Question

Choose the word/phrase which is opposite in meaning to the bold word / phrase in the sentence.
Raju often walks to school.
a. Rarely
b. never
c. always
d. sometimes

Answer 1

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

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 dull, its opposite would be a word that means shining with light i.e., bright. Similarly, if the word is maximum, its opposite would be a word that means the least amount required i.e. minimum.
In the given question, the word is ‘often’. Often is an adverb. If something happens often, it happens frequently or is true of many instances. Now, that we know what the word means, we must find a word whose meaning is the opposite of ‘often’. Logically, this means that we have to find a word whose meaning is occurring infrequently. Out of all the given options, the word rarely, which means not happening often, is the correct match of this opposite meaning. Hence, the option ‘a’ is the correct answer.

Note: Let us consider the problematic areas of this question. It is important that the student reads the question carefully and understands the direction given. If a student mistakes a synonym for an antonym, he/she may choose option ‘d’ sometimes, instead of choosing the correct antonym which is rarely. Therefore, understanding the direction given in the question is very important.