Question

Find the synonym of the underlined word.
Psychology has always been an enigma to me.
a. Energy
b. Problem
c. Mystery
d. Trial
e. Draft

Answer 1

Hint: Two words that have similar meanings are said to be synonyms of each other. For example, tall-long, small-tiny, etc.
Enigma refers to something unsolved; a puzzle or a riddle. If referred to a person, it means that the person is mysterious. You can use the word as what happens after death will always be an enigma to the living.

Complete answer:
A synonym is a word that has a meaning similar to another word. Let us see from the given options which word has a similar meaning to the word ‘serenity’.
Since serenity refers to a peaceful state, the synonym of the word is option d, that is, calmness. Calmness refers to the state of being free from any violent or aggressive emotions, in a peaceful state. This is the same characteristic of a serene mind. Therefore, the answer is option d.
Option a is wrong because melancholy is used to describe a feeling of sadness without any particular cause. The synonym of melancholy is sadness or desolation, not serenity.
Option b is incorrect because joy is a great feeling, the synonym being happiness which is unlike peacefulness or serenity.
Option c is not a synonym of serenity because sadness is an unhappy feeling of sorrow or cheerlessness.
Option e is wrong because calamity is an event causing massive damage while serenity refers to a peaceful state of mind.

Thus, the correct option is d.

Note: Certain questions do not have enough context to guess the correct synonym. Therefore, it is advised to the students to build upon their vocabulary. Synonyms are available in a book called a thesaurus.