Question

Choose the appropriate synonym of the given word.
Shortage
A. Paucity
B. Niggardly
C. Wastage
D. Hostage
E. Foliage

Answer 1

Hint: In linguistics, there are many words which closely resemble each other in their meanings. But they are not exactly the same. These words are synonyms which are thousands in number. One can be baffled by the degree of similarity in these, but they are meant to be used in different contexts.
We just have to keep in mind their usage. This will clear all the confusions we have about these synonyms. In specific to this question, we can see that it is not asked of us to find out the synonym. But it is asked to find out such a meaning which can express best the meaning of the question word which is nothing but to ask the synonyms in other words.

Complete answer:
- The meaning of the given word ‘Shortage’ means a state or situation in which something needed cannot be obtained in sufficient amounts. In order to find the correct answer, we need to go through all the options one by one and find their meaning in order to get the right word that resembles the given word.
- The first option 'paucity' means the lack of presence of something or having the presence in very insufficient quantities or amounts. For example, “The work was not done properly due to paucity of information”.
- The second option 'niggardly' means ungenerous with money or time. It can be used in sentences such as, “The government is blamed for being unbelievably niggardly”.
- The third option 'wastage' is described as the action or process of losing or destroying something by using it carelessly or extravagantly. For instance, “Water companies will cut down on the wastage of water during the purification process”.
- The fourth option, 'hostage' which refers to a person seized or held as security for the fulfilment of a condition. For instance, “The army officer was kept as hostage by the rival country”.
- The fifth option, 'foliage' means to plant leaves collectively. For instance, “The dense foliage outside the house is a home for various species of butterflies”.
Hence, we can clearly say that the word 'paucity' is the perfect synonym of the given word. Therefore, the first option is correct.

Hence the correct answer is option ‘A'.

Note: In this question, we saw that some of the words that have been given to us are about similar in meanings whereas some are not. We understood the meaning and the usage of them one by one. This enabled us to pick the correct answer from them.