House rent in cities like Mumbai or Delhi has risen to <u>astronomical</u> figures beyond the reach of even high-salaried people.
- (a)exorbitant
- (b)commercial
- (c)planetary
- (d)illogical
Correct — A, 'exorbitant'. 'Astronomical' is being used in its figurative sense — so large as to be beyond ordinary reckoning — and 'exorbitant' is the word for a price or a demand that goes far beyond what is reasonable. Set beside rents 'beyond the reach of even high-salaried people', it is the exact match.
- (b)commercial — Says the rent is charged for business use, which is a fact about the kind of tenancy and says nothing about the size of the figure.
- (c)planetary — Picks the literal astronomy sense of the word, which is the trap the whole item is built on.
- (d)illogical — Criticises the reasoning behind the figure rather than describing how large it is.
'Astronomical' in everyday use means immensely large, a figurative sense borrowed from the vast distances that astronomy deals in.
Every figurative word keeps its literal sense in the background, and this option list offers both. The sentence settles it — rents 'beyond the reach of even high-salaried people' are a matter of size and cost, not of planets. There is a pleasant way to fix the pair in memory. 'Exorbitant' comes from the Latin for 'out of the track', so both words reach for something that has left its proper bounds.
- 'Astronomical' is used figuratively of prices, figures and odds that are immensely large.
- 'Exorbitant' comes from the Latin for 'out of the track' and is used of prices, charges and demands that are far too high.
- Prohibitive, extortionate and steep are the other words English keeps for prices that are too high.
- Choosing 'planetary' because it belongs to the same field as 'astronomical'.
- Picking a word that judges the figure rather than describing it.
Asked as a synonym item — pick the word most similar in meaning to the underlined word.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which word is closest in meaning to 'exorbitant'?
- (a)moderate
- (b)excessive
- (c)fixed
- (d)hidden
Answer(b) excessive — an exorbitant charge goes far beyond what is reasonable.
- practice — not a real PYQ
In 'the meeting was a marathon', the word 'marathon' is used
- (a)literally
- (b)figuratively
- (c)as a proper noun
- (d)as a verb
Answer(b) figuratively — the name of the long race is being applied to anything of great length.