One Word Substitution: People & Professions

Florist is correct — the person. The distractors are all related nouns but none name a person: flora means plant life, fauna means animal life, and floriculture is the practice of growing flowers. SSC often tests whether you can spot the -ist ending that marks a person.

Misanthrope is correct. Both 'mis-' words involve hatred, but a misogynist hates women specifically, while a misanthrope hates people in general ('anthropos' = human). A miser hoards money; a mercenary works only for pay.

Polyglot is correct — someone who speaks many languages ('poly' = many, 'glot' = tongue). This is the hardest distractor set on this quiz: a linguist studies language academically, an orator speaks persuasively, and an interpreter translates speech professionally. Only polyglot means personally fluent in several.

Pedestrian is correct. Careful — 'ped-' splits into two different roots: Latin 'ped' (foot) gives pedestrian, while Greek 'paid' (child) gives pedagogue (a teacher) and paediatrician (a children's doctor). A peddler sells goods door to door.

Omnipresent is correct. All four share 'omni-' (all), which is exactly why SSC likes this set: omnipotent means all-powerful, omniscient means all-knowing, and omnivorous means eating both plants and meat. Match the second half of the word, not the prefix.

Biographer is correct. The key distinction is 'auto-' (self): an autobiographer writes their own life story, a biographer writes someone else's. A bibliophile loves books; a calligrapher does decorative handwriting.

Arbitrator is correct — formally appointed to resolve a dispute. An advocate argues for one side (so cannot be neutral), an adversary is the opponent, and 'arbiter of taste' refers to someone who judges style, not disputes.

Glutton is correct — someone who eats excessively. This is a genuinely tricky set: a gourmet is a connoisseur of fine food (about taste, not quantity); a gourmand also enjoys food heartily but leans positive/appreciative; an epicure is devoted to refined sensory pleasure generally. Only 'glutton' carries the negative sense of overeating.

Recluse is correct — someone who deliberately withdraws from society. 'Hermit' is a very close synonym (often also accepted), but classically implies religious solitude; SSC's standard answer for this general phrasing is recluse. A nomad moves place to place without settling; a vagabond wanders with no fixed home, but neither implies avoiding people specifically.

Nepotist is correct — from 'nepotism', favouring relatives (especially in appointments). A sycophant flatters people in power for personal gain, unrelated to family; an opportunist exploits any situation for advantage, not specifically family ties; 'favourite' just means a preferred person, not one who practises favouritism.

Ambidextrous is correct — equally skilled with both hands ('ambi-' = both). Dexterous just means skilful generally (originally right-handed skill); sinistral specifically means left-handed; a southpaw is a left-handed person, especially in boxing/sport.

Sceptic is correct — someone who questions claims and demands evidence. A cynic distrusts people's motives specifically (assumes self-interest); a pessimist expects the worst outcome generally, not doubt of claims; an agnostic specifically holds that the existence of God is unknowable — a much narrower, specific meaning.