Amendment

noun (countable and uncountable)

/əˈmɛndmənt/

A formal alteration or addition to the Constitution of India, effected through the procedure laid down in Article 368, which may require a simple majority, special majority, or special majority with ratification by half the state legislatures depending on the provision being changed.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The 73rd Constitutional Amendment institutionalised grassroots democracy by granting constitutional status to Panchayati Raj institutions, yet its transformative promise remains unrealised without the genuine devolution of funds, functions and functionaries to local bodies.

Synonyms

revisionalterationmodificationemendationcorrectionrectification

Antonyms

retentionpreservationdeteriorationworsening

🌱 Word Family

amend (v), amended (adj), amending (v pres.p), amendable (adj), unamended (adj)

🔡 Root

Latin ex- = out of + mendum = fault/error → ēmendāre = to free from faults → Old French amendement

📜 Etymology

From Old French amendement, from Late Latin ēmendāmentum, from ēmendāre ("to free from faults"), from ex- ("out of") + mendum ("fault, error").

🧠 Memory Hook

A-MEND-ment: an amendment MENDS a law — Parliament "mends" the Constitution by patching its faults.

📝 Seen in UPSC Question Papers

Prelims 2025 — Local Government
Prelims 2025 — Constitutional Framework
Prelims 2025 — Internal Security
Prelims 2025 — Internal Security
Prelims 2024 — Constitutional Schedules
Mains 2023 · GS2 · 15 marks — Indian Polity
Mains 2017 · GS2 · 15 marks — Indian Polity
Mains 2016 · GS2 · 12.5 marks — Indian Polity
Mains 2015 · GS2 · 12.5 marks — Indian Polity

Real UPSC previous-year questions whose text uses “Amendment” — proof this word earns its place on your list.

⚖️ Polity & Constitution 📖 Seen in: Constitutional Amendments, Schedules &...

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