NDA (I) 2017 General Ability Test · Question 16 of 149

Correct — C, 'cut off'. To sever something is to cut it apart or break it off abruptly, and 'cut off' carries the same sense. Severing diplomatic relations and cutting off diplomatic relations are both standard ways of saying that two countries have broken contact.

• (a)engage — Engaging means entering into contact, which is the very reverse of severing.
• (b)estrange — Estrangement is a gradual cooling of affection between people, whereas severing is a clean deliberate break, and the word is not used of formal ties between states.
• (d)twist — Twisting means turning or distorting something, which leaves the connection itself intact.

'Sever' means to cut through or break off completely, and it is the standard verb for ending diplomatic ties.

The near-miss is 'estrange', because both words involve a relationship going wrong. What separates them is decisiveness — severing is a single act, estrangement a slow drift — and the sentence describes a deliberate step taken over small matters.

• 'Sever' gives English 'severance', used of the ending of employment.
• 'Sever diplomatic relations' is a fixed phrase in international affairs.
• 'Estrange' is used chiefly of people who have grown apart.

• Picking 'estrange' because it also involves a broken relationship.
• Overlooking that a multi-word phrase can be the intended synonym.

Asked as a synonym item — choose the word or group of words most similar in meaning to the underlined word.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'sever'.

  • (a)join
  • (b)detach
  • (c)bend
  • (d)shorten

  Answer(b) detach — to sever is to cut apart or separate.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'severance'.

  • (a)beginning
  • (b)renewal
  • (c)termination
  • (d)extension

  Answer(c) termination — severance is the ending of a connection, such as employment.