Question

Choose the word that is most nearly the opposite in meaning of the word given in capitals.
VANITY
A) Modesty
B) Kindness
C) Compassion
D) Moderation

Answer 1

Hint: Antonyms are the words that are opposite in meaning to another. The root words for the word 'antonym' are the words 'anti' meaning 'against' or 'opposite' and 'onym' meaning 'name’. For instance: the antonym of ‘hot’ is ‘cold’.

Complete answer:
Let’s examine the meaning of the given options -
The meaning of the word vanity is ‘excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements or self-conceit or self-love’. So, as per the question we must find the word which is opposite in meaning to the word vanity.
Option A) Modesty - is the correct answer because the meaning of modesty is ‘the quality or state of being unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities or moderation or fairness’ and this is the antonym of the word vanity as they have different meaning or they are opposite in meaning to each other. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option B) Kindness - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of kindness is ‘the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate or kindliness’ and this is not antonym of the word vanity. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C) Compassion - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of compassion is ‘sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others or pity or sympathy’ and this is not antonym of the word vanity. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option D) Moderation - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of moderation is ‘the avoidance of excess or extremes, especially in one's behaviour or political opinions or restraint or self-control’ and this is not antonym of the word vanity. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Hence, the correct answer is option ‘A’.

Note:Antonyms are the words that are opposite to each other i.e. antonym of vanity is modesty, and synonyms are the words that are similar in meaning. So, the synonym of vanity is self-love. Thus, Option A is the most appropriate answer as compared to the other options as they do not have the opposite meaning to the given word.