Question

Choose the word that is opposite in meaning to the given word.
ACCELERATE
a. Creep
b. Drag
c. Lag
d. Delay

Answer 1

Hint: Antonyms are opposite words. In this case, we must find a word whose meaning is completely different than that of ‘accelerate’.

Complete step-by-step answer:

 As we have seen before, antonyms are also known as opposite words. Anything that is opposite differs in its meaning completely from the given word. If the word is abundant, its opposite would be a word that means insufficient for demand i.e., scarce. Similarly, if the word is distant, its opposite would be a word that means to be next to something i.e. adjacent.
In the given question, the word is ‘accelerate’. Accelerate is a verb that is derived from the Latin word ‘accelerare’. To accelerate means to quicken the rate or the extent. This word is generally used when speaking about vehicles. Now, that we know what the word means, we must find a word whose meaning is the opposite of ‘accelerate’. Logically, this means that we have to find a word whose meaning is to decrease the rate or extent. Out of all the given options, the word delay, which means, to slow down something, is the correct match of this opposite meaning. Hence, option ‘d’ is the correct answer.

Note: This is a simple question with a straightforward answer. If a student has a vague idea of the meanings of the options, he/she may struggle with selecting an answer. Hence, it is important that the students know the meanings of all the words listed in their lessons and that they learn their respective antonyms.