In each of the following questions, choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word.
Obeying
Answer: A
The opposite is ordering.
Obeying is carrying out a command; ordering is giving one. The two are the two sides of the same act. Refusing is declining to obey, which is a different relation.
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Kindle
Answer: D
The opposite is extinguish.
To kindle is to set alight; to extinguish is to put out. Ignite is a synonym rather than an antonym.
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Adaptable
Answer: D
The opposite is rigid.
Adaptable means able to change to suit conditions; rigid means unable to bend. Adoptable, which looks similar, means able to be adopted.
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Arrogant
Answer: A
The opposite is humble.
Arrogant means having an exaggerated sense of one's importance; humble is the reverse. Egotistic is a near-synonym.
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Tragedy
Answer: B
The opposite is comedy.
In drama tragedy and comedy are the two contrasting kinds. A calamity is a disaster, which is close to the everyday sense of tragedy rather than opposite to it.
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Victorious
Answer: A
The opposite is defeated.
Victorious means having won; defeated means having lost. Vanquished is a synonym of defeated, and both would be wrong only if the first were chosen.
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Dauntless
Answer: B
The opposite is cowardly.
Dauntless means not to be discouraged by danger. Stolid means unemotional, which is not the same as fearless.
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Obsession
Answer: A
The opposite is whim.
An obsession is a fixed idea that will not leave the mind; a whim is a passing fancy with no hold at all. A phobia is a fear, which is a kind of obsession rather than its opposite.
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Prolific
Answer: C
The opposite is barren.
Prolific means producing abundantly, from the Latin proles, offspring. Barren produces nothing.
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Presumption
Answer: D
The opposite is humility.
Presumption is taking a liberty one has no right to, and so is a want of humility. Assertion is a statement made firmly, which is not the same fault.
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