In each of the following questions, choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word.
Laudable
Answer: D
The opposite is blameful.
Laudable means deserving praise, from the Latin laudare. Praiseworthy, deserving, commendable and meritorious all belong with it.
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Expurgate
Answer: B
The opposite is admit.
To expurgate is to remove objectionable matter from a book; to admit it is to let it stand. Purify and sterilise belong with expurgate.
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Blanch
Answer: A
The opposite is darken.
To blanch is to make white, from the French blanc. Flinch and recoil answer the word's other sense, of drawing back in fear.
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Malevolent
Answer: A
The opposite is kindly.
Malevolent means wishing harm, from the Latin male volens. Vicious and poisonous belong with it; kindly is its reverse.
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Latent
Answer: C
The opposite is obvious.
Latent means present but not visible, from the Latin latere, to lie hidden. Suppressed and invisible belong with it; obvious is plain to see.
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Immaculate
Answer: B
The opposite is untidy.
Immaculate means without a spot, from the Latin macula, a stain. Stainless and spotless are synonyms of it.
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Exonerate
Answer: D
The opposite is accuse.
To exonerate is to clear of blame, from the Latin for removing a burden; to accuse is to lay the blame on.
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Genuine
Answer: D
The opposite is bogus.
Genuine means what it claims to be; bogus is counterfeit. Unsound and impure describe defects of a different kind.
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Extant
Answer: E
The opposite is destroyed.
Extant means still in existence, from the Latin for standing out. What has been destroyed no longer exists. Contemporary and present concern time rather than survival.
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Instil
Answer: A
The opposite is extract.
To instil is to introduce gradually, drop by drop, from the Latin stilla, a drop. To extract is to draw out. Inspire and inculcate belong with instil.
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