Question

Find the synonym of the underlined word:
Unless the crops are irrigated soon, the harvest will be sparse.

a) Watered
b) Plowed
c) Planted
d) Fertilised
e) Inflated

Answer 1

Hint: Synonyms are words that share the same meaning as another word. ‘Irrigated’ is the term we use to mention the watering of plants.

Complete answer:

 By using the term ‘irrigate’, we mean the adequate supply of water to crops.
Example: “It is a sunny day. Let’s irrigate the farmlands,” said the farmer.
In option a, we have ‘watered.’ Watered means the same as ‘irrigated’. Therefore, it becomes the correct synonym for ‘irrigated.’
Plowed in option b is the past tense of the verb – plow. It means to turn up the earth so as to increase its fertility before sowing the seeds. Thus it is proved wrong.
Similarly, ‘planted’ in option c describes the action of putting a seed or a plant in the soil in order to grow it and therefore cannot be the right answer here.
Option d is also wrong as ‘fertilized’ means that the soil is made more productive by mixing fertilizers or manure to it.
Inflated in option e shows the expansion of something by filling it with a gas or liquid and hence proved incorrect.

Note: It is essential to understand the slight difference between ‘irrigate’ and ‘watered.’ While ‘irrigate’ mentions watering on a large area of the plantation, ‘watering’ refers to pouring or sprinkling water over one or two plants, or in a garden.