Arranging Words in Dictionary Order

Understanding how words are arranged in an English dictionary is a fundamental skill, often tested in verbal ability sections. Words are listed alphabetically, character by character.

We are given the following words to arrange:

1. Favourite
2. Favourable
3. Favoured
4. Favouritism
5. Favourably

To arrange these words in dictionary order, we compare them letter by letter from left to right. The word with the letter that comes earlier in the alphabet at the first point of difference will appear first.

Step-by-Step Comparison for Dictionary Arrangement

Let's compare the words:

• All words start with 'F', then 'a', then 'v', then 'o', then 'u', then 'r', then 'i'. So, the first seven letters 'Favouri' are the same for all words.
• We need to look at the eighth character or beyond to determine the order.

The words and their characters from the eighth position are:

• 1. Favourite: 't'
• 2. Favourable: 'a'
• 3. Favoured: 'e'
• 4. Favouritism: 't'
• 5. Favourably: 'a'

Comparing the eighth characters ('t', 'a', 'e', 't', 'a'):

• 'a' comes first in the alphabet. Words 2 (Favourable) and 5 (Favourably) start with 'Favouria'.
• 'e' comes next. Word 3 (Favoured) starts with 'Favourie'.
• 't' comes last among these. Words 1 (Favourite) and 4 (Favouritism) start with 'Favourit'.

Comparing Words with the Same Prefix

Now we compare the words that have the same first differing letter:

Compare Favourable (2) and Favourably (5):

• Both start with 'Favouria'. Let's look at the ninth character.
• Favourable: 'b'
• Favourably: 'b'
• Let's look at the tenth character.
• Favourable: 'l'
• Favourably: 'l'
• Let's look at the eleventh character.
• Favourable: 'e'
• Favourably: 'y'
• 'e' comes before 'y'. So, Favourable (2) comes before Favourably (5).

Compare Favourite (1) and Favouritism (4):

• Both start with 'Favourit'. Let's look at the ninth character.
• Favourite: 'e'
• Favouritism: 'i'
• 'e' comes before 'i'. So, Favourite (1) comes before Favouritism (4).

Final Arrangement in Dictionary Order

Based on the comparisons, the order is determined as follows:

1. Words starting 'Favouria': Favourable (2), then Favourably (5).
2. Words starting 'Favourie': Favoured (3).
3. Words starting 'Favourit': Favourite (1), then Favouritism (4).

Combining these, the final dictionary order by original number is:

2, 5, 3, 1, 4

Thus, the correct sequence of the original numbers is 2, 5, 3, 1, 4.

Note: There are no mathematical expressions or symbols requiring LaTeX in this solution.

Revision Table: Dictionary Order Principles

Additional Information on Alphabetical Ordering

Mastering dictionary order is a key part of improving vocabulary skills and preparing for various tests. It helps you quickly locate words and understand word families.

When arranging words, always be systematic:

• Start with the first letter of each word.
• If the first letters are the same, move to the second letter, and so on.
• Continue until you find a letter that is different.
• The word with the letter that appears earlier in the standard English alphabet (A, B, C, ...) is placed earlier in the list.
• If one word is exactly the same as the beginning of another word, the shorter word comes first. For example, 'read' comes before 'reader'.

This systematic approach ensures accurate alphabetical arrangement, just like you find in a dictionary.