Question

Choose the word/phrase which is opposite in meaning to the italicized bold word/phrase in the sentence.
The problem of dowry in our country has assumed gargantuan proportions.
 a) negligible
b) bearable
c) minute
d) minimal

Answer 1

Hint: Antonyms are those words that express meaning as opposed to the meaning of another word, in which case the two words are antonyms of each other.
In the given question, the word ‘gargantuan’ refers to ‘of great mass; huge and bulky.

Complete answer:
Let us analyze the options given to us in this question:
Option (a.), 'negligible', refers to ‘so small as to be meaningless; insignificant’.
Therefore, option (a.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘gargantuan’.
Option (b.), ‘bearable', refers to ‘capable of being borne though unpleasant’.
Therefore, option (b.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘gargantuan’.
Option (c.), ‘minute', refers to ‘infinitely or immeasurably small’.
Therefore, option (c.) is correct as its meaning is antonymous to that of the given word ‘gargantuan’.
Option (d.), ‘minimal', refers to ‘the least possible’.
Therefore, option (d.) is incorrect as its meaning is not antonymous to that of the given word ‘gargantuan’.

Note:
In a question where we have to find the opposite of the given word, we sometimes do not have options which 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.