Question

Find the synonym of the underlined word.
A sense of taste is triggered when the tongue touches a wide range of chemical substances.
a) chain
b) span
c) series
d) variety
e) sort

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘range’ refers to ‘a set of different things of the same general type’. This word is usually used as a noun and another synonym of this word can be ‘assortment’.

Complete answer:
A synonym is a word/phrase that has the exact or nearly the same meaning as another word/phrase in the same language, for example, ‘talk’ is a synonym of ‘chat’, as they convey the same exact meaning as each other, which means that they can replace each other in a sentence.

Now, we know the meaning and usage of the given word. Let’s look at the given options-
a) chain - The word ‘chain’ refers to ‘a sequence of items of the same type forming a line', so this word has a very different meaning to the given word. It cannot be the synonym of the given word ‘range’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
b) span - The word ‘span’ refers to ‘the full extent of something from end to end; the amount of space that something covers', so this word has a very different meaning to the given word. It cannot be the synonym of the given word ‘range’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) series - The word ‘series’ refers to ‘a number of events, objects, or people of a similar or related kind coming one after another', so this word has a very different meaning to the given word. It cannot be the synonym of the given word ‘range’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) variety - The word ‘variety’ refers to ‘the quality or state of being different or diverse; the absence of uniformity or monotony', so this word has the exact same meaning as the given word. It is the synonym of the given word ‘range’. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
e) sort - The word ‘sort’ refers to ‘a category of things or people with a common feature; a type', so this word has a very different meaning to the given word. It cannot be the synonym of the given word ‘range’. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
 Go through each option one by one, and try to understand the meaning of each option by using it in a sentence. Then, choose the option that has the exact same meaning as the given word.