Vocabulary

🟢 Lite — Quick Review (1h–1d)

Rapid summary for last-minute revision before your exam.

Vocabulary — Key Facts for MDCAT

Strong vocabulary is essential for MDCAT English as questions test word meanings, synonyms, antonyms, analogies, contextual usage, and cloze tests. Focus on high-frequency academic and medical words.

High-Frequency Vocabulary (MDCAT Priority List):

Word	Meaning	Example
Aberration	Deviation from what is normal	The growth was an aberration from normal cell division.
Abstemious	Moderate in eating and drinking	The doctor advised an abstemious diet.
Acquiesce	To accept something reluctantly	She acquiesced to the surgical procedure.
Ambiguous	Open to more than one interpretation	The diagnosis was ambiguous.
Ameliorate	To make something bad better	Treatment helped ameliorate the symptoms.
Anomaly	Something that deviates from normal	The low blood count was an anomaly.
Antidote	A remedy that counteracts poison	There is no antidote for this toxin.
Benevolent	Well-meaning and kindly	The benevolent donor funded the hospital.
Capricious	Given to sudden changes of mood	The patient’s capricious behaviour frustrated the staff.
Cogent	Clear and convincing	He presented a cogent argument for the treatment.
Diligent	Showing care and effort	The diligent nurse monitored vital signs closely.
Efemeral	Lasting for a very short time	The fever was ephemeral and subsided quickly.
Exacerbate	To make a problem worse	Stress can exacerbate autoimmune conditions.
Fastidious	Very attentive to detail	The surgeon was fastidious about sterilisation.
Gregarious	Fond of company; sociable	The gregarious patient made friends quickly on the ward.

⚡ Exam tip: In MDCAT vocabulary questions, ALWAYS look at the context (surrounding words) to determine meaning. Many words have multiple meanings — the context tells you which one applies. For antonym questions, the correct answer often has a prefix that negates the root (e.g., benevolent vs malevolent, audible vs inaudible).

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🟡 Standard — Regular Study (2d–2mo)

Standard content for students who want genuine understanding.

Vocabulary — Complete Study Guide

Word Formation — Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes:

Common Prefixes:

Prefix	Meaning	Example
a-/an-	without/not	Asymmetrical, anemia
ab-	away from	Abort, abnormal
ad-	toward	Adhere, advance
ambi-	both	Ambiguous, ambidextrous
ante-	before	Antecedent, anteroom
anti-	against	Antibody, antiseptic
auto-	self	Automatic, autobiography
ben-/bene-	good/well	Benevolent, benefit
bio-	life	Biology, biography
cata-	down/against	Catastrophe, catabolism
circum-	around	Circumference, circumvent
con-/com-	together	Connect, combine
de-	down/away	Decrease, deactivate
dis-	opposite	Disagree, dishonest
dys-	bad/difficult	Dysfunction, dysentery
e-/ex-	out	Emit, exhale
ec-/exo-	outside	Eclipse, exodus
en-/em-	in/into	Encode, embrace
epi-	upon/around	Epidermis, epidemic
eu-	good/true	Euphoria, eugenics
hemi-	half	Hemisphere, hemicycle
hetero-	different	Heterogeneous, heterosexual
homo-	same	Homogeneous, homonym
hyper-	above/too much	Hypertension, hyperactive
hypo-	below/too little	Hypotension, hypothesis
in-/im-	in/on	Insert, import
in-/im-	not	Incomplete, immoral
inter-	between	Intercept, intercellular
intra-	within	Intracellular, intranet
mal-	bad	Malfunction, malnourished
meta-	beyond/change	Metabolism, metamorphosis
micro-	small	Microscope, microorganism
mono-	one	Monologue, monotony
multi-	many	Multiple, multiverse
neo-	new	Neonatal, neoclassical
ob-/oc-/op-	against/toward	Obstruct, occur, oppose
para-	beside/beyond	Paramedic, paradox
per-	through	Permit, perspire
peri-	around	Perimeter, pericardium
poly-	many	Polymer, polytechnic
post-	after	Postpone, postscript
pre-	before	Predict, premedical
pro-	forward/before	Proceed, proactive
pseudo-	false	Pseudo-science, pseudonym
re-	again/back	Reconsider, react
retro-	backward	Retrospect, retrograde
semi-	half	Semiconductor, semiconscious
sub-	under	Submarine, subcutaneous
super-	above/over	Superficial, supermarket
sym-/syn-	together	Sympathy, synthesis
trans-	across	Transport, transplant
ultra-	beyond/excessive	Ultrasound, ultraviolet
un-	not	Unhappy, unlike

Suffixes:

Suffix	Part of Speech	Meaning	Example
-able/-ible	adjective	capable of	Comfortable, audible
-al/-ial	adjective	relating to	Medical, industrial
-ance/-ence	noun	state/quality	Importance,ference
-ant/-ent	noun/adjective	one who/ing	Student, fluent
-ary/-ory	noun	place/thing	Library, territory
-cide	noun	killing	Herbicide, suicide
-ectomy	noun	surgical removal	Appendectomy
-emia	noun	blood condition	Anemia, glycemia
-graphy	noun	recording	Biography, geography
-ia	noun	condition	Pneumonia, utopia
-ic/-ical	adjective	relating to	Historic, biological
-itis	noun	inflammation	Appendicitis, dermatitis
-logy	noun	study of	Biology, pathology
-osis	noun	condition/state	Necrosis, hypnosis
-pathy	noun	feeling/disease	Sympathy, neuropathy
-phobia	noun	fear	Hydrophobia, claustrophobia
-scope	noun	viewing instrument	Microscope, telescope
-tomy	noun	cutting/incision	Anatomy,otomy

⚡ Common mistakes: Confusing similar-sounding words (affect/effect, than/then/that, accept/except, complement/compliment). For medical words, the suffix often tells you the procedure type (-tomy = cutting, -ectomy = removal, -stomy = creating an opening). In MDCAT cloze tests, first identify the grammatical category needed (noun/verb/adjective/adverb) before choosing the word.

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🔴 Extended — Deep Study (3mo+)

Comprehensive coverage for students on a longer study timeline.

Vocabulary — Advanced Notes

Words Frequently Confused in MDCAT:

Word	Meaning	Confused With
Allusion	Indirect reference	Illusion (false perception)
Averse	Strongly opposed to	Adverse (unfavourable, harmful)
Biannual	Twice a year	Biennial (every two years)
Bimonthly	Every two months	Twice a month (ambiguous — avoid in formal writing)
Climactic	Relating to climax	Climatic (relating to climate)
Complement	To complete/make whole	Compliment (praise)
Continuous	Without interruption	Continual (with brief breaks)
Council	An assembly	Counsel (advice, to advise)
Discreet	Careful/secretive	Discrete (separate, individual)
Elicit	To draw out (a response)	Illicit (illegal)
Emigrate	To leave a country	Immigrate (to enter a country)
Farther	Physical distance	Further (metaphorical distance)
Imply	To suggest indirectly	Infer (to deduce — speaker implies, listener infers)
Irrelevant	Not related	Irreverent (not respectful)
Lay	To put down (requires object)	Lie (to recline — no object)
Passed	Past tense of pass	Past (not a verb)
Principal	Main/head of school	Principle (fundamental rule)
Sensor	A device that detects	Censored (suppressed)
Stationary	Not moving	Stationery (writing materials)

Medical and Scientific Vocabulary (High-Yield for MDCAT):

Word	Meaning	Example Sentence
Acute	Sudden onset, severe	The patient presented with acute abdominal pain.
Chronic	Long-lasting/persistent	Chronic smoking increases cancer risk.
Benign	Not cancerous/tumour	The biopsy showed a benign growth.
Malignant	Cancerous	Malignant cells can metastasise.
Prognosis	Expected outcome	The prognosis for early-stage treatment is excellent.
Diagnosis	Identification of disease	The diagnosis was confirmed by blood tests.
Etiology	Cause of disease	The etiology of the infection was traced to contaminated water.
Pathology	Disease study	Cellular pathology revealed the extent of organ damage.
Symptom	Patient’s experience	Headache and nausea were presenting symptoms.
Sign	Observable evidence	Elevated blood pressure was an objective sign.
Idiopathic	Unknown cause	Most cases of this condition are idiopathic.
Iatrogenic	Caused by medical treatment	The rash was iatrogenic, a reaction to the medication.
Zoonotic	Transmitted from animals	Rabies is a zoonotic disease.
Endemic	Regular occurrence in area	Malaria is endemic in tropical regions.
Epidemic	Sudden outbreak in area	The influenza epidemic affected thousands.
Pandemic	Global epidemic	COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in 2020.

Academic Collocations (Word Partnerships):

• Make a decision (NOT “do a decision”)
• Conduct research / carry out research (NOT “make research”)
• Take into account / take into consideration
• Draw a conclusion / reach a conclusion
• Raise awareness / increase awareness
• Lead to / result in / cause (NOT “bring to”)
• Set a goal / achieve a goal
• Place emphasis on / lay emphasis on
• Take measures / implement measures

MDCAT Question Patterns: MDCAT Pakistan vocabulary questions test: (1) choosing the correct word in context (cloze test), (2) synonyms (words with similar meanings), (3) antonyms (opposite meanings), (4) word analogy (A:B :: C:D), (5) spelling and word forms (verb/noun/adjective), (6) commonly confused words. 5–10 questions per paper. Contextual vocabulary and word formation (prefix/root/suffix) are high-yield areas. Students should read extensively (newspapers, academic texts) to build vocabulary naturally.

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