Question

Choose the word which is closest to the opposite in meaning to the italicized word.
Rohit is a very courageous boy.
a) Frightened
b) Naughty
c) Cowardly
d) Happy

Answer 1

Hint: The italicized word here is ‘courageous’ which defines someone who is brave and is not deterred by danger or pain. We need a word opposite (different/ antonym) in meaning to the root word.

Complete answer:
 The opposite of a word means the antonym of that word. Antonyms are words that are opposite in meaning to another. So, the opposite of the word courageous (brave person) would be someone who is lacking courage or is not brave.
To understand and find the exact opposite of the root word we first need to understand the options and eliminate the ones which are not the opposite of the root word.
So –
a) Frightened – is an adjective that describes someone who is afraid or anxious. For example a frightened child. As you can understand by the definition this is not the opposite of the root word.
b) Naughty – is an adjective that defines someone as being disobedient, or mildly rude. For example, you have been a naughty kid all your life. As understood by the help of the definition this is not the opposite of the given root word.
c) Cowardly – is an adjective defining a person who lacks courage. For example, he was a weak man. So, by the definition, we can understand that this word is opposite to the given root word.
d) Happy – is an adjective that defines the emotion of contentment or feeling of pleasure. For example, she was really happy to pass the test. As you can see this too is not the opposite of the root word.
Therefore, as per the above-given explanation, we can conclude that a correct solution is an option (c), i.e. cowardly.

Note:
 Focus on the meaning of the root word that will give you the perspective to eliminate the extra options and find the correct solution.