JAMB Use of English past questions and answers

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

JAMB Use of English: 797 past questions from 9 papers between 2015 and 2024, each with the answer and an explanation. In the UTME you answer 60 Use of English questions, with three other subjects, in 2 hours. Here are ten.

1. 1.

   The brave officer _____ the time bomb.

   1. A
      defused
      Correct
   2. B
      detonated
   3. C
      discharged
   4. D
      diffused
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: A

   defused is correct. To defuse a bomb means to remove its fuse or detonator so it cannot explode — exactly what a brave officer would do to save lives, and the standard word used with "time bomb" in English usage.

   diffused is a common trap because it sounds almost identical to "defused". However, "diffuse" means to spread out or scatter (e.g. gas diffusing in air), which does not make sense with a bomb.

2. 2.

   Choose the word(s) or phrase(s) which best fill(s) the gap(s).

   For fear of being caught, the thief shouted and cursed the slow bank manager in a language ________much for words.

   1. A
      just right
   2. B
      too little
   3. C
      too much
      Correct
   4. D
      not enough
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: C

   The phrase 'too much for words' means something is beyond expression. The thief's behavior exceeded what words could describe.
3. 3.From the words lettered A to D, choose the word that rhymes with the given word.Worst
   1. A
      Wrist
   2. B
      Burst
      Correct
   3. C
      Waste
   4. D
      Worse
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Worst is pronounced /wɜːst/ (or /wɝːst/), ending in the sound "-urst".

   Burst is pronounced exactly the same way at the end — /bɜːst/ — so it rhymes perfectly with "worst".

   Worse looks like the obvious trap because it is spelt almost like "worst", but it drops the final "t" sound: it is pronounced /wɜːs/, not /wɜːst/. A word that only looks alike is not the same as a word that sounds alike, so it does not rhyme.

4. 4.

   Choose the option that is nearest in meaning to the underlined word(s)

   Repugnant rules in the society should be repealed.

   1. A
      ambiguous
   2. B
      obnoxious
      Correct
   3. C
      obsolete
   4. D
      stringent
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Repugnant means extremely distasteful, offensive or objectionable — something that provokes strong dislike or disgust. So obnoxious is the nearest in meaning: an obnoxious rule is one people find offensive and unacceptable.

5. 5.

   Choose the option nearest to the statement:

   My brother's drunkenness often got on my nerves. This means.

   1. A
      often made me nervous and afraid
   2. B
      often irritated me
      Correct
   3. C
      often disappointed me deeply
   4. D
      often worried me greatly
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The idiom "got on my nerves" means to annoy or irritate someone repeatedly. It has nothing to do with feeling nervous, worried, or disappointed — those are literal misreadings of the word "nerves".

   So "My brother's drunkenness often got on my nerves" simply means his drunkenness often irritated me.

6. 6.

   Choose the option that best completes the sentence.

   These properties were ____ sale before the fire gutted them.

   1. A
      at
   2. B
      for
      Correct
   3. C
      in
   4. D
      on
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   This question is testing a fixed prepositional collocation. When something is being offered to buyers — a house, a plot of land, a car — we say it is for sale. So the sentence reads: These properties were for sale before the fire gutted them.

   So the preposition that completes the sentence correctly is for.

7. 7.

   choose the option nearly opposite in meaning to the word(s) underlined

   The lawmakers are perceived to be the greediest set of politicians.

   1. A
      most selfish
   2. B
      most generous
      Correct
   3. C
      most avaricious
   4. D
      most stingy
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The underlined word is greediest — the superlative form of "greedy", meaning excessively self-interested and unwilling to share.

   The question asks for the word nearly opposite in meaning. The true opposite of "greediest" is most generous, describing someone who freely gives and shares rather than hoards for themselves.

8. 8.

   In each of the following questions, select the option that best completes the gap.

   Take your share and give them _____

   1. A
      their
   2. B
      theirs
      Correct
   3. C
      theirs'
   4. D
      their's
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   The sentence balances two things: your share on one side and, on the other, the share that belongs to those people. Notice that the gap ends the sentence — there is no noun after it. That tells you the space needs an independent possessive pronoun, a word that stands alone and already means “their share”.

9. 9.

   Choose the word that has the consonant sound as the one in bracket, from questions below.

   A[d]just

   1. A
      measure
   2. B
      kindred
   3. C
      garden
   4. D
      gentle
      Correct
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: D

   In the word Adjust, the letters "dj" do not keep their separate sounds. Together they produce one consonant sound, /dʒ/ — the same sound you hear at the start of "judge" or "giant".

   The word gentle has that exact /dʒ/ sound, because "g" before "e" is pronounced softly, just like the "dj" in adjust. That is why it is correct.

10. 10.

    Choose the option that best completes the sentence.

    The man is not as powerful as he once was, his influence has considerably _______

    1. A
       diminishing
    2. B
       waned
       Correct
    3. C
       reduce
    4. D
       waxed
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: B

    The sentence needs a word that fits two tests at once: it must be grammatically correct after "has considerably ___", and it must match the meaning of the first clause, "not as powerful as he once was."

    So the only word that is both grammatically correct and semantically accurate is waned.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

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