Question

Choose the word which is closest to the opposite in meaning to the italicized word.
Overeating can often be detrimental to health.
a) beneficial
b) injurious
c) pleasant
d) destructive

Answer 1

Hint: Antonyms are those words that express a meaning opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other.

In the given question, the word ‘detrimental’ refers to (sometimes followed by `to') causing harm or injury.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'beneficial', refers to promoting or enhancing well-being.
Therefore, option (a.) is correct as its meaning is antonymous to that of the given word detrimental ‘’.

Option (b.), ‘injurious', refers to something harmful to living things; harmful.
Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘detrimental’.

Option (c.), ‘pleasant', refers to affording pleasure; being in harmony with your taste or likings.
Therefore, option (c.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘detrimental’.

Option (d.), ‘destructive', refers to causing destruction or much damage.
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘detrimental’.

Note:
In a question where we have to find the opposite of the given word, we sometimes do not have options that exactly mean the opposite of the given word.
In this case, we have to select the option which is the most anonymous to the meaning of the word in the question.