Vocabulary Review for Police Officer Exam Study Guide (page 2)

Having a good vocabulary is important when reading, writing, or speaking. While all police officers and police officer applicants are encouraged to use a dictionary to look up the meaning of words they are unfamiliar with, it is not good use of their time to have to run to a dictionary to check every third word they see. Police officers must understand complex laws, regulations, and procedures. While you cannot be expected to be familiar with many of these terms as well as the specialized words you will be introduced to, you will need to be able to use the English language efficiently.

If your written exam has a section that tests vocabulary, which is very likely, the questions are most likely to cover synonyms, antonyms, context, and/or homophones.

Synonyms and Antonyms

Synonyms are words that share the same or nearly the same meaning as other words.

Antonyms are words that are opposite or nearly opposite the meaning of other words.

The most common question type that tests for your understanding of words that are similar to or different from one another will give you a short sentence or phrase with a word underlined and provide four choices from which you are to select either the synonym or the antonym. Root words can sometimes help you answer these questions, but you must be careful to avoid so-called "false friends," or words that look or sound alike and seem to have similar meanings but may not.

Make sure to read the brief instructions prior to the series of questions carefully so that you know which choice you are looking for; a tricky question may provide both a synonym and an antonym as one of the choices to catch whether you read the question closely.

Synonym and Antonym Sample Questions

Choose the synonym of the underlined word in questions 1-3

1. The defendant's attorney was eager to expedite the trial process.
   1. reverse
   2. appeal
   3. accelerate
   4. explain
2. The new lieutenant had trouble learning how to delegate authority.
   1. understand
   2. accept
   3. assign
   4. feign
3. The Oak Hill Police Department is housed in an obsolete building.
   1. spacious
   2. out-of-date
   3. modern
   4. costly

Choose the antonym of the underlined word in questions 4-6.

4. The citizens of Rock Hill were unanimous in the view that the police department should hire at least five new police officers.
   1. unsure
   2. divided
   3. uniform
   4. out-spoken
5. Which word means the opposite of refute?
   1. verify
   2. inform
   3. unite
   4. argue
6. Officer Tomas went about his duties very purposefully.
   1. casually
   2. carefully
   3. seriously
   4. earnestly

Homophones

Don't be fooled by words that sound alike but have entirely different meanings. The best way to identify these easily confused words is by studying them and quizzing yourself until you have the meanings and spellings memorized. A list of homophones that are often found on written exams follows this section. Review the list carefully and consult your dictionary to determine the meanings of any words that you are unsure of.

Homophone Sample Questions

Questions 13–18 each provide two choices of words that are homophones. Select the word that makes sense in each sentence.

13. Officer Markus slammed on his ________ to avoid hitting a car that had stalled in the intersection.
    1. break
    2. brake
14. Our sergeant asked us to ________ him before responding to the parade.
    1. meet
    2. meat
15. The mayor told the police commission to ________ six new police officers; I hope I will be one of them.
    1. hire
    2. higher
16. We learned in the police academy to keep unauthorized persons away from a crime ________.
    1. seen
    2. scene
17. Lieutenant Bashari did not know ________ he was on the promotion list.
    1. weather
    2. whether
18. I was thrilled to learn I had ________ the defensive driving course.
    1. passed
    2. past

Homophones

ad, add
affect, effect
allowed, aloud
bare, bear
bored, board
boulder, bolder
brake, break
bred, bread
build, billed
cent, scent
cereal, serial
cite, sight, site
counsel, council
course, coarse
days, daze
died, dyed
due, do, dew
facts, fax
fair, fare
feat, feet
find, fined
flour, flower
for, fore, four
great, grate
groan, grown
guessed, guest
heal, he'll
hear, here
heard, herd
higher, hire
hoarse, horse
hole, whole
hours, ours
incite, insight
knew, new
know, no
lead, led
leased, least
lesson, lessen
made, maid
marshal, martial
meat, meet
morning, mourning
one, won
pact, packed
pail, pale
passed, past
patience, patients
pause, paws
peace, piece
plain, plane
poor, pour
rain, reign
raise, rays
rap, wrap
right, write
road, rode
roll, role
sale, sail
scene, seen
see, sea
soar, sore
stair, stare
steel, steal
sun, son
sweet, suite
tents, tense
their, there, they're
threw, through
throne, thrown
tide, tied
to, too, two
trooper, trouper
vary, very
wade, weighed
ware, wear, where
weight, wait
weather, whether
wood, would
your, you're

Answers

13. b. Brake is the word for a stopping device; break means to damage something.
14. a. Meet means get together; meat is something you eat.
15. a. Hire means to employ; higher is a comparative based on the word high.
16. b. Scene is a place of occurrence; seen is the past participle of see.
17. b. Whether indicates an alternative; weather pertains to temperature, moisture, wind, velocity, and atmospheric conditions.
18. a. Passed indicates to undergo a trial or test with favorable results; past indicates no longer current.

Ways to Improve Your Vocabulary

• Learn groups of synonyms for words.
• Learn new words in context.
• Memorize common word roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
• Create and use flashcards regularly.