Question

Select the option that is opposite in meaning to the underlined word/words.
The company was liquidated within five years.
a. Bankrupt
b. Closed down
c. Flourishing
d. Privatised

Answer 1

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

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 optimist, its opposite would be a person who looks at the dark side of things i.e., pessimist. Similarly, if the word is pleasure, its opposite would be a word that implies an unpleasant physical sensation i.e. pain.
In the given question, the word is ‘liquidated’. To liquidate a business means to dissolve its proceedings and render it redundant. Now, that we know what the word means, we must find a word whose meaning is the opposite of ‘liquidated’. Logically, this means that we have to find a word whose meaning refers to a prosperous business that is in no danger of closing down. Out of all the given options, the word flourishing, which means developing rapidly, is the correct match of this opposite meaning. Hence, option ‘c’ is the correct answer.

Note: Let us consider the problematic areas of this question. You may think that as liquidated and bankrupt are both parts of financial jargon, option ‘a’ may be the correct answer. However, liquidation is usually preceded by bankruptcy. The correct antonym of liquidate is to develop, which is best represented by flourishing.