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Question

Select the option that represents the correct order of the given words as they would appear in an English dictionary.

1. Profess

2. Product

3. Prosecute

4. Precaution

5. Proctor

This question was previously asked in
SSC Stenographer 2020-21 Previous Year Paper (15-Nov-2021) (Shift 2)
The correct answer is

4, 5, 2, 1, 3

Understanding Dictionary Word Order

To arrange words in the correct English 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 is placed earlier in the sequence.

Step-by-Step Word Comparison

Let's list the given words and compare them:

  1. Profess
  2. Product
  3. Prosecute
  4. Precaution
  5. Proctor

All the words start with the letters 'Pr'. Let's look at the third letter of each word:

  • Profess
  • Product
  • Prosecute
  • Precaution
  • Proctor

Comparing the third letters ('o' and 'e'), we see that 'e' comes before 'o' in the alphabet. Therefore, 'Precaution' (word 4) comes first in the dictionary order.

Now we need to order the remaining words, all of which start with 'Pro':

  • Profess
  • Product
  • Prosecute
  • Proctor

Let's compare the fourth letters: 'f', 'd', 's', and 'c'. Arranging these letters alphabetically:

Letter Corresponding Word Original Number
c Proctor 5
d Product 2
f Profess 1
s Prosecute 3

Based on the fourth letter, the order of the remaining words is: Proctor (5), Product (2), Profess (1), and Prosecute (3).

Final Dictionary Order

Combining 'Precaution' (4) which comes first, with the sorted list of the remaining words, the complete dictionary order is:

  1. Precaution (4)
  2. Proctor (5)
  3. Product (2)
  4. Profess (1)
  5. Prosecute (3)

The correct sequence of numbers representing the words in dictionary order is 4, 5, 2, 1, 3.

Revision Table: Dictionary Ordering Basics

Rule Explanation Example
Compare Letter by Letter Start comparing words from the first letter. Move to the next letter only if the letters are the same. Cat before Dog (C vs D)
First Point of Difference The word with the letter that appears earlier in the alphabet at the first point of difference comes first. Apple before Apricot (P vs R)
Shorter Word Rule If one word is a prefix of another (e.g., 'care' and 'careful'), the shorter word comes first. Care before Careful

Additional Information: Alphabetical Sorting

Alphabetical sorting is a fundamental concept used in dictionaries, indexes, encyclopedias, and many digital data organization systems. It relies on the standard order of the letters in the alphabet (A, B, C, ..., Z). When sorting, the case of the letters (uppercase vs. lowercase) is usually ignored, or a specific rule is applied (e.g., all uppercase letters before all lowercase letters, or following specific locale rules).

For more complex sorting, such as names with spaces, hyphens, or apostrophes, specific collation rules might be applied. However, for standard word lists like the one in the question, the simple letter-by-letter comparison is sufficient.

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