Basic Details
Word: Convenience
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: The quality of being easy, useful or suitable for someone; also, something that makes life easier.
Synonyms: ease, comfort, usefulness, suitability
Antonyms: inconvenience, difficulty, trouble
How to Spell Convenience
Syllables: con - ve - ni - ence
Tricky part: It ends in -ience: there is an i before ence, and the second syllable is ve, not vi.
Watch out for: convinience, conveniance, convenence, conveneince
Memory tip: Take convenient and change its final t into ce. The i stays where it was: con-ve-ni-ence, four beats.
Idioms and Phrases
- at your earliest convenience: as soon as you can (a polite, formal phrase). Example: "Please return the signed form at your earliest convenience."
Usage Examples
Example 1: Online banking is a great convenience for my grandparents.
Example 2: The hotel has a lift for the convenience of its guests.
Example 3: We chose the flat for its convenience: the school is only five minutes away.
Fun Fact
Japan has more than 50,000 convenience stores, called konbini, and many of them stay open all day and all night.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. coincidance 2. obediance 3. perseverence 4. convenience
a) doing what you are told
b) the quality of being easy or useful
c) two things happening together by chance
d) continuing to try in spite of difficulty
Show answer
b) the quality of being easy or useful. Perseverance takes -ance, obedience takes -ence and coincidence takes -ence, so each of those three has the wrong ending.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
For the convinience of elderly passengers, the railway has put escalators on all four platforms.
a) elderly
b) convinience
c) escalators
d) platforms
Show answer
b) convinience. The second syllable of convenience is ve, as in convenient, not vi.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word convenience as used in the sentence:
The new metro station near our school is a great convenience for students.
a) advantage
b) comfort
c) benefit
d) nuisance
Show answer
d) nuisance. Comfort, benefit and advantage are all good things; a nuisance is something that annoys or causes trouble.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A convenience food is one that ____.
a) takes all day to cook
b) is quick and easy to prepare
c) is eaten only at festivals
d) is grown in your own garden
Show answer
b) is quick and easy to prepare
2. If a time is convenient for you, it ____.
a) costs you money
b) is very early
c) suits your plans
d) falls on a holiday
Show answer
c) suits your plans
