Question

Choose the word which is most nearly the opposite in meaning to the given word:
Animosity
a. Acrimony
b. Hostility
c. Benevolence
d. Massive

Answer 1

Hint: To be able to distinguish between the given words, the meanings of the given word and the options must be known or found out.

Complete answer:
The given word, “Animosity” means hostility or enmity. Let us check all the given options. Option a, “acrimony” means resentment or ill will, it is similar in meaning to the given word, it cannot be an antonym, hence it is an incorrect choice. Option b, “hostility” means bitterness or malice, which has nearly the same meaning as the given word as well, it also is an incorrect option. Option c, “benevolence” means kindness or goodwill, clearly it is the opposite of the given word, hence is the correct option. Option d, “massive” means huge, gigantic or large, it is irrelevant in the given context, hence is incorrect as well. Clearly, all the given options, other than option c, are either irrelevant to the given word or synonymous. We are asked to determine the opposite of the word, meaning a word that is the antonym of the given word. Clearly, option c, is the correct answer.

Note: The most important part of solving this question would be to know the meanings of the given word and the options that follow. Here, the fact that two options are pretty much synonymous to the given word, to begin with, help in the process of elimination. The last word remaining, is the correct answer.