NDA (II) 2016 General Ability Test · Question 20 of 150

Correct — D, 'unwise'. 'Sagacious' means having sound judgement and keen discernment — wise in the practical sense of seeing what ought to be done. The straight reversal of that is 'unwise', and none of the other three touches judgement at all.

• (a)haughty — Means arrogant, and it reverses humility rather than wisdom.
• (b)cunning — The real trap. Cunning is a kind of shrewdness, so it stands on the same side of the line as sagacity; it differs by carrying disapproval, not by being the opposite.
• (c)rude — Reverses courtesy, which the underlined word says nothing about.

'Sagacious' means wise and discerning, with the emphasis on sound practical judgement.

Two of the options reverse the wrong quality altogether, so the real work is separating 'cunning' from 'unwise'. Cunning is cleverness used slyly — the same faculty turned to poorer ends — and a word that shares the faculty cannot be its opposite. The sentence itself is incidental to the answer; the booklet prints 'Akbar the great' with a small 'g', which is a printing slip rather than part of the question. Akbar reigned from 1556 to 1605 and is a stock example of a shrewd ruler, which is why the sentence reads naturally.

• 'Sagacious', 'judicious', 'prudent' and 'astute' all describe sound judgement.
• 'Cunning', 'crafty' and 'wily' describe cleverness used for one's own ends and carry disapproval.
• The noun formed from 'sagacious' is 'sagacity'.

• Choosing 'cunning' because it feels like the opposite of an honest kind of wisdom.
• Reversing a quality the sentence never mentions.

Asked as an antonym item — pick the word most nearly opposite 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 'sagacious'?

  • (a)talkative
  • (b)discerning
  • (c)wealthy
  • (d)youthful

  Answer(b) discerning — a sagacious person judges soundly.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which word is most nearly opposite in meaning to 'prudent'?

  • (a)careful
  • (b)reckless
  • (c)polite
  • (d)silent

  Answer(b) reckless — prudence is care in looking ahead.