Question

A name adopted by an author in his writings
A) Nickname
B) Pseudonym
C) Nomenclature
D) Title

Answer 1

Hint: In the given question, we have to identify the correct word which will have the same meaning as the name adopted by an author in his writings. On preliminary reading, we can see that all the options are the same. However, there is a difference between them and they have different purposes. We have to choose the correct synonym from the options given.

Complete answer:
A name, morpheme, or a phrase in the same language that signifies exactly the same meaning as another name, morpheme, or a phrase is called a synonym. The words given in option: nickname, pseudonym, nomenclature and title are all synonyms. However, they are used in different contexts and have different purposes.

Let us evaluate the options:
Option A) Nickname – This option is incorrect as a nickname means a familiar or humorous name given to a person or thing instead of or as well as the real name. Authors generally wouldn’t use a nickname in their writings because the author and readers are not familiar.
Option B) Pseudonym – This option is correct because pseudonym means fictitious name generally used by authors. It is also called pen name. There are a variety of reasons for using pseudonyms like hiding true identity from colleagues, aiming at a different audience, switching publishers, restarting their career if they failed earlier etc.
Option C) Nomenclature – This option is incorrect because it is a scientific term generally meaning the devising or choosing of names for things, especially in a science or other discipline. Authors would not choose scientific terms as a name adopted in their writings.
Option D) Title – This option is incorrect because it means a name that describes someone's position or job. It can also mean the name of a book, an album, films etc. It is basically the “name of the material” the author is writing and not the name of the author himself.

Thus the correct answer is option ‘B’.

Note: Some famous examples of pseudonyms are:
Boz – Charley Dickens in his book “Sketches by Boz”
Kennilworthy Whisp - J.K. Rowling in her book “Quidditch Through the Ages”