly	eloquent	inarticulate
brevity	the quality of using few words	conciseness	wordiness
coherent	logical and well connected	consistent	incoherent
colloquial	used in everyday informal talk	informal	formal
concise	saying a lot in few words	succinct	wordy
convey	to communicate an idea or feeling	express	conceal
cryptic	having a hidden or puzzling meaning	mysterious	plain
diction	the choice and use of words; clarity of speech	wording	none common
digress	to move away from the main topic	stray	stay on topic
elaborate	to add more detail; also detailed and complex	expand	simplify
eloquent	fluent and persuasive in speaking or writing	articulate	tongue-tied
emphasise	to give special importance to	stress	play down
eulogy	a speech praising someone, often at a funeral	tribute	none common
euphemism	a mild word used in place of a harsh one	polite term	none common
exaggerate	to make something seem bigger or worse than it is	overstate	understate
explicit	stated clearly and directly	clear	implicit
implicit	suggested but not stated directly	implied	explicit
jargon	special words used by a profession, hard for others to understand	technical language	plain language
laconic	using very few words	terse	talkative
lucid	clear and easy to understand	clear	confusing
paraphrase	to say the same thing in different words	reword	quote
refute	to prove a claim wrong	disprove	confirm
reiterate	to say again for emphasis	repeat	none common
rhetoric	language designed to persuade, sometimes without substance	oratory	none common
succinct	brief and clearly expressed	concise	long-winded
terse	using few words, sometimes in a rude way	curt	wordy
verbatim	in exactly the same words	word for word	paraphrased
verbose	using more words than needed	wordy	concise

Group 5: Quantity, size and degree (30 words)

Degree analogies (drizzle to downpour) are built from words like these.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
abundant	existing in large amounts	plentiful	scarce
ample	more than enough	sufficient	insufficient
augment	to increase or add to	increase	reduce
colossal	extremely large	huge	tiny
copious	large in quantity	abundant	sparse
deficit	the amount by which something falls short, such as spending above income	shortfall	surplus
diminish	to become or make smaller	lessen	increase
dwindle	to become gradually smaller	shrink	grow
excessive	more than is necessary or reasonable	too much	moderate
exorbitant	far too high, especially of a price	overpriced	reasonable
finite	having limits or an end	limited	infinite
immense	extremely large	enormous	tiny
inadequate	not enough or not good enough	insufficient	adequate
infinitesimal	extremely small	minute	huge
marginal	very small in amount or importance	slight	significant
meagre	small in amount and not enough	scanty	generous
minuscule	extremely small	tiny	enormous
moderate	neither too much nor too little	reasonable	extreme
negligible	so small it can be ignored	insignificant	considerable
paltry	too small to be of real use or value	measly	substantial
plentiful	existing in large amounts	abundant	scarce
profuse	very plentiful, flowing freely	lavish	scant
replete	filled or well supplied	full	empty
scant	barely enough	limited	ample
scarce	not enough to meet the need	rare	abundant
sparse	thinly spread, few and far apart	scattered	dense
substantial	large in amount or importance	considerable	slight
surplus	an amount left over after needs are met	excess	deficit
trivial	of little importance	minor	important
vast	very large in area or amount	huge	small

Group 6: Time, change and order (30 words)

These words also carry the time clues in tense items and in sentence-ordering items.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
abrupt	sudden and unexpected	sudden	gradual
antiquated	old-fashioned and out of date	outdated	modern
archaic	very old, no longer in use	ancient	current
belated	coming later than it should	late	timely
chronic	lasting a long time or coming back often	persistent	acute
concurrent	happening at the same time	simultaneous	consecutive
contemporary	belonging to the same time; or modern	modern	old-fashioned
defunct	no longer existing or working	extinct	active
ephemeral	lasting a very short time	fleeting	lasting
evolve	to develop gradually	develop	stagnate
expedite	to make something happen faster	speed up	delay
fluctuate	to rise and fall irregularly	vary	stay steady
gradual	happening slowly over time	steady	sudden
hasten	to make something happen sooner	hurry	delay
imminent	about to happen	impending	distant
incessant	never stopping	constant	intermittent
interim	temporary, until something permanent is arranged	provisional	permanent
intermittent	stopping and starting at intervals	sporadic	continuous
novel	new and unusual	original	familiar
obsolete	no longer used because something newer has replaced it	outdated	current
perennial	lasting or returning year after year	enduring	short-lived
perpetual	never ending	everlasting	temporary
postpone	to move to a later time	defer	bring forward
premature	happening too early	early	overdue
prior	earlier in time or order	previous	subsequent
protracted	lasting longer than expected	prolonged	brief
sporadic	happening at irregular intervals	occasional	regular
stagnant	not moving or developing	still	flowing
subsequent	coming after something else	following	prior
transient	lasting only a short time	passing	permanent

Group 7: Thinking, knowledge and judgement (30 words)

The vocabulary of reading items: inference, conclusion, assumption and evidence.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
analyse	to examine something in detail	examine	synthesise
astute	quick to understand and judge situations	shrewd	naive
biased	unfairly favouring one side	partial	impartial
cogent	clear, logical and convincing	convincing	weak
conjecture	an opinion formed without full evidence	guess	proof
deduce	to reach a conclusion by reasoning	infer	none common
discern	to notice or understand something that is not obvious	perceive	overlook
dubious	doubtful, not to be trusted	questionable	reliable
empirical	based on observation and experiment	observed	theoretical
erroneous	wrong, containing mistakes	incorrect	correct
fallacy	a mistaken belief or a faulty argument	misconception	truth
feasible	possible to do in practice	workable	impossible
hypothesis	an idea that has to be tested	theory	none common
inevitable	certain to happen	unavoidable	avoidable
infallible	never wrong	unerring	fallible
judicious	showing good judgement	wise	foolish
naive	lacking experience and too ready to believe	gullible	worldly
objective	based on facts, not feelings	unbiased	subjective
plausible	seeming reasonable or likely	believable	unlikely
ponder	to think carefully about something	consider	ignore
pragmatic	dealing with things in a practical way	practical	idealistic
premise	a statement that an argument is based on	assumption	conclusion
rational	based on reason and logic	logical	irrational
sceptical	doubting that something is true	doubtful	convinced
scrutinise	to examine very closely	inspect	glance at
speculate	to form ideas without firm evidence	guess	none common
subjective	based on personal feelings and opinions	personal	objective
tentative	not certain or fixed	provisional	definite
valid	logically sound, or officially acceptable	sound	invalid
verify	to check that something is true	confirm	none common

Group 8: Work, effort and the office (30 words)

Memo and notice vocabulary: you will read these in passages and use them in a government job.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
adept	very skilled at something	skilful	inept
allocate	to give out resources for a purpose	assign	withhold
collaborate	to work together with others	cooperate	work alone
competent	having enough skill to do something well	capable	incompetent
comply	to act according to a rule or request	obey	defy
consolidate	to combine into one; to make stronger	merge	separate
curtail	to reduce or limit	cut back	extend
defer	to delay until later	postpone	advance
delegate	to give a task or responsibility to someone else	assign	none common
designate	to choose officially for a role or purpose	appoint	none common
efficient	working well without wasting time or effort	productive	wasteful
endorse	to declare public support or approval	support	oppose
facilitate	to make a process easier	ease	hinder
implement	to put a plan or decision into effect	carry out	none common
incentive	something that encourages a person to act	motivation	deterrent
initiative	the ability to act without being told; a new plan	drive	none common
itemise	to list each item separately	list	none common
liaise	to work with others and share information	coordinate	none common
mediocre	only average, not very good	ordinary	excellent
monitor	to watch and check over a period of time	oversee	neglect
novice	a person new to an activity	beginner	expert
onerous	heavy and difficult to carry out	burdensome	easy
perfunctory	done only as a duty, with little care	cursory	thorough
proficient	skilled through practice	expert	unskilled
reimburse	to pay back money someone has spent	refund	none common
remuneration	payment for work	pay	none common
rigorous	extremely careful and strict	thorough	lax
streamline	to make a process simpler and faster	simplify	complicate
tedious	long, slow and boring	dull	interesting
waive	to give up a right, or not apply a rule	forgo	enforce

Group 9: Feelings and attitudes (30 words)

Tone questions in reading items use these words as their options.

Word	Meaning	Synonym	Opposite
ambivalent	having mixed feelings	undecided	certain
anxious	worried and nervous	uneasy	calm
apathetic	showing no interest or concern	indifferent	enthusiastic
apprehensive	worried that something bad will happen	uneasy	confident
ardent	very enthusiastic	passionate	indifferent
content	satisfied and at peace	satisfied	discontented
despondent	in low spirits, without hope	dejected	hopeful
disdain	the feeling that something is not worth respect	contempt	admiration
elated	very happy and excited	overjoyed	dejected
empathy	the ability to share and understand another person's feelings	understanding	indifference
envy	wanting what someone else has	jealousy	none common
euphoric	intensely happy	ecstatic	miserable
exasperated	very annoyed, out of patience	frustrated	patient
gratitude	the feeling of being thankful	thankfulness	ingratitude
hostile	unfriendly and aggressive	unfriendly	friendly
indignant	angry at unfair treatment	resentful	none common
jovial	cheerful and friendly	jolly	gloomy
melancholy	a deep, lasting sadness	sorrow	cheerfulness
nonchalant	calm and seemingly not worried	unconcerned	anxious
nostalgic	longing for a happy time in the past	wistful	none common
optimistic	expecting good things to happen	hopeful	pessimistic
pessimistic	expecting bad things to happen	gloomy	optimistic
reluctant	unwilling and hesitant	unwilling	eager
remorse	deep regret for doing wrong	regret	none common
resentful	bitter about being treated unfairly	aggrieved	content
sanguine	cheerfully hopeful, even in a bad situation	optimistic	gloomy
serene	calm and peaceful	tranquil	agitated
solemn	serious and formal	grave	light-hearted
vexed	annoyed or worried	irritated	pleased
wary	careful about possible danger	cautious	trusting

30 words examinees confuse

These fifteen pairs look or sound alike but mean different things. Correct-usage items use them as traps, often inside a sentence where the wrong one looks natural. Several, such as principal and principle or stationary and stationery, also turn up in official letters and memos, so they are worth getting right for the job too.

Word	Meaning	Do not confuse with
adverse	harmful or unfavourable: adverse weather	averse
averse	strongly disliking: averse to risk	adverse
affect	a verb, to influence: the rule affects everyone	effect
effect	a noun, a result: the effect of the rule	affect
censor	to remove parts thought unacceptable	censure
censure	to criticise formally and strongly	censor
complement	something that completes or suits another thing	compliment
compliment	praise	complement
continual	happening again and again, with breaks	continuous
continuous	without any break	continual
council	a group that advises or governs, such as a city council	counsel
counsel	advice; a lawyer; to advise	council
credible	believable	credulous
credulous	too ready to believe things	credible
discreet	careful not to cause embarrassment; tactful	discrete
discrete	separate and distinct	discreet
disinterested	not taking sides; impartial	uninterested
uninterested	not interested	disinterested
elicit	to draw out a response or information	illicit
illicit	illegal or forbidden	elicit
flaunt	to show something off	flout
flout	to openly disobey a rule	flaunt
persecute	to treat cruelly, especially for beliefs	prosecute
prosecute	to bring a legal case against someone	persecute
precede	to come before	proceed
proceed	to go on; to continue	precede
principal	main; or the head of a school	principle
principle	a basic rule or belief	principal
stationary	not moving	stationery
stationery	paper, pens and other writing materials	stationary

Three quick memory lines (ours): stationery has an e, like envelope; the principal is your pal at the head of the school; a council is a group you can count, and counsel is advice you can sell.

How to learn 300 words in 15 days

Lists are easy to read and hard to keep. This plan is ours and fits inside the 4-month roadmap to 14 March 2027.

Day	New words	Review	Time
1 to 15	20 a day, in list order (group 1 words 1 to 20 on day 1, and so on)	Day 3 and day 7 after learning each batch	15 to 20 minutes
16 to 18	None	Cover the meaning column for all 300; mark every word you miss	20 minutes
19 onwards	None	Only the marked words, plus one analogy set every other day	10 minutes

For each new word, do three things. Say it aloud. Make one sentence of your own about your life or your work ("The new system will streamline our filing"). Then say the opposite in a second sentence. That takes under a minute per word and gives you the meaning in context, which is how the exam tests it. Free short drills such as Word Power keep the words moving between sessions, and the vocabulary books in the TalkDrill library add more words in use.

Say them aloud: a stress guide

The written exam does not test pronunciation, but saying a word aloud fixes it in memory, and the panel interview after eligibility does test how you speak. These fifteen words from the list are often stressed on the wrong syllable. The stressed syllable is in capitals; the guides are written by TalkDrill.

Word	Say it	Word	Say it
bureaucracy	bew-ROK-ruh-see	jurisdiction	joor-is-DIK-shun
prerogative	pri-ROG-uh-tiv	ordinance	OR-di-nuns
remuneration	ri-myoo-nuh-RAY-shun	facilitate	fuh-SIL-i-tayt
hypothesis	hy-POTH-uh-sis	euphemism	YOO-fuh-miz-um
ephemeral	i-FEM-uh-rul	meticulous	muh-TIK-yuh-lus
colloquial	kuh-LOH-kwee-ul	conscientious	kon-shee-EN-shus
deficit	DEF-i-sit	integrity	in-TEG-ri-tee
sceptical	SKEP-ti-kul

To hear yourself, record a sentence with each word in TalkDrill's Read Aloud practice; the report flags mispronounced or skipped words (Read Aloud practice is part of TalkDrill Pro). The free word stress exercises explain the patterns behind these words.

Analogy types and the sentence method

An analogy item gives you a pair of words with a relationship and asks you to find a second pair with the same relationship. The skill is naming the relationship exactly, including its direction. The method (ours) has three steps: say the first pair as a sentence; test each option in the same sentence; if two survive, make the sentence more precise.

Relationship	Sentence to test	Example
Synonym	A means the same as B	OBSTINATE : STUBBORN
Antonym	A is the opposite of B	FRUGAL : EXTRAVAGANT
Part to whole	A is part of B	CHAPTER : NOVEL
Member to group	A belongs to a group called B	WOLF : PACK
Member to category	A is a kind of B	SAMPAGUITA : FLOWER
Worker to tool	A uses B to work	JUDGE : GAVEL
Worker to product	A makes B	BAKER : BREAD
Cause to effect	A causes B	PRACTICE : SKILL
Lack	A has no B	TRAITOR : LOYALTY
Degree	A is a milder or stronger form of B	DRIZZLE : DOWNPOUR
Stage of growth	A grows into B	TADPOLE : FROG
Instrument to measure	A measures or shows B	CLOCK : TIME
Symbol	A stands for B	DOVE : PEACE

The most common trap is an option from the right topic with the wrong relationship. For BAKER : BREAD :: TAILOR : ______, needle, cloth, shop and clothes are all about tailoring, but only clothes fits "a tailor makes ______". The second most common trap is the reversed pair: for SEED : TREE, an option that goes from adult to young form looks right but runs the wrong way.

60 analogies in six timed sets

Write your answers on paper, then check the key under each set. Sets 1 and 2 are the gentlest; sets 5 and 6 add Philippine general knowledge and harder words, as some CSE-style analogies do. If you score under 8 on a set, redo it after two days without looking at the key first.

Set 1: analogies 1 to 10

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

1. HAND : GLOVE :: HEAD : ______
A. hair
B. hat
C. brain
D. neck

2. COWARD : BRAVE :: MISER : ______
A. stingy
B. rich
C. gold
D. generous

3. SAND : GLASS :: CLAY : ______
A. brick
B. mud
C. earth
D. kiln

4. LIBRARIAN : BOOKS :: CURATOR : ______
A. museum
B. visitors
C. exhibits
D. tickets

5. CHAPTER : NOVEL :: SCENE : ______
A. actor
B. stage
C. curtain
D. play

6. FAMINE : FOOD :: DROUGHT : ______
A. rain
B. heat
C. desert
D. crops

7. SLOW : SLUGGISH :: FAST : ______
A. race
B. rapid
C. slow
D. runner

8. PEN : INK :: CAR : ______
A. driver
B. road
C. fuel
D. wheel

9. BAKER : BREAD :: TAILOR : ______
A. needle
B. clothes
C. cloth
D. shop

10. TONGUE : TASTE :: SKIN : ______
A. touch
B. colour
C. sweat
D. hand

Set 2: analogies 11 to 20

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

11. KILOGRAM : WEIGHT :: KILOMETRE : ______
A. speed
B. road
C. metre
D. distance

12. ACTOR : CAST :: SOLDIER : ______
A. army
B. gun
C. war
D. uniform

13. CANDID : FRANK :: OBSTINATE : ______
A. flexible
B. strong
C. stubborn
D. angry

14. GENEROUS : STINGY :: HUMBLE : ______
A. modest
B. arrogant
C. poor
D. quiet

15. SEED : TREE :: EGG : ______
A. shell
B. yolk
C. nest
D. bird

16. FIN : FISH :: WING : ______
A. bird
B. feather
C. sky
D. fly

17. AUTHOR : MANUSCRIPT :: ARCHITECT : ______
A. building
B. engineer
C. blueprint
D. house

18. HAMMER : NAIL :: SCREWDRIVER : ______
A. bolt
B. screw
C. toolbox
D. carpenter

19. LAWYER : COURT :: TEACHER : ______
A. student
B. lesson
C. chalk
D. classroom

20. HEAT : MELT :: COLD : ______
A. ice
B. winter
C. freeze
D. snow

Set 3: analogies 21 to 30

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

21. PUPIL : SCHOOL :: PATIENT : ______
A. hospital
B. doctor
C. medicine
D. nurse

22. MOUNTAIN : PEAK :: WAVE : ______
A. sea
B. surf
C. crest
D. water

23. PROLOGUE : BOOK :: OVERTURE : ______
A. song
B. opera
C. curtain
D. singer

24. DEAF : HEARING :: BLIND : ______
A. eyes
B. dark
C. cane
D. sight

25. COIN : MINT :: NEWSPAPER : ______
A. printing press
B. reporter
C. editor
D. news

26. BRANCH : TREE :: TRIBUTARY : ______
A. stream
B. river
C. ocean
D. lake

27. VACCINE : PREVENT :: MEDICINE : ______
A. hospital
B. pill
C. treat
D. doctor

28. NEGLIGENCE : ACCIDENT :: PRACTICE : ______
A. failure
B. teacher
C. time
D. skill

29. ARID : DRY :: FRIGID : ______
A. cold
B. hot
C. wet
D. windy

30. TRAITOR : LOYALTY :: LIAR : ______
A. speech
B. lies
C. honesty
D. trust

Set 4: analogies 31 to 40

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

31. CALENDAR : DATE :: CLOCK : ______
A. wall
B. time
C. alarm
D. hand

32. JUDGE : VERDICT :: REFEREE : ______
A. whistle
B. game
C. player
D. decision

33. FEAR : TREMBLE :: JOY : ______
A. laugh
B. frown
C. sorrow
D. party

34. GRAIN : SILO :: WATER : ______
A. rain
B. river
C. reservoir
D. pipe

35. LETHARGIC : ENERGY :: IGNORANT : ______
A. school
B. knowledge
C. stupid
D. books

36. CATERPILLAR : BUTTERFLY :: TADPOLE : ______
A. fish
B. pond
C. egg
D. frog

37. BARANGAY : MUNICIPALITY :: MUNICIPALITY : ______
A. province
B. city
C. region
D. country

38. STETHOSCOPE : DOCTOR :: GAVEL : ______
A. lawyer
B. court
C. judge
D. hammer

39. EROSION : SOIL :: CORROSION : ______
A. rust
B. metal
C. water
D. acid

40. VERBOSE : CONCISE :: OPAQUE : ______
A. dark
B. solid
C. cloudy
D. transparent

Set 5: analogies 41 to 50

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

41. NOVEL : FICTION :: BIOGRAPHY : ______
A. author
B. life
C. non-fiction
D. story

42. SPIDER : WEB :: BEAVER : ______
A. dam
B. river
C. wood
D. teeth

43. FRUGAL : EXTRAVAGANT :: CAUTIOUS : ______
A. careful
B. slow
C. afraid
D. reckless

44. MINUTE : HOUR :: MONTH : ______
A. day
B. year
C. week
D. season

45. ORCHESTRA : CONDUCTOR :: SHIP : ______
A. sailor
B. crew
C. captain
D. ocean

46. PHOTOGRAPHER : CAMERA :: PAINTER : ______
A. brush
B. painting
C. gallery
D. colour

47. THIRSTY : DRINK :: TIRED : ______
A. run
B. yawn
C. bed
D. rest

48. TYPHOON : WIND :: FLOOD : ______
A. rain
B. water
C. river
D. damage

49. SPORADIC : CONSTANT :: TRANSIENT : ______
A. brief
B. passing
C. lasting
D. quick

50. SENTENCE : PARAGRAPH :: PARAGRAPH : ______
A. word
B. pen
C. grammar
D. essay

Set 6: analogies 51 to 60

Target: 5 minutes for ten items (our practice target, 30 seconds each). Say the relationship as a sentence before you read the options.

51. PHILIPPINES : ARCHIPELAGO :: AUSTRALIA : ______
A. continent
B. country
C. ocean
D. kangaroo

52. PESO : PHILIPPINES :: YEN : ______
A. China
B. Japan
C. Korea
D. money

53. RIZAL : NOLI ME TANGERE :: BALAGTAS : ______
A. Ibong Adarna
B. Mi Último Adiós
C. Florante at Laura
D. El Filibusterismo

54. PHILIPPINE EAGLE : BIRD :: SAMPAGUITA : ______
A. tree
B. leaf
C. fruit
D. flower

55. GOVERNOR : PROVINCE :: MAYOR : ______
A. barangay
B. city
C. region
D. country

56. CONGRESS : LAWS :: COURTS : ______
A. rulings
B. judges
C. lawyers
D. jails

57. BOLD : TIMID :: HUMID : ______
A. wet
B. hot
C. dry
D. cloudy

58. PREDICT : FUTURE :: RECALL : ______
A. memory
B. present
C. history
D. past

59. ANT : COLONY :: WOLF : ______
A. den
B. pack
C. forest
D. herd

60. EXONERATE : BLAME :: ACQUIT : ______
A. judge
B. prison
C. verdict
D. charge

Your practice route

1. Learn 20 words a day from the list above, aloud and in your own sentences.
2. Every other day, do one analogy set with the 5-minute timer and log your score.
3. Once a week, do one set from the practice bank to test the words among grammar, paragraph and reading items.
4. Check your first-language traps. Tagalog speakers: English traps for Tagalog speakers. Bisaya and Ilocano speakers, whose e and i or o and u can swap in spelling: English traps for Bisaya and Ilocano speakers.
5. Move on to grammar with the grammar and correct usage page once vocabulary sets reach 8 out of 10.
6. After the exam, use the group 2 words with real evidence in the AI mock interview: "I am meticulous" is weak; "I check every receipt twice before filing" is strong.

All the Civil Service Exam pages start from the hub.

Sources and last checked

• CSC Examination Announcement No. 05, s. 2026, the 2027 pen and paper calendar, re-read 21 October 2026: dates, application periods and results targets.
• CSC home page, read 21 October 2026.
• CSC Career Service Examination page: unverified; it returned an error (403) to our tools this week, so the scope above is per the 2026 announcement as reported by reviewer sites. Confirm in the March 2027 announcement.
• The word list, meanings, stress guides, analogies and keys are written by TalkDrill. Meanings are given in plain words for exam use; check a full dictionary for other senses.