In each of the following questions, choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word.
Obdurate
Answer: D
The opposite is yielding.
Obdurate means stubbornly refusing to give way, from the Latin for hardened. Yielding is its exact reverse; fleeting, finite and fascinating have nothing to do with stubbornness.
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Propitious
Answer: D
The opposite is unfavourable.
Propitious means favourable, giving a good prospect of success, from the Latin propitius, well-disposed.
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Debonair
Answer: A
The opposite is awkward.
Debonair means confident, stylish and easy in manner, from the Old French de bon aire. Awkward is the reverse.
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Craven
Answer: C
The opposite is bold.
Craven means abjectly cowardly. Bold is its reverse. The word once meant defeated, and survives now only as a term of contempt.
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Spurious
Answer: B
The opposite is authentic.
Spurious means false or counterfeit, from the Latin for illegitimate. Bogus, forged and simulated are all synonyms of it; authentic alone is the opposite.
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Mitigate
Answer: B
The opposite is intensify.
To mitigate is to make less severe, from the Latin mitis, mild. Abate, calm and compose are near-synonyms; intensify alone reverses it.
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Smug
Answer: B
The opposite is unhappy.
Smug means complacently pleased with oneself. Self-satisfied and pompous are near-synonyms; only unhappy reverses the contentment the word describes.
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Amenable
Answer: A
The opposite is uncooperative.
Amenable means willing to be persuaded or led. Persuadable, biddable and docile are all synonyms of it.
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Amending
Answer: D
The opposite is debase.
To amend is to improve by correction. To debase is to lower in quality or worth. Ameliorate and better are synonyms of amend.
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Shirked
Answer: A
The opposite is meet.
To shirk is to avoid a duty; to meet it is to face and discharge it. Bypass is a synonym of shirking rather than its reverse.
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