Question

Choose the word which can be substituted for the given words/sentence:
Medicine which lessens pain
A) Balm
B) Panacea
C) Anodyne
D) Antibiotic

Answer 1

Hint:For substitute words or sentences it is basically synonyms, and the meaning of synonyms are used (in such a way that they can replace each other meaningfully). So, synonyms are the words that have the same or similar meaning and to avoid repetition synonyms are used.

Complete answer:
Let’s examine the meaning of the given options -
Option A) Balm - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of balm is ‘a fragrant cream or liquid used to heal or soothe the skin or ointment or lotion’ and this is not the synonym of the sentence ‘Medicine which lessens pain’ because their meanings are not same. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option B) Panacea - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of panacea is ‘a solution or remedy for all difficulties or diseases or cure-all’ and this is not the synonym of the sentence ‘Medicine which lessens pain’ because their meanings are not the same. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.
Option C) Anodyne - is the correct answer because the meaning of anodyne is ‘not likely to cause offence or disagreement and somewhat dull or inoffensive’ and this is the synonym of the sentence ‘Medicine which lessens pain’ and they can be used in place of each other because they have similar meaning. Thus, this is the correct answer.
Option D) Antibiotic - is an incorrect answer because the meaning of antibiotic is ‘a medicine that inhibits the growth of or destroys microorganisms’ and this is not the synonym of the sentence ‘Medicine which lessens pain’ because their meanings are not the same. Thus, this is an incorrect answer.

Hence, the correct answer is option ‘C’.

Note: In English, substitute meaning is synonym, where we can use different words and the meaning is same or similar and be replaced. Thus, option C is the most appropriate answer as compared to any other option because the synonym of the sentence ‘Medicine which lessens pain’ is anodyne.