What does secondary mean?
Word: Secondary
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Secondary means coming second in importance, or less important than the main thing. It also names the stage of school after primary.
Synonyms: lesser, subsidiary
Antonyms: primary, main, chief
How do you spell secondary?
Syllables: sec - ond - ar - y
Tricky part: Students who say the vowel after sec lightly write secandary or secundary, but the start is the whole word second.
Watch out for: secandary, secundary
Memory tip: Count first, second: the whole word second sits at the front of secondary, o and all.
Secondary in a sentence
Example 1: My cousin teaches English at a secondary school in Bhopal.
Example 2: For the shop owner, profit was secondary to keeping customers happy.
Example 3: Red, yellow and blue are primary colours; green and orange are secondary colours.
Fun Fact
In most of the UK, children move up from primary school to secondary school at the age of 11.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: secondary
a) minor
b) central
c) leading
d) major
Show answer
a) minor. Something minor is less important, which is what secondary means here.
Word Makeup
Choose the suffix that completes the word:
second
a) ery
b) ory
c) ary
d) ry
Show answer
c) ary. The ending is the same as in primary and military.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
randoyces
a) secretary
b) legendary
c) secondary
d) sedentary
Show answer
c) secondary. There is no t or g among these nine letters, which rules out secretary, sedentary and legendary.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Our secondary school has a new science labratory on the top floor.
a) labratory
b) secondary
c) science
d) floor
Show answer
a) labratory. Laboratory has an o after lab, before the r.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a question is of secondary importance, it ____.
a) is the most urgent
b) can wait until later
c) must be done first
d) can never be done
Show answer
b) can wait until later
2. Green is called a secondary colour because ____.
a) it is made by mixing two primary colours
b) it is less bright than the main colours
c) it is the second colour of the rainbow
d) it is used less often than red is
Show answer
a) it is made by mixing two primary colours
