Solved Examples Set 2 (Antonyms)

1. EMPATHY

   1. compassion
   2. lack of feeling for others
   3. lack of religious certainty
   4. lack of credit
   5. recalcitrance

   (B. lack of feeling for others) Empathy means feeling for others, sympathy. Choice E recalcitrance means disobedience, noncompliance.

2. CAPTIOUS

   1. eager
   2. deprived
   3. indulgent
   4. free
   5. anxious

   (C. indulgent) Captious means quick to find fault, carping. The opposite is indulgent.

3. SUCCULENT

   1. harshly astringent
   2. axiomatic
   3. quietly reclusive
   4. parched
   5. highly spiced

   (D. parched) Succulent means full of juice, juicy. Choice D parched means dried out. Choice B axiomatic means self-evident.

4. MANDATORY

   1. dispassionate
   2. obligatory
   3. voluntary
   4. inveterate
   5. disconsolate

   (C. voluntary) Mandatory means obligatory, ordered. Choice A dispassionate means impartial. Choice D inveterate means deep-seated. Choice E disconsolate means cheerless, unhappy.

5. UBIQUITOUS

   1. obsequious
   2. cantankerous
   3. rare
   4. intermittent
   5. omnivorous

   (C. rare) Ubiquitous means omnipresent, everywhere. Choice A obsequious means excessively or sickeningly respectful. Choice B cantankerous means bad-tempered. Choice C rare means seldom found or occurring. Choice D intermittent means occurring at intervals, not continuous. Choice E omnivorous means feeding on both plants and animal flesh.

6. OVERWROUGHT

   1. relaxed
   2. restrained
   3. underutilized
   4. flawed
   5. underestimated

   (A. relaxed.) Overwrought means overcome by nervous agitation or being overexcited. Choice A relaxed means an absence of tension or tightness.

7. EXHUME

   1. expel
   2. exit
   3. infer
   4. refer
   5. inter

   (E. inter) Exhume means to remove from the grave. Expel means to force out, eject. Exit means to depart. Infer means to conclude or deduce. Refer means to relate. Inter means to bury a dead body.

8. HIDEBOUND

   1. liberal
   2. dishonorable
   3. honorable
   4. conservative
   5. leathery

   (A. liberal) Hidebound means narrow-minded. Choice A liberal means openminded.

9. PUNGENT

   1. acrid
   2. piquant
   3. harmonious
   4. untenable
   5. insipid

   (E. insipid) Pungent means sharply affecting the organs of taste, or a strong sour or bitter taste. Choice E insipid means tasteless. Choices A and B are synonyms of pungent. Choice D untenable means implausible or unreasonable.

10. IRONIC

    1. literary
    2. figurative
    3. analogous
    4. mysterious
    5. literal

    (E. literal) Ironic means using words to express the opposite of their literal meaning. Choice B figurative means metaphoric, a kind of literary comparison. Choice C analogous means a resemblance between two things that are otherwise unlike. Choice E literal means exact or verbatim.

11. SYNCHRONIZED

    1. Arrhythmic
    2. Resonating
    3. Harmonized
    4. Bough
    5. Chronological

    (A. Arrhythmic) Synchronized means occuring at the same time or occurring together. The best opposite would be Arrhythmic.

12. TACITLY

    1. thoughtlessly
    2. carelessly
    3. coherently
    4. openly expressed
    5. mildly amused

    (D. openly expressed) Tacitly means silently, without being openly expressed.

13. AFFECTION

    1. love
    2. aversion
    3. disaffection
    4. purity
    5. effect

    (B. aversion.) Affection means love or liking. Choice B aversion means strong dislike. Choice C disaffection means alienation or resentment. Choice D purity means cleanness, freedom from physical or moral pollution.

14. PROFUNDITY

    1. depth
    2. shallowness
    3. profanity
    4. perfidy
    5. complexity

    (B. shallowness) Profundity means having great depth of understanding or importance. Choice B shallowness means not deep, or an incapability of having deep feelings. Choice C profanity means coarse or irreverent speech. Choice D perfidy means treachery.

15. CHIVALROUS

    1. gallant
    2. discourteous
    3. civilized
    4. armored
    5. vainglorious

    (B. discourteous.) Chivalrous means positive or high-minded. Choice A gallant means brave or courageous. Choice B discourteous means not courteous. Choice E vainglorious means marked by excessive pride and vanity.

16. INANE

    1. foolish
    2. serious
    3. mature
    4. nameless
    5. contrary

    (B. serious.) Inane means silly or empty. Choice B serious means important or solemn.

17. SCRUTINIZE

    1. skim
    2. devour
    3. elaborate
    4. comprehend
    5. question

    (A. skim.) Scrutinize means to examine something thoroughly and carefully. Choice A skim means to glance at or read quickly. Choice B devour means to hungrily or greedily consume.

18. ORNERY

    1. with many faults
    2. odorless
    3. agreeable in disposition
    4. fetid
    5. highly decorated

    (C. agreeable in disposition) Ornery means disagreeable, mean, crotchety. The adjective fetid, choice D, means noisome, stinking.

19. INFIRM

    1. ailing
    2. hospitalized
    3. robust
    4. recovering
    5. firm

    (C. robust.) Infirm means weak, especially from illness or old age. Choice C robust means very healthy.

20. ELEVATED

    1. grounded
    2. raised
    3. excited
    4. subterranean
    5. moody

    (D. subterranean.) Elevated means above the ground. Choice A grounded means connected to the earth. Choice D subterranean means beneath the surface.

Solved Examples Set 1
Solved Examples Set 2
Solved Examples Set 3